Sermons – Ordinary Faith

You have likely heard that you and all of mankind have a “SIN Problem”. What does that even mean? Does it mean that you are predisposed to evil? What kind of problems does it present? And, Is there a real solution to it?

Your relationship with God begins at “Dearly Love and Greatly Enjoyed”. Sure, it's really hard to believe. But, it is true.

Life in the Kingdom of God is life the way it was meant to be lived. That Kingdom life includes everything from the big things like not murdering people to the everyday task of brushing your teeth in the morning. Ordinary everyday life in God's Kingdom is the path to righteousness and transformation and you can participate in it right now.

You are a spiritual being living in an earthly reality. You are seated in Heaven, while walking this earth. Understanding this begins a journey into the authority that inhabits you. That authority is where personal and community transformation are launched.

Will we trust God or will we make our own way? The choice to trust is the way of faith. It leads us from fear and anxiety into peace, joy, and success.

Be weird! Be powerful in prayer! People who enjoy and employ prayer have learned that God is amazingly good and WANTS to do wonderful things for us and others.

Jesus introduced an idea that will rock your world. It will change your thinking and transform your life. Everything awesome, powerful, and spiritual launches from something Jesus called Metanoia!

The night before Jesus was executed He spent the Passover celebration trying to console His disciples. He told them that He would be leaving but He would send a Comforter. This Counselor would teach them and empower them to testify about Jesus. After His ascension, the Holy Spirit showed up and landed on the disciples. In the miraculous aftermath, people hearing each other in their native language and Peter's powerful sermon, over 3,000 people were baptised into God's Kingdom. The Holy Spirit has been powerfully equipping His people to witness about Jesus ever since.

Best News Ever!

The Cross of Jesus Christ is the second most staggering event in history and eternity. What really happened? How does this beautiful tragedy change everything?

What is the value of a person? What is your value? It isn't a number on a screen. Your value is not defined by your failures or successes. Your value is determined by Jesus. He is the only one who truly defines you. Neither your opinion nor that of others has any bearing on who you are or what you are worth.

When you discover things in the Bible that give you doubts, that just means it's time to dig. Jesus deals firmly with the matter of forgiveness in Matthew 18. If we wear a lens of God that is punitive in nature, we will miss the entire point of Jesus' parable.

Peter asks Jesus about what kind of reward he will receive for leaving everything behind to follow Him. So, Jesus jumps into a story about a Landowner so generous and fair that his workers became resentful. Jesus summarizes His message in the challenging statement “the first will become last and the last become first,” calling us to live into the Kingdom of God's radical rejection of status.

Our anxiety, drama, and control issues are rooted in unbelief. Our Father God is truly good, and Jesus is the absolute best standard to evaluate our lives and faith. Jesus is the best and only argument against unbelief. He is your solution. He is real life.

What is the Father worth to you? What are you worth to Him? Make sure your opinion of Him and of yourself is formed by His relationship and history with you. Don't allow the opinions of others or the assault of your enemy to shape those opinions. You can trust Him.

There is a point. You have a purpose. There is wonderful hope for tomorrow and the future. You were built for eternal life that begins right now. This is why we long for more, are often disappointed, give up, and then try again. There is good news. Great news. Today God wants a conversation with us about the hopelessness we often feel.

Once Jesus was invited to a nice diner with some Pharisees. He proceeded to heal a man, reprimand the guests, and critique the host, only to tell a story lampooning their view of God's Kingdom. Through His story, we, along with the Pharisees, are challenged to ask if our vision of the Kingdom has enough room for everyone God invited to the party.

When we started this journey 17 years ago, we just wanted to help people follow Jesus without all the distractions of denominationalism, judgement, guilt, shame, and fear. We wanted people to be able to have a conversation and take the journey with Jesus.

|Through the love poetry of Song of Songs, seen through the lens of Jesus' love for His Bride the Church, the heart of God for us becomes revealed. Jesus is desperate to spend time with the one He loves so dearly. He is calling us to come away with Him and spend some face to face time. One helpful response to this call is contemplative prayer, helpfully explained by John Mark Comer as “looking at God, looking at you, in love.”

There is a supernatural nuclear weapon that will change natural realities. There is a way, a tool, and a strength that reveals the enemy coming at you, paralyses the forces trying to destroy us, and conquers every difficulty. When your faith grows from private and personal, to shared and community, your prayers will terrify the darkness.

Prayer was critical to the advance of the church in the book of Acts. Through the history of Christianity, prayer has been the foundation of every move of God. Prayer was not necessarily a pleading with God to move, but rather an increasing dependence upon and enjoyment of God. Take a moment to consider what the early Christians did in and with prayer.

Jesus' prayer life challenges us, but it is meant to inspire us. We often feel alone or isolated. Jesus never allowed that “aloneness” to persist. He preferred prayer and enjoyment of His Father. (Your Father)

Jesus' most “violent” outburst is often used to justify all kinds of things He never did. While seldom producing the one thing It was meant to do. He clearly defined and confirmed the commision upon the House of the Father as a house of prayer. We should take caution when we use Jesus' actions in the temple as justification for things that are not prayer and not immersed in prayer. Prayer is priority in this house and in your house as the Temple of God.

God is excited about this year. He has good things planned for you. Can you believe that? Well, Jesus said it. Jesus began His earthly ministry with a mission statement. He says that this year He is going to proclaim the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the oppressed, proclaim sight for the blind, and finally to proclaim this year as the year of God's favor. This short passage is a comfort and a commission for us as Christ followers in this and every year.

Jesus carried the Father's heart. In doing so, he established a family of people around Him. A distinct group of people who SHINED long after He was gone. God's family was always meant to shine in a dark world! 

Let's choose to focus beyond the busy-ness, stress, anxiety, and sadness that often shadows the season. Tonight, we choose together to reflect upon the goodness and love of God as the primary focus and brilliant light of the Christmas Story. In the Christmas story, we see this powerful truth: God shows up.

It is difficult to comprehend the darkness to which we are accustomed. However, when a significant light is present, then the contrast becomes clear. Jesus was and is the light of the world. He is the contrast. There is nothing else like Him.

The problem that the humans created is complex enough that the humans were never going to solve it on their own. So, God made a plan to step into creation to do what the humans alone could not. The humans had turned themselves over to the Snake ‘god,' so God would crush it. The humans were failing to be God's representatives because they rejected God so God would demonstrate His goodness, crown Himself Lord, and empower the humans to live as faithful image bearers. Suffering, death, and evil were brought into the world, so God would defeat them. He would do all this through His life, death, and resurrection

What is God like? How is a person to know God? Is it possible? Yes, knowing God is a gift that was given to us. God made sure that He could be known by sending Jesus.

God's plan was not only that one Son would impact many, but that many would impact all. When we learn to live as children inhabited by their Father, they carry the good news deep into lives, communities, and countries. The key to this mission is declaring our belief in Jesus above our belief in the things we fear.

We should reconsider the idea of a prophet. There is an important place in the future of God's kingdom on earth for people who are at ease with ideas regarding prophetic prayer and speech. New Testament prophecy is likely not what you think it is and holds much more comfort and encouragement than you realize.

When we follow Jesus, we embrace a calling and mission to help and serve our world, community, and families into a better reality. This isn't merely about saving people out of the world, it is about helping the people into the best place possible. That place is the good, kind, and thriving lordship and leadership of Jesus.

Theosis is a mystical union with God. That may sound scary or uncomfortable, but it is how the bible talks about our relationship to the Father through the Spirit and the Son. We are being transformed through an inexpressible personal relationship with God, and one way we participate in that process is through sacrifice.

Be weird! Be powerful in prayer! People who enjoy and employ prayer have learned that God is amazingly good and WANTS to do wonderful things for us and others.

 We learn about the things we love. We enjoy learning about the things we love. We invest time, energy, and finances into the things we love. The more you learn about God, the Son and the Spirit, the more you will love God. What we learn and experience transforms our life.

Theosis is when we become by Grace all that God is by Nature, according to early church tradition. The scripture makes it clear that as Jesus is, so are we to this world. So, what does that practically take place? This series explores an ancient and ordinary approach to theosis.

Join Pastor Payton Stewart for an inspiring journey into the meaning of baptism and the profound transformation we experience as we grow in our walk with the Lord.

What is the deal with Sermons and preaching? Why do we gather and among the liturgy we practice, listen to a message together? Is it helpful? What good does it do?

Come join Payton Stewart as he dives into the Gospel of Gods word.

The seemingly ordinary practices that we employ to practice our faith and pursue Jesus have a backstory. They come from somewhere, have holy intention, and mean much more than we realize.

This year, 10 churches in Rock Springs and Green River join as one to celebrate, connect, and encourage the body of Christ.

Jason lost 80% of his tongue to stage 4 cancer. Doctors said he would never speak or sing again. Clearly, he has defeated all of those odds and is coming to perform and share the gospel with us.

Jason lost 80% of his tongue to stage 4 cancer. Doctors said he would never speak or sing again. Clearly, he has defeated all of those odds and is coming to perform and share the gospel with us.

Welcome to Ordinary Faith. We're glad you're here. Today we welcome missionary Amber Stark and her daughter Sophie. They lead Good Book Oasis in Slovakia, which provides respite retreats for missionaries. Amber will share how God has been helping people heal through their ministry. We will also take a look at the linchpin of faith—what the one thing is that makes following Jesus and Christianity unique in a world already filled with religion. Pastor Steve's message is The One Thing.

Join Pastor Payton Stewart as he delves into the profound reasons why righteousness matters in our lives. Discover how living a righteous life can transform your faith journey and bring you closer to God's purpose for you.

The Cross of Jesus is so much more than a symbol, sign, or motion. The Cross is the foundation of all honest Christian thinking. The Cross and how you think about it means everything. The Cross and how you live because of it means even more.

Believe in Communion MORE Than your Isolation. There is value in short seasons of isolation, but to live that way continually is not healthy. God created us to live in communion with Him and with others.

Why do we often believe in our anxiety more than Jesus' peace? Greater Faith means I believe Jesus' words, the Father's heart, and the Spirit's power more than the things I can see. We live by believing, not by seeing.

“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” This is the way of a Greater Faith. Any message that allows us to keep control and guidance of our own lives, is not the message of Jesus. And, Greater Faith is in Jesus, not in self.

What do you believe? What beliefs guide, limit, or empower your life? Do your beliefs give you joy and peace? Do they empower you to love difficult people? Would you like to live a Greater Faith!

Have you ever considered a damaged relationship and wondered what you could have done differently? Have you ever wondered how you could love someone in ways they would actually receive and value? God's power to tear down walls and reconcile people is incredible. What if we learned to filter our interactions with other people through a lens of love?