O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The Carols of Christmas Series: This hymn helps root us in the Old Testament in a way that is richly biblical and centered on Jesus. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is, by design, full of references to the Messiah in the Old Testament. It is sometimes hard for Christians, to make sense of the Old Testament. But this old Christmas hymn was meant to help us understand. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Grace Pays the Bills

What if you didn’t have to try to be good enough for God? What if you didn’t have to earn his love? What if God actually accepts you as you are right now? Well, He does accept you... right now... exactly as you are. You can’t ever make yourself good enough for God, so you don’t have to try. It isn’t possible to earn his love, so you don’t have to put in the effort. The only thing you can do… … ...is accept that you are accepted. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Give with a Greatful Heart

Joins us while Pastor Saint Clare with Delmarva Teen Challenge talks about giving with a grateful heart. - Pastor Saint Clare

Revealing the Kingdom of God

Jesus is exactly what God had in mind when he created Humans in his image. Jesus is our example. So, let me connect some dots really quickly: If we were created in God’s image to be like him, and Jesus is the example we’re supposed to look at to see what it means to be the image of God… then we are supposed to look more and more like Jesus. And if we’re supposed to look like Jesus, and our only job is to reveal the Kingdom of God to those who can’t see it yet, it’s logical to conclude that the way Jesus lives reveals the Kingdom of God. Pastor Ryan Martinez

The Net

If a tree is good, If it’s beneficent, if it’s worthwhile, if it’s useful, its fruit will be good Its fruit will be worth while. If a tree is bad, rotten, putrid, corrupt, worthless, useless, its fruit will be bad, its fruit will be the same. What if our only task was to reveal the Kingdom to those who don’t see it yet, and gather as many people as we can. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

If we’re not actively looking for the Kingdom, it will escape our notice. Because it’s here, now… We just must open our eyes and our hearts to it. And when we find it, anything short selling out and giving yourself completely to the cause of the Kingdom keeps the Kingdom of God hidden. Remember, it’s our job to reveal the Kingdom to those who haven’t seen it yet, and when we’re not all in for the Kingdom, it remains hidden. But when we go all-in, and relentlessly search for and pursue the Kingdom, we WILL find it and enjoy all the benefits that come with it. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

The Mustard Seed and The Leaven

Jesus is trying to drive home a point. I think we all have noticed from examining 5 parables of the Kingdom of God to this point that the Point Jesus is trying to make is that God’s Kingdom is here, now. There’s no waiting. It’s here. It’s always been here. It’s all around you. The Kingdom is inside of you. There’s nothing, there’s no one who can stop it. It doesn’t matter what you do or say… It doesn’t matter what I do or say… The Kingdom of God will advance! - Pastor Ryan Martinez

The Weeds

If you are trusting in Jesus, then you have been sown into God’s all-powerful, unassailable, eternal, left-handed Kingdom. If you are not trusting in Jesus, could it be possible that you are a weed? Notice I didn’t say If you’re attending church. I didn’t say if you are serving. Notice, I didn’t say if you give financially to the church you are sown into the Kingdom of God. If you TRUST is in Jesus, you are sewn into his Kingdom. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

The Lamp and the Growing Seed

Are we going to be the type of people that bear the fruit of the Kingdom? Or are we going to be the kind of people who oppose the Kingdom? Are we going to put the lamp on the lamp stand to show people who Jesus really is? Or are we going to hide him under the bed? - Pastor Ryan Martinez

The Parable of the Sower

The parable of the Sower sets a goal for us. But it’s not about amassing good deeds… It’s about experiencing the fullness of life as the Word bestows it upon us… which is fitting because this parable is told to us by the Word himself. His ultimate concern is that you and I be reconciled to the Father that we might one day be brought home to His Father’s house. He wants us to be whole… and the parable of the Sower says he will make us whole… If we don’t get in His way. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Right Handed vs Left Handed Power

Parables are a crucial part of the teachings of Jesus, but they were often very difficult to understand. Regularly, Jesus would teach crowds and people would walk away wildly confused, and perhaps frustrated and discouraged. = Pastor Ryan Martinez

Called to Serve the Lost

What if you really could rescue people from the Kingdom of Darkness by showing them the Heavenly Father through your acts of service? You and I are called to servanthood. It’s in our DNA, it’s who we are. You want to see your family thrive? Serve. Become the least. You want to see the church grow? Serve. Become the last. You want to see lost people come to find hope in Jesus? Serve. Make yourself the lowest; because serving reveals the Father to the Orphan. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Called to Serve the Ministry

What does it look like to be equipped to do the works of the ministry of the Church? Love is the most effective way to spread the Gospel. Loving people shows the Good News and meets the need first. Knowing what the Word of God means we can clearly communicate the Gospel; Know God – Make Him Known. We can all love and serve, we all have a role to perform. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Called to Serve My Family

Think about what it would be like if we took this calling to serve our family seriously. What could God do in our families if we made the choice to make our families our first ministry? If we start taking the call to serve our family seriously I believe it will knit your family closer together. Instead of struggling just to hold the family together, you could actually thrive and grow as a family. Instead of each member of the family looking out for themselves each of you is looking to the interest of everyone else in the family. And when that happens, when each member is trying to serve everyone else, everyone’s needs are met and no one is being selfish about it. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Nehemiah

We all experience difficult times, but you need to realize just how much you can accomplish when you faithfully and prayerfully align yourself with God’s will and plan. Be encouraged as God uses all manner of people to do a multitude of work to build His Kingdom. - Pastor Brandon Pyne

About Love

Two Questions Jesus Answered About Love: What are the greatest commandments in the law? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” as well as “…Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” How do you think Church history would have played out if New Testament believers had taken those two commandments to heart? What about you? - Pastor Richard Parks

The Lord’s Prayer

Biblical forgiveness is defined as the process of forgiving and letting go of the sin done to you. Forgiveness includes, forgiving everyone, every time, of everything, as an act of obedience and gratefulness to God. It acknowledges the sacrifice God made through His Son Jesus Christ who died to restore the relationship between God and man. - Bryne McDowell

Called to Serve

What if your gratefulness to the Lord really could manifest itself in service to Him for advancing His Kingdom? What if you could truly express gratitude without using words but instead by serving others? Then, every chance to serve wouldn’t be an occasion for you to sacrifice or do manual labor, but it would be an opportunity to say “Thank You” to the living God who made you part of His family. - Pastor Ryan Martinez

Come On Back Home

Have you lost your way or lost your focus? Perhaps you've been distracted or are finding the life you are living doesn't have meaning? The good news is God still loves you and the best way to find yourself is to come home to God. - Pastor Jason Pilgrim

Trials and Temptations

You can kick and scream and shake your fist at God and refuse the process that He might be taking you through – or you can understand that trials will come, you can count it all joy, and you can trust that God has a plan and is a good God. - Pastor Eric Spanier