MissionWay Church Sermons

Success in life can be defined in many different ways. The Gospel seems to define success in a way that goes against every other definition our world would give. Jesus, Himself shows us how even He came "not to be served, but to serve." That has huge implications for us as His followers. The life of a Christian is one of sacrificial service for others and while our world often tells us that we should make sure we fill ourselves up before serving others, the Gospel tells us to pour ourselves out for others first so that the Lord may truly fill us up.

If you ask almost any modern American churchgoer why they go to a particular local church, it's likely you will hear something about the "community" they have found there. At the same time, you will hear that same answer from many who frequent a certain gym, sports league, mom's group, etc. When we say that we value Authentic Community, we are talking about a spiritual fellowship among followers of Jesus that cannot be manufactured by any other means than the Gospel itself. Often, the community we are looking for is superficial and has to do with related interests. The Gospel offers a much better, deeper,  and eternal fellowship.

ReDiscover MissionWay - Week 2

True, authentic, passionate worship must flow from our having dwelt deeply in the Word of God. That worship is also not meant to happen in isolation, but should often happen surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ, and it must be more than a song that we sing. The truth is, we are either worshiping the Lord or an idol with everything we do and every word we speak. May we be a people who worship the Lord truly and worship Him alone. After all, that is the first and greatest commandment - to love God with everything we have.

ReDiscover MissionWay - Week 1

We believe discipleship is the ultimate mission of the Church. This is the first of our core values and is the umbrella under which all of the others rest. The ministry of discipleship is not just given to pastors and those in "full-time ministry," but to every single believer.  We are all called to make disciples and therefore build up the body together.

God is our refuge. Because of His goodness, His provision, and His joy; we can trust Him. Are we running to Him or to other things (gods) for our refuge?

Jesus' concluding words on the Sermon on the Mount show us the importance of obedience to His Words. After hearing all that He has said in this sermon, we can either be wise and withstand the storms of life, or we can be foolish and our faith will crumble in the storm.

Jesus moves on from talking about false teachers to addressing false Christians. This is certainly one of the most sobering passages in the entire Bible and it should cause all professing Christians to examine themselves. Is Jesus actually saying that there will be professing Christians who end up going to hell? How can we be sure that's not us?

One of the biggest dangers facing the Church today is that many Christians cannot spot false teachers and therefore are prone to chasing after lies. Jesus warns us that we must be prepared to spot and avoid false teachers and that one of the ways we do that is to analyze their "fruit."

As we celebrate baptisms this week, let's hear from Jesus these sobering, yet foundational words that there are only two options for eternity - life or death. There are two gates we can walk through. One of them is broad, easy, and leads to destruction. And the other is narrow, and hard, but leads to life. Which one will you walk through?

One of the greatest promises in the Bible is found right here in the Sermon on the Mount. Even though it is sometimes twisted by some, this is an amazing promise given to believers that our Good Father loves to give us good and needful things. And when we live in His generosity toward us, it should cause us to be generous to those around us as well.

A popular anthem of people in the culture - and even some Christians - is "You can't judge me!" If they have heard these verses in Matthew 7 before, they will even quote them to support their argument. But is Jesus telling us that we can never judge others at all? Is there a right kind of judgment? And what does any of this have to do with throwing pearls before pigs?

One of our elders - Rob Loy preaches from Matthew 6:25-34 on how to deal with anxiety. Why do we need to trust God when we are anxious? How does that help bring us peace in those moments?

The message of Jesus in this passage is clear: worship of God and money do not mix. In our current cultural crisis of inflation, our hearts on this issue are being checked every time we pass by a gas station wondering what the numbers will reveal. There are many ways that we "store up treasure on earth" and serve money instead of Jesus. How should we rightly view our resources and instead "store up treasures in heaven?"

In the final of the three spiritual disciplines Jesus speaks of in Matthew chapter 6, He addresses fasting. This is a spiritual discipline that is either rare or completely non-existent in many Christian's lives. Why should we pursue fasting again? What is it and why is it important?

Jesus taught the disciples to pray using what we know as "The Lord's Prayer." This prayer was not given to just be mindlessly repeated for thousands of years but was given by Jesus to show how we should approach our Father in Prayer. In these verses, we learn the importance of praying in secret and with simplicity and also how to prepare our hearts for prayer.

Nate O'Brien walks us through Matthew 6:1-4 about giving. Jesus taught us that when we give, we should do so humbly and privately, not in order to receive the praise of men. Our Father rewards those who give "in secret," but those who do not, have already received their reward through the praise of men.

One of the hardest topics to talk about that Jesus covers in the Sermon on the Mount is divorce and remarriage. Does Jesus give any biblical grounds for divorce? What does the rest of the Bible have to say about it? Let's dive into the Scripture and be willing to speak the truth in love even on tough topics like this one.

The command to love our enemies may be one of the most difficult to follow of all of Jesus' teachings. How can we actually do good to those who hate and persecute us? Don't we have a right to retaliate and enact personal justice when we are wronged? Yet, as difficult as this command is, this is also one of the things that sets Christianity apart and makes it most beautiful to a lost and dying world.

Jesus begins to unpack his statement in Matthew 5:20, that our righteousness must "exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees" in order to enter the Kingdom. He begins to unpack specific examples of how Israel had misundertsood and wrongly taught the Law, and then by His authority as the Living Word of God, shows the correct way to view and apply the Law. He begins with the examples of anger and lust. In this passage, we will see Jesus talk about murder without weapons and adultery without sex.

Why is it important for Christians to walk in obedience to the Law? What's the difference between obeying for salvation and obeying because of our salvation? In these verses, Jesus shows us how Christians should view God's Law and seek to walk in it. He shows us that there are those who are least and those who are great in the Kingdom. He also shows us how we enter the Kingdom in the first place.

Join us as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus together!

Is the Old Testament still relevant to us today? Are we really supposed to read and follow the Laws we find there? Did Jesus come to show us a better way and get rid of the Old Testament? Let's hear from Jesus on this very important matter as we continue walking through the Sermon on the Mount.

In a world where sin and darkness seem to be increasing all around us, Christians must ask themselves, "what makes me different?" We also need to wrestle with why we are not just called to have a private faith that never gets involved with other people's lives. When Jesus called us salt and light, He was saying that as Christians, we are supposed to make a difference in the world around us simply because of who He has made us to be through the Gospel. What does being salt and light look like? We explore that in this sermon.

The Beatitudes end with what seems to be a contradiction. Jesus says that we are blessed when we are peacemakers and when we are persecuted. But why would striving to be a peacemaker lead to persecution? Why would any of the Beatitudes lead to persecution? How can we find peace (or better yet, make peace) in a world that may hate us?

In the Beatitudes, after Jesus deals with the areas of our lives we need to be willing to give up, He moves on to the things we must pursue as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. In this sermon we define what it means to hunger & thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, and to be pure in heart.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says some really hard things to hear and sets the bar for righteousness very high. It's only fitting then that He begins this sermon by reminding us of the importance of what it means to be poor in spirit, mourn over our sin, and walk in meekness.

One of our elders - Dave Harkey - brings us a message from God's Word about the things that should cause us to overflow with joy as believers. There are so many wonderful truths in the Gospel that far too often become something we have heard so many times, we forget how amazing they are.

Our world is full of philosophies and lies that seek to pull us away from Christ. How do we discern and stand firm against worldly systems and the schemes of Satan? How do we stand firm so that we are not 'taken captive?'

Paul gives us in this passage a solid understanding of how we should stand firm in our faith. With so many believers beginning to deconstruct their faith, how can we make sure that we cling to the Gospel and root ourselves in Christ?

Matthew says that Jesus went through "all Galilee" and He healed "every disease and every affliction among the people." Did Jesus really heal every single sick person in an entire region? What does this summary of Jesus' ministry teach us about how we are to love those around us? What does it teach us about the character of God and His willingness to heal us?

One of the most famous phrases from Jesus' life and ministry was when He called the disciples by saying to them "follow Me." The 12 disciples were ordinary men that were given an extraordinary calling. They could have never imagined all that God would do in their lives when they decided to "leave their nets" and follow Jesus. What can we learn about following Jesus from their call?

As Matthew records Jesus' move from Nazareth to dwell in the region of Galilee, we find out that every single step that Jesus took in His life was in accordance with the Father's will. We also see the beautiful truth of Jesus bringing light to the darkness through the message of repentance. Matthew is beginning to teach us that the primary focus of Jesus’ ministry was not to relieve our earthly sorrow but to redeem us from our spiritual darkness.

Immediately following Jesus' baptism, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. In this story, we learn so much about our Savior and find so much truth and comfort to face the temptation in our own lives. We - as sinners - discover in this story a sinless Savior who is able to sympathize with our weakness and is strong enough to save us from our sin.

If John the Baptist baptized people for repentance, then why would the sinless Son of God - Jesus - enter the waters? The answer in part was so that He could be identified with the sinners He came to save. This is a glorious truth that we will unpack in this sermon.

The Gospel of Matthew obviously focuses the narrative on Jesus, His life, and teachings. However, in this one part of the story, Matthew breaks away to talk about another character - John the Baptist. John's ministry and message stand in contrast to much of what we see and hear from churches in America today. His message was simple: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." What is repentance and why does it matter so much?

In the next section of our journey through Matthew, we take a look at Matthew's account of Jesus' life before He began His public ministry. We will cover topics such as His time in Egypt as He escaped Herod, His baptism, and His temptation. We hope you'll join us as we kick 2022 off together as a church family!

Though the wise men didn't actually visit Jesus at the manger (nor are we sure there were three of them), they are nonetheless part of the Christmas story. Their visit to see and worship young Jesus is a story we should look at and learn from as we celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas once again!

Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus contains far fewer details than Luke's. However, in a short amount of time, Matthew drives home many of the most foundational truths about the baby to be born in Bethlehem. Matthew answers questions such as: How would Jesus be born? Who is He? What would He do? Let's dive into a former tax collector's account of the birth of Jesus.

Have you ever been reading your Bible and all of a sudden you run across a long list of names known as a genealogy? Many of us choose to skip over that portion of Scripture. We know it's important, but we aren't really sure why. As we kick off our journey through Matthew, we find that a genealogy is maybe the best way Matthew could have kicked off his Gospel account and the entire New Testament.

Nate O'Brien closes out our series talking about the shoes of readiness given by the Gospel of Peace. This is not only a great way to close out our series in the armor of God, but it's also a great way to kick off the Advent season as we focus on the readiness and peace that the Gospel gives.

Could you imagine a soldier going into battle with all the other pieces of the armor except for their helmet? Yet that's exactly what many professing Christians try to do. Jesus said there will be many on judgment day who thought they had salvation but are lost. To know what it means to take up the helmet of salvation is of eternal importance.

Satan is constantly attacking us with his "fiery darts." How are we to defend against His attacks? What does it mean to "take up the shield of faith?" In this sermon, we will find out how faith is our shield and the piece of armor we cannot neglect.

What does it mean to put on the breastplate of righteousness? What are the fatal attacks that Satan tries to make on us? And if our righteousness comes from Christ, how are we supposed to put it on?

The first piece of armor that Paul mentions is the belt of Truth. What does it mean to fasten Truth around our waist and why does that matter? Satan is constantly trying to lead us astray with lies, how can we fight against that?

It seems that many people are falling away from faith in Christ and it's getting more and more difficult to "stand firm in the faith." What does God's Word tell us about how we are to stand firm in these evil days? What is the armor of God, how do we wear it, and how will it protect us from the attacks on our faith that are ever-increasing? In this series, we will be taking a deep dive into each piece of what has come to be known as "The Armor of God" in Ephesians 6. Our goal is to encourage one another to stand firm with all His strength.

One of our elders - Rob Loy preaches from Matthew 16:24 as we learn what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

In our final sermon in the Trinity series, we will dive into the Person of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps out of all three Persons of our Triune God, the Holy Spirit is the least understood and the One that we are the most divided on. But Who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do? We take a look at John 16:7-15 to get a better understanding of the Third Person of the Trinity.

Have you ever wondered what a conversation from within the Trinity would look like? Several times in Jesus' earthly ministry, we see Him praying to the Father. The longest and maybe most well known of those prayers is found in John 17. In the first 5 verses of that prayer, we learn so much about the second person of the Trinity. Let us behold the Person and work of the only begotten Son of the Father - Jesus Christ.

**Note: this sermon got cut off a few minutes early. We apologize for that and seek to resolve this issue next time. **

If you were to show up at a Christian prayer meeting, you would probably hear most of those praying begin by including the word "Father" in their address to God. Throughout the Old Testament, the Jews avoided addressing God as their Father directly, but then Jesus came along and showed us that we too can address God as Father. As we study the Bible we find that 'Father' is not just a title for God, but The Father is the first person of the Trinity. Who is the person of the Father, and what does it mean to know Him as such?

If you were to ask 20 followers of Jesus today to describe the Trinity, you would probably get 20 different answers. Some of them would probably even be a misrepresentation of God Himself. Many Christians don't see the importance of being able to understand how God is three in one - they are content just believing it. But if we are truly going to worship God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:24), then we should study to know the God we worship more deeply. It's time for us to get a better, more biblical understanding of our God who is three in One.