Sermons

We continue in The Women of Faith series as we learn about Abigail.

We conclude our series on the PROPHET SAMUEL. We see him after he has died as he speaks one last time to King Saul.  Most importantly, we will try to understand why God would include this story in Scripture and what we can learn and apply from it.

We come to the 6th part in our seven-part study of the Prophet Samuel.  In 1 Samuel 16, God tells Samuel to go anoint a new king (even though there is a current one).  Of course, Samuel is a bit leery of this, but God gives him direction and he is faithful. We will also see that in a very short span of Scripture (the first half of 1 Samuel) we have seen four men who are struggling to be good dads.  It’s not an easy job. 

We move to the fifth message in the Samuel series and we watch the Prophet Samuel confront King Saul for his disobedience. We learn a lot about dealing with sin and the nature of God in this chapter.

Even though Samuel was a very effective Judge over Israel, the people of Israel wanted a king “like other nations.” It certainly didn’t make Samuel happy that they were rejecting the Lord as their king, but with the Lord’s guidance, Samuel handed his power to the first king of Israel, Saul. But they way this was done was extremely clever and helped everyone understand the seriousness of their choice. This text, 1 Samuel 12, is not a popular or well-known chapter, but once understood, it helps everyone understand the people are the PROBLEM and God is the SOLUTION. This is our fourth study in the life of the PROPHET SAMUEL.

We continue our series on the Prophet Samuel by learning about his great influence over a nation’s repentance and his unique way of reminding the people of God’s victory.  Many of you have sung the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”  The second verse contains the seemingly strange line, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer.”  This weekend we will understand this line and its importance to Israel — and to us today.

We continue our series on Samuel by looking at his call by God in a very dark time.  Samuel was just a boy but he was old enough to listen and respond.  One of the unique aspects of this chapter is that it is a literal account of what was happening in Israel, but it is also figurative in a spiritual sense.  If you want to be really prepared for our study this weekend, please read 1 Samuel 2 and then 1 Samuel 3.

We begin a series on the PROPHET SAMUEL and learn about being a person of Godly character.  This first study actually takes place before Samuel was born as we see his mom, Hannah, pray for a son.  Samuel became one of the most important men in Israel and in the Bible.  We will learn lots of good things about him that we can hopefully incorporate into our own lives.

This conclude our series on King Saul realizing how far he had fallen from his faith.  We see that in Saul’s most desperate hours, he fails to repent and truly seek the Lord. We learn that a pattern throughout life is hard to change, even at the end of life.

We continue our series on King Saul by seeing that he could not let go of the past. Even though David had done no wrong to Saul, the king harbored a resentment that he carried throughout his life.  That unnecessary burden of resentment ruined his life, the lives of his family and loved ones, and nearly cost Israel its land.

We look at the third major problem in King Saul’s life, JEALOUSY.  We will see that there is good and bad jealousy in life, but that Saul was consumed by the wrong kind.  We will see what caused Saul’s jealousy and how to avoid it in our own lives, so that we DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME.

We continue our series on King Saul by studying his faithlessness and foolishness.  On the other hand, his son, Jonathan, is the hero of the story.  We will be reminded that in difficult circumstances, it is often easier to trust your own wisdom, than to seek God’s glory.  

We continue our series on King Saul by seeing the first of his faults that we don’t want to follow.  Saul doesn’t seem to understand or appreciate his relationship with God, and he is only partly committed.  He reminds us of many people today.

We begin a new series from the Old Testament — a break from Luke for five weeks. In this study, we will look at the life of King Saul.  He was a man with great potential. Unfortunately, he took God’s gifts and misused them. Saul’s problem was not his many failures, but how he dealt with those failures.

Some people spend a lifetime trying to meet the expectations of parents, family members and friends. That is the story within the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” But is also the story of young David who everyone thought, “he just wouldn’t amount to much.” How do we accept the encouragement of others without feeling that we have to meet their expectations?  In this message, we will hopefully find that meeting God’s expectations is all that matters.

We begin a very different sermon series as we take themes from a very famous Christmas movie (It’s A Wonderful Life) and apply them to our lives. There are certain experiences in life that most of us face at one time or another. And often, these issues are poignant during the holiday season. One of these issues is an unwanted redirection in the course of our lives. Today we will learn from King David (and George Bailey) as he faces this difficulty.

We see two sides of David's heart from the Lament of the Bow.   One is in the grief of losing Israel's anointed leader.   The other is in the grace of David's honor of a leader who had pursued his own life.

This weekend we will look at King David’s song of deliverance to discover how he found security and assurance in the stress of his world.  Do you feel secure today?  In Christ, we are citizens of heaven.  God in His love for us has given every assurance that we stand of the cornerstone of Christ – not only for today but for all eternity.

In this new study, we learn about a mentor and a mentee, Elijah and Elisha. For the next several weeks, we will study how Elisha learned under the leadership and mentorship of Elijah. Elisha changed the face of a nation because of this mentorship with Elijah.

We continue our Solomon series by seeing his decline from a man of God to a person who has lose his way.  In this study, we will see that in 1 Kings 11, Solomon falls into sin and God removes His blessing.  Solomon’s sin wasn’t deliberate and wasn’t a quick fall, but a slow, steady slide away from God.  It is a sad story, but one where we all can be challenged to be different.

We continue the KING SOLOMON series and see his incredible wealth and fame.  Solomon was successful in almost everything he attempted, but how does a person handle that kind of lifestyle?  That will be our focus.

We continue our Solomon series by looking at his wisdom - which extends over many years of his life.  No one who ever lived was wise like Solomon and it was a gift from God.  In this study we see the source of Solomon’s wisdom, how he used it, and what we can learn for our own lives to act more wisely.

Today we begin a six-part series on the life of King Solomon.  Our focus, will be on the good things that we learn from this great king.  Although, near the end of the series, we will talk about some of his failures that we want to avoid in our lives.  In this study, we see Solomon’s beginnings as king and the opportunities that were placed before him.

This message begins a series on an amazing man who was like many of us. We study his life because he was a man of big dreams and big faith! His name was Elisha and for the next five weeks, we will learn about his desire to do great things for God. During the series, we will be challenged to think bigger and to be people of great faith. In this first message, we learn about God’s call and our response.

We conclude our series on Elisha by seeing the legacy that he left for Israel — and for us! We also see the value of leaving the proper legacy for our children. As many are headed back to school, this is a reminder for parents and teachers that a good legacy can make a difference for generations.

If you missed the live broadcast of this sermon, click HERE

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We continue our study of the prophet Elisha and see his unusual prophecy about an end to a famine. Four lepers are the heroes of this story — but there is MUCH more to this account than first meets the eye. It will actually help us understand the New Testament!

We continue with the ELISHA series by looking at the story of Naaman being healed from leprosy. Join us as we learn not only how Elisha healed him, but also the significance of their encounter.

We see a dead boy come to life through the ministry of the prophet Elisha. In this fourth study of the prophet, we will learn the value of being at peace even when times are tough.

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We get back to the ELISHA series by looking at his interaction with a widow who cries out for his help. She says she has “nothing,” but that isn’t exactly the case. It is a fascinating account for several reasons. It is also a great reminder of how to turn to the LORD in times of need. 

We continue our series on Elisha as we see the moment that he officially becomes Israel’s prophet. This is a well-known account — but maybe not as well understood. We will learn some important lessons from this passage.

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We continue our study of KING SOLOMON and see the Temple and his Prayer of Dedication.  This study really helps us understand Solomon’s heart and the period of history that he ruled.  I think you will be encouraged by this study. 

Today we see that the great Temple of Solomon becomes less important to the Jews as the world and it’s temptations become more attractive.  People first lose the love for God’s Word, and then they lose God’s blessing.  Finally, they even lose the Temple.

This message concludes the Elisha series with looking at the concept of leaving a legacy. We see that God did a miracle through Elisha even after he was dead. Although there are several good lessons, we will talk about how we will be remembered and therefore how we must live that we may leave a good legacy.

This message teaches us about humility and how God can use us when we humble ourselves. We study an important man, Naaman, and see how God was able to do great things in his life, once he was rid of his pride. As we continue the Elisha series, we once again learn that God can use anyone if we have a big faith and a big dream.

This message continues in the series on Elisha, an amazing man with great faith in God. Along with faith, Elisha had a great compassion for people and God used him in a miraculous way to meet the needs of a poor widow and her sons. He was able to see past the widow’s problem to what God wanted to do in her life. We will learn that God’s power is limitless, that He wants to accomplish something BIGGER in our lives and that His blessings are “Good to the Last Drop”!

This message continues the series on an amazing man. We will see how his devotion and commitment, his dedication and calling led him to continue the great ministry of his mentor Elijah. We will learn the value of leaving a Godly legacy for those who follow in their walk of faith. We will see what can be accomplished if we invest ourselves in others and be challenged to pick up our Mantle, the one the God has for us, and “Pass It On” to others so that the message of God keeps going, and going and going!

Today we look at the first permanent Temple of the Jews as we study Solomon’s Temple.  Although we will study a building, we will learn some wonderful spiritual principles about being who you were meant to be and about God’s blessings.

We see the celebration of the people of Jerusalem as they thank God for His many blessings.  As we approach Thanksgiving this week, this chapter gives us a good lesson on how to be properly thankful.

How do you handle the week after the holidays?  Usually, we are exhausted and just want to crash?  But the people of Nehemiah 9 go back to the temple, spend hours in worship, and make a promise to God.  In this chapter, we learn a lot about worship and commitment.

If you had a task that took about two months to finish, and you did nothing night and day but work on that task, how would you celebrate its completion. Today we see what the people of Jerusalem did after the walls of the city were completed. In some ways, it is quite a surprise! And in many ways, it is very helpful to understand!

We come to a problem that is common when one person or group has success -- that is, jealousy from others. This is true, even within churches. We will look at this chapter from Nehemiah's perspective, and we will be reminded that when we are effective, others will often react in jealousy. We will look at healthy ways to respond while staying on track to fulfill our purpose.

We return to our study of Nehemiah, and we see how he overcomes a large and unforeseen obstacle.  In three short acts, we get a glimpse of how a leader calls his people to obedience and the work of the Kingdom resumes in earnest!

We see that any task or dream will bring discouragement at times.  In Nehemiah 4, we see a list of 5 reasons why the people were becoming discouraged, and we see Nehemiah's wisdom in dealing with each type of discouragement.  Hopefully, this can give us wisdom to finish the work that we are called to do.

We move from the theme of, "what were you born to do?" to a new theme that we find in Nehemiah 3.  This chapter focuses on teamwork.  Sometimes, even though you have a particular vision or passion, you pitch in and help the group (church, community, family, etc) accomplish a larger purpose.  In this chapter, we see everyone working together for the good of the community.

We see our part of the process, to PREPARE. We will see the exact steps to prepare ourselves for success, not in man's way, but in God's way. And we will see Nehemiah model each one of these. This is our third study in our Nehemiah series.

In this second sermon from Nehemiah, we learn some fascinating things about how to pray for God to be successful through us.  We see that when we have a vision, and seek God's blessing, we can pray with great confidence.  Nehemiah shows us how to pray specifically!

The church is about to begin another building program!  As we do, it would be wise to look at one of the building programs in Scripture and see what we can learn. So, for the next ten weeks, we will study the Book of Nehemiah and see the lessons that the leaders and the people learned about building, as they built the walls of Jerusalem.  Individually, it will be helpful to see how God can "shape" each one of us into the kind of "living stones" that He needs for His church.

This weekend, we will step into a psalm of praise. Psalm 145 will guide us as we process the harvest of sovereign love and grace we saw the Lord work out in Naomi's life in Ruth chapter 4. If we have turned to the same God Naomi turned to, then we have a lot to praise Him for.

This weekend, we’ll take another moment to reflect on the stories of Naomi and Ruth, exploring their journeys. We will also reflect on our own experiences, examining them through the insightful lens of Psalm 107.

We will do our second message in "Gleaning, the book of Psalms" in which we reflect on the lessons learned in our summer series, “Growing, the book of Ruth”. In Ruth 2, Naomi has begun thinking that maybe, just maybe she can hope again. We will spend time in Psalm 121, a psalm of hope.

We will hit pause on our summer series, "Growing, the book of Ruth", and shift to our first message in "Gleaning, the book of Psalms". We will spend time in Psalm 142, a psalm of lament.

This weekend we end our series on MY FAVORITE PSALM. In Psalm 19, we will read of the profound revelation of God through His creation and His Word. This Psalm is a reminder that God's revelation is in creation, and His Word is intended to guide us, transform us, and draw us closer to Him.

If you missed the live broadcast of the last sermon, click HERE

We continue our series on MY FAVORITE PSALM, in which Psalm 95 is a song that will lead us through worship and then bring us to a challenge: What will I do if I hear the voice of God? Psalm 95 is the most talked about Old Testament passage in the New Testament (Hebrews 3-4) and has far-reaching implications. After the music and after the singing, where do we find the voice of the Lord?

If you missed the live broadcast of the last sermon, click HERE

We continue the series on MY FAVORITE PSALM as we look at Psalm 23, the most famous psalm and probably the most famous passage in the entire Scriptures. And there's a good reason it's so well-loved! So let's look at it together this weekend as we join together and allow the Good Shepherd to "restore our souls."

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We are continuing our series called MY FAVORITE PSALM. Psalm 8 is a psalm of praise for God’s big creation and small humans. That includes you! Not only is it the first psalm of praise in the Bible, but it has a couple of connections to Jesus that might surprise you.

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We continue our series on MY FAVORITE PSALM. The second psalm is PSALM 73, and we will learn about having a proper perspective. All of us go through confusing, challenging times. We can become disappointed with God and our circumstances in life. In these times, Psalm 73 helps believers, like myself, to be honest with God. It helps us reorient ourselves to reality when we’ve lost our way, and it is an enduring source of comfort when life is really tough.  

If you missed the live broadcast of the last sermon, click HERE

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If you missed the live broadcast of the last sermon, click HERE

Fill out your eCard by clicking HERE

During our worship services this weekend, we will conclude our series by exploring petition and commitment (Psalm 119:25-32). 

For a link to our video prayer guides click HERE.

We continue our series, "Praying the Psalms" this weekend. While last weekend focused on praise and thanksgiving, this weekend focuses on confession and lament. We will discover just how important confession is for us and just how much of a gift lament is for us. As we will see, this type of praying is just what we need in a world filled with so much tragedy and brokenness.

This weekend we will be taking a look at prayer. For a lot of Christians, prayer is a source of guilt because we feel we should do it better or more frequently. The good news is, wherever we may find ourselves in our prayer lives, God is inviting us to something special.

For a link to our video prayer guides click HERE.

We come to one of the most well-known Psalms as we finish our JOY IN THE PSALMS series.  Psalm 51 is the cry of David as he seeks God’s forgiveness for his many sins.  It is a wonderful model for each of us to use when we sin.  We will take Holy Communion in all services this weekend to remind us of God’s grace!

We move to the third Psalm of our study — number 126.  Although most American Christians would not know this Psalm, it is very popular among the people of Israel.  This Psalm is recited every Friday evening to help begin the Sabbath and to remember God’s blessings.  I think you’ll enjoy studying this short yet meaningful Psalm.

We continue our series on the JOY IN THE PSALMS as we see David cry out to the Lord for help and then we see him return to say thanks and to worship.  This is not a Psalm that I have personally known before, but it has taught me so much about prayer and I’m anxious to share it with you. 

We begin a four week series called JOY IN THE PSALMS.  Although the Psalms are the hardest literature in the Bible for me to read, when I complete my study I often have a great appreciation for author and his work.  This Psalm, 65, is no different.  It is powerful and moves us from silence to shouting!

We look at a passage that helps us understand how important God’s people are to their city and their area. Our influence and our role are vital to God’s plan and can truly bring change to the lives of people around us. Thankfully, we have partners in this. Several of those partners will be represented this weekend at ECC: A Hope Center, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, International House, New Mercies Ministries, Phoenix Alliance, Place of Grace,  Redemption House, The Rescue Mission, and Youth For Christ.

If you missed the live broadcast of the last sermon, click HERE

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Today we examine the wisdom offered in Proverbs 31:10-31.  Wisdom literature helps us address the deepest questions of life.  With the hum of various Mother’s Day messages ringing in the background, we will focus on one of the most penetrating questions:  What is the worth of a person?

We conclude our series on WISDOM for this summer.  We will take time to review the lessons we’ve learned and then look at TWO LAKES, which remind us of two kinds of people. The topic is a lifestyle of generosity, and the value of giving back.

We come to one of the most important principles in the Book of the Proverbs, and in the Bible:  which path will you take?  In this proverb, we learn of the ease, and apparent happiness that comes from the obvious path.  However, there is a second less obvious, and less traveled path that brings to joy.  Though most people vote for the difficult path, very few live it.  It is easy to choose the one, and live the other.  Today, we learn about both of them.

We continue our study of Proverbs by looking at a parent’s responsibility and privilege to discipline their children.  From one verse, we see some wonderful principles that every parent can implement to be effective.  And, we see every child’s proper response to that discipline!

We see two verses of Proverbs that we don’t know so well, even though they are next to two very famous Bible verses.  Today’s study is about the qualities that will make you popular in the eyes of both God and man, and even though popularity is not our goal, there are spiritual purposes here.  This study could help us make a difference in our world.

We begin a 5-part series from the Book of Proverbs and a renewed study of WISDOM. Last summer, we looked at five great proverbs, and this year, we look at five more. Today, as we focus on graduates, and those making a new start in life, it is good to remind ourselves what really matters in life. It is important to focus on a lifetime, and not just a moment, and to remember that wisdom will be the most important quality to shape your future.

We conclude the WISDOM series by looking at our Heavenly Father's "hated things."  We all know the things that our earthly father didn't like, but God tells you what things are disgusting to Him as well.  We will learn these seven things together and hopefully, it will help us to be wise sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

We look at a little-known proverb, that, when it is used, is often misquoted.  It is a very important and helpful proverb, however.  If we understand this proverb and live accordingly, we will find ourselves to be much happier, and more useful to God and to those around us.

This week's proverb is probably the most misunderstood, and the most misused of any of Solomon's wisdom.This proverb has been taught as a promise, and has caused great consternation for parents and children. In this study, we will learn what the proverb really says and how it can add to our wisdom. This famous proverb is perfect for parents of smaller children and for parents of graduates.

A proverb that is often quoted by Christians and non-Christians alike, is the one that "iron sharpens iron."  But what does this proverb really mean, and are we quoting it appropriately?  Today we look at this wisdom and determine how we should understand it, and live it as Christians.

Some of the most popular verses in all of the Bible are found in Proverbs 3:5-6. This passage helps us understand how to trust the Lord and explains the blessings for our trust.  There is a reason that these two verses are a favorite of many, and if you don't already know this passage, it is one to be memorized and lived daily -- and will probably become one of your favorites as well.

We begin a six-week study of WISDOM from the Book of Proverbs. In this first lesson, we look at how we can honor Mom -- not with cards and flowers, but by making her proud.  Wise children, who make lots of good decisions, will be a mother's greatest joy.  Today, we begin to learn how to be more wise.