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Sermons by Matt Edwards

Signs – John 12:27–36

Sunday, April 23, 2023 John 12:27–36 If you had one chance to share a message with the entire world, what would you say? What if you were chosen to be a colonist on Mars—sent off on a one-way trip with no future contact with earth. Before boarding the rocket, with television cameras and microphones in […]

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday 2023

Easter Sunday April 9, 2023 I am so excited for this weekend! The cross is the central symbol of the Christian faith and the turning point in human history. Paul tells us that without Jesus’s death and resurrection, we are still in our sins and our faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17). But, in fact, […]

Signs – John 11:45–12:11

Sunday, March 26: Signs John 11:45–12:11 Imagine for a moment you received an insider stock tip (don’t worry, you won’t go to jail for this exercise!). A small pharmaceutical company has recently discovered a cure for a debilitating disease, and your insider tip is that this drug will receive FDA approval and the value of […]

Signs – John 10:1–31

Sunday, February 26: Signs John 10:1–31 How do you keep your faith when you have been hurt by a church? How do you regain trust? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when you are hurt or discouraged? I’ve heard countless stories of people encountering Jesus, getting excited about their faith, plugging into a […]

Signs – John 9:1–41

Sunday, February 19: Signs John 9:1–41 In John 9, we are introduced to a man born blind. Presumably, he has been begging by the temple for a long time. Everyone in Jerusalem seems to know his story, and a theological debate has arisen at his expense: Who sinned that he was born blind, him or […]

Signs – John 8:12–30

Sunday, January 22: Signs John 8:12–30 God can be frustratingly difficult to see sometimes. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork,” the psalmist tells us (Psalm 19:1 ESV). But, for every beautiful sunset that inspires, there is a terrible hurricane that destroys. It is difficult for us to […]

Signs – John 7:53–8:11

Sunday, January 15: Signs John 7:53–8:11 In The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Tozer was right. What comes into our minds when we think about God colors everything about us. If we think that God […]

Signs – John 6:22–71

Sunday, December 4: Signs John 6:22–71 What do you want for Christmas? Have you made your list yet? It is so fun to give and receive gifts on Christmas. I love to see my children’s faces light up as they open their presents on Christmas morning. But it is also important to remember that not […]

Signs/Mission Sunday

Signs/Mission Sunday Happy Thanksgiving! We have an exciting Sunday planned for this week. Sunday is both the first Sunday of Advent (the church looks amazing!) and Missions Sunday. We are going to tie both to the Gospel of John and our Signs series. In John, many of Jesus’s signs and sermons happen on Jewish holidays. […]

Signs – John 6:1–21

Sunday, September 11: Signs John 6:1–21 In John 6, Jesus takes his disciples up on a mountain. He sits down (presumably to teach), but when he looks out over the crowd, he notices that they are weary from the journey. He turns to Philip and he asks him, “Where can we buy bread to feed […]

Signs – John 4:1–45

Sunday, October 23: Signs John 4:1–45 There is more to life than what is obvious to our senses. Deep in our bones, we sense that there is Someone out there; that we are not alone and that there is purpose and meaning to existence. Every Sunday, we gather to recognize the invisible reality. We acknowledge […]

Signs – John 2:1–12

Sunday, September 25: Signs John 2:1–12 Last week, we saw Jesus call his first disciples. Andrew and another unnamed disciple (I think it was probably John himself) were disciples of John the Baptist before they left to follow Jesus. Imagine what this transition must have been like for them. John was bold and eccentric. He […]

Signs – John 1:35–51

Sunday, September 18: Signs John 1:35–51 St. Augustine once said about the Gospel of John: “It is shallow enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim in it.” This is certainly true of John 1:35–51! In the latter verses of John 1, the evangelist recounts the story of […]

Easter 2022

Sunday, April 17: Easter Mark 16:1–8 In Mark 16, three women visit the tomb of Jesus to care for his body. On their way to the tomb, they realize that they have a problem—the mouth of Jesus’ tomb is blocked by a huge stone, and the three of them are not strong enough to roll […]

Living Stones – 1 Peter 1:1–3

Sunday, April 3: Living Stones 1 Peter 1:1–3 The world is changing. Advances in technology, communication, and transportation have brought global cultures together in ways previously unimaginable. I think we all feel the changes. Cultural change isn’t limited to language, food, and customs, we have also noticed a shift in values. Sometimes it feels like our […]

Samuel – 1 Samuel 8

Sunday, February 13: Samuel 1 Samuel 8 Last week, we saw the culmination of the judges system in Israel. After hundreds of years of failure, Samuel finally got the office right. He fully trusted in God and got Israel to put away their idols and pray. God worked through him and delivered Israel from the […]

Samuel – Samuel 7

Sunday, February 6: Samuel Samuel 7 Last week, we saw Israel in a hard place. Defeated by the Philistines in battle, the future was unsure. Had God abandoned them? Would they fall back into slavery? What was the path forward? In that passage, the elders conclude that the reason they lost the battle was because […]

Samuel – Samuel 4

Sunday, January 30: Samuel Samuel 4 What has been the most glorious moment of your life so far? A game-winning touchdown? A scholarship or award? A big promotion? A wedding proposal? Looking back on your life so far, when would you say you “peaked?” In 1 Samuel 4, Israel loses its glory. First, it suffers military […]

Samuel – Preview

Sunday, January 2: Samuel Preview It’s a new year, and with that we are starting a new sermon series! This Sunday we will be launching into a thirteen-week series on the life of the prophet Samuel. Samuel was a remarkable man. He was the last of Israel’s judges—and arguably the best one. He led Israel […]

The Parables – 12.05.21

Sunday, December 5: The Parables The ballerina Isadora Duncan was once asked backstage what a particular dance meant, and she responded, “If I could explain it with words, I wouldn’t have to dance.” Sometimes, the medium is the message. On Sunday, we will continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Parables speak to our […]

Bolivia Sunday 11.28.21

Sunday, November 28: Bolivia Sunday Preview Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful weekend of turkey, football, and spending time with the people you love. God has been good to us in 2021; we have a lot to be thankful for! I have two specific things to share with you this Sunday that I am thankful for. First, […]

The Parables – 10.24.21

Sunday, October 24: The Parables The ballerina Isadora Duncan was once asked backstage what a particular dance meant, and she responded, “If I could explain it with words, I wouldn’t have to dance.” In some forms of communication, the medium is the message. In many ways, describing the meaning of a parable is like trying […]

The Parables 09.26.21

Sunday, September 26: The Parables The ballerina Isadora Duncan was once asked backstage what a particular dance meant, and she responded, “If I could explain it with words, I wouldn’t have to dance.” In some forms of communication, the medium is the message. This week, we are starting a new series on the parables of […]

The Judges – Conclusion

Sunday, March 14: The Judges Judges: Conclusion This week, we are concluding our time in the Book of Judges! It has been an adventurous ten weeks in this infrequently-studied book of the Old Testament. We have seen heroes. We have seen tragedies. We have seen the faithfulness of God. Last week, we explored the epilogue […]

The Judges – Judges 9

Sunday, February 7: The Judges Judges 9 Over the last 2 weeks, we have been tracking with the life of Gideon—one of the most exciting judges in the whole book. Gideon’s story culminates with an offer to make him king, which he refuses. He’s a model of humility! As we read on in the story, […]

Follow Me

Follow Me – Mark 12:1–44

Sunday, November 8: Follow Me Mark 12:1–44 Last Sunday, we saw Jesus arrive in Jerusalem and immediately cause a scene in the temple. Pressure has been building between Jesus and the religious leadership of his day, and in Mark 12 things erupt. Having prophesied the destruction of the temple, Jesus turns on the religious leaders and […]

Follow Me

Follow Me – Mark 11:1–33

Sunday, November 1: Follow Me Mark 11:1–33 “Dad, look what I made!” This is what greets me most days when I come home from work (it’s wonderful). Whether it’s wooden blocks, Lincoln Logs, Legos or Minecraft; drawings, music, or crafts; children love to create for their parents. I don’t know that we ever grow out of […]

Follow Me

Follow Me – Mark 8:31–9:1

Sunday, September 27: Follow Me Mark 8:31–9:1 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34 ESV) What does that mean to you? This week we are returning to the Gospel of Mark in a series called Follow Me. In the first eight chapters of […]

Underdogs – Daniel

Sunday, September 6: Underdogs Daniel 6 Life has a way of hitting us hard. Medical crises, unemployment, and trouble with our kids are just some of the ways life can overwhelm us and remind us that we are not in control. How do we respond to these times? From where does our deliverance come? This Sunday […]

Underdogs – Mordecai

Sunday, August 16: Underdogs Esther 2:5 – 7:10 When Israel went into Babylonian captivity, the rug was pulled out from under their feet. Everything about their lives—their jobs, their government, their homes, their religion—changed. They underwent the biggest national identity crisis in their history and came out asking the question, “What does it look like to […]

Underdogs – Esther

Sunday, July 12: Underdogs Esther Have you ever felt like you were insignificant in the kingdom of God? Have you ever thought that maybe God is able to do great things through others, but not through you? Have you ever felt like an underdog? This week we are launching into a new sermon series called Underdogs. In it, […]

Joshua Devotional

Joshua – Joshua 13-22

Sunday, June 7: Joshua Joshua 13-22 In Genesis 15:18, God makes a promise to a childless old wanderer: “To your offspring I give this land.” That old man would go on to become the father of a great nation, and for over 600 years his descendants would cling to that promise. Land. Rest. In that time, […]

Joshua Devotional

Joshua – Joshua 7-8

Sunday, May 17: Joshua Joshua 7-8 Two weeks ago, we saw God perform one of his most famous miracles in bringing down the walls of Jericho. From the outside, Jericho looked impenetrable. Fortified walls six feet thick. No one came in. No one went out. But not even that could stop God and He delivered the […]

Joshua Devotional

Joshua – Joshua 1:1-9

Sunday, April 19: Joshua Joshua 1:1-9 Do you know who Jarrett Stidham is? (No cheating with an internet search.) I’ll give you a minute. With Tom Brady departing to play quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jarrett Stidham is currently the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. I feel bad for that guy! Imagine stepping […]

Easter 2020

Sunday, April 12: Easter 2 Peter 1:16-21 I hope you are as excited for Easter as I am! Last week, Jeremiah finished our series on Mark 1–8. The first half of Mark ends with Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” I imagine the disciples were pretty hesitant to speak up, but […]

Son of God -Mark 7:1–37

Sunday, March 22: Son of God Mark 7:1–37 How is the social distancing going? As it turns out, this week we will be talking about the importance of washing your hands. Seriously. That’s our text for the week. But it’s not what you think. In Mark 7, Jesus gets into a debate with the Pharisees about […]

Son of God – Mark 6:1–13

Sunday, March 1: Son of God Mark 6:1–13 In Mark 5, Jesus performs his most amazing miracle yet. The synagogue ruler Jairus tells Jesus that his sweet little girl is dying and begs Jesus to save her. Jesus agrees, but before he reaches the man’s house, the girl passes. Jairus’ servants meet him on the road […]

Son of God – Mark 5:1–20

Sunday, February 16: Son of God Mark 5:1–20   In Mark 5:1–20, Jesus and his disciples arrive at other side of the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as they get off the boat, they are confronted by a hostile figure—a man possessed by the demon Legion. Jesus and the demon(s) battle until Legion […]

Son of God – Mark 1:1–20

Sunday, January 5: Son of God Mark 1:1–20 Happy New Year! New year; new sermon series. This Sunday we are diving into the Gospel of Mark in a series called Son of God. Mark is a story about Jesus. It has all the elements of a good story: setting, characters, plotline, and themes; and the central conflict of the narrative is: Who is Jesus? Now, […]

Bolivia Sunday 2019

Sunday, November 24: Bolivia Sunday 2019 Ten years ago, we entered into a partnership with Food for the Hungry to work in a Bolivian community called Ushpa Ushpa. In 2010, things were bleak in Ushpa Ushpa—there was no clean water, the schools were under-resourced, parents were compromising their kids’ safety to make ends meet, and […]

Mission Recap 2019

“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.” (Psalm 67:3–4 ESV) Psalm 67 reminds us that God reigns over all the nations, not just Israel. One of our callings as […]

Psalms – Psalm 23

Sunday, August 25: Psalms Psalm 23 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 ESV) Is there a better verse in the whole Bible? Probably not. Psalm 23 is arguably the best-written […]

Psalms – Psalm 137

Sunday, July 28: Psalms Psalm 137 This week, we are continuing our theme of praying The Psalms. Last week, we looked at Psalm 88—a raw, emotional outpour to the LORD. This week, we are looking at another emotionally charged psalm: Psalm 137. Psalm 137:9 says, “Blessed shall be he who takes your little ones and […]

Psalms – Psalm 88

Sunday, July 21: Psalms Psalm 88 In his book, Answering God, Eugene Peterson notes that The Psalms differ from most of the Scriptures in that they are often not written about God, but rather to God. He writes:“Our habit is to talk about God, not to him. We love discussing God. The Psalms resist these […]

Baptism 2019

Sunday, June 16: Baptism The other day, my daughter screeched at me, “DAD! You haven’t been listening to a word I have been saying!!!!” What a strange way to start a conversation. Be thinking of your favorite dad jokes and make sure there is propane in the barbecue, because this Sunday is Father’s Day! It’s […]

Moses

Moses April 28th 2019

Hi! Thanks for joining us in our series about Moses. Today we talked about how we often need something in front of us to feel connected to God. What things do you place before God? Do you feel like you get closer to God through good times or dark times? Have a listen to today’s […]

Moses

Moses – Exodus 5–11

Sunday, February 10: Moses Exodus 5–11 Last week, Gary shared a quote from A.W. Tozer: “What we think about when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” There is truth to this. Your thoughts about God affect much of your life and behavior. If you think God is judgmental, you’re going […]

Moses

Moses Exodus – 2:1–10

Sunday, February 17: Moses Exodus 2:1–10 If you were to make a Mount Rushmore of Old Testament figures, who would you put on it? (One rule: you can’t say “Jesus.”)You’d probably put Abraham on it. After all, the three major western religions all trace their origins to Abraham. You might put Jacob on it. The […]

Lord of All – Acts 17:1–15

Sunday, January 13: Lord of All Acts 17:1–15 What do we mean when we say “Jesus is Lord”? What is He lord of? A country? A people? An idea? And what about other so-called “lords”? What are they lords of? Last week’s message on Acts 16 ended with Paul leaving the Roman colony Philippi in relative peace […]

Lord of All – Acts 8:4–40

Sunday, October 7: Lord of All Acts 8:4–40 I hope you are looking forward to Sunday as much as I am. There is something special about gathering together with God’s people in corporate worship. We encounter God in many ways during the week, but corporate worship remains a category of its own. This week, we […]

Questions of Jesus – John 11

Sunday, July 8: Questions of Jesus John 11 The Jewish historian Josephus tells the story of a first-century shepherd who rose up to become king of the Jews. There was nothing remarkable about this shepherd. He wasn’t wealthy. He wasn’t educated. He wasn’t powerful. The shepherd was humble and unassuming, but he had passion for […]