Ephesians: What’s the Plan? – February 12, 2023

Ephesians 2:8-10

Pastor David Cay

We have a God that saves people- the Bible tells us that God wants to save everyone, not just from accidents, but he wants to save everyone from sin and death so that we can live with him forever.

And as Christians, we believe we’ve been saved, but some of us may not understand WHY he saved us. And it’s important to understand why, so we can appreciate what he’s done, and so we can work with his good plan for us.

So, my big question today is, why did God save us? Our passage teaches us that God saves us because of his grace. My main points today are:

1. We are saved BY grace.

2. We are saved FOR grace.

By that I mean, we are saved because he is good to us, and he wants us to share his goodness to others.

Psalms: Poetry To Shape The Imagination – February 5, 2023

Psalm 51

Pastor David Cay

Sometimes people mess up- they can make mistakes that haunt them for the rest of their lives. Some people feel such shame that it weighs on them every day. And perhaps you can relate on some level because everyone has messed up in some way before- everyone has made some serious mistakes.

But the Bible gives us hope. No matter what we’ve done, we find a God that still loves us and wants to restore us. The Bible also gives the necessary tools that can help us find freedom in times of regret.

So, my big question today is: How can we recover when we have failed morally?

Our Bible passage tells us, we need remorse, and restoration.

Our passage is based on the famous story of David and Bathsheba.

Psalms: Poetry To Shape The Imagination – January 15, 2023

Psalm 148

Pastor David Cay

Sooner or later we asked ourselves the questions “what am I doing? Why am I even here?”. It might happen in school, or in a relationship or in a career.

If you don’t find an answer, you’ll be tempted to give up or you may even become bitter at your own life. But our Bible passage today gives us an answer to why we’re here – it gives us a clear idea on why God put us on this earth. And if we can get this, we can have the right perspective on all kinds of things.

Things like why are we in school, or why are we at our job, or why are we in this romantic relationship.

So, my big idea today is that God made us for two things:

1. God made us to glorify him.

2. God made us to enjoy him.

We’ll see these themes in our main Bible passage which is Psalm 148.

Psalms: Poetry To Shape The Imagination – January 1, 2023

Psalm 137: 1-6

Pastor David Cay

If our sole focus is in acquiring luxuries and comfort (the “good life”) then we will find ourselves disappointed.

We will miss out on what’s best and I can say that because our Bible passage today talks about something that’s even better. Today we are starting a new series on the book of Psalms. It’s a book of prayers – model prayers that God’s people have prayed through history.

Our psalm today is prayed by people who were figuring out their priorities in life.

These people had a choice between two lifestyles: a lifestyle based on comfort, or a lifestyle based on faith. Their story reminds us that we all need to choose between comfort and faith.

Christmas – December 18, 2022

Matthew 1:18-25

Pastor David Cay

First impressions are like that sometimes, we can think a certain way about a person only to find out later we were super wrong. And it’s like that with Jesus, people have a certain first impression of Him.

Some people have this impression that he’s just a good teacher or he’s just a nice guy. Some people think he’s more of a legend than historical. Our Bible story today is about a man who at first got the wrong impression of Jesus.

But when he found out the truth about Jesus, it not only changed his life, but it changed the course of history.

In our story Joseph learned two things about Jesus that changed his life for the better, and it should change ours too:

1. Jesus is the sinless God

2. Jesus saves us from our sins

So, I’ll spend my time today unpacking these ideas from our Bible story.

Christmas – December 11, 2022

Matthew 1:1-7; 16-17

Pastor David Cay

Here in the beginning, Matthew introduces us to the savior of the world. At first glance it just looks like a big list of names. But when you look deeper into the names, we’re going to see that Matthew is pointing us to something important.

He’s telling us that God is good, and that God is powerful. If you’re a new to this Christian stuff this can be intriguing to you. But if you’ve been a Christian for a long time, it can sometimes sound so repetitive and so basic but if we can grow deeper into this truth, it can become even more richer than we think.

So, my plan today is to unpack our passage and it will give us a chance to reflect on who God is and how he still changes our lives.

Dealing With Distractions – November 20, 2022

Matthew 4:1-4

Pastor David Cay

I had to change a lot of things in my life because my body was starting to fall apart, but maybe that’s more normal for us than we like to admit. Because for many of us we live such fast-paced lives that it becomes difficult to take care of ourselves properly.

We ignore our most basic needs like nutrition and sleep. But there’s another basic need that we neglect and perhaps it’s because we aren’t even aware that we need it.

Our Bible passage today shows us we need God’s word just like we need food and sleep. We’ll see that:

1. We need to know what the Bible SAYS.

2. We need to know what the Bible MEANS.

Today, we are starting a new series called: “Dealing with Distractions”.

It’s a series that takes us through the three temptations that Jesus faced in the desert- temptations that we will face because we live in an age where we are surrounded by temptations and distractions. But we can overcome them just like Jesus did.

Let’s read from our main passage, from Matthew 4:1-4.

The Adventures of Paul – November 6, 2022

Acts 17:24-32

Pastor David Cay

Perhaps the most important misunderstanding and one that we need to deal with is the ones that deal with the character of God. There is a big segment of people that believe God is immoral like a violent dictator. Other people think he’s an imaginary friend that helps you get through problems.

But the Bible teaches something different. Our Bible story today teaches us that:

1. God is good for us

2. God can be proven (arguments and evidence for it)

Our Bible story comes from Paul’s adventures in the book of Acts. Paul has been going around cities telling people about Jesus. He gets to the City of Athens and it’s very different from the other cities he came from. It’s very famous for its culture and for their philosophy. Paul soon finds himself debating with the leading philosophers of his day. Paul presents a different idea about God than anything they had heard before.

The Adventures of Paul – October 23, 2022

Acts 13:1-3

Pastor David Cay

So, my question today is what makes a great church? Is it the cool band and fancy lights or is it something else more important? This is an important question because the church is God’s primary way of saving the world.

If we want to join God in his work, we need to take our part in the church, and we need to understand what we’re working for. So, this morning we will learn from the Antioch Church, one of the greatest churches in the Bible.

Let’s read from Acts 13:1-3:

The Adventures of Paul – October 9, 2022

Acts 9:1-9

I chose this story, not just because it was such a dramatic encounter with God, but to show us that we often encounter God through other people. This might surprise us because we have this prevailing thought that it must be dramatic.

But we find time and time again from the Bible and from experience is that we encounter Jesus through our interactions with his people and if we can understand that we can be wiser and more capable of joining God in his work.

So today, through our Bible passage, I want to show you that we often find Jesus among his followers. And when we encounter Jesus, he CONVICTS us and he COMPLETES us.