With this sermon we are starting a new series through the books of 1-2 Samuel. Originally one scroll in Hebrew, these books recount the series of events that saw Israel transition from judges to kings, and from tabernacle to temple. The backdrop for Samuel is summed up with the final verse of Judges: “In those […]
After the glorious visions of chapters 60–62 and the vision of God’s day of vengeance in 63:1–6, Isaiah offers a prayer of lament on behalf of Israel and their future exile. Isaiah calls attention to their crisis of separation from their covenant God and Father, and he prays for mercy. In this sermon, pastor Joel […]
So far, in Isaiah 60-62 we’ve been looking at the glory of Zion. These chapters are about the church, the place on earth where God’s saving rule is known. And it’s because of Christ that the church is a new-creation city of joy and righteousness. Now in one sense, these chapters describe the church as […]
Having taken a detailed look at the false teachers who have crept into the church but are kept for judgment, Jude now describes what “contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (v.4) looks like for believers in the local church. In this sermon, pastor Joel shows us that true believers practice, […]
One of the places in Scripture where the Holy Spirit’s work is seen most clearly is in Romans 8. In fact, 20 of the 30 mentions of the Spirit in Romans occur in this chapter alone. And this brings us to vv. 26-27, which are a beautiful summary of the Spirit’s work in our lives […]
In the book of Acts, we see the early church marked by a joyful devotion to doctrine, to fellowship, and to prayer. In this sermon, Pastor Matt describes the gospel culture we aim to cultivate at ECC and how we strive to be a church centered on the word of the risen Lord Jesus, transformed […]
The book of Acts is the story of all that the risen Lord Jesus continued to do and teach through the witness of his church in the power of his Spirit. In chapters 1-12, Luke focuses on the growing church in Jerusalem and the spread of the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. In chapters 13-28, […]
For new creations in Christ, who have been born again by the Spirit through the word of God, Bible reading is like inhaling and prayer is like exhaling. Yet if we are honest, we all struggle to pray at times. We feel guilty when we don’t pray, inadequate when we do pray, and sometimes we […]
* The audio for this sermon is unavailable due to a technical difficulty with the recording. The following is Pastor Matt’s sermon manuscript: All of us love a good story. We love stories about epic challenges between good and evil, ultimate showdowns between the weak and the strong, and thrilling contests with an unlikely hero. […]
