MERCYhouse ~it's a church

Identity Realized :: Mission Submission

admin — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:10:59 +0000

Last week was a sermon on sex, and it included mostly what God says no to. Any time you see God saying no to something, He’s also saying yes to something else much more glorious and life giving that could ever be imagined. This is certainly the case regarding His design for human sexuality. This sermon on the roles of husbands and wives from Ephesians 5 is what God is saying yes to. The most intimate of all human relationships (marriage) lived out as a way of telling the greatest story ever told - the Gospel.

Identity Realized :: Lit Up

admin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:31:29 +0000

Being a light to the world. Sounds good. Something that every Christian desires to be. But how do we become this? Ephesians chapter 5:1-20 gives us a good start - sexual purity. That’s right. Adopting a “not a hint” standard for our sexuality causes every Christian to stand out in world of sexual brokenness which leads to being a light in the darkness. In this sermon, find out more about what this standard is, “how tos” for pursuing the standard, and how a sexually pure church will change the world.

Identity Realized :: Holy Eye for the Sinful Guy

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:45:12 +0000

We’ve dove into what our Identity in Christ is and the Community (aka the church) of which we are a part. Now we can talk about transformation. Find out more in this sermon as Robert unpacks a portion of Ephesians chapter 4 where we find out about a major wardrobe change. Don’t worry, those jeans don’t have to go, but things like falsehood, anger, unwholesome talk and the like, will be leaving our spiritual closet - and be replaced by truth, forgiveness, generosity, and more. Find out how it can happen in your life. Enjoy.

Identity Realized :: Family Building

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:38:32 +0000

A church that provides an environment of growth so catalytic that the result is changed lives and a changed world. It’s what every church dreams of being. This week’s sermon from Ephesians explores what it will take to become such a church. A church led by a team of spiritual coaches committed to helping people discover and employ their spiritual gifts. See this sermon (and Ephesians 4) to find out how.

Identity Realized :: Family Bonding

admin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:15:05 +0000

We’ve sunk our roots deep into the identity that is every Christian’s over the last few weeks, now it’s time to live a life “worthy of the calling that we’ve received”. What is it that the Apostle Paul puts as first on the to do list for every Christian. Change the world? Inward Transformation? Actually, it’s family bonding. Before anyone can change themselves or the world, they have to be bonded into the eternal family that is the church. Find out the seven things that bind Christians together as Robert teaches through Ephesians 4:1-6.

Identity Regained :: Power Trip #2

admin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:10:35 +0000

What would you ask for if you could ask for the power to do anything? Overcome poverty? Stop war? Make lots of money? In the final section of chapter 3 in the New Testament book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prays that the Ephesians would have unimaginable power to really get God’s love. Take a listen while Nate Cartel explains why Paul would pray such a thing as well as give insight into how you can experience it too.

Portable Easter

admin — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:03:07 +0000

We take a break from the Identity sermon series in order to focus on the message of Easter. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is foundational for the Christian faith and is proof of the eternal life that Jesus offers all who believe in Him. This is a great promise concerning life after death, but what about now? Take a listen as Robert explains how once a person is converted to Christ, they carry the power of the resurrection within. A power that they carry with them in their fight against sin, their struggle to relate well with others, and their carrying out of the greatest mission of all time.

Identity Regained :: Been There Done That

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:12:29 +0000

When the Apostle Paul rolls out of bed in the morning, he’s not asking himself what he should do with his life. He’s passionately pursuing a calling to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel - that is the reconciliation of sinful humans to God and divided humans to each other. In a world of people wondering what to do with their lives, it makes us wonder how he got to that kind of vocational focus. Wonder no more. Nate Cartel walks us through Paul’s journey to a God inspired calling and gives us some clues as to how we can step into our own vocation.

Identity Regained :: From Christian to Community

admin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:07:36 +0000

Now that we’ve been reminded of our Christian identity - (heirs of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, able to live power-filled lives through faith) - what’s next? Supernatural healing? Powerful preaching? Evangelizing the world? How about reconciliation. That’s right, first order of business is to take all this newfound power and privilege and focus on realizing God’s new humanity - the church. Not an easy thing to do when when you consider that the members of this group are sworn enemies. Take a listen as Robert takes us through God’s plan for making family out of folks who before Christ couldn’t even eat at the same dinner table.

Identity Regained :: From Corpse to Christian

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:07:47 +0000

The first four sermons were all about our Identity. Now we get to find out what we “do” with this new identity right? Not so fast. The Apostle Paul has one more item of business to take care of. Convincing Christians not to go back to the old life. Check out this sermon on Ephesians 2:1-10 where Robert uncovers the secret to never turning back.

Identity Remembered :: Power Trip #1

admin — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:07:11 +0000

For three weeks we talked about our identity in Christ. So what. What does this matter on Monday morning when I’m staring the same sin in the face for the bazillionth time or when I’m wanting to take that impossible step I’ve always shied away from. In this sermon, Nate Cartel gives us a glimpse of the power that is available to Christians because of the inheritance that they’ve been given. It’s the beginning of the practical “how to” of the Christian life that is revealed in the book of Ephesians.

Identity Remembered :: God’s Guarantee

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:32:54 +0000

This is the third message in the Ephesians series that is completely devoted to the identity of the Christian. Find out in this sermon about how God has put down a nonrefundable deposit of himself into each Christian as a way of assuring them that they have been adopted as his sons and daughters which is just the beginning of a huge trust fund to come.

Identity Remembered :: Divine Day-Timer

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:18:58 +0000

In this sermon, Robert dives into the “mystery of God’s will” that the Apostle talks about in Ephesians chapter one. A rare look into the divine day-timer of God where we see the key for unlocking all of human history and our own personal lives as well.

Identity Remembered :: View from Up Here

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:30:49 +0000

This is the introduction sermon for this semester’s series (Identity). We’ll be working our way through the book of Ephesians, seeking to discover our identity in Christ and how to live that identity out both as individuals and as a community. In this sermon, we find ourselves transported to the heavenly realms, outside of time and space - for the purpose of finding out who we were chosen to be before we even existed.

Trip to Ephesus

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:25:29 +0000

Take a trip with Robert (our lead pastor) as he walks us through Paul’s planting of the church at Ephesus. It’s the last place anybody would think of planting a church, yet is exactly the kind of place that God chooses to start a new expression of his people for all to see His glory. This also gives a good rundown of some of the central church planting principles that have emerged in MERCYhouse since the beginning. Our hope is that these same principles will be continually lived out in church plants (50 by 2020) all over our valley.

Steve on the Sabbath

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:21:10 +0000

Check out this sermon by our own Steve Mirigian. He’s speaking about God’s design for work and rest. It communicates a great deal about who God is and is a tremendous blessing for all who are willing to put it into practice.

American Idols

admin — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:25:20 +0000

Check out this sermon from Nate Cartel on the 2nd commandment - the one about idols. What does it mean to worship idols, why do we do it, and what can we do about it?

Waiting - Advent Sunday 3

admin — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:20:04 +0000

A big part of celebrating Advent is seeking the value of waiting. That’s right waiting. Something no human being is very good at yet the very thing God is asking of His people. Israel goes down in history as some of the best wait-ers ever seen. In this sermon, you’ll meet 2 of the most impressive (Anna and Simeon) you’ll ever meet and hopefully find out more about why God values the wait as well as why it will be worth it.

The Hero - Advent Sunday II

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:55:49 +0000

Last week’s message from the book of Isaiah was a hard one - REPENT. This Sunday we hear another one of Isaiah’s favorite messages - THE HERO. While Israel found itself plunging deeper and deeper into peril, Isaiah was pumping them full of hope with the message that a Strong, Wise, Supernatural, Sacrificing hero was on the way. Listen as Robert walks through the book of Isaiah and touches on some of the attributes of this amazing hero and the hope He’s offering us today.

A Radical Amputation - Advent Sunday 1

admin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:47:17 +0000

Christmas is closing in on us. So many things to do. Gifts to buy, money to spend, and way to many social engagements to attend. Is this really the way one should prepare for the coming of Christ? Take a listen as Robert explores the Christmas prep work that Israel was asked to do by the prophet Isaiah and later John the Baptist. In a word, “Repent”

Living For Love - Relflections on life under the New Covenant

admin — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:00:07 +0000

Check out this sermon by Nate Cartel. He unpacks John chapter 14. These are some of the final words of Jesus to his disciples before his death on the cross. He teaches them to live under the New Covenant - a covenant of love and not fear.

Freedom Lesson #4 :: Follow the Rules

admin — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:06:36 +0000

As with all of the freedom lessons, this one is a complete revolution from what our culture says is true freedom. Culture says that freedom is throwing off all restraints and getting rid of the influence of authority in our lives. The Bible teaches that there is a perfect authority (namely God) who graciously gives us directives that lead to life and freedom. See this sermon for an overview of the most famous list of rules of all time - The Ten Commandments, and how they lead to true freedom.

Freedom Lesson #3 : Covenant

admin — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:28:50 +0000

God’s people promise to always make a spiritual 4.0 from Mt. Sinai forward. As long as they stick to that, God promises to make them a treasured, holy nation and a kingdom of priests. If they don’t make the 4.0? It’s lights out for Israel. Thankfully, this covenant was a on purpose dead end that detours us straight to Jesus. In this sermon Robert contrasts the Old Testament and New Testament covenants and uncovers freedom lesson # 3 - covenant.

Freedom Lesson #2 - Submission

admin — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:22:02 +0000

This is week two on the road to freedom. While many in our happy valley would say that this road is paved with the throwing off of all authorities, God has different ideas. In this sermon, Robert looks at how Moses submitted to God’s authority and to earthly authority and winds up the freest guy in the desert. He then finishes up with a quick look at a list of authorities spoken of in the Bible : parents, governments, employers, church leaders, and husbands.

Freedom Lesson #1: Dependence

admin — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:42:55 +0000

Freedom is something that all of us crave down to our core but what is it? Our culture says it’s doing whatever we want whenever we want, but where will that get us? Certainly not freedom. Turns out that God has an idea of what freedom is and is committed to teaching his people how to live in it. Find out in this continuation of the Exodus sermon series the first lesson of freedom.