MERCYhouse ~it's a church

Identity Realized :: Mission Submission

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 ...

Identity Realized :: Lit Up

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 ...

Identity Realized :: Holy Eye for the Sinful Guy

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 ...

Identity Realized :: Family Building

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 ...

Identity Realized :: Family Bonding

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 ...

Identity Regained :: Power Trip #2

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 ...

Portable Easter

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 ...

Identity Regained :: Been There Done That

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. ...

Identity Regained :: From Christian to Community

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 ...

Identity Regained :: From Corpse to Christian

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 ...

Identity Remembered :: Power Trip #1

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 ...

Identity Remembered :: God’s Guarantee

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 ...

Identity Remembered :: Divine Day-Timer

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

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 ...

Trip to Ephesus

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 ...

Steve on the Sabbath

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

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

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 ...

The Hero - Advent Sunday II

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, ...

A Radical Amputation - Advent Sunday 1

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 ...

Living For Love - Relflections on life under the New Covenant

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

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 ...

Freedom Lesson #3 : Covenant

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 ...

Freedom Lesson #2 - Submission

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 ...

Freedom Lesson #1: Dependence

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 ...