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Pastor Dirk's SermonsSpring Reflections Week 3 - 2025, Battle in the Middle, John 15:12-17, June 1, 2025Returning from a time of rest and reflection, Pastor Dirk will share, some thoughts on what God is teaching him, as we move forward together, as God’s people for our region and our time.2025-06-0219 minPastor Dirk's SermonsIMPACT - 2022 - Week 4 - Inspired Effort - Luke 8:1-15Faith does not always produce visible results, at least not in the short term. Jesus teaches us however to look beyond our efforts to the One who inspires those efforts. He guarantees our results, even if we cannot immediately see them.2022-05-1522 minPastor Dirk's SermonsIMPACT - 2022 - Week 3 - Follow Through - Luke 6:46-49All of us are born with an authority problem. We don't like it when people tell us what to do, even when Jesus Himself gives us commands. In this week's scripture, however, Jesus reminds us that obedient faith can produce an everlasting result, completing what God wants to build within us and through us.2022-05-0820 minPastor Dirk's SermonsIMPACT - 2022 - Week 2 - Grace-Filled Vision - Luke 6:33-39Nothing destroys impact like hypocrisy. Jesus teaches us faith that turns hypocrisy on its head. By admitting our own blindness, we can finally begin to see and help others to see the light. We experience in fuller measure the grace that God freely gives to us as we extend that grace to others.2022-05-0320 minPastor Dirk's SermonsIMPACT - 2022 - Week 1 - Breaking the Wineskin - Luke 5:33-39Faith can be powerless if we refuse to be challenged. True faith quickly rejects ritual with no substance. Jesus wants us to experience a powerful faith that breaks out of our old wineskins, spilling into a thirsty world.2022-04-2423 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory, 2022 - Easter, Luke 24:1-12Jesus dies but does not stay dead. The Father raises Him. This one event changes our entire view of life and death, giving us hope even when we must witness the tragedy of death. How does this event continue to inspire us?2022-04-1821 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory, 2022 - Good Friday, Luke 23:44-49Good Friday did not at first appear to be good. In fact, it was awful, an innocent and beloved man condemned to die a tortuous death. Unfortunately, this kind of death was all too common in a broken and condemned world. And yet, there was something different about this death, something that brings hope to those who understand what God is revealing through it.2022-04-1522 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory, 2022 - Maundy Thursday, Luke 22:7-20Jesus prepares His disciples for what lies ahead. He serves them, feeds them, and charges them to follow His example. He institues a meal, extending the promise of Passover to a new generation of His people. By continuing this meal together, He reminds us of His presence to deliver us from a sin-cursed world, and to unite us as we work together for His eternal kingdom.2022-04-1413 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory - Lent, 2022 - Fifth Sunday, Luke 19:28-38Jesus carefully plans His arrival in Jerusalem. His triumphal entry tells us what sort of victory God will win. When we begin to doubt who is winning in our own tumultuous world, this story reminds us of God’s time-tested ways.2022-04-0321 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory - Lent, 2022 - Fourth Sunday, Luke 4:31-37Jesus often faces spiritual enemies that plagued the people around Him. He comes to bring healing to these victims. His actions bear witness to God’s relentless love for those still under attack.2022-03-2720 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory - Lent, 2022 - Second Sunday, Luke 4:14-21Jesus claims to be the fulfillment of God’s promises to His people. His claims are either preposterous or world changing. For those suffering and those committed to improving this world, His claims deserve thoughtful consideration.2022-03-1424 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory - Lent, 2022 - First Sunday, Luke 4:1-13Before Jesus launches His public ministry, He faces an ancient enemy. He defeats this enemy with an inner strength that He passes on to His followers. How do we tap into this strength when our enemies attack?2022-03-0723 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRocky Path to Glory - Lent, 2022 - Ash Wednesday, Luke 18:31-34Since ancient times, ashes have been a symbol of repentance, a visible sign of our desire to be cleansed and healed. Join us in our chapel, as we begin our healing journey of Lent together.2022-03-0714 minPastor Dirk's SermonsStill Standing: Finding Strength through the Storm (2022) - Week 4 - Obedience - Philippians 3:7-14In our culture, obedience does not come easily. If they want obedience, parents, pet owners and governments must often stipulate harsh consequences for any failure to comply. When we follow Christ, however, we are blessed to obey, because of the one who calls us to obey. In our obedience to Him we find power and strength to stand through any trial.2022-02-2725 minPastor Dirk's SermonsStill Standing: Finding Strength through the Storm (2022) - Week 3 - Humility - Philippians 2:1-11Humility is not always popular in our culture. The humble person is often seen as a weak person. Jesus, however, turns this perspective on its head. Only truly strong people can be humble, and this humility gives them power to face the harsh critics in our world.Speaking of humility, I apologize in advance for mispronouncing Leymah Gbowee's last name; it should be pronounced with a long "o".2022-02-2024 minPastor Dirk's SermonsStill Standing: Finding Strength through the Storm (2022) - Week 2 - Hope - Philippians 1:20-26Some days challenge us more than others. Sometimes the obstacles are so formidable that we question whether our efforts are worth anything at all. Yet, the apostle maintains a powerful perspective that both informs his efforts and assures him of good results. Even when most people cannot see the signs of success, how does he keep his hope alive?2022-02-1327 minPastor Dirk's SermonsStill Standing: Finding Strength through the Storm (2022) - Week 1 - Joy - Philippians 1:1-11The world seeks happiness, while God promises joy. Joy is therefore more powerful than happiness. It is not dependent on circumstances or environment. It is more deeply rooted and more deeply satisfying. How do we obtain this joy that sustains us even in challenging times?2022-02-0724 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInspired: Life-Changing Truth in the Story of Daniel (2022) - Week 5 - Inspired by God's SovereigntyWhen we find ourselves caught up in power struggles beyond our control, we may cry out to God for His salvation. Is He listening? When Daniel prays, God reveals His plans to work through the chaos and bring this world back into order. Appearances must not keep us from seeing the sovereign hand of God working toward His ordained outcomes.2022-01-3023 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInspired: Life-Changing Truth in the Story of Daniel (2022) - Week 4 - Inspired by God's SaviorFormidable powers follow one upon the other in their rise to own the world. Their plans, plots, and wars seem to shape the history of humankind. Yet, God has not abandoned the fight. The world remains His kingdom, and, in due time, He reveals the one who will win it all back to Himself.2022-01-2425 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInspired: Life-Changing Truth in the Story of Daniel (2022) - Week 3 - Inspired by God's SalvationInjustice will not go away, good people made to suffer for the wrong reasons. As a victim of injustice, Daniel learns to depend upon a just God who saves the righteous. His trust in the one who sees and saves inspires us to remain vigilant in our own pursuit of justice.2022-01-1725 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInspired: Life-Changing Truth in the Story of Daniel (2022) - Week 2 - Inspired by God's PlanThe world’s struggles for power and wealth are endless. Whoever stands at the top must beware of those who seek to take their place. To His servant Daniel, God reveals timeless wisdom, inspiring us to live informed and productive lives beyond the reach of this vicious cycle.2022-01-1024 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInspired: Life-Changing Truth in the Story of Daniel (2022) - Week 1 - Inspired by God's WaysSometimes God’s ways do not make sense to us. The world around us lives by their own rules, and we may envy them. God’s ways sometimes require us to do what we do not want to do, and prohibits us from doing things we may want to do. In a time of intense pressure, Daniel demonstrates the wisdom of following God’s ways, even when they seem out of step with the world.2022-01-0924 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRediscover: Why Christmas Truly Matters (2021) - Week 5 - A Messenger of HopeHope will only matter to those who hear and believe there is a reason to hope. Jesus comes in a way that convinces us of this reason. He comes so that those who most need hope can find it. As messengers of that same hope, we are encouraged as we discover its power.2022-01-0921 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRediscover: Why Christmas Truly Matters (2021) - Week 4 - A Family of Hope (Christmas Eve)While the world seeks to defeat and divide the family of God, one Son comes from the small village of Bethlehem to rescue and unite His family. In a culture filled with division, we find hope in the one who comes to bring us back together.2022-01-0915 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRediscover: Why Christmas Truly Matters (2021) - Week 3 - A Growing HopeAt first there is very little hope, no realistic chance of survival, let alone victory. Then, however, a branch grows from a fallen tree, pointing once more to a restored garden. Our hope might not be visible to everyone, but those who watch this Branch will be encouraged and empowered to believe in the growing work of God.2022-01-0925 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRediscover: Why Christmas Truly Matters (2021) - Week 2 - A Warrior of HopeThe child we remember at Christmas is no ordinary child. The man who later walks the streets of Jerusalem is no ordinary man. The meek and mild Person who sleeps in a stable and wanders the hillsides bears all the power of God, because He is God. We need not fear the future, because we follow a Warrior who guarantees our hope.2022-01-0922 minPastor Dirk's SermonsRediscover: Why Christmas Truly Matters (2021) - Week 1 - A Glimmer of HopeWhen God’s prophet predicts the birth of a unique child, His people needed a reason to hope. Powerful enemies threatened almost certain destruction. God, however, will not abandon His people to despair. This sign will be a sign to all people that He will fulfill His good plans for us.2022-01-0923 minPastor Dirk's SermonsNext: What God Has in Store for Us (2021) - Week 5 - A Place of CelebrationThe people celebrate when God visits their temple. Even when we are tempted to focus on the brokenness of our world, how can our church remain a place to celebrate all the good that God is doing among us?2022-01-0824 minPastor Dirk's SermonsNext: What God Has in Store for Us (2021) - Week 4 - A Place of RestorationIn the final section of Solomon’s prayer, he asks God to respond when people from all over the world come to seek His forgiveness and restoration. How can our church ensure that all those who are seeking truth and exploring their faith here will discover a God who forgives and heals?2022-01-0824 minPastor Dirk's SermonsNext: What God Has in Store for Us (2021) - Week 3 - A Place of InstructionSolomon continues his prayer by asking God to continue pouring truth into their sometimes-misguided journey. How can we ensure that our church is a place where people can find God’s truth in a mixed-up world?2022-01-0823 minPastor Dirk's SermonsNext: What God Has in Store for Us (2021) - Week 2 - A Place of PrayerSolomon dedicates the temple with prayer. This prayer highlights our need to dialog regularly with God, to reconcile our will with His will. How can our church become a place where people can freely and frequently dialog with God about His will for our lives?2022-01-0821 minPastor Dirk's SermonsNext: What God Has in Store for Us (2021) - Week 1 - A Place of WorshipGod chose to visit this temple with His presence. Where do people find God in our world? How can our church become a place where people from all over the world, with all types of backgrounds, can encounter this God who is always with us?2022-01-0824 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Engagement: Commitment to Mission (2021) - Week 3 - A Mission of ForgivenessForgiveness is a powerful force if we have the courage to master it. It does not come easily. It is both counterintuitive and countercultural. Nevertheless, it is part of God’s plan to change people and change the world. He therefore calls all of His disciples to become experts in His forgiveness.2022-01-0824 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Engagement: Commitment to Mission (2021) - Week 2 - A Mission of EncouragementMany make promises, but not everyone keeps them. In Jesus, God makes a promise that He will always keep. As we receive and talk about this certain promise, we encourage those who may be wondering where their life might be headed.2022-01-0819 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Engagement: Commitment to Mission (2021) - Week 1 - A Mission of ComfortWe all want heaven where we will experience no pain or suffering. Yet, we remain on earth, where suffering still abounds. God’s good news, however, is that Jesus brings heaven to earth, and He brings heaven’s comfort through those that follow Him.2021-10-0526 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Engagement: Commitment to Others (2021) - Week 3 - Learning RespectIn a frequently divided culture, our respect for one another can quickly disappear. God provides a new definition of respect, revealed in Jesus, who both rules over all and serves all. God therefore calls His children to learn His version of respect, bringing dignity to both leaders and servants. Sermon Notes and Discussion Guide available: https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/Commitment-to-Others-2021-Sermon-Notes-Week-3.pdf2021-09-2725 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Engagement: Commitment to Others (2021) - Week 2 - Learning EncouragementOur culture often paints unrealistic images of success or beauty, and we are quickly judged when we fall short of these ideals. Under this pressure, many people, especially young people, remain discouraged and depressed. God calls His children to fight this cultural epidemic, becoming experts in the ministry of encouragement. Sermon Notes and Discussion Guide available at: https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/Commitment-to-Others-2021-Sermon-Notes-Week-2.pdf2021-09-2123 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Engagement: Commitment to Others (2021) - Week 1 - Learning PeaceEveryone wants peace, but few know how to achieve it. God, however, reveals the secrets of peace through His Son, Jesus. He then calls all His children to learn this peace and to build upon it in a divided world. Sermon Notes are available at https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/Commitment-to-Others-2021-Sermon-Notes-Week-1.pdf2021-09-1321 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Sharing Our Faith (2021) - Week 3 - A Life-Changing GodSharing God’s news requires complete dependence upon the One who calls us. His love and truth must inspire us to overcome our objections and doubts. While we often fall short, God will nevertheless work through us to demonstrate the power of His life-changing story.2021-08-2424 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Sharing Our Faith (2021) - Week 2 - A Life-Changing PrayerSharing God’s good news will cause us to reexamine our faith, to test its limits and challenge its assumptions. Through an honest dialog with God, we will again experience the power to share God’s life-changing story.2021-08-2324 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Sharing Our Faith (2021) - Week 1 - A Life-Changing MissionSharing God’s good news with the world will not be easy. God calls us into a broken world to share with broken people. This mission will stretch us out of our comfort zones, causing us to grow as disciples as we share God’s life-changing story. The story of the prophet Jonah teaches us these lessons.2021-08-0923 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Stewardship (2021) - Week 3 - Enough to Share?What does God expect us to do with our wealth? Enjoy it? Share it? Invest it? Actually, Jesus has each of these in mind, as He invites us to participate in God’s kingdom-building project.2021-08-0223 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Stewardship (2021) - Week 2 - Not Enough?Where is God when do not have enough to survive? What do we do with this fear about the future? Jesus uses examples from nature to teach us how to respond to this fear, so it does not own us. Sermon Notes and Discussion Guide: https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/Stewardship-2021-Sermon-Notes-Week-2.pdf2021-07-2824 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Stewardship (2021) - Week 1 - Too Much?How much is too much? Can we ever have enough? Often, we desire wealth so that we have enough when things go badly. But what if things go very badly? What then is the source of our confidence and our security? We will examine how Jesus addresses this fear in a parable about barn-building. Luke 12:13-21. Sermon Notes and Discussion Questions are available here: https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/Stewardship-2021-Sermon-Notes-Week-1.pdf2021-07-2725 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Prayer (2021) - Week 3 - The Role of CommunityDoes it help if we all pray together? Cultures throughout the world often call their people to prayer. Somehow, we realize instinctively that prayer can have a unifying effect. But do our corporate prayers make a difference to God? Do they change what He will do?2021-07-2624 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Prayer (2021) - Week 2 - The Role of FaithDo I have enough faith? We pray for things, and often, it seems, God does not do what we ask. Are we the problem? Must we believe more? In this gospel story, the Father responds to Jesus’ prayer, but not that of the disciples. What did they do wrong?2021-07-2223 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Prayer (2021) - Week 1 - The Role of the SpiritHow do we know that God is listening? Our answer to this question centers on God’s Spirit. His Spirit assures us that our Heavenly Father is fully present when we are speaking with Him. He bridges the gap between our cries and our Father’s loving responses.2021-07-2125 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Bible Reading (2021) - Week 3 - Walking the TalkScripture reading should change us. The stories it tells are meant to shape our story. The final step in Bible study therefore requires application. What does the big idea of the story mean for us today, in our culture and our life situations?2021-07-2027 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Bible Reading (2021) - Week 2 - Hearing the MelodySometimes the flow of ideas in scripture can overwhelm us. As we read many words, the big idea may elude us. By asking, “What did God say?” we seek to express the timeless truth of the story in words that make sense to us.2021-07-1925 minPastor Dirk's SermonsEssential Disciplines: Bible Reading (2021) - Week 1 - Trees in a ForestThe Bible is a story consisting of many stories, interwoven with themes and images that build to a glorious finale. Sometimes, as we read the Bible, we get lost in the woods, focusing on the trees and missing the forest. Let’s step back and rejoice in the bigger picture.2021-07-1525 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy Am I Here? - 2021 - Week 3 - Genesis 22:1-18God at one point calls Abraham to do the unthinkable, to sacrifice his beloved, promised son. God uses this test in Abraham’s life to extend His promise to all people for all time. We too are called to pass whatever tests challenge us, and God will use our faithfulness to extend and encourage His entire family.2021-07-1428 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy Am I Here? - 2021 - Week 2 - Genesis 17:1-8Abraham does not come from a perfect family. His family included broken people too. Yet, God still works through this broken family to create a new people that would fill the entire earth. Because of God’s creative work, we discover that our families will also grow in ways we can never imagine.2021-06-2829 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy Am I Here? - 2021 - Week 1 - Genesis 12:1-5We do not know much about Abraham’s background, but his life radically changes when God calls him. Our Heavenly Father will always find us, wherever we are, and when He calls us, we will discover our place, our direction, and our purpose.2021-06-2230 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Bible? - 2021 - Week 3 - 2 Timothy 3:10-17God’s story is more than simple human history. It is a divinely breathed story that creates a new world and new children of God. The Spirit in this story breathes new life into our story.2021-06-1729 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy The Bible? - 2021 - Week 2 - Hebrews 1:1-4Jesus does not randomly appear in human history. His coming is planned for centuries. He comes at just the right time to reveal a new direction and a new end in the unfolding plan of God. His story is unique, and it has the potential to change everyone’s story.2021-06-1626 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Bible? - 2021 - Week 1 - Deuteronomy 6:1-9A flood of information engulfs us, so how do we sort through it all? God's Story, told in the scriptures, gives a framework, a worldview that will guide us through this flood.2021-06-1529 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy Believe? Easter (2021) - 1 Corinthians 15:1-9Even if we accept the resurrection of Jesus as an historical fact, we can still believe in "vain," as Paul makes clear in his letter to this early church. How can this historical fact make a difference in our lives, and truly "save" us?2021-04-1324 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Cross? (2021) Week 3 - DevotionalWhat assurances does God give to us that we can actually live according to the Spirit? A look at Romans 8:12-31.2021-04-0126 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Cross? (2021) Week 2 - DevotionalLast Sunday we discussed the Divine Exchange in which God substituted Christ's death for our death, and extends the gift of Christ's resurrected life to us. In this devotional we address the sure and certain hope that this Divine Exchange brings us.2021-04-0114 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Cross? (2021) Week 3 - Romans 8:1-11Recovery is a long and difficult road. Whether we are recovering from illness, injury or addiction, the pathway requires extraordinary power. God provides this power for all of us recovering from the effects of a broken world. Come experience the power!2021-03-3132 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Cross? (2021) Week 2 - Romans 4:25 - 5:2Through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, God restores His creation and His children. How do we participate in God's powerful, restoring work of making us right again?2021-03-2430 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Cross? (2021) - Week 1 - DevotionalAre we allowed to 'judge' others? Reflecting on the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-6.2021-03-1715 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWhy the Cross? (2021) Week 1 - Romans 2:1-16The Cross is God's solution to our complex human mess. In order to appreciate the solution, however, we must understand the nature of the problem. In this sermon, we examine part of the Apostle Paul's analysis of the problem expressed to the religious people of His day. His words will help us discern what lies at the heart of our human problems.2021-03-1431 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is Jesus? (2021) Week 3 - John 3:16-21Reflecting on perhaps the most famous version of the Bible. Jesus, the Son of God, sent to save us. How do we experience the power of God's love.2021-02-1522 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is Jesus? (2021) Devotional - Week 2Last Sunday we reflected Jesus as Lord, clearing the temple and describing His body as the temple. In this devotional, we see Jesus in the heavenly temple, in John's book of Revelation.2021-02-1016 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is Jesus? (2021) - Week 2 - John 2:13-25When Jesus clears the temple, He reveals Himself as the Lord of His people. He calls God's people to change as they recognize His holy presence among them. In His death and resurrection, Jesus makes it possible for us to change, if we are willing to change.2021-02-0731 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is Jesus? (2021) Devotional - Week 1On Sunday, we examined John's gospel which describes Jesus as both fully God and fully Man, who comes to make us fully human. In this devotional, we examine Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, in which the apostle expands this thought.2021-02-0316 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is Jesus? (2021) - Week 1 - John 1:1-14Is Jesus a moral teacher, a religious leader, a myth? John opens his story about Jesus by declaring that He is both fully God and fully human. Sermon Notes and Discussion Guide are available at: https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/WhoIsJesus-2021-SermonNotes-Week1.pdf. For more information visit https://dirkcorner.com2021-02-0128 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is God? Week 3 (2021) - Psalm 51David's cry for mercy exposes our need for the Father, Son and Spirit, threads of truth that are woven together more closely in the New Testament.2021-01-1731 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is God? Week 2 (2021) - Psalm 139The God Who is beyond us is also with us. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He will find us no matter how lost we might feel.2021-01-1128 minPastor Dirk's SermonsWho Is God? Week 1 (2021) - Psalm 8How can we know a God who is Beyond Us? King David gives us an answer to this question in his hymn of praise.2021-01-0425 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Week 5 (Christmas Eve): Hope for Everyone, December 24, 2020While Caesar flexes his tyrannical muscle, God reveals a new, powerful phase in His heavenly kingdom. The new king is announced to lowly shepherds because He would be a different kind of ruler. His humble beginnings merely highlight His power. He comes for all people. He brings joy to everyone, not just those in power. Hope gives us this power to rejoice, even in troubled times.2020-12-2418 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Week 4: Hope for Seeking Souls, December 20, 2020To those living in Israel, the coming of Jesus made sense. God had promised a king in the line of David, and now He had arrived to assume His throne. But what does His coming mean to those outside of Israel, who were not yet part of Israel’s story? Then mysterious visitors appear from a distant land, because the heavens have told them of this glorious birth. God has summoned them to find in Israel the child that would reign over all the earth. Their presence reminds us that this hope has power to reach every seeking soul.2020-12-2126 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Week 3: Hope for Faithful Servants, December 13, 2020Two faithful servants wait for God to answer prayer, and God comes through in an epoch-changing way.2020-12-1427 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Advent Devotional - Week 2On Sunday we reflected on the hope that God reveals through a troubled father named Joseph. This got me thinking of another Joseph who lived some 1700 years earlier. Both these Josephs share something in common, with each other and with us.2020-12-0906 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Week 2: Hope for a Troubled Father, December 6, 2020While God works through His Spirit to bring His Son into the world, the couple chosen to raise this child face a crisis that threatens this plan. God, however, will not give up on His plan. Joseph learns that God is both beyond us and with us.2020-12-0625 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Advent Devotional - Week 1On Sunday we heard the angel reveal an astounding message to a young woman, named Mary, that she would become the mother of God' Son born in human flesh! In our reflection this morning, we reflect on her song of praise in response to this revelation.2020-12-0208 minPastor Dirk's SermonsInvincible Hope - Week 1: Hope for a Young Mother, November 29, 2020While a young woman in Nazareth prepares for her wedding, she receives a stunning message. She would soon be the mother of the new king of Israel, and His kingdom would never end. This was no ordinary child; He would be the Son of God. For a virgin, this news seems impossible, but, for God, this challenge only demonstrates His glory and invincible will. Hope gives us this power to believe and engage in God’s sovereign plan.2020-11-3027 min
Pastor Dirk's SermonsTime for Good News - Week 3: A New Healer, November 22, 2020Throughout this pandemic, we have seen many health care workers step into the breach, risk the danger, and work toward our healing. This week we look at a Healer unlike any other, with power and authority that we had never seen before.2020-11-2223 min
Pastor Dirk's SermonsTime for Good News - Week 2: A New Community, November 15, 2020As our world remains fractured and divided on so many levels, God reveals His Good News, that He has sent His Son to bring us together into a new community. Mark 1:9-20.A handout for this sermon is available at https://dirks-corner-public.s3.amazonaws.com/TimeforGoodNews-2020-SermonNotes-Week2.pdf2020-11-1627 min
Pastor Dirk's SermonsTime for Good News - Week 1: A New Beginning, November 8, 2020In 2020, our culture has endured its share of bad news, including a global pandemic, inflamed racial tensions, and intense political fractures. So, we can all use some Good News, and Jesus brings us the best news ever – for all people in all times, even troubled times like ours. The Gospel of Mark tells us about the “beginning” of this Good News, and we will explore it in this week's episode.2020-11-0926 min
Essential Truths for DisciplesWhy Am I Here?All the Essential Truths we have discussed in this series now lead us to the big “so what” question. What difference do all these truths make? How must my life change now that I have begun to grasp these truths? In other words, to boil it down to the most basic of all questions, “Why Am I Here, right here, right now, on planet earth?” The Bible gives a clear answer to this fundamental quest for meaning. It tells us that we are here to follow and serve Jesus.2020-09-2312 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWhy the Bible? - Part 2Welcome to Part 2 of our question, Why the Bible? In Part 1, we reviewed the fact that the Bible is God’s story. It builds upon the general story that God tells in nature by speaking specifically through chosen authors, until at last He speaks though Jesus, the Son of God who is also the Word of God.But how does God’s Story shape our story? How does God’s Word change us? By speaking God’s powerful truth, the Bible clarifies, corrects and comforts. Let’s look at each of these effects.2020-09-2213 min
Essential Disciplines for DisciplesSharing Our Faith - Part 2Welcome to the final session in our Essential Disciplines series, where we take up some practical recommendations for sharing your faith. In the previous session, we explored why God has commanded us to share our faith, and, now, in this session we discuss how to do this.We suggest a strategy based around 4 practices:1.Listen to Their Story2.Share Our Story3.Share God’s Story4.Connect Their Story to God’s Story2020-09-2213 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesSharing Our Faith - Part 1. In this session, we address what, for many people, is perhaps the most challenging aspect of their spiritual journey. It is one thing for us to work on our own spiritual development, but how do we invite others to join us on this journey? What happens when our private faith must go public? This line might be difficult for some people to cross, but tremendous growth and fulfillment awaits those who are willing to take this challenge. In this session, we explore why God has commanded us to share our faith, and, in the next session, we will make some...2020-09-1511 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWhy the Bible? - Part 1The Bible has been around for centuries, and it has faced more than its share of critics. Despite all of these attacks, however, the scriptures remain a perennial source of inspiration, direction and encouragement for billions of people all over the world. This ongoing power of the Bible may be traced to its divine origins. At its root, the Bible is God’s story that has the power to shape our story.2020-09-1514 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesStewardship & Giving - Part 2In this session, we continue our discussion of Stewardship and Giving. In the last session, we established some foundational principles of Biblical stewardship, and here, in this session we will build on that foundation by discussing some practical recommendations for giving.As we learned in our last session, we are called to be faithful stewards of God’s creation. He owns everything, and He entrusts a portion of His possessions to us to manage on His behalf. We exercise this stewardship as we give faithfully to God’s work and to those in need, expressing both our worship and our...2020-09-1411 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWhy the Cross? - Part 2In our last session, we said that the Cross was God’s solution to our ultimate human problem, and we defined this problem as sin. Human sin has destroyed both our relationship with God and our relationships with one another. It has infiltrated our nature and our world so pervasively that we remain powerless to restore these relationships on our own. We are therefore destined for both physical and spiritual death. Sin therefore is our most critical and universal human problem, but, thankfully, God has addressed this problem in the Cross of Jesus.2020-09-1413 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesStewardship & Giving - Part 1Welcome to another session in our Essential Disciplines series where we take up an interesting challenge. We live in a culture that often seems divided between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Some in our society are blessed beyond measure, while others struggle to get by. As followers of Jesus, we instinctively feel some angst about these extremes. Somehow, we sense that God is not pleased with this level of disparity. But what are we to do about all of this? What is our role as disciples in this world divided by wealth and poverty?It turns out that the Bibl...2020-09-1312 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWhy the Cross? - Part 1The symbol of the Cross has become a universal symbol of the Christian faith. To those of us who follow Jesus, this symbol carries a deep, life-altering meaning. When Jesus died on the cross, He changed everything for us, for all human beings for all time. Through this cross, Jesus provides God’s solution to the human problem of sin. In this session, we will explore our sin problem, and, in our next session, we will examine how the cross addresses this problem.2020-09-1312 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesPrayer - Part 2Welcome to this second session on the Essential Discipline of prayer. In our last session, we covered some foundational principles, and, in this Session, we get practical and talk about how to pray. Thankfully, we are not left to figure this out on our own. Jesus Himself provides clear direction on the subject when one of His disciples asks Him plainly:“Lord, teach us to pray….” Luke 11:1In response to this request, Jesus gives His disciples a model prayer, which has become known as the “Lord’s Prayer”. This model prayer is filled with requests regarding four of our basic ne...2020-09-1212 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWho Is Jesus? - Part 2This question stands at the heart of our faith. It is in fact the central truth that holds together the entire story of the Bible.In our last session, we discussed the person of Jesus, who is both fully God and fully Man. He is fully divine and fully human. In this session, then, we address the work of Jesus. As we study the scriptures, two major themes emerge regarding the role that Jesus plays in God’s great, eternal plan. He is both Lord and Savior.2020-09-1211 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesPrayer - Part 1Prayer is perhaps the most misunderstood and underused tool that God has provided for us. So, before we go any further, we need a definition. According to the Bible, what is prayer?If we were to examine the hundreds of references to prayer throughout scripture, we would see a rich and diverse picture. Many different perspectives, forms and nuances of prayer appear in the long story of God’s people. Running throughout this rich tapestry, however, we would see a common thread. At its root, prayer is dialog with God, a conversation with Him about His ways in the wo...2020-09-1112 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWho Is Jesus? - Part 1Perhaps few names have stirred up more discussion than this name. Many see Jesus simply as a religious leader and a teacher. Still others portray Him as a disillusioned and tortured soul, in a tragic story of betrayal and defeat. And not a few people even doubt that He existed at all, that He is more myth than history.As followers of Jesus, however, we see an entirely different picture. In fact, our belief surrounding Jesus distinguishes our faith from every other religious tradition on the planet.We believe that Jesus is the fullest expression of everything God...2020-09-1113 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesBible Reading - Part 2In our last session, we covered some basic principles of interpreting the Bible, and now, in this session, we get practical. To begin your life-long journey into the scriptures, we recommend four basic elements:1.A Study Time2.A Study Method3.A Study Group4.Study ResourcesBy including these four elements in your Bible Reading practice, you will eventually develop this spiritual discipline, a healthy habit that will continuously feed your mind and soul with the inspired Word that God has for you.2020-09-0612 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWho Is God? - Part 2What comes to mind when we hear the word, “Trinity”? Perhaps the term is a bit confusing. We know it speaks about God. We know it has something to do with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But what does all this mean? How can there be one God and three divine persons? So, let’s break it down. The notion of Trinity captures two fundamental ideas about God: One God and Three Persons.2020-09-0612 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesBible Reading - Part 1The Bible means many things to many people. Some read it daily to receive encouragement and guidance. Some read it occasionally, perhaps when crisis occurs, like the loss of a family member, a job or a close relationship. And some haven’t read the Bible at all, or at least they haven’t read it in years. It remains an unused treasure, collecting layers of dust on a shelf somewhere at home.For followers of Jesus, however, the Bible is God’s Story that has the power to shape our story.” In this session, we begin to unlock that pow2020-05-2412 minEssential Truths for DisciplesWho Is God? - Part 1Who is God? It’s a difficult question, and many people would answer it differently. Religions all over the world have proposed thousands of definitions throughout the entire scope of human history. How can we possibly sort through all of these solutions and find one that we can accept as true and reliable?2020-05-2411 minEssential Disciplines for DisciplesEssential Disciplines - IntroductionWhat are these four disciplines, and why are they so important to becoming and making disciples of Jesus.2020-05-0813 minEssential Truths for DisciplesEssential Truths - IntroductionWhat are the Five Questions that deserve an answer, for disciples and for anyone else looking for meaning and purpose in life.2020-05-0812 min