Noel Piepgrass kicks off this advent-themed teaching series on worship by looking at examples from the Christmas story and Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Noel Piepgrass kicks off this advent-themed teaching series on worship by looking at examples from the Christmas story and Paul’s letter to the Romans.
In part 1 of this series on the basics of church gatherings, Noel kicks us off with a message on the most essential element of our activity as a church, why we gather. In this message Noel points us to the gospel truth that when we gather we get God, we get each other, and we get individual transformation.
In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus uses a parable to show his disciples how God expects them to live. Noel teaches us how our view of God can lead to fear which gets in the way of investing in God’s kingdom.
In Matthew 9:18-26 Jesus raises to life the daughter of a synagogue leader and heals a desperate woman of her hemorrhaging disorder. In these healings we see that Jesus responds to faith by bringing freedom from sickness AND death. We also see in this story Jesus willingness to touch women, an often marginalized group, particularly in that ancient context.
In the culmination of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasizes being not just hearers, but doers of his words. He gives the example of the wise builder who built upon the rock and was sustained through the storm. Matthew 7:24-27.
In Matthew 13 Jesus gives a sermon using parables, short stories with a moral to them. In verses 10-17, we see Jesus quote a passage from the book of Isaiah which effectively communicates to the audience that his use of parables is the most impactful way to help his audience hear and see the mysteries of the Kingdom. In this message, Noel goes on to share his own story and invites the listener into the story God is writing over their own lives and over the life of Exeter Valley Church.
Guest Mike Sandusky shares about being Devoted to the Mission of God.