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Title: Prepare to Share: Fast and Pray Scripture Reading: Colossians 4:2-4 ESV Series: Send Me Do you feel an unfillable void in your life, seeking true satisfaction and spiritual growth? This message, part of the "Send Me" series, explores fasting and prayer as essential preparations for spiritual service. Fasting is presented not as a way to earn holiness or for public display, but as a means to realize our profound hunger for Jesus and allow Him to fill the God-shaped vacuum within us with His overflowing, living water. Intentionally fast from distractions and dedicate that time and resource to drawing closer to Jesus and serving others, allowing Him to fill your inner void.

Title: Preparing to Share: The Bible Scripture Reading: John 1:1 Series: Send Me What if a single, ancient book holds the key to unparalleled personal transformation and understanding God's ultimate plan? This message explores why the Bible is a uniquely miraculous book that defies all odds, written by over 40 authors across millennia yet maintaining a singular, unbroken theme of redemption: God made it, we broke it, Jesus fixed it. Scientific evidence reveals that engaging with the Bible four or more times a week is a total game-changer, fostering profound spiritual and personal growth, because Jesus himself is the eternal Word of God made flesh. Engage with God's Word actively and consistently, particularly by reading it four or more times a week, to experience transformative life change and be equipped for God's purpose.

Title: You're Not the Good Samaritan Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37 Series: Mercy in Motion Think you're the Good Samaritan? Think again. This message challenges the common understanding of the Good Samaritan parable. It reveals that mercy first requires us to recognize the world's need for it due to sin and then our neighbor's need, extending even to those we deem 'extra grace required.' Ultimately, the parable teaches us that we are the beaten traveler, desperately in need of Jesus, our true Good Samaritan, who showed us mercy at great cost. Humbly recognize your own desperate need for Jesus's mercy, and let that realization fuel your compassion for every neighbor, even the 'extra grace required' ones.

Title: In a World Full of Misery… Enter Mercy Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:9-12 Series: Mercy in Motion What does it mean to set mercy in motion in a world full of suffering? This message explores the biblical basis for acts of mercy from 1 Peter 2:9-12, revealing that we set mercy in motion for four key reasons. We are pilgrims, temporary residents pointing to our eternal home; priests, representing God to the world; pointers, demonstrating God's way; and profoundly, we act mercifully because we have been pardoned by God's own mercy through Christ. Let us actively embody God's mercy through our deeds, reflecting His character and the hope of new creation to a broken world.

Title: How to Listen to Your Donkey Scripture Reading: Numbers 22:21-31 Series: Bizarre Bible Ever wonder what a talking donkey has to teach us about obeying God? Explore the bizarre biblical account of Balaam and his talking donkey to uncover four critical scenarios where God demands our obedience. Learn to obey when it doesn't make sense, when it seems foolish, and when you can't see God's full plan. Discover the importance of repentance and choosing to obey even when you haven't previously. Embrace a life of unwavering obedience to God, trusting His wisdom and purpose even when circumstances defy human understanding.

Title: How Dying Was the Greatest Beatdown Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Series: Bizarre Bible What if the greatest beatdown in history wasn't on a football field, but on a cross? This sermon explores Jesus's ultimate triumph, revealing how His victory was secured through His death and resurrection, then proclaimed to disobedient spirits, and subsequently shared with believers through a heart response to baptism. Ultimately, His victory is eternally exalted above all creation. Turn your heart towards Jesus’s victorious death and resurrection, demonstrating your loyalty to Him, for this alone secures your salvation.

Title: Dirty Worship Scripture Reading: II Kings 5:15-19 Series: Bizarre Bible Guest Taylor Englund joins us today to discuss why  a powerful Syrian commander would ask for two mule-loads of Israelite dirt. This message unpacks Naaman’s strange request for Israel’s dirt after his miraculous healing, revealing an ancient worldview of cosmic geography where gods were given specific territories. This understanding helps explain Naaman's shift in allegiance from Rimmon to Yahweh, ultimately foreshadowing how Jesus, through His death and resurrection, reclaims all nations and reverses the division of Babel at Pentecost, making believers His dwelling place. Embrace your calling to be a citizen of God's Kingdom, shifting your allegiance entirely to Jesus, who makes you a part of His cosmic geography.

Title: How Christ forms the Crucial Core of Confidence Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:16-17 Series: Bizarre Bible Do you ever question where true, unshakeable confidence comes from, especially in your spiritual life? Exploring a 'bizarre' passage from 1 John 5:16-17, this sermon unpacks five 'C's—Context, Contrast, Clinging, Confidence, and Christ—to reveal Christ as crucial for confidence. It highlights how Clinging to the one, true Jesus, even amidst Contrast between sin leading to life and sin leading to death, grants believers Confidence in salvation, prayer, and forgiveness, all resting in Christ's finished work. Embrace Jesus today to find an unshakeable confidence rooted in His finished work, assuring your salvation, hearing your prayers, and granting your forgiveness.

Title: How to Wrestle with God Scripture Reading: Genesis 32:22-32 Series: Bizarre Bible Do you find yourself constantly scheming your way through life's challenges? Jacob, a lifelong schemer, finds himself in a mysterious all-night wrestling match in Genesis 32. This encounter becomes an enacted metaphor for his life, forcing him to move from wrestling by scheming to wrestling by trusting God. Ultimately, Jacob surrenders his self-reliance, foreshadowing the ultimate surrender of our Savior, Jesus, in Gethsemane. Choose to wrestle with life's difficulties by surrendering and trusting in God's power, rather than relying on your own schemes.

Title: Breaking the Cyclical Curse Scripture Reading: Genesis 9:20-29 ESV Series: Bizarre Bible What if the bizarre story of Noah and Ham isn't just about nakedness, but a deeper, cyclical sin? This sermon challenges the common interpretation of Noah and Ham's story, through 4 Cs: the Crime, the Curse, the Cycle, and the Cure. Just like Ham, we carry the same cyclical sin in our heart today. How do we break that curse? Look to the only one who can cure the cycle, Jesus.

Title: BEARing the Burden of Baldness Scripture Reading: II Kings 2:23-25 Series: Bizarre Bible Taylor Englund joins Pastor Bill to discuss if Elisha overreacted by cursing 42 boys for mocking his baldness, or if there is a deeper, cosmic meaning behind this bizarre Bible story. This episode unpacks the strange narrative of Elisha and the two bears, revealing it's more than a prophet's overreaction. It explores 4 "P"s: the "place" of Bethel, a center of idolatry, and Elisha as the "prophet," a new Joshua leading a spiritual conquest. The "perpetrators" were young adults challenging God's authority, leading to a divine "punishment" that validated Elisha's role in reclaiming God’s cosmic territory through spiritual warfare. As members of God's royal family, we are called to continue Jesus' cosmic mission, revealing His victory and reclaiming spiritual territory by spreading the good news of His Kingdom.

Title: Bizarre Brides and Bad Beings (Part 2) Scripture Reading: Genesis 6:1-4 Series: Bizarre Bible This is part 2 of a message on Genesis 6:1-4, where we continue exploring the W.E.I.R.D. aspects of spiritual beings and humanity. Today we cover Warped Wife-Wooing (spiritual beings mating with humans) and Earth's Expiration (the flood as a consequence of both human and spiritual sin). It unveils the Inhuman Invaders (Nephilim) as offspring, emphasizes the Reality of the Realms (unseen spiritual warfare), and ultimately points to Defeated Demons through Jesus's sovereignty. Embrace the reality of spiritual warfare, find comfort in God's persistent grace, and remember that Jesus has already secured victory over all spiritual oppression.

Title: Bizarre Brides and Bad Beings (Part 1) Scripture Reading: Genesis 6:1-4 Series: Bizarre Bible We're exploring perhaps the weirdest passage in the entire Bible through the acronym W.E.I.R.D. The "W" stands for 'Warped Wife-Wooing' where nefarious spiritual beings, referred to as 'the sons of God,' took human women as wives. This act is presented as a great sin and a fall of spiritual beings, paralleling humanity's fall in Genesis 3. The message highlights how both falls involve 'looking and taking,' revealing the expressway-sized connection between our eyes and heart, where envy leads to lust and actions outside of God's will. To combat the anxiety, envy, and unhappiness that arise from covetousness, discipline your eyes and set your mind’s eye on Jesus, who alone brings true joy and contentment.

Title: Is He Spiderman or is He Spiderman? Scripture Reading: Judges 6:11-24 Series: Bizarre Bible Today we welcome Taylor Englund for podcast-style message. Taylor and Pastor Bill delve into Gideon's perplexing encounter with the Angel of the LORD, revealing how the Angel of the LORD is often a pre-incarnate manifestation of God the Son. It demonstrates that the concept of the Trinity, or Godhead, is deeply rooted in Old Testament scripture. Embrace the thoroughly biblical truth of the Trinity, understanding that God, in His complex and powerful nature, uses the weak to display His glory and deserves our exclusive worship.

Title: Are You Someone God Will Use? Scripture Reading: Exodus 4:24-26 Series: Bizarre Bible Are you someone God will use to accomplish His mission? This message delves into the bizarre biblical account of Moses’s encounter with God, exploring Moses's Compromise and reluctance to fully embrace his calling. Discover Zipporah's Urgency as she acts decisively to save Moses's life through a proxy circumcision, demonstrating her faith. Finally, uncover God's Tolerance and graciousness in sparing Moses, ultimately showing that God seeks obedient, repentant hearts for His mission. Embrace a circumcised heart of obedience and repentance, allowing God to cut away sin so you can be a willing and effective vessel for His work.