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2 Corinthians 7:8-10 - Repentance can be a scary word, but it represents God's invitation away from what would harm us toward our greatest flourishing. If confession involves agreeing with God about your sin, repentance logically flows out of it as the act of grieving and turning from your sin. It has many facets. It is both part of initially coming to Jesus and part of our ongoing life with Him. It sometimes involves practical and pragmatic steps of renunciation. In this sermon we briefly consider what it means to live a life of ongoing repentance as we seek to draw near to the Christ who offers us salvation. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 4 of our series “Draw Near: What We Do With Our Sin That Separates”] Questions for reflection: 1) Unpack the two types of grief that Paul discusses in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. What is Paul wrestling with concerning the grief he put the Corinthians through? 2) Theologian Millard Erickson defined repentance as "godly sorrow for one’s sin together with a resolution to turn from it.” How is this related to confession? 3) In what ways are faith and repentance like two sides of the same coin? 4) What does it mean for "the entire life of believers to be one of repentance"? How does this idea connect to the idea of growing in Christlikeness? 5) Cameron gave a practical illustration of repentance in relation to drinking too much. Overcoming alcoholism can be an incredibly complex process often involving medical intervention, recovery groups, and other resources. How might we relate some of these other helpful and necessary parts of the process to the idea of biblical repentance? 6) What has repentance looked like for you over the course of your life with Jesus?

1 John 1:5-2:2 - Following self examination, the next step of drawing near to God is found in confession. Contrary to many of our assumptions about Chrsitian confession, It is simply a way of humbly naming reality together with God: both the reality of the grievousness of your sin and the reality of the lavishness of His grace. It is meant to produce intimacy with God and deep joy on the other side. In this sermon we learn about the purpose of confession, a model for confession (both to God and neighbor), and a model for receiving the confession of others. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 3 of our series “Draw Near: What We Do With Our Sin That Separates”] Questions for reflection: 1) What comes to mind when you hear an invitation to confession? What sort of association do you have? 2) What role does confession currently play in your life (both privately to God and communally with other people)? 3) How does 1 John hold together the idea of universal human sinfulness with the call to flee from sin? 4) How does confession bring us back into intimacy with God? 5) Why is it important to remember that Jesus's sacrifice is what cleanses us rather than our confession per se? 6) Why is confession ultimately meant to be a hopeful, joyful experience?

Psalm 139 - Having started with a reminder of the gracious character of God, we now begin the process of "drawing near to God" through "cleansing our hands" and "purifying our hearts" (James 4:8). These commands, of course, presuppose that we know what needs to be cleansed, which is an implicit invitation for us to step into a process of self-examination. Psalm 139 teaches us about doing this with God so that we can honestly turn over what we find back to Him. This place of examination isn’t a place to dwell endlessly, but a quick jaunt before we turn our gaze back to Jesus and His amazing grace. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 2 of our series “Draw Near: What We Do With Our Sin That Separates”] Questions for reflection: 1) How does the idea of God being all-knowing and present everywhere sit with you? 2) If God already sees everything, why does David invite God to search his heart in Psalm 139:23-24? 3) Why does vulnerability with other humans entail risk? How is this different with God? (see Luke 5:30-32 or Romans 5:6-10) 4) Why does God care about our sin? Why is this an expression of his love for us and our neighbors? 5) Why is it right to fear the result of sin left to fester in our lives? How did C.S. Lewis illustrate this in his book The Great Divorce? 6) Do you have any helpful ideas or practices to share with the group regarding self-examination with God?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - In this 7-week series we will explore what it means to "draw near to God" in the language of James 4:8. How do we close the distance that sin interjects between us and God? The first step is surely to recognize that it is God Himself who first acts to close that distance. The God of the Bible moves toward sinners with sacrificial, compassionate love and lavishes those who trust Him with the unmerited favor of radical grace in Christ. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 1 of our series “Draw Near: What We Do With Our Sin That Separates”] Questions for reflection: 1) Do you want to be close with God? What would that look like? 2) What is sin in general? What is the evidence for it in day-to-day life? 3) Why is a “worm theology” a misleading way of talking about the problem of human sin? 4) How does the work of Jesus reveal God’s disposition toward sinners? How would you describe that disposition? 5) Define “grace” together. How does someone receive God’s grace for themselves? 6) What does Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son have to say about the gracious nature of God?

Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 22:34-40 and Matthew 28:18-20 - To conclude our 3-week vision series, we ask the question of what is the evergreen, changeless "same direction" that our Christian lives must be pointed at? For an answer, we put forward 3 central teachings from the mouth of Jesus: the good news, the great commandment, and the great commission. With these at the center of the life of our church, we can have confidence that we are in step with the Jesus who is both the founder and perfecter of our faith. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 3 of our vision series "A Long Obedience"]

Acts 2:42-47 - The aspect of the Christian life that might require the most endurance of all is remaining in Christian community—truly belonging to the family of God in a way that gets below the surface. Among many who say they "love Jesus but not the church," we desire to remain committed to Jesus's vision for our lives as part of the bride, body, and family of Christ. In this sermon we consider the example of the earliest church and apply it to the relational backbone of our local church: community groups. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 2 of our vision series "A Long Obedience"]

Hebrews 12:1-3 - We begin our 2026 fall vision series with a consideration of the nature of Christian discipleship as "a long obedience in the same direction." Hebrews 12 tells us that the long race requires serious endurance, and that we will only sustain it by first looking intently at Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith and the one who endured on our behalf. This year, may we commit to staying the course and finishing the work that God has called us into, knowing that the deepest goods are the ones that will come from an uncommon faithfulness through life's peaks, valleys, and flats. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 1 of our vision series "A Long Obedience"]

Lamentations 5 - The fifth and final poem is written as a communal prayer of lament, perhaps representing the various poetic voices across the book as well as the many grieving people whose sufferings have been named—all lamenting together. The poem provides a clear model to follow for how to practice biblical lament before God: turning to God is honest acknowledgment and complaint, declaring your trust in God's character and power, and boldly asking God to act. The enigmatic ending reminds us that neat and tidy endings are usually not on the table, and yet there remains hope because of what Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 5 of our series "A Memorial to Our Grief: A Month with Lamentations"]

Lamentations 4 - The fourth and final acrostic poem describes many of the same events, but with diminishing energy and intensity. The poet's focus is on the degradation of the people of Jerusalem, the corruption of their religious leaders, and their final moments of defeat. Thematically, the poem mourns what was lost and holds up some candidates for the major idols they had embraced over against God himself. In this sermon, we consider the difference between goods and (lower case) gods—or between gifts from God and the idols we make of them... and when a situation calls primarily for righteous grief or broken repentance. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 4 of our series "A Memorial to Our Grief: A Month with Lamentations"]

Lamentations 3 - The third acrostic poem of Lamentations is from the perspective of a man who witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and all the related sufferings first-hand. After a first movement of familiar anguish, he introduces a new element to his lament: he forces himself to remember the character of God—to rehearse God's goodness. Holding both raw processing and theological conviction side-by-side without letting one cancel out the other, he shows us the way to a fully honest lament that still clings to hope. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 3 of our series "A Memorial to Our Grief: A Month with Lamentations"]

Lamentations 2 - The second acrostic poem of Lamentations explores the justice and judgment of God and provides a model for bringing your whole self, raw questions and all, to Him. Through it we are reminded still of the love and mercy that God always maintains. A sermon by Tsion Reid. [Part 2 of our series "A Memorial to Our Grief: A Month with Lamentations"]

Lamentations 1 - As a collection of poems lamenting grief, suffering, and shame without any clear resolution, the book of Lamentations is an odd book in the Bible. Even still, it serves as a powerful reminder (especially in its first chapter) of the need to have our grief seen in order to experience comfort. Through this first poem we are invited not only to see the griefs of others, but to share our own, and to encounter the Jesus who bore ours to save us. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 1 of our series "A Memorial to Our Grief: A Month with Lamentations"]

Matthew 7:24-29 - Jesus ends the sermon on the mount with a final choice between life founded on him and a life founded on anything else. Hearing, trusting, and doing what Jesus has said is the way to wisdom, flourishing, and a life that can stand amidst life’s coming storms. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 24 of our series “Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace”]

Matthew 7:15-23 - Jesus continues the conclusion of the sermon on the mount with a stark warning about the coming of false teachers and the possibility of performing for Jesus without knowing Him. He gives the image of two trees--one diseased and one healthy--their ultimate character revealed by the fruit they eventually bear. May we learn to discern the quality of the spiritual fruit borne in our leaders... and in ourselves. A sermon by Kyle Sunderland. [Part 23 of our series “Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace”]

Matthew 7:13-14 - Jesus begins His conclusion to the sermon on the mount with a stark and provocative picture. There are two gates leading to two paths leading to two ends: death on the one hand and life on the other. Like God offering the choice to Adam and Eve in the garden or Moses offering the choice to the children of Israel in the wilderness, Jesus offers again the choice--this time oriented around His saving grace and Lordship. In light of all that Jesus has said in His sermon, choose today whom you will follow. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 22 of our series “Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace”]