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God sometimes leads His people into places they have never been before. In Joshua 3, Israel stood at the edge of the Jordan River facing an unknown future. God’s instruction was simple: follow His presence, consecrate yourselves, and step forward in faith. In this special message, Pastor Matthew shares a significant new chapter in the life of Friends Church. After years of prayer and discernment, Friends Church and Cross Point Church will become one church, with Pastors Matthew and Brian Moore beginning a season of shared leadership and a thoughtful transition for the future. This moment is about more than organizational change. It is about unity, preparing the way for the next generation, and trusting God enough to step into something we have never experienced before. The same God who has been faithful through 114 years of Friends Church is still writing the story.

Following Jesus means more than simply believing. It means learning to say yes when He invites us to love, serve, give, and go. In Mark 6, a young boy offers Jesus what little he has, and Jesus uses it to feed thousands. His simple yes becomes part of someone else’s miracle.In this message from our Home series, we look at what it means to live with radical love and radical generosity. Going can be as simple as showing Jesus through the way we live, serving the people around us, and inviting others into places where they can experience Him. Giving begins with an open heart that asks, “Jesus, what do You want me to give, and where?”We never know what, or who, might be on the other side of our yes.

What does it really mean to call a church home? In Acts 2, the first Christians didn’t simply attend church, they devoted themselves to God, His Word, one another, generosity, prayer, worship, and authentic community. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, their faith spread from person to person and ultimately began changing the world. As Friends Church begins a new series called Home, this message challenges us to move beyond simply asking what the church can do for us and begin asking how God wants to use us within His church. Jesus has called us to make disciples, given us the power of His Spirit, and invited us into a community where we gather, grow, go, and give together. Church begins to feel like home when we commit, connect, and become the church rather than simply attend it.

King Josiah became king at only eight years old and inherited a nation shaped by generations of idolatry and unfaithfulness. Yet his past, his family history, and his age did not determine the kind of man he would become. In 2 Kings 22-23, Josiah shows us what a life of faithfulness looks like: wholehearted devotion to God, dependence on His Word, humility, repentance, and a willingness to stand firm regardless of the outcome. Ultimately, Josiah points us to the perfectly faithful King we all need - Jesus.

Hannah carried a pain she could not fix and prayed for an answer that did not come immediately. Yet in the middle of her waiting, she learned to trust that God saw her, heard her, and was with her. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah shows us what it looks like to keep praying, keep contending, and keep trusting God even when our circumstances have not changed. Faith is not always believing God will give us exactly what we ask for. Sometimes faith is believing that God is enough while we are still waiting.

Daniel was taken from his home, placed in a foreign culture, given a new education, a new language, and even a new name. But Babylon could not change the convictions he had already decided to live by.In Daniel 1, we see a young man who had resolved ahead of time that honoring God mattered more than comfort, acceptance, opportunity, or approval. His circumstances changed, but his commitment to God did not.This message challenges us to ask what principles actually shape our lives, relationships, finances, work, and decisions. We cannot wait until pressure comes to decide what we believe. The decisions we make tomorrow are shaped by the principles we establish today.

God does not need the strongest, most confident, or most qualified person. He is looking for ordinary people who are willing to place their lives in His hands.In Judges 6-7, Gideon is hiding from the Midianites when God calls him a “mighty warrior.” Gideon feels weak, afraid, and completely unqualified, but God sees who Gideon will become through His power. God then reduces Gideon’s army from 32,000 men to only 300 and sends them into battle with trumpets, torches, and jars. What looked impossible from a human perspective became possible because God was with them.This message reminds us that God uses the improbable to do the impossible. Our weaknesses, fears, and limitations do not disqualify us. When we surrender our lives to God, He can use even the most ordinary people and ordinary tools for extraordinary purposes.Whose hands is your life in today?

What kind of faith do you have? Is it an “only if” faith that trusts God only when life goes the way you hoped? Or an “even if” faith that worships Him no matter the outcome?In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego face an impossible choice: bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol or be thrown into a blazing furnace. Their response has inspired believers for generations: “Our God is able to deliver us… but even if He does not, we will not serve your gods.”This message explores what genuine faith looks like when obedience comes at a cost. God doesn’t always rescue us from the fire, but He always promises His presence through it. The greatest gift isn’t always deliverance from suffering, but experiencing Christ in the middle of it.Whether you’re facing hardship, temptation, uncertainty, or pressure to compromise, this message is a reminder to remain faithful, abide in Christ, and trust that God is worthy of worship regardless of the outcome. May we become people whose faith is built not on circumstances, but on the unchanging character of God.

What does greatness look like in the kingdom of God? It may not look dramatic, impressive, or worthy of attention. Often, it looks like ordinary faithfulness, serving others, keeping your commitments, and trusting God when you cannot see what He is doing. In this message from the Book of Ruth, Pastor Erik explores how God works through ordinary people and everyday acts of faithfulness to accomplish something far greater than they could imagine. Ruth’s story begins with famine, loss, grief, and uncertainty. Naomi returns home feeling bitter and empty, while Ruth leaves behind everything familiar to remain faithful to her mother-in-law and to the God of Israel. Through Ruth’s quiet devotion, Boaz’s generosity, and the birth of Obed, God begins writing a story of redemption that reaches far beyond their immediate circumstances. Ruth, a widowed Moabite woman who seemed insignificant by the world’s standards, ultimately becomes part of the family line of King David and Jesus Christ. This story reminds us to trust the God of the ordinary, trust Him during seasons of crisis, and trust the God who redeems. Even when He appears to be working behind the scenes, God is present, faithful, and weaving our ordinary obedience into His greater story. Jesus is the ultimate Redeemer who makes the insignificant significant, the hopeless hopeful, the lost found, the bitter pleasant, and the empty full again.

What do you do when life takes a painful turn and you cannot see what God is doing? Joseph’s story moves through betrayal, slavery, temptation, false accusation, prison, influence, forgiveness, and restoration. Through every high and low, one truth remains constant: the Lord was with him.In this message from Genesis 37 - 50, Pastor Erik Thoennes explores three marks of a faithful life: being fruitful even in a foreign land, remaining faithful in the face of temptation, and choosing forgiveness after deep betrayal. Joseph’s life reminds us that trusting God does not mean our path will be easy or direct. It means believing that God is present, sovereign, and wise - even before we can see how the story will come together.Joseph ultimately points us to Jesus, the righteous sufferer whose rejection and suffering became the means of salvation for others. Whatever season you are walking through a pit, a prison, a place of waiting, or a mountaintop - God is still at work, shaping you into the image of Christ.

In this message from Unlikely Heroes, Andrew McCourt looks at the familiar story of David and Goliath and points us beyond David to the true Champion, Jesus Christ. Goliath reminds us that giants still show up in our lives today through fear, anxiety, temptation, insecurity, sin, and situations that feel too big to overcome.David shows us what faith looks like when fear is loud. He was young, overlooked, and simply faithful with the job in front of him, yet God used him to face what an entire army would not. But ultimately, this story is not about becoming David. It is about recognizing that we are the frightened army standing on the sidelines, unable to defeat the giant of sin on our own.The good news is that Jesus entered the battlefield for us. He came in humility, obeyed the Father, went to the cross, and defeated sin, death, and the enemy forever. Because Jesus is our Champion, we can move from fear to faith and trust Him with every giant we face.

In the opening message of Unlikely Heroes, Pastor Matthew looks at Moses and the parting of the Red Sea to remind us that God uses ordinary people surrendered to an extraordinary God to do impossible things. Moses did not feel qualified, courageous, or ready, yet God chose him to lead Israel out of slavery and into freedom.Through Exodus 13 and 14, we see that God does not always lead us by the easiest or shortest road. Sometimes He leads us to places where only He can save us, so we can learn to trust Him completely. The Red Sea was not just Israel’s moment of crisis. It was a place where God revealed His power, delivered His people, and showed Egypt that He alone is Lord.This message reminds us that the ultimate deliverance has already come through Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we have crossed over from death to life. Now the question is whether we will live like people who are free, trust God with what is in front of us, and say yes when He asks us to take a step of obedience.

This Father’s Day message looks at the life of King David and what it means to lead with courage, conviction, and humble dependence on God. While Saul built monuments to himself, David built his life around worship, obedience, and trust in the Lord. Through 2 Samuel 2 and 5, Pastor Matthew reminds fathers, grandfathers, and future fathers that true leadership is not about titles, success, or having all the answers. It is about being the kind of man whose heart belongs to God, whose family sees faith lived out in real time, and whose legacy points the next generation to Jesus. David was far from perfect, but he kept returning to God. In the same way, men are called to lead not by position, but by example, with humble dependence, hopeful trust, and courageous obedience.

In this message from Nehemiah, Pastor Andrew reminds us that drift happens when we stop paying attention to the condition of our hearts. Nehemiah 13 shows that rebuilding walls was easier than rebuilding people, and the same is true in our lives. Through humor, honesty, and Scripture, this message calls us to recognize sin, refocus on God’s house, reset our finances, restore rest, reprioritize marriage, and rely fully on grace. Realignment does not come from trying harder, but from returning to Jesus, the center of grace, forgiveness, and lasting transformation.

We live in a world of incredible progress and incredible brokenness. Technology advances, systems improve, and opportunities expand, yet loneliness, anxiety, division, and despair remain. In Nehemiah 8–10, we discover that rebuilding what is broken around us is not enough. True renewal begins when God rebuilds what is broken within us.As the walls of Jerusalem were completed, the people gathered around God’s Word and experienced something far greater than a construction project. They were convicted, humbled, renewed, and awakened to God’s presence. Revival came not through better circumstances, but through hearts that were surrendered to God.Pastor Matthew reminds us that revival does not begin with buildings, programs, or even communities. Revival begins when God awakens individual hearts and moves people to respond in obedience. Through the power of Scripture, prayer, confession, and renewed commitment, God transforms ordinary people and uses them to accomplish extraordinary things for His kingdom.The question Nehemiah leaves us with is simple but powerful: Lord, what in me needs to change?