Jon Wolfinger

August 9, 2026

2026 - 2 Peter 2:4-22 - Following Jesus in a Fallen World

Jon Wolfinger

August 9, 2026

Call to worship:

1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2     sing the glory of his name;
    give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4 All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.”
Psalm 66:1-4

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

Why do Peter point the readers back to the examples of Judgement in Genesis?

What is the pattern and problem of false teaching then and what do you see today?

How are we to follow Jesus in this fallen world?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the story of salvation that centers on Your Son. We are amazed again at the endless grace of Jesus that grants forgiveness and freedom. May Your Spirit shape us to continually receive, share and show the love of God through everything we say and do.

In the name of Christ we pray, amen.

Online Giving

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

2 Peter 2:4-22

puppet/homer - Pics attached

The same early christians who tell us to be kind and gentle also tell us to be on our guard against being deceived. Jesus himself told us to be not only innocent as doves but also wise as serpents. It’s a difficult combination. But we won’t get very far in the right direction unless we work hard on both sides of our character….Peter is going for the wisdom of the serpent. There are false prophets and false teachers; the problem is that they don’t wear a label round their necks giving the game away. The devastating thing about such prophets and teachers is that they sound all too plausible.” N.T. Wright

Ezekiel 16:49-50

Eph 5:15-17

Jon Wolfinger

August 2, 2026

Gathering Recap - 08/02/2026 - 2 Peter 2:1-3 - Clever Stories

Jon Wolfinger

August 2, 2026

Call to worship:

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:1-4

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What “clever stories” are being peddled today?

How does the truth of 2 Peter apply today?

How does Jesus promise to deal with both the problems/heresies “out there” as well as “in here?”

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

In the name of Christ we pray, amen.

Online Giving

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

2 Peter 2:1-3 - Faith

Title: Clever Stories

“Christianity would then be evaporated of its essence and consist of little more than a vague reverence for “God.” Certain strands of the ecumenical movement err in just this direction. In the interests of Christian unity, they reduce the faith to its lowest possible common denominator.”

- Douglas Moo

“In essentials unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.”

- Rupertus Meldenius

Apostles Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

[he descended to the dead.]

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

(ELLC)

“Anxiety is a truly remarkable thing. Maya walks home alone, like iron on the outside but a house of cards inside. The slightest little breeze is all it takes. Today it was the line in the cafeteria. The crowd. Someone backed into her accidentally; she doesn't know the boy's name, and he didn't even notice. They hardly touched each other. It wasn't his fault. But Maya was plunged back into hell again in an instant…Anxiety. It's such a peculiar thing. Almost everyone knows what it feels like, yet none of us can describe it. Maya looks at herself in the mirror, wonders why it can't be seen on the outside. Not even on X-rays how does that work? How can something that bangs away at us so horribly hard on the inside not show up on the pictures as black scars, scorched into our skeletons? How can the pain she feels not be visible in the mirror! She's become so good at pretending. Goes to school, sits in classes, does her homework. She plays her guitar, perhaps that helps, unless she's just imagining that. Perhaps her fingers just need to be kept busy. She's looked into the books her dad reads about "mental coaching," and they talk about the brain having to steer the body but that sometimes the reverse is the only way to survive. She's seen depressed adults do the same thing: keep moving, exercising, and cleaning and renovating their summer cottages, finding things that force them to get up in the morning: plants to be watered, errands to be run, anything so they don't have time to think about how.”

—Fredrick Backman, Us Against Them

Jon Wolfinger

July 26, 2026

Gathering Recap - 07/26/2026 - 2 Peter 1:16-21 - How to Pay Attention

Jon Wolfinger

July 26, 2026

Call to worship:

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:5-8

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How does the identity of Jesus and trustworthiness of His word anchor us today?

Where in your life do you already know what needs to change, but continue to avoid the cost of changing it?

What has become so normal in your life that you no longer notice how much it is diminishing your vitality?

If someone looked only at the way you spend your time, energy, and attention, what would they assume matters most to you?Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

In the name of Christ we pray, amen.

Online Giving

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

2 Peter 1:16-21 - Mike G Reading

2 Peter 1:16-21

I have seen the face of Jesus— Tell me not of aught beside;

I have heard the voice of Jesus—All my soul is satisfied.

In the radiance of the glory, First I saw His blessed face,

And forever shall that glory Be my home, my dwelling-place.

2 Tim 3:16-17

The value of inspiration emerges, as twofold. It gives to the books written under its bearing a quality which is truly superhuman; a trustworthiness, an authority, a searchingness, a profundity, a profitableness which is altogether Divine. And it speaks this Divine word immediately to each reader’s heart and conscience; so that he does not require to make his way to God, painfully, perhaps even uncertainly, through the words of His servants, the human instruments in writing the Scriptures, but can listen directly to the Divine voice itself speaking immediately in the Scriptural word to him. BB Warfield

“We read scripture in order to be refreshed in our memory and understanding of the story within which we ourselves are actors, to be reminded where it has come from and where it is going to, and hence what our own part within it ought to be.” - NT Wright, Scripture and the Authority of God

1. Where in your life do you already know what needs to change, but continue to avoid the cost of changing it?

2. What has become so normal in your life that you no longer notice how much it is diminishing your vitality?

3. If someone looked only at the way you spend your time, energy, and attention, what would they assume matters most to you?

Jon Wolfinger

July 19, 2026

Gathering Recap - 07/19/2026 - 2 Peter 1:10-15 - Last Words

Jon Wolfinger

July 19, 2026

Call to worship:

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:1-3

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

Do you tend to approach sanctification as a passive or perfectionistic?

Where is your deepest need currently?

How is Christ meeting you in those places?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

In the name of Christ we pray, amen.

Online Giving

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

2 Peter 1:10-15 - Jorgen/Larry

Title: Last Words

“In this sense holiness refers to a state of being separate, set apart from the ordinary or mundane and dedicated to a particular purpose or use. The Hebrew adjective for "holy" (qadosh) literally means "separate," since it derives from a verb meaning "to cut off" or "to separate!" Together with its cognates it is used to designate particular places (especially the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies), objects (e.g., Aaron's garments and the Sabbath day, and persons (e.g., the priests and Levites) as specially set apart or sanctified to the Lord. An example is found in Exodus 13:2: "Consecrate to me all the first-born; whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine." Similarly, the holiness of God signifies his separateness from anything impure.”

- Millard Erickson

“those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Cor. 1:2)

“The term sanctification does not appear in the Synoptic Gospels at all. To convey the idea that our lives are to be pure, Jesus emphasized instead that we are children of God. We belong to God and consequently should show a likeness to him. We should share his spirit of love: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy! But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:43-45a). To Jesus, his brother and sister are those who do God's will (Mark 3:35). Paul shares this conception that our status before God is to result in holy living. For example, he urges the Ephesians, "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Eph. 4:1). He then goes on to specify a life of lowliness, meekness, patience, and forbearance. The fact of belonging to God is to issue in moral attributes reflecting such a status.”

- Millard Erickson

“Our reckoning with purity culture is good and necessary. It's helped many Christians rediscover a God who loves wounded people, not perfect performances, but I fear that in the process of tearing down purity culture, we may have kissed purity itself goodbye. And that's a problem. My generation is porn addicted, drug dependent, dopamine sick, irony poisoned, attention fractured, and spiritually starved. We've traded repression for indulgence, and the result isn't freedom-it’s decay. It turns out the Christian sexual ethic once derided as prudish is one of the last coherent frameworks for love, dignity, and belonging. Purity, rightly understood, isn't about fear. It's about reverence. It's not about suppressing desire but directing it.”

- Luke Simons

“15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” (Romans 8:15&16)

Jon Wolfinger

July 12, 2026

Gathering Recap - 07/12/2026 - 2 Peter 1:1-9 - End of Life Concerns

Jon Wolfinger

July 12, 2026

Call to worship:

1 Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
3 for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.
Psalm 61:1-3

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How is 1 Peter differ from 2 Peter?

What pops up when you see the solid ground Peter gives God’s people in V. 3-4?

As we see the list of character, how does it point us toward Christ and the good of our neighbors?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

In the name of Christ we pray, amen.

Online Giving

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

2 Peter 1:1-9

Knowing God is more than knowing about Him; it is a matter of dealing with Him as He opens up to you, and being dealt with by Him as he takes knowledge of you. Knowing about Him is a necessary precondition of trusting in Him, but the width of our knowledge about Him is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of Him. JI Packer

“Participating in the divine nature” is, then, a great and precious privilege: Through our union with Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we share in something of God’s own holy nature, separated from the corrupt world around us. And it is precisely “for that reason” (v. 5) that we called on to progress in holiness and godliness. But the very fact that Peter goes on to encourage us to make such progress shows that participating in the divine nature does not bring us into a state of sinlessness or even into a situation in which we can lay back and simply enjoy our new status.” Douglas Moo

Christian faith is the root from which all these virtues must grow, and Christian love is the crowning virtue to which all the others must contribute. In a list of this kind, the last item has a unique significance. It is not just the most important virtue, but also the virtue which encompasses all the others. Love is the overriding ethical principle from which the other virtues gain their meaning and validity. Thus the author of 2 Peter sees that some of the ethical ideals of pagan society should also be Christian ideals, but only if they are subordinated to and reinterpreted by the Christian ideal of love. - Richard Bauckham

Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone- Dallas Willard

I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that He did all that he did. - Dallas Willard