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

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

2 Peter 1:16-21 - How to Pay Attention

Jon Wolfinger - 07/26/2026

Download

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,

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.

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?

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

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

2 Peter 1:10-15 - Last Words

Anthony Garcia - 07/19/2026

Download

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,

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.

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)

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

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

2 Peter 1:1-9 - End of Life Concerns

Jon Wolfinger - 07/12/2026

Download

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,

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.

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

Gathering Recap - 07/05/2026 - 1 Peter 5:6-14 - Hard Times Now, Better Times Ahead

Call to worship:

16 But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 57:16-17

Gathering Video

1 Peter 5:6-14 - Hard Times Now, Better Times Ahead

Mike Gaston - 07/05/2026

Questions for reflection:

How does faith form us to face challenges?

In what ways does knowing Christians have an adversary bring about a proper sobriety?

How does the care of God inform our suffering?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 5:6-14 - Mike G Teaching

Slide 1

Big Idea

Our faith in God allows us to navigate challenging times now, as we await

better times ahead.

Slide 2

Challenging times now (vs 6-9)

We are called to humility before God

We have an adversary

Suffering is part of life

Slide 3

“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”

Jonathan Edwards

Slide 4

“Peter recognizes that a great barrier to putting others first and thinking of them as more important is the legitimate human concern, ‘But then who will care for me?’ The answer is that God himself will care for our needs. He is able to do so far better than we are (his hand is ‘mighty,’ v. 6), and he wants to do so, for he continually cares for his children. Therefore casting all your anxieties on him is the path to humility, freeing a person from constant concern for himself and enabling him or her to truly be concerned for the needs of others.”

Wayne Grudem

Slide 5

“… because he cares for you.”

Slide 6

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

CS Lewis, Preface to The Screwtape Letters

Slide 7

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

James 4:6-8

“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”

Isaiah 7:9

Slide 8

Better Times Ahead (vs 10-11)

The description of God

The promises of God

The timeline

Slide 9

God will have the last word!

Slide 10

“Mark, my son”

Gathering Recap - 06/28/2026 - 1 Peter 5:1-5- Pastors, We Have a Problem

Call to worship:

7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8     Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.

Psalm 57:7-9

Gathering Video

1 Peter 5:1-5 - Pastors, We Have a Problem

Jon Wolfinger - 06/28/2026

Questions for reflection:

What problems have you experienced in leadership?

How is the model and example of Jesus to shape pastoring?

What does the call to mutual humility look like today?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 5:1-5

The vocation of pastor(s) has been replaced by the strategies of religious entrepreneurs with business plans - Eugene Peterson

“By all our ministry activity to mistakenly be like God, we’ve actually made it hard for people to see or hear him.” John Calvin

Matthew 20:25-28

“It is possible for ministry leaders to desire greatness in ways no different from anyone, anywhere in our culture. Attaching Jesus’s name to these desires doesn’t change the fact that they look just like the cravings of the world.” - Zach Eswine

John 21:15-19

It is possible for ministry leaders to desire greatness in ways no different from anyone, anywhere in our culture. Attaching Jesus’s name to these desires doesn’t change the fact that they look just like the cravings of the world. - Zach Eswine

Ezekiel 34:1-16

Gathering Recap - 06/21/2026 - 1 Peter 4:12-19- Suffering and Stories

Call to worship:

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

Psalm 57:1-3

Gathering Video

1 Peter 4:12-19 - Suffering and Stories

Jon Wolfinger - 06/21/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

How does Peter root the churches suffering in the story of God?

What happens when we truly believe God is with us and working in our pain?

In what ways does the coming judgement of God shape our living in the present?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 4:12-19

John 16:33

Romans 5:1-5

James 1:2-4

Certainly there is unanimous teaching among the NT writers that there is no condemnation for those who believe in Christ and that they will be delivered from the destiny that is coming to those who disobey God by rejecting the redemption he provides in Jesus Christ. But there is ample teaching that Christians will nevertheless be judged and that it is their standing with Christ that will bring this judgment to a good end. Those who profess Christ are the first ones to be tested in God’s judging action, and it occurs during their lives and throughout history. Karen Jobes

1 Cor 3:10-17

“While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy. Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God himself walks with us in the fire. God will allow evil only to the degree that it brings about the very opposite of what it intends.” Tim Keller

Gathering Recap - 06/14/2026 - 1 Peter 4:1-11- Lock In

Call to worship:

10 In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Psalm 56:10-13

Gathering Video

1 Peter 4:1-11 - Lock In

Anthony Garcia - 06/14/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

Why do we often wilt with difficulty? How is “gospel grit” formed in us?

How can suffering circle us back to Christ?

What particular passions are to be left behind? What does living for the will of God look like?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Jon reading

Title: Lock In

“We prefer a gospel in which God gives us healthy bodies and bulging wallets. And we too readily think that material blessing is the entitled reward of the gospel. To put it bluntly, the democratized West expects Jesus, comfort, ease, and acceptance from the world.”

- David Helm

“Indeed the only way in which I can make real to myself what theology teaches about the heinousness of sin is to remember that every sin is the distortion of an energy breathed into us—an energy which, if not thus distorted, would have blossomed into one of those holy acts whereof “God did it” and “I did it” are both true descriptions. We poison the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument. We caricature the self-portrait He would paint. Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege.”

- C.S. Lewis

Gathering Recap - 06/07/2026 - 1 Peter 3:13-22 - The Pilgrim's Path

Call to worship:

1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

Psalm 56:1-4

Gathering Video

1 Peter 3:13-22 - The Pilgrim's Path

Anthony Garcia - 06/07/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

How does Peter show the connection to Jesus’ suffering and the church’s?

In what ways does Jesus apply His life to ours? How does that hold us in difficulty?

Where do you need to remember that Jesus has been there too, and is with you now?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 3:13-22

Title: The Pilgrim's Path

“8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh…16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

(2 Corinthians 4:8-11, 16-18)

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

(Matthew 10:28-30)

“A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.… I cannot understand and I cannot explain it. And there has been no one who has explained it.”

- Martin Luther

“The exegetical questions basically come down to these: Where did Christ go? When did he go? To whom did he speak? What did he say? Different answers to each of these questions can be found, resulting in a labyrinth of exegetical options, each of which has no clearly overwhelming claim to certainty, [with one] calculating 180 different exegetical combinations, in theory.”

- Karen Jobes

Gathering Recap - 05/31/2026 - 1 Peter 3:8-12 - Character, Calling, Promise

Call to worship:

8 God reigns over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!

Psalm 47:8-9

Gathering Video

1 Peter 3:8-12 - Character, Calling, Promise

Jon Wolfinger - 05/31/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

Do you go toward pride or shame when your see lists of Christian character?

How does Peter connect their character and calling to the promise of God?

Where do you need to trust Jesus with struggles of unity, sympathy, brotherly love, tender hearts or humility?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 3:8-12 - Anthony reading

“This is the mission of God: to restore the creation and the life of humanity from the ravages of sin. The church’s function in this story is to participate in God’s mission; we are to be caught up in God’s own work of restoration and healing. This defines the identity and role of the church.” - Mike Goheen

“How can Jesus expect me to love my enemies when I don’t even like them?” “Loving” in modern culture refers primarily to an emotional attachment of a greater intensity than merely “liking.” But Peter clearly interprets Jesus’ command to love to refer not to emotions but to acting rightly toward one’s adversaries, regardless of whatever emotions may or may not be involved.” - Karen Jobes

When you come to Christ for mercy and love and help in your anguish and perplexity and sinfulness, you are going with the flow of his own deepest wishes, not against them. - Dane Ortlund

Gathering Recap - 05/24/2026 - 1 Peter 3:1-7 - The Way Home

Call to worship:

5 God has gone up with a shout,
    the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
    sing praises with a psalm!

Psalm 47:5-7

Gathering Video

1 Peter 3:1-7 - The Way Home

Anthony Garcia- 05/24/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What is the text NOT saying about the gospel and marriage?

How does marriage communicate Christ?

Ed Clowney said “Our deepest loves drives our deepest beliefs.” What do your deepest loves reveal?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Faith: 1 Peter 3:1-7

Title: The Way Home

“Submission is not something being taken from me, but is something I’m choosing to give. The truth that Jesus, being fully God, willingly entered into this world, becoming fully man and submitting His will to God the Father and giving His life to justify us as well as the Spirit’s role of illuminating and pointing people to Jesus is proof that the differing roles God has for men/women and husbands/wives is not about value or worth. Submission actively happens in the Trinity. If Jesus submitted even unto death, how can I stand on my “rights” and ultimately demand to always be the one in authority?”

- Kathy Keller

“Renounce yourself, take up your Cross and follow Me. To recognize one's own nonentity and discover the secret of the Kingdom is not enough: the King of Love must be enthroned in our mind and heart, take undivided possession of our will and make of our very bodies the Temples of the Holy Ghost. This small particle of the Cosmos, which is our soul and body must be conquered, freed by a lifelong struggle from enslavement to the world and to the devil, freed as if it were an occupied country and restored to its legitimate King.”

- Anthony of Sourozh, Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Gathering Recap - 05/17/2026 - 1 Peter 2:13-25 - Providence and Politics

Call to worship:

1 Clap your hands, all peoples!
    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
    a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us,
    the pride of Jacob whom he loves.

Psalm 47:1-14

Gathering Video

1 Peter 2:13-25 - Providence and Politics

Jon Wolfinger - 05/17/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What is your typical posture when dealing with politics?

How does the call to “love, honor, serve” reshape how we interact with others publicly and politically?

In what ways do you need to trust and follow the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul today?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 2:13-25 - Jack

1 Peter 2:13-25

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine! - Abraham Kuyper

Romans 13:1-2

“The cross is not a sign of the church's quiet, suffering submission to the powers-that-be, but rather the church's revolutionary participation in the victory of Christ over those powers. The cross is not a symbol for general human suffering and oppression. Rather, the cross is a sign of what happens when one takes God's account of reality more seriously than Caesar's. The cross stands as God's (and our) eternal “no” to the powers of death, as well as God's eternal “yes” to humanity, God's remarkable determination not to leave us to our own devices.” - Stanley Hauerwas, Resident Aliens

“The Bread itself was hungry, Fullness itself was thirsty, Power itself was made weak, Health itself was wounded, and Life itself was mortal. So that our hunger would be satisfied, so that our dryness would be watered, our weakness supported, our love ignited. What greater mercy than that which presents to us the Creator created; the Master made a slave; the Redeemer sold; the One who exalts, humbled; the One who raises the dead, killed?” - Augustine

Gathering Recap - 05/10/2026 - 1 Peter 2:9-12 - Earworm

Call to worship:

16 But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

Psalm 40:16-17

Gathering Video

1 Peter 2:9-12 - Earworm

Anthony Garcia - 05/10/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What “earworms” have you been having lately?

How do Peter’s words solidify who we are and how we’re called as God’s people?

In what ways can you more regularly live into your identity?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 2:9-12 - Faith

Title: Earworm

[Verse 1]

Guilty running down the side of the egg

I'm in love with the past, and the things that they said

Guilty running down the side of my head

I get by on the promise of future excess

Guilty running, guilty running

I put my back in waiting for something

[Chorus]

I keep waiting for the shoe to drop

Microplastics in my lemonade

I keep waiting for my friend to call

And forgive me of my bad faith

Guilty running, guilty, I'm running out of time

- Hudson Freeman

5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”  

(Exodus 19:6&7)

“They all make one family, a sort and species of people distinct from the common world, of another spirit, principle, and practice, which they could never be if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by His Spirit.”

- Matthew Henry

“26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

(1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

“The community that is created by the cross, is not just a warm family or aggregation of people giving one another emotional support. It is an alternate society with different habits, different customs, different loves. It is a foretaste of the heavenly city to come.”

- Timothy Keller

Gathering Recap - 05/03/2026 - 1 Peter 2:1-8 - Discard, Desire, Build

Call to worship:

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
    beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
    O Lord, make haste to help me!

Psalm 40:11-13

Gathering Video

1 Peter 2:1-8 - Discard, Desire, Build

Jon Wolfinger - 05/03/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What does Peter encourage the people of God to “discard” and what are they to desire?

How does the story of God change how we see people?

If followers of Jesus are “priests” - What does our (your) vocation look like today?

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.

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 2:1-8

Psalm 19:7-11

Every other ethical system calls us to the costly effort of becoming what we are not. But in the full salvation already bequeathed to us in Christ, the new nature is already ours, waiting for expression, poised for growth, until its potential is triggered by our obedience to the word of God - Alec Motyer

What God desires from us, he graciously forms in us as we grow in our love for him. Ruth Chou Simmons

Gathering Recap - 04/26/2026 - 1 Peter 1:13-26 - Exilic Exercise

Call to worship:

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance[b]
    in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

Psalm 40:9-10

Gathering Video

1 Peter 1:13-26 - Exilic Exercise

Anthony Garcia - 04/26/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

“Courage is found in unlikely places.” Where have you found this to be true?

What are the marks of hope? How to a healthy mind and holy life connect to hope?

How does God’s judgement, the sacrifice of Jesus, the people of God, and the scriptures help us endure?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 1:13-26 - Chris F Reading

Title: Exilic Exercise

“The tidings were mostly sad and ominous: of gathering darkness, the wars of Men, and the flight of the Elves…And I warn you that peril is now both before you and behind you, and upon either side…. ‘But where shall I find courage?’ asked Frodo. ‘That is what I chiefly need.’ ‘Courage is found in unlikely places,’ said Gildor. ‘Be of good hope!”

— J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship Of The Rings

“So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness.” (1 Peter 13-16, MSG)

“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that is distinctively Christian… is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God.”

— J. I. Packer, Knowing God

“Christianity is completely and entirely and utterly hope — a looking forward and a forward direction; hope is not just an appendix. So Christianity inevitably means a new setting forth and transformation of the present…[The hoping person] can never come to terms with the inescapability of death or with the evil that continually breeds evil. For him the resurrection of Christ is not merely consolation in suffering; it is also the sign of God’s protest against suffering. That is why whenever faith develops into hope it does not make people serene and placid; it makes them restless. It does not make them patient; it makes them impatient. Instead of being reconciled to existing reality they begin to suffer from it and to resist it.”

— Jürgen Moltmann, Experiences of God

Gathering Recap - 04/19/2026 - 1 Peter 1:10-12 - Trust and Temptations

Call to worship:

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ear.[a]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

Psalm 40:6-8

Gathering Video

1 Peter 1:10-12 - Trust and Temptations

Jon Wolfinger - 04/19/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What process did Jesus bring Peter through? Does that give you perspective on yourself? Others?

What does it look like to be rooted in the story of God?

What unique temptations do you face that threaten trust in God?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Peter 1:3-12

“Jesus matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weaknesses he gives us strength and and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.” - Dallas Willard

Peter opens the body of the letter by providing a theological and hermeneutical basis for the Christian life that introduces the major motifs and themes of the letter. In the Greek, these verses constitute one very long sentence that is composed of a series of subordinate clauses modifying the main clause “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Doxology provides the context for Christians’ new life in Christ (1:3–5) because both their experience of suffering grief in trials (1:6–7) and their present and ultimate salvation is the goal not only of their faith but also of the plan of God as revealed to the prophets - Karen Jobes

We would like a church that again asserts that God, not nations, rules the world, that the boundaries of God's kingdom transcend those of Caesar, and that the main political task of the church is the formation of people who see clearly the cost of discipleship and are willing to pay the price. As a society of unbelief, Western culture is devoid of a sense of journey, of adventure, because it lacks belief in much more than the cultivation of an ever-shrinking horizon of self-preservation and and self-expression. - Stanley Hauerwas

Luke 24:25

Image

“Ask the questions that have no answers.

    Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.

    Say that your main crop is the forest

    that you did not plant,

    that you will not live to harvest.”

- Wendell Berry

Gathering Recap - 04/12/2026 - 1 Peter 1:1-9 - Elect Exiles

Call to worship:

1  Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1:1-6

Gathering Video (We didn’t stream)

1 Peter 1:1-9 - Elect Exiles

Anthony Garcia - 04/12/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What is the significance of the phrase “Elect Exiles?”

How does the good news of the gospel meet us in suffering?

What is the hope that christians carry?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Gathering Recap - 04/05/2026 - Revelation 21:1-5 - The Kingdom to Come

Call to worship:

1  But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

Luke 24:1-7

Gathering Video

Revelation 21:1-5 - The Kingdom to Come

Jon Wolfinger - 04/05/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

How does the resurrection of Jesus inaugurate and invite us into God’s kingdom?

We recognize the world needs saving. What do you see as common solutions to the problem(s)?

How does Easter continue to remind us and point us to the kingdom to come?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Revelation 21:1-5

(pic)

“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom…It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven…The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.” N.T. Wright

Eph 1:13-14

Romans 8:22-25

John 3:16-17

Gathering Recap - 03/29/2026 - Mark 11:1-10 - The Kingdom Arrives

Call to worship:

4  Blessed is the man who makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

Psalm 40:4-5

Gathering Video

Mark 11:1-10 - The Kingdom Arrives

Jon Wolfinger - 03/29/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

How does the kingdom of God arrive in Christ?

What is surprising about the posture and methods of Jesus?

What does it look like to see, know, trust and follow Jesus today?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Mark 11:1-10

Luke 17:20-21

Matthew 11:4-6

Zech 9:9

“One the one hand this looks like all other triumphal entries. Two hundred years earlier Simon Maccabeus had defeated foreign armies and kept Israel independent and he rode in to Jerusalem with people shouting cheers and waiving Palm branches because he delivered them… This triumphal entry parodies the entries of kings and armies. Victors in battle do not ride into their capital cities riding on donkeys but on fearsome horses, but this kind does not, and will not triumph through force of arms.” Stanley Hauerwas

“Jesus is the Lord of all and under his hand nothing but harmony and peace comes about. The animal knows and loves his true master for who he is. This is a foreshadowing of the healing and completion of all nature as found in Isaiah 11, the wolf shall live with the lamb” Tim Keller

Donkey cross 1/2/3/4

“Humans are very attached to outcomes. We say we trust God but behind the scenes we work our fingers to the bone and our emotions into a tangled fray trying to control our outcomes. We praise God when our normal looks like what we thought it would. We question God when it doesn’t. And walk away from Him when we have a sinking suspicion that God is the one who set fire to the hope that was holding us together…What if disappointment is really the exact appointment your soul needs to radically encounter God?” - Lysa TerKuerst - Not Supposed to Be This Way

Gathering Recap - 03/22/2026 - Isaiah 35:1-10 - Kingdom Promised

Call to worship:

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3

Gathering Video

Isaiah 35:1-10 - Kingdom Promised

Anthony Garcia - 03/22/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

Where do we often have misconceptions around the Kingdom of God?

What does Isaiah show us about the promised arrival of God’s kingdom?

How does Jesus arrive as home, peace, and rest?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

We are in awe of Your work. We see how the gospel of Jesus brings life, beauty, grace and freedom. May Your glorious truth be the center of our lives. Empower us by Your Spirit to remain connected to You and one another in everything we say and do.

In the name of Christ we pray,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Text: Isaiah 35:1-10

Title: Kingdom Promised

“The God in whom we believe is the creator of the world, will one day put this world to rights. That solid belief is the bedrock of all Christian faith. God is not going to abolish the universe of space, time and matter; he is going to renew it, to restore it, to fill it with new joy and purpose and delight, to take from it all that has corrupted it. ‘The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom, and rejoice with joy and singing; the desert shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.’ The last book of the Bible ends, not with the company of the saved being taken up into heaven, but with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, resulting in God’s new creation, new heavens and new earth, in which everything that has been true, lovely, and of good report will be vindicated, enhanced, set free from all pain and sorrow. God himself, it says, will wipe away all tears from all eyes.”

- N.T. Wright

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

(Matt. 11:5&6)

“This is a story of a man who is disillusioned with Jesus just like we are sometimes–with Jesus or with God, or with the church, or with the whole Christian faith. But, you know something? That may not be so bad as it seems. Disillusionment means literally to have our illusions “dissed.” It’s very painful, but it’s not a bad thing. Disillusionment can be a gift. When we are disillusioned we have discovered that God does not always conform to our expectations. We look at our requirements for God and begin to see our own selfish illusions–the kinds of things we tell ourselves to feel good or comfortable, or to make sense of it all. But when God yanks away our illusions, we are free to discover the real God. Taylor says, “Every letdown becomes a lesson and a lure. Did God fail to come when I rubbed the lantern? Then perhaps God is not a genie? Who then is God? Did God fail to punish my enemies? Then perhaps God is not a cop. Who, then, is God? Did God fail to make everything run smoothly? Then, perhaps God is not a [cosmic] mechanic. Who, then, is God?” When God does not meet my expectations I am drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of who God really is and what God is really doing in my life and in the world.

- Leonard J. Vander Zee

“Our Father in heaven,


hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,


on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,


as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation,


but deliver us from evil.”

(Matt. 6:10-13)

Gathering Recap - 03/15/2026 - Acts 28:17-31 - Finish Line

Call to worship:

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:1-4

Gathering Video

Acts 28:17-31 - Finish Line

Jon/Anthony - 03/15/2026

Download

Questions for reflection:

What comes to mind when you read the end of Acts? Why did Luke structure it this way?

Acts shows us: Life is hard, history is a masterpiece, and you only need one thing. How does Paul’s reflection in 2 Timothy give further perspective?

Where have you seen God connect the dots of difficulty in your life?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

We are in awe of Your work. We see how the gospel of Jesus brings life, beauty, grace and freedom. May Your glorious truth be the center of our lives. Empower us by Your Spirit to remain connected to You and one another in everything we say and do.

In the name of Christ we pray,

Amen

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Acts 28:17-31 2 Timothy 4:6-8 -

“Readers always experience “gaps” in narration, but the gap at the end of Acts threatens to widen into a canyon.” Beverly Gaventa

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:43-46)

“They have been looking for a temporal prince, he does not come with the magnificence they expected; he is a root out of a dry ground, without form or comeliness; they see nothing of Solomon’s splendour in the poor scion of the dried-up stock of David and therefore they walked away.” Charles Spurgeon

2 Cor 4:16-18

Vs.16) At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Tim. 4:16-18)

“Death is the supreme festival on our road to freedom.” —Bonhoeffer

2 Tim 1:8-14