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Grace & Gratitude: A Study in Ephesians 1-3
Grace & Gratitude: A Study in Ephesians 1-3
2024
TFCA Website
The Sermon on the Plain
The Sermon on the Plain
2024
TFCA Website
God's Response to Abuse
God's Response to Abuse
2023
TFCA Website
Philippians
Philippians
2023
TFCA Website
Pillars
Pillars

2023

Philippians

Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi is known as one of Paul’s “prison letters,” but, in reality, its themes are freedom, joy, communion, and completion in Christ. Writing from a Roman prison sometime around the year 60 AD, Paul writes some truly paradoxical things.

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Phil. 1:12).

“…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil. 4:11).

The fact that a Gospel advance and personal joy can come within the circumstances of captivity is counterintuitive. Being locked up, locked out, or otherwise constrained by the people or by the circumstances of life is rarely something we link to gospel progress, fearlessness, growth, and contentment. And yet, Paul tells us that many have become “confident in the Lord” because of his imprisonment, and they are speaking the gospel “much more boldly” and, indeed, even “fearlessly” (Phil 1:14).

How is it that the gospel can go forward and bear much fruit even in a dire context? How is it that we can find inner joy and contentment when external circumstances are so bleak? Let’s find out this fall as we study the book of Philippians together.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Sermon transcript and small group discussion questions

the Rev. Dr. John Frederick

sunday, december 24, 2023

Sermon transcript

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. John Frederick

the Rev. Dr. Michael Weeks

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. John Frederick

Sent: Ambassadors for Christ on Mission for God

Atheist philosopher Frederick Nietzsche was right, “If you know your why, you can handle almost any how.” But if we’re blips between the Big Bang and sun’s burnout, it’s hard to see real purpose beneath our strivings. In the end, life’s meaningless. So live your best life now. Do you.   Atheism cannot give us a why.

Jesus, however, can. At the close of his earthly ministry, he tells his followers, “As the Father sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). To be a Christian, then, is to be sent—by Jesus into God’s Mission in this world. Nothing’s accidental. No person’s unintended. No life’s meaningless. 

In our sermon series, Sent: Ambassadors of Christ on Mission for God, we’ll discover our why by learning what Jesus sends us to do. He has specific tasks for us—as individuals and as a church—, tasks involving profound new realities: New Life, a New People, and a New Kingdom.

New Life: John 3:1-18

  • Jesus taught that people must be “born again” (Jn 3:3), therefore our mission involves offering life.

  • Missional Method: Evangelism

New People: John 15:1-17

  • Jesus taught that people will see him when they see us (Jn 13:35), therefore our mission involves a quality of life that points to Jesus.

  • Missional Method: Holiness

New Kingdom: John 18:33-38

  • Jesus said he came as a king, but his kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:33-37), therefore in our callings and vocations we’re ambassadors for God’s kingdom, more so than for the kingdoms of this world.

  • Missional Method: Kingdom Presence

sunday, October 29, 2023

Sermon transcript & small group discussion questions

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

Pillars

On Sunday, September 3, we began a new sermon series entitled “Pillars.” We pray and work that our Church be marked by four features and qualities. These are pillars that, when happening together, help us live into the calling to be a biblical and God-honoring local church.

Worship: we glorify God. “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Psalm 96:8). The final end of all we do, in word or deed, is to bring honor and praise to God.

Community: we gather in the name of Christ. “So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:5). The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone, but in joyful and committed fellowship with other believers.

Discipleship: we grow more like Christ. “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). The Christian life is not stagnant, but a process of transformation, as the Spirit and the community of believers help us become more like Jesus.

Mission: we go for Christ. “As the Father sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Christ sends us into the world to continue God’s mission, centering upon making Jesus known as the life of the world, the bread of life, the living water, to a world longing for true satisfaction.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

Sermon Transcript & Small Group Discussion Questions

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson

Built for Greater Glory: A Sermon Series on the Book of Haggai

On July 30th, we turn to the book of Haggai - in the busyness of day to day life, it is tempting to prioritize the temporal over the eternal. We often think, “I need to get my own house in order, and then everything else will fall into place.” This view was as alive in the fifth century BC as it is today. In 536 BC, two years after God’s people had returned from exile, social and political pressures caused them to pause work on the reconstruction of the temple, leaving it unfinished for sixteen years; a mere foundation collecting dust as God’s people tried to satisfy themselves with the things of the dust, rather than the things of God.

Indeed, the people were continually saying “the time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built” (Hag. 1:2). Into this situation, the LORD addressed his people through his prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” (Hag. 1:4). God’s people put God’s house on hiatus while they tried to get their own houses in order; but God had different plans. “Build the house” (1:8), declared the LORD, and “I will fill this house with glory” (Hag. 2:7).

In this five-week sermon series we will explore the essential elements of Haggai’s prophecy from the LORD, that although it may often look unimpressive and surely be filled with imperfect people, nevertheless “the glory of the present house”—the Church—will be “greater than the glory of the former house” (Hag. 2:9).

Sunday, July 30, 2023 the Rev. John Frederick

the Rev. John Frederick

Sunday, August 6, 2023 The Rev. Steve Cannizzaro

the Rev. Steve Cannizzaro

Sunday, August 13, 2023 Brian Gurney

Brian Gurney

Sunday, August 20, 2023 the Rev. John Frederick

the Rev. John Frederick

Graedon Zorzi

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2023 GRAEDON ZORZI

Faith that Makes a Difference: A Study in James

 
 
 

New Sermon Series

On Sunday, May 7, we turned to the book of James - a summons to Christian wholeness, a call to be not only hearers but doers of the Word. As such, it’s very practical, urging Christians to produce good fruit that ought to grow from a healthy tree: steadfastness, care for the disadvantaged, a bridled tongue, wise actions in the face of life’s complexities, persevering prayer.

 

The Challenge of James

For a Christian—or the curious—James tells us that true living is never an overly-spiritual escape. It’s about dealing with life with our whole selves—head, heart, and hands. However—and this is James’s driving point—when you follow Jesus, you deal with life differently. Studying this book together this May, June, and July will challenge us to examine how we deal with life and the nature of true biblical faith.

 

Sunday, May 7, 2023

The Rev. Sam Ferguson

Sunday, May 14, 2023

The Rev. Sam Ferguson

Sunday, May 28, 2023

The Rev. Sam Ferguson

Sunday, JUNE 11, 2023

The Rev. Sam Ferguson

Sunday, June 18, 2023

the Rev. Isaiah Brooms

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2023

the Rev. Dr. James Ferguson

Sunday, July 2, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

Sunday, July 9, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

Sunday, July 16, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

Ash Wednesday and Holy Week

Sunday, April 16, 2023

the Rev. John Frederick

Sunday, April 9, 2023: EASTER SUNDAY

The Rev. Sam Ferguson

fRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2023: GOOD FRIDAY tenebrae

Good Friday Tenebrae Service

 

tHURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023: MAUNDY THURSDAY

Maundy Thursday Service

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2023: PALM SUNDAY

The Rev. John Frederick

Ash Wednesday

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

,

Disciplines of Disciples

,

October 1

the Rev. John Frederick

February 19

the Rev. John Frederick

January 22

the Rev. John Frederick

January 15

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

January 8

the Rev. John Frederick

,

The Life of Abraham: Genesis 12-22

,

The LIfe of Abraham

On Sunday, January 29th, we return to the book of Genesis for our new sermon series, The Life of Abraham: Genesis 12-22. Last winter we considered our beginnings in Genesis 1-11, finding that though life originates in glory, things descend swiftly into sin and chaos. This winter we turn to God’s mission to reclaim his corrupted creation. It’s a project that takes form through the family of a man from Mesopotamia, Abraham.

Themes of calling, mission, and faith emerge in Abraham’s life and become the fabric of the rest of Scripture. In Abraham’s calling, we can hear God’s call to us. By Abraham’s example, we meet the way of faith. Most importantly, through Abraham we are pointed to Jesus. Abraham’s seed, through whom God’s blessings pour forth to all the world, is Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16; Rom 4:17). Therefore, through Abraham God begins applying the balm of salvation to a wicked and weary world: by faith, not perfection, we can be reconciled to God.

Calling, mission, faith—and promises that come true only in Jesus— these are the themes of Abraham’s life. And they must become the fabric of ours.

SERMON NOTES FOR SMALL GROUPS

LENT BREAK

Series Sermons

 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

The Rev. Sam Ferguson

March 19, 2023

the Rev. John Frederick

March 12, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

MARCH 5, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

 

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

 

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

 

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson

 

January 29, 2023

the Rev. Sam Ferguson