Striving for Holiness: Hearing God – In the Word, the Silence, and Prayer – Part 3: Prayer

Matthew 6:5–8

Pastor Joe concluded the Hearing God portion of the Striving for Holiness series by bringing together the themes of the previous two messages.

We have considered how God speaks through His Word. We have considered the importance of becoming still, withdrawing from the noise around us, and making room for communion with God.

This week, Pastor Joe turned to something closely connected with both:

Hearing God through prayer.

Prayer is one of the most familiar practices of the Christian life. But it is possible to pray regularly without ever slowing down to consider what prayer really is.

Is prayer simply telling God what we need?

Is it presenting our requests, saying “Amen,” and moving on with our day?

Or is prayer meant to be something more?

Jesus said:

“But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

— Matthew 6:6

The Purpose of Prayer

Pastor Joe began with a simple definition:

Prayer is sincere communion with God, not a show for others to hear.

Jesus warned His disciples not to pray like the hypocrites who loved to be seen praying publicly.

Their concern was not communion with God, but recognition from people.

Jesus instead directed His followers toward the private place—away from the audience, away from the performance, and alone with the Father.

Prayer certainly has a place in the gathered church. But whether our prayer is public or private, its true audience is God.

And Jesus’ words assume something else:

His followers will pray.

He did not say if you pray.

He said, “When you pray.”

Your Father Wants His Children to Spend Time With Him

Prayer is more than a Christian obligation.

It is time spent with our Father.

Pastor Joe used the relationship between a parent and child to illustrate this truth. A loving parent does not merely tolerate hearing from his children. He wants to hear from them because they are his children.

In an infinitely greater way, our heavenly Father desires communion with His children.

That changes how we think about prayer.

We are not trying to persuade a distant God to pay attention to us. We are coming to the Father who already knows us, loves us, and knows what we need.

Jesus said:

“Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.”

Schedule Time Alone With God

If communion with God matters, we must intentionally make room for it.

Psalm 5:3 says:

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.”

Pastor Joe was careful not to turn “in the morning” into a rule requiring everyone to pray at a particular hour.

The larger point is intentionality.

Jesus Himself demonstrated this pattern. Luke tells us that He often withdrew to deserted places to pray. Matthew records Him dismissing the crowds, going up on a mountain by Himself, and remaining there alone in prayer.

Prayer should not simply become another item on a list that we rush through so we can move on to everything else.

God our Father wants us to spend time with Him.

Talk With God, Not Just to God

Jesus also warned against thinking that prayer becomes effective simply because we use many words.

Pastor Joe explained:

Prayer should not be a series of homilies strung together and directed toward God, but a sincere conversation with God from the heart.

Psalm 62:8 says:

“Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge.”

Sometimes prayers from the heart are eloquent.

Sometimes they are not.

Sometimes the most sincere prayer we can offer is simply:

“Lord, help.”

God is not impressed by religious vocabulary. He invites His children to pour out their hearts before Him.

Pause and Listen

This became one of the central connections between this sermon and the previous message on silence and solitude.

Too often, Pastor Joe explained, we practice only one side of prayer.

We praise God.
We thank Him.
We present our needs.
We intercede for others.
We say “Amen.”

And then we immediately get up and leave.

But if prayer is communion with God, there should also be room to pause and listen.

Pastor Joe pointed to the word Selah, found throughout the Psalms, as an invitation to stop and reflect.

Pause.

Consider what has been said.

Consider who God is.

Consider what you have just prayed.

That does not mean we should expect to hear something every time we pray.

Pastor Joe was explicit about that:

“I won’t tell you that every time you pray, God will speak to you.”

Sometimes we pray, wait, and hear only silence.

But silence does not mean God has failed to hear us.

And there may also be times when, as we pray and listen, God impresses an answer upon our hearts.

The point is not to manufacture an experience.

The point is to stop rushing away.

Talk with God, not merely to God. Pray—and then make room to listen.

Pray in Faith

Pastor Joe then turned to another essential element of prayer:

We must pray in faith.

Faith becomes particularly difficult when the need before us seems impossible.

When someone is desperately ill, when a family faces a crisis, or when circumstances are beyond anything we can change, we need faith in the God who can do what we cannot.

But faith also remembers something else.

What is new to us is not new to God.

Before we ever bring the need to Him, our Father already knows.

Jesus said:

“Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.”

Pastor Joe then explained several foundations that allow us to pray in faith.

We Can Pray in Faith When We Know Him

Trust grows through relationship.

Pastor Joe compared it to recognizing the voice of someone we know deeply. A child can recognize a parent’s voice even among many other voices because that voice is familiar.

In the same way, knowing God shapes our ability to recognize His voice.

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”

— John 10:27

Pastor Joe summarized it this way:

“Praying in faith and hearing God comes from our relationship with God. We know His voice because we know Him.”

This also connects the entire three-part series.

We learn God’s character through His Word.

We make room for communion with Him through silence and solitude.

And through prayer, we speak with the God we have come to know.

We Can Pray in Faith When We Know His Word

Knowing Scripture also teaches us how to pray.

Pastor Joe encouraged the church to pray the Word of God.

He used James 1:5 as an example:

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”

When we know what God has said, we can bring His promises before Him in prayer.

Rather than depending entirely upon our feelings, we can pray from the truth God has already revealed.

This brings prayer back to where the series began:

the Word of God.

Prayer Aligns Us With God’s Will

Prayer is not a means of persuading God to conform to our desires.

As Pastor Joe put it:

“Prayer is not to align God with our will. Prayer is to align us with God’s will.”

James warns that it is possible to ask and not receive because we ask with wrong motives.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray differently:

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

That does not mean we cannot bring our desires to God. Scripture invites us to pour out our hearts before Him.

But as we grow in our relationship with God, our desires should increasingly become shaped by His kingdom, His righteousness, and His will.

Prayer does not merely change circumstances.

Prayer changes the one who prays.

Believe That God Will Answer

Faith also means believing that God hears and answers prayer.

But an answer does not always mean receiving exactly what we requested.

Pastor Joe reminded the church of the familiar truth that God’s answer may be:

Yes.

Wait.

Or something other than what we wanted.

The important thing is to trust that our heavenly Father knows better than we do.

Jeremiah 33:3 says:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.”

Pastor Joe emphasized those words:

“I will answer you.”

So pray.

Pause.

Listen.

Wait.

Watch for what God does.

And then be willing to accept His answer.

Ask, Seek, Knock

Jesus gave His followers an extraordinary invitation:

“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

— Matthew 7:7

And then:

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

— Matthew 7:8

Pastor Joe asked:

“Who but God can make that promise?”

The Christian life is not meant to be lived apart from communion with God.

We are invited to come.

We are invited to ask.

We are invited to seek.

We are invited to knock.

And we are invited to trust our Father with the answer.

Hearing God: The Word, the Silence, and Prayer

As this portion of the Striving for Holiness series came to a close, Pastor Joe brought the three messages together.

God speaks through His Word.

We need to know His Word and His character so that we have a standard by which to recognize what is truly from Him.

We need silence and solitude.

In a world filled with noise and distraction, we need intentional places where we can become still before God.

And we need prayer.

Not prayer as performance.

Not prayer as empty repetition.

Not prayer as an attempt to persuade God to give us everything we want.

But prayer as sincere communion between a child and the heavenly Father.

Speak to Him.

Pour out your heart.

Pray His Word.

Pause and listen.

Ask in faith.

Seek His will.

And trust His answer.

Pastor Joe summarized the challenge near the end of the message:

“We must learn to hear God. We must learn to not pray presumptive prayers. We must learn to listen when we pray. We must learn to set aside time specifically to pray, and we must believe when we pray, God hears us and God will answer.”

He will answer in His time.

He will answer according to His wisdom.

And even when the answer is different from what we expected—or when we do not sense His presence as strongly as we have at other times—we can trust that our Father still hears us.

So the challenge from this week’s message is simple:

Pray. Pause. Listen. Trust.

And through the Word, the silence, and prayer, may we grow in communion with the God who knows His children and invites us to know Him.

Watch here:

Striving for Holiness: Hearing God – In the Word, Silence, and Prayer – Part 2: Silence and Solitude

Luke 5:15–16

This Sunday, Pastor Joe continued the Striving for Holiness series and the larger question introduced in the previous message:

Does God still speak to His people?

Last week, the focus was on hearing God through His Word. This week, Pastor Joe turned to something that can be difficult to find in our increasingly noisy and busy lives:

Silence and solitude.

He began with something from his own Sunday morning routine. He often gets up between four and five in the morning, when the house is still and quiet. That gives him an opportunity to sit with what he has studied during the week and pray, “All right, Lord, show me what You want to say to Your people.”

That quiet provides something increasingly rare in our lives—space to be still before God.

Jesus Himself regularly sought such places.

“But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.”
— Luke 5:15–16

Even as the crowds around Jesus increased, He intentionally withdrew from them to spend time alone with the Father. Joe’s outline identifies four purposes for doing the same: withdrawing from the world’s noise, stopping useless busyness, silencing the enemy’s voice, and having communion with God so that we may hear His voice.  

Withdraw From the Noise

Pastor Joe reminded us that the world was once much quieter.

There was a time when a telephone remained attached to a wall or sat on a table. If someone called while you were away, you simply missed the call. There was no constant stream of text messages, email, social media, internet, television, and notifications competing for our attention.

Today, noise follows us almost everywhere.

But Scripture repeatedly calls God’s people to quiet themselves before Him.

“Coastlands, listen to me in silence, and let the peoples gain new strength.”
— Isaiah 41:1

Pastor Joe quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Life Together:

“One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.” 

Biblical solitude is therefore not isolation from the body of Christ. We need fellowship, but we also need times when we withdraw from the voices around us and become quiet before God.

Stop the Useless Busyness

Noise is not our only problem.

Sometimes we are simply busy.

Pastor Joe distinguished productive work from busyness for the sake of being busy. There is always another email to answer, another text to return, another task to complete, and another demand for our attention.

Even good work can become a problem when our activity for God begins to replace our communion with God.

Joe’s notes express that point with this quotation:

“We have an unhealthy estimation of our own importance when we think our deeds for God are more important than our communion with God.” 

That brings to mind Mary and Martha. Martha was busy serving, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened. The problem was not that serving was wrong. The danger was allowing the activity surrounding Jesus to become more important than being with Jesus.

Psalm 46:10 says:

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

— Psalm 46:10

Pastor Joe pointed to the Hebrew word behind the familiar rendering “Be still,” explaining its sense of letting go, relaxing, becoming quiet, and ceasing.

He then shared a memorable statement from Pastor Robby Gallaty:

“Every great move of God begins with not moving.” 

There are times when faithfulness means acting.

But there are also times when we need to stop.

Be still. Listen. Hear.

If our lives are filled with constant noise and activity, we may leave very little room to listen.

Silence the Voice of the Enemy

Silence and solitude also give us an opportunity to recognize and resist voices that do not reflect the character of God.

This connects directly with the previous sermon. We learn the character of God through His Word, and that gives us a standard by which to discern what we hear.

Pastor Joe turned to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness:

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
— Matthew 4:1

The wilderness was not necessarily evidence that something had gone wrong. Jesus was led by the Spirit into it.

There He fasted, communed with the Father, and when temptation came, He answered the enemy with the truth of Scripture.

Afterward:

“Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs.”

— Matthew 4:11

Pastor Joe connected that with James:

“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
— James 4:7

Notice the order.

Submit to God. Resist the devil.

And Pastor Joe emphasized that resistance is active, not passive. Scripture does not tell us merely to ignore the enemy; it tells us to resist him. Jesus did so with the truth of God’s Word. Joe’s outline specifically emphasizes both the initial submission to God and that active resistance. 

Sometimes the wilderness is not where God has abandoned us.

Sometimes it is precisely where He has led us to prepare us, strengthen us, and draw us nearer to Himself.

Communion With God

This brought Pastor Joe to what he described as the most important purpose of silence and solitude:

“To have communion with God so that we may hear His voice.” 

He illustrated the problem with trying to have a conversation in a crowded restaurant. As more people began talking, everyone spoke louder, until it became difficult even to hear the person sitting directly across the table.

Sometimes our lives can become like that.

There are so many voices, responsibilities, distractions, and concerns surrounding us that we struggle to listen.

Silence creates room for communion with God.

Pastor Joe reflected on a “wilderness” period from his own life when he initially wondered why God had placed him where he was. He felt far removed from the ministry and fellowship he thought he should be experiencing.

Looking back, however, he sees that period differently.

What seemed at the time like being pushed away was actually a season in which God was drawing him nearer.

That changes the way we understand the wilderness.

The wilderness does not always mean punishment or abandonment.

Sometimes the wilderness is an invitation to intimacy.

Withdrawal to Someone

Pastor Joe made an important distinction about what silence and solitude are—and what they are not.

A vacation may provide rest. Hunting, shopping, sitting on a beach, or enjoying a hobby may provide a welcome break from work and responsibility.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with those things.

But that is not automatically biblical silence and solitude.

As Pastor Joe put it:

“The purpose of Silence and Solitude is not simply a withdrawal from something … it is a withdrawal TO SOMEONE!” 

That someone is God.

Silence and solitude are intentional. We withdraw from distractions so that we can give our attention to Him.

It is saying:

“God, I simply want to be alone with You.”

This is not merely getting away from work, nor is it being alone while doing something that satisfies our own desires.

It is intentionally making room for communion with God.

And, as Pastor Joe emphasized, only in this can we find true rest and renewal. 

How Do I Do This?

Pastor Joe concluded with several practical ways to begin practicing silence and solitude. From his outline: 

• Commit to a time daily, to find a quiet place to sit, pray, read the word and LISTEN. (More on this next week)
• Set the phone aside and turn off the computer, the TV
• Get up early when the house is quiet
• Take a walk in a quiet place
• Schedule a longer period of time to get away, (a few hours)

Then:

“Let your mind be still, speak to God, read His Word, and listen. Not just with your ears but with your heart and soul.” 

Pastor Joe acknowledged that quieting the environment may actually be easier than quieting our minds.

We can turn off the television.

We can put down the phone.

We can close the door.

But becoming still inside may take time.

So give it time.

This is not simply another religious routine to complete. It is intentionally making space to be with God.

Pastor Joe also pointed ahead to the next part of the series on prayer. Too often, we practice only one side of prayer: we come before God, praise Him, present our requests—and then immediately go about our day.

We speak.

But do we stop and listen?

Silence and solitude invite us to do just that.

Pastor Joe closed with words from Thomas à Kempis:

“Close the door upon yourself and call to you, Jesus your Beloved. Remain with Him in your cell, for nowhere else will you find such peace.” 

So the challenge from this week’s message is not simply to find a quieter life.

It is to intentionally make room for God within the life He has given us.

Withdraw from the noise.
Stop the unnecessary busyness.
Submit to God and resist the enemy.
Make time for communion with the Lord.

Be still. Read His Word. Speak to Him. And listen.

May we learn to seek those quiet places where distractions fade, our hearts become still, and our attention is fixed upon the God who desires communion with His people.

Watch here:

Striving for Holiness: Hearing God — In the Word, the Silence, and Prayer

Psalm 119:1–16

This Sunday, Pastor Joe continued the Striving for Holiness series with the beginning of a message on hearing God—in the Word, the silence, and prayer.

The service itself began differently than usual. Before preaching, Pastor Joe sensed the need to stop and simply allow the church to pray for one another. Those who needed prayer stood where they were, and others gathered around them.

It was a practical continuation of the previous week’s message about living as a corporate body of believers.

As Pastor Joe prayed:

“We come together corporately to pray for one another as Your Word has commanded.”

That time of prayer also introduced the central question behind this message:

Does God still speak to His people?

Pastor Joe’s answer was yes.

There are differing views among Christians about how God speaks today, and he acknowledged those differences with respect. But for this first part of the message, he focused on the place where every believer should be able to stand together:

God speaks through His Word.

“I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word.”
— Psalm 130:5

Pastor Joe emphasized that whatever else we may believe about hearing from God, Scripture must remain foundational.

“May we never sway from this Word. May it be foremost.”

The Bible Is Not Merely a Source of Religious Information

It is God’s revealed Word, through which He makes Himself, His character, His purposes, and His will known.

Pastor Joe summarized several things the Word of God reveals to us:

• It reveals the cosmos as God’s creation and design.
• It reveals man as the intended image bearer of God.
• It reveals the nature of man.
• It reveals the character of God.
• It reveals the completion of God’s work of redemption.
• It reveals a way to live life, giving light in darkness.

The Word Reveals God

One of those truths becomes especially important as we consider what it means to hear from God: the Word reveals the character of God.

That becomes essential whenever someone claims to have heard from God.

Pastor Joe explained that God will never reveal something that contradicts the character He has already revealed in Scripture.

If someone says, “I believe the Lord told me…” but what follows contradicts God’s Word, we already have a standard by which to test it.

God does not contradict Himself.

The Word also reveals the completed work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

At the cross, Jesus declared:

“It is finished.”

Nothing remains to be added to Christ’s work for our salvation. Those who put their faith in Him rest in what He has already accomplished.

The Word Gives Light in Darkness

Scripture does more than tell us what happened in the past. It guides us through life now.

Psalm 119 says:

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
— Psalm 119:105

Pastor Joe spoke about how easily the troubles of life can consume us. Crisis after crisis can begin to wrap itself around our minds and hearts.

That is why we need the Word.

It gives us something firmer than our circumstances.

He pointed to the prayer later in Psalm 119:

“Give me life according to your word.”

When we are afflicted, confused, discouraged, or afraid, we can pray the promises and truths God has already given us.

His Word brings light into darkness.

More Than Information

Pastor Joe then distinguished between simply reading the Bible for information and receiving it as the revelation of God.

People may read Scripture for many reasons. Some read it historically. Some read it critically. Some may even read it looking for reasons not to believe.

But the believer approaches Scripture differently.

Through the Bible, we come to know what God has revealed about Himself.

We know His character from His Word.
We know His holiness from His Word.
We know His love from His Word.
We know how He has dealt with humanity from His Word.

And through the work of the Holy Spirit, passages we may have read many times can suddenly press deeply into our hearts.

Pastor Joe described a moment from his own life when a passage of Scripture seemed to come alive to him during a sermon.

He later told his pastor:

“God spoke to me through His Word. He revealed Himself through His Word to me.”

That does not mean Scripture suddenly became something new. Rather, the Spirit took the Word already given and impressed its truth upon his heart.

Read the Word—and Believe It

Pastor Joe turned to Jesus’ encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Jesus rebuked them:

“How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”
— Luke 24:25

Their problem was not that God had failed to reveal truth.

They already had the Scriptures.

The problem was that they had been slow to understand and believe what God had already said.

Pastor Joe identified two dangers for us as well:

We can possess the Word and fail to read it.

Or we can read the Word and fail to believe it.

Jesus responded to the disciples by opening the Scriptures and showing them how Moses and the prophets pointed to Him.

The revelation they needed began with the revealed Word of God.

Hide the Word in Your Heart

Knowing Scripture also requires more than simply owning a Bible.

Psalm 119 says:

“I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.”
— Psalm 119:11

Pastor Joe challenged the church to recover the practice of Scripture memorization.

We often celebrate children who memorize Bible verses—and rightly so. But adults need God’s Word hidden in their hearts as well.

It is not enough to know that the truth is somewhere between the covers of our Bible.

We need to know it.

We need to remember it.

We need to be able to call it to mind when temptation comes, when suffering comes, when confusion comes, and when we are trying to discern what is right.

“We must know in our very heart because this Word we have memorized.”

Let God Define What Is Right

Pastor Joe also warned against allowing our own preferences, traditions, or culture to determine what is sinful and what is not.

Sometimes Christians become deeply concerned about things Scripture does not condemn while overlooking things Scripture clearly does.

That is why knowing the Word matters.

We do not define sin.

God does.

Pastor Joe illustrated this with the example of someone becoming angry with a leader over a rule the leader did not make.

Sometimes we react similarly to Scripture.

We may dislike a command or resist what God has said, but the pastor or teacher did not invent it.

“This isn’t my command. This is God’s command.”

The question, then, is not whether we like everything the Bible says.

The question is whether we believe it is truly God’s Word and whether we will obey it.

Love the Word, Read the Word, Obey the Word

Psalm 119 asks:

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word.”
— Psalm 119:9

The principle applies to every believer—young and old, men and women alike.

God has given us His Word not merely to increase our knowledge, but to shape the way we live.

Pastor Joe closed by praying that Scripture would become more than something we carry to church.

May it become something we open, study, underline, remember, pray, treasure, and obey.

His closing prayer expressed the heart of the message:

“May we become a people who love Your Word, read Your Word, and obey Your Word. May You through this Word speak to us, O God.”

So the challenge from this week’s message is simple:

Open the Word. Believe the Word. Treasure the Word. Obey the Word.

And as we do, may we learn more and more to recognize the voice of the God who has graciously spoken to us through Scripture.

Watch here:

Striving for Holiness: A Corporate People in Worship, The Word & The Work

1 Peter 2:9–10

This Sunday, Pastor Joe continued the Striving for Holiness series with a message on what it means to live as a corporate people—together in worship, in the Word, and in the work of the church.

He began with a phrase he had used often in a former church:

“We have a Savior to follow, a life to live, and a mission to fulfill.”

That statement captures something important about the Christian life: God never intended our faith to be merely individualistic. While each believer must personally trust Christ, the Christian life is meant to be lived as part of a people.

Pastor Joe’s central text was 1 Peter 2:9–10:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Peter does not describe isolated believers. He describes a people.

As Pastor Joe emphasized:

“You are not here for you. You are here as a people for God.”

God has always called His people to live corporately. From the people gathered around Abraham, to the tabernacle, the temple, the synagogue, and finally the church, God’s design has been for His people to worship, grow, and serve together.

Corporate in Worship

One of the first areas Pastor Joe addressed was corporate worship.

He warned that worship can easily become overly personal—focused on our preferences, our favorite songs, or whether we personally feel blessed by the service. But biblical worship is not centered on us.

“Come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care.”
— Psalm 95:6–7

The focus of worship is God.

Pastor Joe put the question plainly:

“Our only question about worship should be this: God, are You pleased?”

Corporate worship means that we come together as one people to lift our voices to God. The worship team is not there merely to perform while the congregation listens. They are there to lead the people of God in worship.

As Pastor Joe said:

“They’re just here to lead us in what’s supposed to already be in our heart.”

Worship is also to be spiritual.

Paul writes:

“But be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Ephesians 5:18–20

True worship flows from the Holy Spirit at work within believers and is directed toward God.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman:

“But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him.”
— John 4:23

Pastor Joe challenged the church to ask whether we come expecting someone else to draw us into worship—or whether we enter already prepared to worship because the Spirit of God lives within us.

Worship is meant to be corporate—God’s people together, praising God together.

Corporate in the Word

The church is also called to be a corporate people in the Word.

Pastor Joe turned to Acts 2 and noted how often the language is plural:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.”
— Acts 2:42

The early church received the Word together, fellowshipped together, prayed together, ate together, and served together.

Pastor Joe emphasized that Scripture is often addressed not merely to individuals, but to the people of God as a whole.

Sometimes we hear a sermon and say, “That was just for me.” And God may indeed use a particular truth in a very personal way. But the Word is also given to shape us together.

As Pastor Joe expressed it:

“There is the corporate receiving of the Word, so that the Word in us becomes the Word that comes from us.”

The Word of God forms a people.

Corporate in the Work

The church is also a corporate people in its work.

Pastor Joe made an important distinction:

The church is not a corporation to be run. It is a corporate body to be lived in.

A church is not merely an organization, a building, a budget, or a weekly program. The church is a people.

He summarized the contrast with two statements:

“Gathering corporately in the Spirit is life-giving.”

“Building a church like a corporation is exhausting.”

That distinction became one of the central ideas of the sermon.

The work of the church includes mission beyond its walls, but it also includes the work believers do for one another inside the body.

Scripture teaches that Christ gives gifts to His people for the building up of the church. We are called to strengthen, encourage, support, and edify one another.

One of the primary works of the church is to build one another up in love.

And that can only happen in relationship.

We need one another.

Pastor Joe stressed that gathering together is not simply about attendance. We gather because isolation is dangerous.

“Not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other.”
— Hebrews 10:25

The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.

Isolation leaves us vulnerable. Fellowship strengthens us, protects us, and helps us remain faithful.

Pastor Joe said:

“We don’t gather corporately to build an institution. We gather corporately to defeat isolation.”

The church is meant to function like a family—not merely meeting once a week, but knowing one another, praying for one another, carrying one another’s burdens, and showing up when people are hurting.

That means church life extends beyond Sunday morning.

It means eating together. Praying together. Serving together. Calling one another. Sitting with one another in difficult moments. Rejoicing together and grieving together.

As Pastor Joe said:

“We are a corporate body of believers in Jesus Christ meant to live together as a family in Christ.”

A Corporate People With a Mission

Corporate life also gives the church the ability to accomplish things no one believer could accomplish alone.

One person could not easily provide food for hundreds of families, conduct a Vacation Bible School, sustain a ministry team, or meet every need within a congregation.

But together, the body of Christ can do what individuals cannot.

Pastor Joe also pointed back to the history of the church itself. A small group of believers gathered with a shared vision, gave sacrificially, and worked together because they believed God was calling them to something larger than themselves.

Vision grows when God’s people gather together with a shared identity and purpose.

That same principle continues today.

The church is strongest when believers stop thinking only in terms of “me” and begin to think in terms of “us.”

So the challenge from this week’s message is simple:

Worship together. Receive the Word together. Work together. Live as the people God has called us to be.

May we become a church that does not merely attend together, but truly lives together as the body of Christ—worshiping God, receiving His Word, building one another up, bearing one another’s burdens, and carrying out His mission together.

“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.” — 1 Peter 2:10

Watch here:

Striving for Holiness: Generosity

Luke 12:21–34

This Sunday, Pastor Joe continued the Striving for Holiness series with a message on generosity.

Over the past several weeks, we have considered humility and compassion. Pastor Joe reminded us that these qualities are connected—“like links in a chain”—as God works in our lives to make us look more like Jesus.

This week’s focus was generosity.

We live in a world that continually encourages us to want more. Newer is better. More possessions are better. More security is better. But from the beginning, God has called His people to live by a different standard.

God calls His people to be generous because He is generous toward us.

And generosity is about far more than money. It includes our possessions, our skills and abilities, and perhaps one of the things we guard most closely—our time.

Pastor Joe’s central text was Luke 12:21–34. After telling the parable of the rich fool, Jesus warned against storing up treasure for ourselves while failing to be “rich toward God.” He then reminded His disciples that their heavenly Father knows what they need and can be trusted to provide for them.

Jesus said:

“Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
— Luke 12:32–34

Generosity requires trust.

When we believe that everything depends upon what we can accumulate, save, protect, or control, we naturally hold tightly to what we have. But when we recognize God as our provider, we become freer to give.

As Pastor Joe said:

“Generosity comes from the idea that there is enough.”

That does not mean every believer will have abundance or never experience financial difficulty. Jesus spoke these words to people who often lived day to day. Yet God still taught His people to live generously and to trust Him.

Why is generosity so important?

First, generosity reflects the nature of God.

God Himself is generous. The greatest demonstration of that generosity is found in the gift of His Son:

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
— John 3:16

Pastor Joe summarized the principle this way:

“God expects His people to show generosity due to the generosity He has shown us.”

This pattern appears throughout Scripture.

God reminded Israel that they had once been slaves in Egypt and that He had redeemed them. Because they had received mercy and provision from Him, they were to remember the poor and show generosity toward others.

“Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.”
— Deuteronomy 15:15

The New Testament gives us the same principle. First John 3:16 teaches that we know what love is because Christ laid down His life for us, and therefore we should be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Generosity, then, is not merely an act involving money.

Generosity is a definitive act of love.

Pastor Joe pointed out that giving grudgingly or merely giving what costs us nothing misses something important about true generosity. As we learn to give, our attention moves away from ourselves and toward others.

He expressed it this way:

“In acting generously toward others, we lose our love of self and begin to show true love toward others.”

Generosity also reveals something happening within us.

Generosity shows outwardly that we have had an inward change in our life.

One of the earliest characteristics of the church after Pentecost was an extraordinary willingness to share:

“Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.”
— Acts 2:44–45

They were not giving to be noticed. Their generosity flowed from their new life in Christ and their love for one another.

Paul likewise remembered the instruction he received from the leaders of the Jerusalem church:

“They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.”
— Galatians 2:10

Pastor Joe connected this week’s sermon directly with last week’s message on compassion: see people and respond to their needs.

Sometimes that may mean giving money. Sometimes it may mean providing food, clothing, or another practical need. At other times, generosity may simply mean giving our time, our abilities, or our willingness to serve.

That leads to another important truth:

Generosity is an act of learned obedience gained through the practice of letting go and trusting God.

Most of us do not naturally want to let go of the things we possess. Generosity teaches us to loosen our grip and recognize that ultimately God—not our possessions—is our supply.

Scripture warns us:

“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.”
— 1 Timothy 6:17

Generosity also gives the world an opportunity to see the love of Christ through His people.

Pastor Joe pointed to ministries that feed and shelter people in need, care for children, assist women in crisis pregnancies, help those struggling with addiction, and provide food to families. Sometimes generosity comes through those who donate resources. Sometimes it comes through people who simply show up and say:

“We’ll be the hands and feet.”

That was illustrated by members of the church who recently volunteered to distribute food in the community. Some provided food, others transported it, a school provided a location, and volunteers gave their time and labor to serve those who came.

Generosity is not simply in what we can give—it is also in how we serve.

And finally, Pastor Joe reminded us that the generosity we give can outlive us.

Scripture says:

“Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.”
— Proverbs 19:17

That reward should never become the reason we give. Jesus did not teach us to give in order to get something back from God. We give because God has already given so abundantly to us.

Jesus said:

“Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
— Luke 6:38

Pastor Joe cautioned against turning that promise into a system of giving in order to receive material wealth. Biblical generosity gives without seeking applause, recognition, repayment, or personal gain.

We give because God first gave to us.

So the challenge from this week’s message is both simple and searching:

Hold what God has given you with open hands.

Give when you see a need. Give your resources. Give your abilities. Give your time. Serve without needing recognition, and trust God as your provider.

May God make us a truly generous people—a church willing to see those in need and respond without hesitation, giving to others as God has so graciously given to us.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” — Acts 20:35

Watch here:

Striving for Holiness: Acting With Compassion

Matthew 9:35–38 

This Sunday, Pastor Joe continued the Striving for Holiness series with a message on acting with compassion.

Last week’s message focused on humility—looking honestly at ourselves in light of God’s holiness. This week, Pastor Joe turned our attention outward:

Compassion calls us to see others through the eyes of God’s compassion toward us and then reflect that compassion through action.

His central text was Matthew 9:35–38. In this passage, Jesus traveled through the towns and villages, teaching, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. But Matthew then tells us something especially important:

“When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” — Matthew 9:36

Jesus did more than notice the crowd. He saw the people.

He recognized their physical needs, but He also saw something deeper—their spiritual condition. They were surrounded by religion, yet they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Pastor Joe challenged us to ask whether we truly see the people God has placed around us—not merely noticing them, but seeing them as Jesus sees them.

It is possible to pass someone every day without really seeing them. We can become so preoccupied, isolated, cautious, or busy that we learn to look away. But compassion requires us to look again—to see people as Jesus sees them.

And seeing is only the beginning.

Jesus told His disciples:

“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”  — Matthew 9:37–38

Pastor Joe emphasized that this prayer is not simply asking God to send someone else.

Sometimes, if God has placed a need on our heart, we may be the very person He intends to use.

True compassion compels us to act.

Compassion is more than pity. Pity may recognize that someone is hurting and feel sorry for them. Biblical compassion moves deeper.

As Pastor Joe described it:

“Compassion is a heartfelt empathy which drives us to action.”

Jesus demonstrated that kind of compassion again and again. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, comforted the grieving, and ministered to people because He was moved with compassion.

And because compassion reflects the very nature of God, it should increasingly become part of the life of every believer.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, He declared:

“The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth.” — Exodus 34:6

We show compassion because we have first received compassion from God.

Scripture therefore tells believers to intentionally “put on” compassion:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”  — Colossians 3:12

Pastor Joe compared this to getting dressed. We intentionally choose what we put on each day. In the same way, as believers, we are called to intentionally clothe ourselves with compassion and make the decision to see the people around us.

Compassion is not something we display for recognition or applause. It should flow from the very nature of Christ at work within us.

One description Pastor Joe shared captures it simply:

“Compassion is your hurt in my heart.”

Ultimately, the greatest demonstration of compassion is found in Jesus Christ Himself. Christ bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, was pierced for our rebellion, and was crushed for our iniquities. We were the sheep who had gone astray, and yet God showed compassion toward us through His Son. (Isaiah 53:4–6)

Because we have received such great compassion, we are called to extend compassion to others.

So the challenge from this week’s message is simple, but searching:

See people. Pray for them. And act with compassion.

May God open our eyes to the people around us—not only those within our church or our immediate families, but those we encounter every day—and make us a people through whom others can see the love and compassion of Jesus.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” — Ephesians 4:32

Watch here:

Striving for Holiness: Adopting an Attitude of Humility

Philippians 2:5–11

Pastor Joe began a new sermon series this Sunday on Striving for Holiness, opening with a message on adopting an attitude of humility.

His central text was Philippians 2:5–11, where Paul writes:

“Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.”

Pastor Joe reminded us that humility is not simply an outward action—it begins with our attitude. The way we think shapes the way we act, and our actions reveal what is in our hearts.

As Proverbs tells us, we are to guard our hearts, because everything we do flows from them.

One of the recurring themes of the message was this simple but challenging truth:

Attitude is not accidental—it is intentional.

We often excuse our attitudes by saying, “That’s just the way I am,” but Scripture calls us to something much higher. Paul doesn’t simply admire Christ’s humility—he tells believers to adopt the same attitude.

Jesus, though fully God, did not cling to His rights or seek His own exaltation. Instead, He emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, humbled Himself, and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

Pastor Joe challenged us not to be enslaved by our attitudes, but instead to enslave our attitudes to Christ through God’s Word, the work of the Holy Spirit, and honest self-examination.

He also warned that pride is a killer of righteousness. Pride continually turns our attention toward ourselves—what we deserve, how we’ve been treated, or whether we’ve been recognized. Humility, on the other hand, chooses a different way.

One memorable quote from the message was:

“Humility is not thinking less of ourselves. It is thinking of ourselves less.”

Jesus Himself demonstrated that kind of humility.

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

If we desire to be great in God’s kingdom, we must first become servants. As Pastor Joe said, one can never be a good leader until they have first learned to be a good follower.

He closed with the reminder that humility is a choice with a reward.

James 4:10 says:

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

James 4:6 also reminds us:

“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The call to holiness is not merely about changing our behavior. It is about allowing God to transform our hearts so that our attitudes increasingly reflect the attitude of Christ.

May we be people who willingly humble ourselves before the Lord, serve others with joy, and allow Christ’s humility to shape the way we think, speak, and live.

Watch here: