Being called "gifted" is a compliment. It generally refers to an individual who displays an exceptional and remarkable ability of some kind, whether it be knowledge or the ability to acquire it, athletics, or creativity, just to name a few. When it comes to the church, did you realize that every single follower of Jesus is gifted? There is not a single Christian without a spiritual gift, but there are a lot of Christians not using theirs. These abilities aren't attained on our own; rather, they are gifts given to us from and through the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 12. The catch is, they aren't given for our own fame or fortune but for 1) the glory and honor of God, and 2) the edification (building up) of His church. When disciples of Jesus don't take the time to discover and employ their God-given gifts, they go to waste, and the church isn't all it could be. Over the next 9 weeks, we're going to look at some of the most common spiritual gifts, and it's our prayer that this series will help you understand them, identify them, and (if you aren't already) cultivate them by growing and serving within your giftedness.

In the first two chapters of Galatians, we have seen Paul make a defense of his apostolic authority - that the gospel he preached to them was the true gospel. In the middle two chapters, he then launched into his explanation of how the grace of God sets us free from the bondage that the Old Testament Law. The Law, given to the Israelites, was impossible to keep in its entirety. It acted as a babysitter, of sorts, to guide and guard the Jews until the fulfillment of the Law (Jesus) would come. Christ came to set us free. We are free from the bondage of the Law - that is, we are obligated to keep all its requirements to be saved. But that doesn't mean we have a license to do as we please. Rather, we have been set free from restrictive laws and stipulations in order that we may live free as we walk in the Spirit of grace. We use our freedom, not to please ourselves, but to love and serve others, which pleases God. This isn't the prescription to be saved; it's the description of the saved.

Scott Shipman, Disaster Pastor with Just Help One Disaster Response

Andrew Carlsen, Guest Minister

Adult & Teen Challenge provides Christian faith-based, residential care to young people and adults who struggle with life-controlling problems. The programs are typically 12-18 months and consist of Individual and group biblical studies, work projects, education (for adolescents), recreation and more. This Sunday, we're blessed to hear a presentation about the program and some life-changing testimonies.

E.B. Rawles, SFCC Elder

The middle two chapters of the letter from the Apostle Paul to the Galatian church are some of the most direct and in-your-face words he ever penned to a church. The problem is, the Galatians had been duped by those who had come in after Paul and preached another gospel that mixed Christianity and Judaism, and Paul says, "No, there's no other gospel besides the one I handed down to you from Christ who gave it to me." After opening the letter with his defense of his apostolic authority, Paul now lays out the doctrine of justification by grace through faith, explaining how Christians have been set free from all the requirements of the Old Testament Law. When we truly grasp the concept of grace, it's quite freeing, because legalism will always hold us in bondage.

The gospel that the Apostle Paul taught everywhere he went in his missionary journeys was that salvation comes through grace by faith in Jesus Christ. Period. That doesn't mean there is nothing else asked of followers of Jesus once we are saved, only that our admittance into heaven is by faith alone in the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. The problem then (and the problem now) is that other teachers came along after Paul and began teaching another gospel - one that includes Jesus, but you also have to keep works of the Old Testament Law. It was a mixture of Christianity and Judaism, and Paul vehemently opposes this teaching in this strong-worded letter, arguing that to accept any other gospel besides the gospel of grace is saying that Christ died for nothing. As we begin this study of Galatians, we see in the first couple chapters how Paul sets the stage to dismantle the false gospel of Grace+Law - arguing that he has divine authority and that his gospel is true.

Our world was completely changed when Jesus resurrected from the grave.

Tom Watson, Guest Minister

Dr. Pete Kunkle, guest minister

When we think of sheep, we don't usually think of too many positives. Sheep kind of get a baaaaad rap, and there are good reasons for that. The Bible often paints a picture of God's people (both the Old Testament Israelites and the New Testament Christians) as sheep and God as our Shepherd. It's a good analogy, even if it feels like a bit of a slam towards us. But there really are benefits to being sheep, and the greatest of which is that we have a good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep who went astray. We're going to spend a few weeks looking at five different sheep passages that teach us some really important truths about what it means to be part of God's flock.

Hope is something that we all hold onto. It’s what gets us through the darkest seasons of our lives. Hope is what renews our sense of purpose and calling—despite the things we experience in the present. In this 4-part series that is illustrated by short clips from an upcoming release of a true-story film called "Ordinary Angels," we will explore some very common areas where we (surprisingly) find the most fulfillment in our lives. We'll learn that when we live for something greater than ourselves, we find our true purpose as followers of Christ.

Ever felt like God is giving you the silent treatment? You ask for His help, cry out to Him, or beg and plead for Him to answer your prayer…or at least show you some indication that He's near. But He doesn't seem to be anywhere around. The Jews who lived in the intertestament period of about 400 years between the time of the prophet Malachi and the time when John the Baptist came on the scene may have felt the same way. If God spoke to His people, the Jews, through prophets during this time, we don't have any record of it. For four centuries, they waited in the silence for the promises of God to be fulfilled - namely, for Messiah to come. In this two-part series, we're going to look at a couple of important questions regarding the times when God seems silent in our lives, and we're going see how to best respond.

Joy, Hope, and Simplicity

E.B. Rawles, SFCC Elder

Christmas 2023

Tom Watson, Guest Minister

Ralph Heshelman, Lay Speaker

Scott Shipman, Guest Minister

E.B. Rawles, SFCC Elder

Adult & Teen Challenge provides Christian faith-based, residential care to young people and adults who struggle with life-controlling problems. The programs are typically 12-18 months and consist of Individual and group biblical studies, work projects, education (for adolescents), recreation and more. This Sunday, we're blessed to hear a presentation about the program and some life-changing testimonies.

The Apostle Paul's second letter to the Corinthians was anything but pleasant. Longing for better relations with a church that he dearly loved, Paul is forced to write a stern letter to line out some issues of immorality, and then soon after write a second letter to explain and defend himself and his calling as an apostle who has the authority of Jesus Christ to teach them how to live. It's a very personal letter, but as with all Scripture, it contains a lot of material that the Holy Spirit uses to grow us, even if we aren't the original, intended congregation. From his letter, we get a taste of Paul's grief and weakness (something we're very familiar with), but we also get a picture of the power of God that comes in the midst of weakness. If you've ever invested your life in another person who finally comes to Christ, only to have someone else come along and lead them astray, then 2 Corinthians is for you. Those who really care about the gospel and the care of souls will find this book captivating. For those who don’t care, hopefully this study will help your heart get to where it ought to be.

​This is your story. This is my story. But most of all, this is God’s story. If you know some of the great Bible stories – Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, Daniel in the lion’s den, the birth of Jesus, Peter walking on water, the feeding of 5000, the crucifixion and resurrection, then this series will help you put the pieces together to see the full sweep of history and your place in it. Over the next several months, we will be working through a message series written for churches by Randy Frazee and Max Lucado based on a book called The Story. We will learn the “Upper Story” of God’s great plan for all creation, and the “Lower story” of human relationships with each other and God. We will see how God has lovingly guided people, how He entered the story through Jesus Christ, and how the story involves us today. We will take a 31-week walk-through of the entire Bible (with a few breaks in between), getting to see how His Story unfolds from beginning to end.

Mike DeCoursey, Guest Minister (no audio recording available)

In the Old Testament books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, King Solomon leaves behind some nuggets of wisdom that are still very relevant to our lives today. Solomon started off on a really good note, but later on in his life, he failed to live up to some of his own advice. Consequently, his life - and especially his relationship with God - went way off the rails. Interestingly, towards the end of his life, as he reflects back on his mistaken pursuits, Solomon leaves behind some words to the wise, hoping that his kids and anyone else who came behind him wouldn't make the same mistakes he did. Over the next 9 weeks, we're going to unpack some texts that will help us live more wisely so that we can best glorify God.

Love for God always involves practical love for others.