Can We Know God?
1 John 4:16b-21
Caleb Middleton
Throughout Scripture, the imagery of being rooted, planted, and grown paints a beautiful picture of spiritual formation. Like a tiny seed placed into soil, believers are planted by God and watered by His word. Over time, roots stretch deep into the ground, securing us in the love of the Father and forming a strong foundation beneath what was once so small. From this tender care and steady growth, something beautiful begins to bloom: the fruit of love.
Join us this week in our 1 John series as we seek to be rooted in God’s truth, growing toward the goal of Christ-like love.
Can We Know God?
1 John 4:7-16a
Imagine opening your mailbox and finding a letter addressed to you. The pages are filled with truth, affection, and invitation. It speaks not only of who you are, but of a deep desire to draw near to you.
God has written you a love letter - one inked in grace and sealed with blood. Scripture reveals a love that never fades and a God who calls us to dwell with Him, a message spanning generations and enduring forever.
Join us this week in our 1 John series as we read God’s love letter and discover how to respond with receptive hearts.
Can We Know God?1 John 4:1-6Brent ButtermoreIn 1 Kings 19, God’s voice doesn’t rush through the wind, quake through the earth, or blaze like a fire. Rather it comes as a gentle whisper, a quiet invitation to draw near to Him.
Believers today are surrounded by the loud voices of politicians, influencers, and media — all seeking our attention. But God speaks differently. In a world that shouts, the disciple must learn to listen, pause, and discern for God’s voice.
Join us this week in our 1 John series as we learn how to recognize the voice of our Father amid the noise of the world, and how to respond in courage and faith.
Can We Know God?
1 John 3:18-24
Jon Morales
We love acting as the authors of our own lives. We outline every chapter carefully avoiding crisis and failure, ensuring that our story ends in blessing, prosperity and joy.
Fortunately, we are not the true writers.
The Author of the universe is the author of every one of our stories, detailing them with eternal significance. As followers of Him, we need to learn how to put down the pen and surrender our lives to the Author and Perfector of our faith.
Join us this week in our 1 John series as we learn to follow God’s perfect version of our story.
Can We Know God?
Pastor Jon Morales
1 John 3:11-18
The Oxford Dictionary offers several definitions of love:
These definitions portray the excitement, joy and emotion that love can bring to life. But something is missing in these descriptions. If love is simply a feeling or preference, what happens when they dissolve? What if there is more to the story of love?
Join us this week in our 1 John sermon series to discover how God defines love.
Can We Know God?
Pastor Blaine Dennison
1 John 2:29-3:10
Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror and wondered “who am I?” The world in which we live offers a myriad of lifestyles and identities to reflect. As we lose sight of our true selves, we begin to mirror the actions, appearances and words of the world until eventually we become unrecognizable. Once more you wonder, “who am I”?
In a world that leaves us searching for our identity, we must come back to our Heavenly Father for the answer.
Can We Know God?Pastor Jon Morales 1 John 2:18-28Have you ever asked yourself, “Am I still walking with Jesus?”Or maybe wondered, “Is it really worth it?”We live in a world full of noise — voices and influences pulling us in every direction. In the midst of it all, it can be difficult to find our way and sustain our allegiance to Jesus.Join us tomorrow as we continue our series in 1 John, “Can We Know God?” Together, we’ll explore how and why to remain in Jesus in a world full of distractions and noise.
Can We Know God?
Pastor Jon Morales
1 John 2:12–17
Imagine standing in a crowded marketplace. Everywhere you turn, voices are shouting for your attention - “Buy this! Try that! You need this to be happy!” Bright colors, tempting smells, and shiny objects pull at your senses.
But in the middle of the chaos, you notice someone you love deeply—someone whose presence brings peace. Their voice is quieter than the others, but it cuts through the noise. You realize you don’t need to chase after every distraction because you belong to them.
That’s what John is showing us: in a world full of competing loves, the one love that matters most helps us put everything else in its rightful place.
Can We Know God1 John 2:3-11The Peavey AT-200 Auto-Tune electric guitar sounds as pretty as it looks. It offers solid basswood construction, so it plays beautifully enough on its own, but the secret sauce of this guitar lies in its auto-tune technology. You simply strum and push the button for an immediate, perfect tone. Beyond that, the Solid-Tune Intonation continues working for you to correct each note as you play. Amazing! Somewhere an old-school musician is grumbling about technology ruining music, but you have to admit it’s pretty cool.Unfortunately, our Christian walk isn’t so easily adjustable. There’s no magic button to correct our attitudes or behaviors, nothing that kicks in as we’re about to make a big mistake to bring us back on course. How can we test if we’re “in tune”? Let’s hear tomorrow morning from 1 John and learn the secret sauce of Christianity that keeps us in check.
Can You Know God
1 John 1:5-2:2
Pastor Jon Morales
A common misfortune that can happen amongst toddler girls is when they pull up their shorts under a dress and sometimes the back of the dress ends up getting tucked into the shorts. It’s hilarious and endearing and they have no idea when it happens. They walk around with an abundance of confidence, clueless of what’s going on in the back. Meanwhile, everyone around them sees the truth. It would take some honest self-inspection for those girls to see how they actually are and not just what they think they are.Jesus calls us to a similar self-inspection to see if we are truly walking in righteousness, or if we just think that we are. Claiming to be righteous isn’t enough; our lives must match our speech. So, how can we figure out if our walk matches our talk? Tomorrow morning we will see what Scripture teaches us about it.
Pastor Jon Morales
Can You Know God? (Part 1)
1 John 1:1-4
If you have flown on a commercial flight, then you’ve sat through the well-known “pre-flight safety briefing.” The flight attendants crowd into the narrow aisle and demonstrate how to operate all the safety equipment and exits. Now imagine that instead of the safety equipment demonstration, they spend the whole time talking about how to order the food, choose a movie to watch, and what’s going on in all the cities you’ll be flying over. Would that information make you feel safe and secure if an emergency were to happen?
Certain situations demand a certain level of assurance. The more important something is, the more you want assurance about it, right? God knows this and He has met that need abundantly through His Word. Tomorrow morning, we will begin a new series in 1 John, “Can We Know God? Assurance About What Matters Most.”
Come, ready to listen in. Everything else John tells us in the letter hinges on the things he tells us at the outset.
The Question That Changed Everything
John 8:2-11
A small little boy waited until his mother left the kitchen when he snuck in and stood before the plate of fresh-baked cookies. Her earlier admonishment echoed in his head, “No cookies before dinner.” But as he gazed at the cookies and smelled their sweet scent, her voice grew faint and he reached out and grabbed a cookie. One wasn’t enough however, and soon he found that he had eaten all but one cookie. He panicked and heard his mother walking back to the kitchen. Before he could hide the evidence, she walked in.
For most of us, our mind fills in the rest of the story with the little boy receiving some sort of consequence because of his disobedience. But how would we feel if his mother hugged him and told him not to do it again? Tomorrow morning we will hear how Jesus handles a delicate situation with mercy and justice.
Ruth: Meditations on God's Kindness
Hebrews 11:6
Philanthropy in the US began in the colonial period with the Puritans. They believed in not just supporting the poor and needy but strove beyond that to help the colonies as a whole. Men such as Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere exemplified this model and had tremendous impact on the development of the country. When these men gave aid and helped ensure the hungry were fed, children were looked after, and education was accessible, no one turned away their gifts.
According to Psalm 119:68, God is the greatest Benefactor, for all He does is good. Again, in Romans 8:28 it says that He causes everything to work for good for those who love Him. How often do you find yourself asking for and accepting His goodness? Do you feel too undeserving to accept His gifts? We wrap up our series Ruth: Meditations on God’s Kindness tomorrow morning with one final look at God’s hesed towards His children.
Ruth: Meditations on God's KindnessRuth 4:13-22A popular fantasy book series that began in the late 1990s featured a young boy who soon discovered he was a wizard. He attends a school for wizards and soon after his arrival he puts a special hat that will sort him into his dormitory. This hat looks inside to the character of a person and puts them where they will fit best. Every new student undergoes this process at the start of their school journey, and they remain with their dormitory the entire time.We too will face a sorting ceremony, only instead it will take place at the end of our journey. The sorting will depend on what is found in our hearts: will we present with our good deeds to earn God’s favor, or will we present with the work of Jesus to pay for our iniquities? Join us tomorrow morning to hear how we can be living right now for the sorting that is to come.
Ruth: Meditations on God's Kindness
Ruth 4:1-12
When Michigan Central Station opened in 1914, it quickly became very popular, peaking at 4,000 passengers a day by 1944. After its closure in 1988, it lay abandoned for 30 years and fell victim to vandalism and neglect. Ford Motor Company later stepped in and bought the property in 2018. After renovating for 6 years, the station was re-opened on June 6, 2024, and it did not disappoint. The grandeur and beauty inside and out made visitors gasp and marvel.
In our own lives we can see tragedy and suffering and wonder if it will remain this way forever. We know God is good, but in the moment, despair wins over hope. But God, being rich in mercy and lavish in love, pulls us out time and again and restores us to a place of beauty that makes us gasp and marvel. Come and hear more tomorrow morning about how God fights for His children.
Ruth: Meditations on God's Kindness
Ruth 3:1-18
The Airforce has an official elite flying team known as the Thunderbirds, representing the best of the best of our country’s pilots. Operating the F-16 Falcon, Thunderbirds show off their unmatched skill in dangerous exercises. The commander of the team takes the position as lead and the other pilots mark their positions based off the commander’s location. They are traveling so close to each other that they cannot take their eyes off their commander. This is why they have adopted the phrase, “Blind trust!” to represent their team; they have no choice but hold their position and trust that the commander is leading them correctly.God calls us to trust where He is leading us, and He has given us abundant evidence that we can fully trust His plan. He has proven that He will lead us to still waters and care for His sheep. Tomorrow morning, we will see this demonstrated in the lives of Naomi and Ruth.
Ruth: Meditations on God's Kindness
Ruth 2:17-23
Certain retailers have a policy for when large merchandise is purchased, and it can’t fit into a bag. For example, you want to buy a vacuum: you take it to the register in its large box and pay for it. To prevent the customers from getting harassed at the door, cashiers will place a sticker on the item purchased that says, “Paid in Full.” With that sticker in place, customers can walk out with the confidence that they own the item free and clear.God is a Redeemer by nature, and when He paid for your sins through the death of Jesus, you received a sticker that read, “Paid in Full.” Your debt has been erased, and you belong to the Father. Tomorrow in our series in Ruth, we will hear about the beautiful redemption coming to Ruth and Naomi.
Ruth: Meditations on God's Kindness
Ruth 2:1-17
Sitting on a farm in Northern California is one of the world’s largest corn mazes. Boasting 42 acres of corn, visitors flock to the farm year after year to have a go at the challenging maze. Upon entering the maze, the path feels sporadic and random at best; guests don’t have the proper perspective to see that an intricate design has been carved into the field. While some maze-goers can feel lost and unsure at times, the farmers know exactly where they are and where they need to go to work through the picture.
Life can feel similar to walking through a corn maze. What we see as dead-ends and endless circles are actually purposeful steps God has ordained to lead us exactly where we need to be. Maybe we expect to go right but end up needing to go left or must double back to move forward. God has the sovereign top-down view to see it all, and our job is to trust and obey as we walk through it. Tomorrow morning come and see just how God works this out for Naomi and Ruth.
Ruth: Meditations on God's Kindness
Ruth 1:8-22
There is a common expression that asks the question, “Is the glass half empty or half full?” Someone who says the glass is half-empty is said to have a negative outlook. They only see what’s missing or lacking, they have a generally pessimistic perspective. The other side is someone who looks at that same glass and declares that it is “half-full”. This view indicates someone who sees the potential, or what is already in possession. They are generally optimistic and hopeful, able to encourage and boost the morale of others.As believers we are equipped with God’s own Spirit that enables us to perpetually see the glass as half-full. There is always hope, always a reason for joy and peace beyond understanding. But what about when life circumstances leave us feeling empty? When it seems there isn’t any hope to be found? What do we do and where do we go? Tomorrow morning, come find out what truth God has for you and how you can find true hope when all else seems empty.
Ruth: Meditations on the Kindness of God (Part 1)
Ruth 1:1-7
As one of our primary senses, hearing comes from a complex system that turns sound waves into something meaningful in our brain. Starting with the outer ear, sound waves are collected and funneled towards the eardrum in the middle ear. From there, tiny bones called ossicles transmit and amplify the vibrations into the inner ear. Inside the inner ear, the cochlea is filled with fluid and lined with special hair cells which convert the vibrations into electrical signals that the brain receives and interprets. Amazing!
Hearing plays such a significant role in our body that it’s no wonder Scripture uses the word “hear” almost 800 times. When God calls us to hear, however, it is more than a command to use our ear drums; it is a call to respond to His revealed truth and kindness. We will hear tomorrow morning of a woman who did this very thing when she heard what God had done for His people as we begin our new series Ruth: Meditations on God’s Kindness.