Galatians | Week 4 | Pastor Jermaine Stewart | 06/26/22
June 26, 2022 • Jermaine Stewart
This week Pastor Jermaine continued with our series on Galations with a message out of Chapter 2, verses 15-21. Justified by Faith. Pastor begins the message by setting up the scene: the Jewish teachers had come into Galatia and began teaching old Jewish law to the church. In this passage, Paul comes in to tell the church of Galatia that Jesus has done it all and there is nothing we could do to add to our salvation, like the Jewish leaders were saying. Verse 16: “We have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law.” Justification: Legal term, duty of the court to give justice. Acquit: to relieve from a charge of fault or crime; to be deemed not guilty Paul says the Torah and the old system of the law’s purpose was to expose his sin and the prevalence of sin in man. Romans 8:3- “For what the law was unable to do, God sent His own son as a sin offering.” Verse 18: Jesus’s death did away with the old system and the law. His work on the cross satisfied the Father’s justice and righteousness. There is a new covenant- we are now one with each other and with Christ because he tore the veil of the old law and created a new covenant. We have died to the law when Jesus died on the cross and are now alive in Jesus Christ. Verse 20: “I have been crucified in Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Verse 21: “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” There is no religious duty or sets of moral guidelines we could follow that would make us righteous, except Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Pastor closes with the story of the thief on the cross in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus is suffering on the cross, feeling the weight of sin for the first time and He is praying for the ones who are beating Him. The thief next to Him asked Jesus if He was the Son of God, why won't He get them down? The other thief says, “this man is innocent, we deserve to be on this cross, Jesus, will you remember me in paradise?” And just like that, Jesus says he is justified and he will be with Him in paradise. Jesus saves and justifies the righteous requirements of God for us all.
Midweek Reflections 008 - Get Up and Walk Part 7
April 20, 2022 • Jermaine Stewart, Alex David, Bec Isaacson
We end our Get and Up Walk series with Pastor Jermaine's message on Easter Sunday about Lazarus. How do we respond in times of delays and trials? What do we do with the sin in our lives that stinks?
Get Up and Walk | Part Two | Pastor Jermaine Stewart | 02.27.22
February 27, 2022 • Jermaine Stewart • John 5, John
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued with our ‘Get Up and Walk’ series with a sermon titled ‘coloring outside the lines; throw away the compass,’ out of John 5:16-47. Pastor Jermaine made three primary points from this passage: 1. Jesus is completely dependent on the Father. Jesus’s primary and only allegiance was to His Fathers will and glory. He was so entirely obedient that He could do nothing by Himself. 2. Jesus has authority to do even greater works. Jesus and the Father are not constrained by anything or anyone. There are no limits to what they are able to do. 3. The Father entrusts Jesus with all judgement. What limitations have we put on God? Are we resisting God when He is trying to ‘color outside the lines’ of our expectations or possibilities? Which of our lines are causing us to miss the Messiah?
2022: The Light Has Come | Part Three
January 30, 2022 • Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued with our “2022: The light has come” series with a sermon about the responsibility of being called to be a light. He shared five points: 1. Intimacy We are called to remain in Jesus, to abide in Him. It’s an intimate knowing, which comes from proximity to Him. We reflect the light of the Lord, which is why we must remain close to Him. Pursuit of God through His Son Jesus Christ is the call of our lives. We are saved to be in Christ, to draw into Him, to live alongside Him, and to seek Him. 2. Illumination The purpose of light is to illuminate, and one of the challenges of being this light is that it exposes all things. The light that exposes the darkness around must first expose the darkness within. The way to God’s heart is to give Him complete access to our own. Knowing God and being known by God are two sides of the same coin. 3. Invitation We have an invitation to not only be recipients of light, but to be light bearers. God has got treasure for us hidden in plain sight in only we would seek Him wholeheartedly. We often miss the reward in the busyness of life. God is inviting us to be light, to arise and shine, and to respond to His invitation for partnership within the world. 4. Illustration In Christ, we become a prototype for the world to follow. We were not made to blend in, or to be a part of the crowd. Our call is to take up our cross and follow Him. We were made to be amongst and shine upon the darkness. The light finds the darkness, and we need to look for opportunities to be light in our everyday lives. 5. Intervention We are the threat to the powers of darkness. We are the light. God is calling: who will go? To our workplaces? To the nations? To our sports teams? Neighborhoods? We are children of God, and we are all meant to shine.
The History Channel | Pt.2
December 12, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued on with Week Two our Christmas Series “The History Channel” with the time period of 0AD – 1800. Every week, this series will be talking about the Sacred and the Secular history of Christmas. SECULAR In the early 17th Century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated. The Puritans moved to eradicate decadence from society, and as part of that – they made Christmas illegal. For example, from 1559 – 1681 the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston. This was partly because of the sins associated with the season; greed, drunkenness, thievery, and public havoc. Often, the poorer classes would terrorize the rich during this season, going trawetS eniamreJ rotsaP 1202/21/21 from house to house and demanding their best food and drink. If the rich refused, the poor would cause mischief on their properties. Christmas was an unhealthy mix of the spiritual and the secular, and the thus the Puritans sought to eradicate it in order to focus solely on God. Christmas was only declared a federal holiday in the USA in 1870. SACRED In early Christianity, it wasn’t common to celebrate the birthday of any martyr, including Jesus. Instead, they were honored on the days of their death – as this was recognized as their true “birthday.” Thus, for a long time, Easter was celebrated as the primary Christian holiday. When Christians began to celebrate the birth of Christ, the date was chosen not because of any mentioned date within the Bible, but because it fit into the cultural celebrations of the time. Thus, the date of December 25th is entirely symbolic and somewhat arbitrary. Pastor Jermaine led us through the four “R’s” of the Christmas narrative: responsibility, reality, reassurance, and reply. When Mary became pregnant, she was 14-16 years old and bore a huge weight of responsibility. She lived in Nazareth and in poverty – seeing herself as having done nothing worthy of special mention. Mary had to face the disgrace of being seen as one who became pregnant out of wedlock. It would be a very different story if she chose to say no, and yet she took on the task with grace and humility. Additionally, Joseph’s reputation was also on the line. He could have chosen to make a scene, and bring Mary to trial for her sin – and yet he didn’t. He was a man of low estate but high integrity. From Mary, to Joseph, to the Magi, we see that the Christmas story is interjected repeatedly with the intervention of God – angelic visits, dreams, and alignment of the stars. It would have been so easy for it to be so different, and yet we have the miracle of Jesus birth, and the story that we know and love today. We need to continue being awed by the truth and wonder of the Christmas narrative. God came to earth. The holy, perfect God came to earth and died for us – the unholy and sinful ones. The wages of our sin is death, and yet God came to save us from those just and deserved consequences. We must never became calloused to this incredible truth and reality, and Christmas is a wonderful time to allow the truth and wonder of this miracle sit and stir deeply within us. Our reply, and our response should be that of Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Take Me To Church | Becoming a Multi-Ethnic Community pt.1 | Jermaine Stewart | 10.31.21
Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued on with our Take Me To Church series on the topic of Waypoint’s call to be a multicultural and multi-ethnic church. Pastor Jermaine had three primary points about why seeking racial reconciliation is important: 1. It’s Biblical. Too often we want to focus on righteousness in lieu of justice, when the two of them are Biblically inseparable. Too often we apply the Bible to our eternal destiny, but not to our modern, current circumstances. Too many people in the historical church have disconnected the message of the Gospel from the reality of living racially reconciled lives. This is problematic, and should not be. It’s not good enough to have perfect orthodoxy (doctrine) and broken orthopraxy (action). The call of God on our lives is to have both our doctrine and our action in line with one another and the Gospel. 2. It’s relational. The family of God is one marked by reconciliation on all fronts; including age, gender, and race. We are the Kingdom of God, and we should hurt when our brothers and sisters hurt. As the body of Christ we have a mandate to continue this journey of multiethnic reconciliation. 3. It’s continual. This is a call that is going to cost all of us something, and it will be a continual journey. We need to all keep loving one another as we struggle. At some point we must rise above our earthly allegiances (to our denominations, our political parties, our nationalities..) and ascend with allegiance to the Kingdom of God. We must answer the call of God, whatever the cost. Waypoint has a call to intentional multi-ethnicity, which includes running to areas of pain, linking arms with our brothers and sisters who are different from us, asking the Lord to restore our compassion, and stepping out to care for one another practically. We are to take up the cause of Christ, even when it brings up tension and becomes uncomfortable. This is not a call that can be undertaken by one person, it requires the entire body of Christ. We need to make room in our lives and our hearts for those who are different from us.
Hebrews Eleven | Rahab
August 22, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued on with our Hebrews 11 faith series with the story of Rahab, starting in verse 30. Rahab is referenced three times in the New Testament, and is one of only two women in this Hebrews 11 passage. Like all the rest, she is mentioned because of her great faith. Through the story and example of Rahab we see that God has a way of meeting, using and encountering people where they are at. He will use people even as they are in process for His purposes. God can still accomplish His perfect plan through imperfect people. Rahab risked everything for her faith – she was undaunted by her circumstances. Her faith was in the majesty and mercy of God. Rahab had unorthodox faith, an undaunted faith, and an undeniable faith. Her faith was sincere and authentic, and we can tell because of her actions. The book of James tells us that faith without works is dead, and we show our faith by our works. We are not just saved to be good, we are saved to do good. We do good because we believe in the Lord and what He is doing in the world. We do good for His glory. Rahab was a woman who went from immorality to immortality, and our story can be thus so.
Hebrews Eleven | Faith in the Waiting
July 11, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This week Pastor Jermaine continued with our Hebrews 11 faith series with verses 13 – 16. His sermon was titled “Faith in the Waiting,” and he shared four points. 1. God’s timing is often different than our timing. In our generation it’s tempting to believe that: promise given = promise received. In reality, it’s more often: promise given + problems occur + patience and perseverance = promise received. In our hearts it can be instant, but in its manifestation it can be distant. Often there is a process to the promises of God. 2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. If we are going to be people of faith, we need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. We need to be careful not to confuse peace and comfort. The Christian walk is not one of comfort or ease, as His strength is perfected in our weaknesses. 3. Get rid of your contingencies. We have to be decisive in our decision and stick to it. When we make a decision, challenges will come, and we need to simply lean into God and be unwaveringly all in with Him. 4. Keep your hearts toward your true home. We need to lead our hearts and not follow them. We must fill our hearts with the Scriptures and let the Word of God lead us. A life of faith requires proximity, presence, prayer, and praise. Our victory is not in the outcome, but in Jesus. He is all we need.
Hebrews Eleven | Abel
June 13, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine introduced our series on Hebrews 11, a series on faith. We believe that the author of Hebrews is writing to Jewish converts who are enduring hardship. Many of the Christian believers were walking away, while others were being imprisoned for their faith. The author wrote the letter to encourage the church, asking them to consider the cost of radical devotion. He urged the readers to choose the dangerous direction of devout discipleship. Hebrews 11 tell us that faith is the confidence in what we hope for. It gives substance to our hopes and is a deep and sincere belief in the unseen, and what is to come. What we see from the story of Cain and Abel in this passage is that righteous living precedes and is more valuable than righteous giving. Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God because it flowed from a generous and obedient heart. It is not the quantity or the quality of the offering, but the condition of the heart from which it comes. Pastor Jermaine challenged us to ask and answer the question: does what is In your hand match what is in your heart?
1 Corinthians | Week Eleven | Chapter 15 pt 1
March 28, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This morning, Pastor Jermaine continued on with our 1 Corinthians series with Chapter 15:35 to end of Chapter 15. This section of 1 Corinthians is all about the resurrection. The Corinthians had let false teachings come into their churches and they were doubting the resurrection of Jesus and of the body. Paul passionately addresses these concerns, using the resurrection as the link between the present and the future. Just like Jesus we will be resurrected into a new body, into a present and heavenly existence. Pastor Jermaine made three major points: 1. There is a resurrection Paul calls out the Corinthians for not using common sense, and uses the image of a seed to demonstrate the continuity between our present body and our future body. 2. There is a resurrected body The body is both natural and spiritual. It is natural in its current age, but spiritual in the age to come. 3. The resurrected body/ state involves the body, and is a supernatural event performed by God. Adam was life receiving whereas Jesus is life giving.
1 Corinthians | Week Seven | Chapter 10
February 28, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued on with our 1 Corinthians series with Chapter 10. In this Chapter Paul uses the story of Israel as a warning to the church in Corinth. He encourages them to be self-disciplined, to flee sexual immorality and to and to do everything in their power to obtain the prize by loving God and one another. Our freedom in Christ is a great privilege, but one that comes alongside great responsibility. Paul encourages them to learn from the mistakes and example of those who went before them. As believers, we are all under three covenants: We are all in covenant with Christ. We are in covenant with our church leadership. We are in covenant with one another. How do we know if what we want to do is both lawful and beneficial? We pass it through the criteria of verse 24, in seeking the good of others. We have to make sure that the use of our freedoms do not infringe upon our neighbors freedoms. Everything that is lawful to be done is not always lawfully done, and therefore some of the ways we exercise our freedoms can cause our brothers and sisters to stumble, and in doing so our rights can become idols. We as a church need to be people who love consistently. We have to think about the good of the whole, as in our context we ourselves can become the very idols in our way.
1 Corinthians | Week Two | Chapters 1 & 2
January 17, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This week, Pastor Jermaine continued on with our 1 Corinthians series, this week focusing on Chapters 1 and 2. The church in Corinth was experiencing huge amounts of division amongst themselves and against Paul. They were fighting over different teachers and ranking them against one another. They were forming clicks and dividing over them, quarreling amongst one another in the name of wisdom. Unfortunately, we see evidence of this trend continue in the church today as Christians bicker and divide over their consumer preferences. In his letter, Paul is lovingly exposing their sin. He asks them: where is your humility and your reverence? He points them back to the example of Jesus Christ and asks them to consider His life and death. He points them back to Jesus’s life of humility and of “going low;” concepts that were completely counter-cultural to both the culture of the time, and our current day. The foolishness and simplicity of the Gospel remains the most powerful thing on the planet. If we are going to boast, let us boast in Christ and in the Gospel.