Stand alone Messages
1/7/2024 - Prayer & Fasting
January 7, 2024 • Pastor Steve & Jen • Matthew 6:1–18
Have you been feeling a need for greater power in your prayers? Have you sensed that God wants to do great things in your life, yet your prayer life is not up to the challenge? Are you unable to lay hold of something God wants to give you? We have. We know how important it is to pray through a matter until there is a spiritual breakthrough, but knowing what to say and being able to pray with conviction that change is really taking place is an entirely different experience. Of course, we've had those moments, and so have you. But not enough of them. We still see too many unmet needs, and the enemy's power seems too strong in some situations. So, for a while, God has been calling us to go deeper into a discipline we had only practiced occasionally. He wants us to learn how to fast. Today, we want to share some of the things we have learned and invite you to a special season of prayer and fasting. We are no experts in this, but we have already seen enough to know regular fasting was a missing piece in our prayer life. We have seen some real breakthroughs over the past few years and feel led to show you what we have discovered.
Finding Rest - 11/19/2023
November 19, 2023 • Pastor Steve & Jen
We are about to enter the season of giving. In this season, we shop, eat, and see family we may not have seen in a while. The decorations come out, and preparation happens. We rush from one party to the next, and the streets and grocery stores get more crowded. Then, once it is all over, we try to recover from the holiday bliss. This time of year can be full of emotions for some of us. We are remembering loved ones and revisiting broken relationships. For some, this season represents loneliness and a longing for things lost, forgotten, or never had. It can be an exhausting season! There is often a letdown after the lights are put away, and the Christmas music is put on the shelf until the following year. We will need time to recuperate and reenergize for the next major event. Is it possible to do things a little differently? Today, we will see what happened to the disciples when they faced similar circumstances. We will see Jesus' response and the hope that He has provided each of us as we choose to have a time of rest with Him while we face life's challenges.
A Vision for Generations - 11/12/2023
November 12, 2023 • Deuteronomy 11:18–21
Today, we will read some of Moses' final words to the Israelites as he prepared to see Joshua and his followers off to conquer the Promised Land. Moses reminds them about the importance of the generations to teach what the Lord has done. God delivered them from slavery and protected them from Pharaoh's great army. He provided them with food, water, and resources for 40 years in the wilderness, and He was taking them to a land flowing with milk and honey! We must pass the Truth of God's deliverance and provision on to the next generation so that they can carry on the Truth to a broken and hurting world. To carry out and carry on a biblical vision for generations, we must LIVE out the word of God, TEACH the word of God, and STAND on the Word of God and then receive the PROMISE.
By the Authority of the King 10/8/2023
October 8, 2023 • Pastor Steve & Jen • Nehemiah 2:18
Last week, at the beginning of the service, we shared with you the current state of our finances. It was not easy to do this, as it is a place of rawness for us right now, but we felt burdened by God to not just say we are family but to be family. As service came to an end, you all rallied behind us, lifting us up in prayer. The encouragement of our church family lasted all week long. The week leading up to last Sunday was a hard one. We found ourselves wrestling emotionally and spiritually as we tried to keep our eyes on Jesus and not give into our flesh. However, after your prayer and encouragement, we felt stronger. Hope rose inside of us, and the Lord began to remind us of the vision He had given us for His church and this city. During times of financial unrest, it is easy to slow down and sometimes just to stop moving forward, but we feel God stirring fresh vision. We hear Him asking us to lean forward, and so today, we are going to share this with you because, just like we needed you last week, it will take all of us to do the work we believe God is calling us to do. Today, we will be learning lessons from Nehemiah, as he felt God calling him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He knew he couldn’t do it alone. He first needed to be sent by the authority of the king. Secondly, he needed the help of his community, and then he needed to have a strategy established in prayer.
Disciples of Jesus- 7/30/2023
July 30, 2023 • Pastor Steve & Jen • Matthew 4:18–22
Many of us here have made a personal decision to follow Jesus. We recognized that we didn't want to walk through this life without Him any longer. We knew there had to be more than hard knocks and face plants, and for many of us, when we said yes to following Jesus though our circumstances may not have quickly changed, a miracle took place in our hearts. The most challenging areas in life are often not the things on the outside but the things that happen to us on the inside. Outward abuse is horrendous, but the pain, suffering, and agony on the inside is often the most unbearable. When Jesus invited His first disciples to join Him, He said, "Follow Me." Those disciples responded by dropping everything and doing just that (Mt. 4:18-22). They left everything, and by doing so, they were making a promise to complete the course and finish this new assignment. By following Jesus, they agreed to be His students. He became their Rabbi. They often called Him this, which means "teacher." They recognized Him as their teacher and leader and committed to be His disciples.? What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
Denying Doubt - 7/16/2023
July 16, 2023 • Pastor Steve & Jen • 1 Peter 2:9–10
Peter is setting forth a standard among much persecution. He calls believers to stand strong and reminds them of who they are. Peter sees the church being fractured through violent acts of persecution and doubt. These acts introduce fear, anxiety, anger, and many more emotional responses. When we clothe ourselves with these ungodly characteristics, we become inactive in our call and pull away from our loved ones and God. We go silent and turn inward. Many of us stop talking openly and quickly forget the truths of God and His promises for our lives and others. We make room for lies that build foundations of discontent and separation. Peter is a calling to the churches and us to be unified through our identity in Christ.
Batten Down the Hatches - 7/2/2023
July 2, 2023 • Pastor Steve & Jen • Mark 4:35–41
Batten down the hatches is a nautical term from the early 19th century. When a ship was about to enter rough seas, the captain would order the crew to batten down the hatches. The crew would close all the hatches (doors) on the ship’s decks and use lengths of batten (rods) to secure the hatches in the closed position. People often use this term to talk about security and protection or to concentrate and get work done. Some examples are, “We batten down the hatches before we went on vacation (securing our home),” or “For the team to complete the project, they batten down the hatches (cut out distractions).” Batten down the hatches is not about the storm. It is about the vessel. A few weeks ago, we got a simple word for our church. A trusted person was standing in the back of our service, and they heard the Lord say, “Batten down the Hatches.” They were brave enough to tell us; we have been praying over this for the last few weeks. We also invited the staff to pray as well. When receiving a word like this, it can feel scary if you are focused on the storm rather than the vessel. We are encouraged by this word as we see that Jesus provides hope in the midst of storms so we can have faith, knowing He is with us in the boat.
Baptism service 4/30/2023
April 30, 2023 • Steve & Jen • Romans 6:1–7
In Romans 5:20, Paul introduces the idea that where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. However, this gospel of grace is unsettling to those who think salvation can be obtained by trying to keep God’s rules. So, it isn’t surprising that Paul’s critics would try to undermine him. Most people would not read this and think that it is their job to keep sinning so God can do His job of forgiving. However, Paul uses chapter six of Romans to clarify. Starting with debunking the very notion of deliberately continuing to sin. He says, “May it never be!” From there, he begins to untangle the confused logic his critic used. We all have our old nature before surrendering to Jesus, also known as our flesh. We have all sinned and fallen short, but Jesus has covered our sins and has given us an opportunity to be buried with Him in death and raised to new life in the resurrection. Today, we will participate and support several people as they get baptized. They will share their story of why they are making this declaration today, and then we will celebrate with them. Baptism is far more than a symbol. It is a declaration of faith testifying to genuine transactions which have taken place in the believer’s heart and in the spiritual world.
The Pursuit of Hope- 4/9/2023
April 9, 2023 • Luke 24:13–34
It is Sunday morning. Jesus had risen from the grave and first revealed Himself to a group of women, which included Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, Salome, and Joanna (Lk 24:10; 8:3). Jesus appeared separately to Mary Magdalene because as soon as she saw the stone was rolled away, she ran to tell the disciples. She was convinced His body had been stolen. So Peter and John ran to check out the tomb (vs.12; Jn 20:3-5). They found the wrappings of Jesus and, from the appearance, realized that some sort of miracle had taken place, but they were still confused. Maybe they thought Jesus’ body had been taken up into heaven like Elijah, who went up in a whirlwind (2Ki 2:11) because John says, “...they did not yet know the Scriptures that He must rise again from the dead.” In other words, they did not yet understand that Jesus was not only alive spiritually but that He had broken the grip of death and was now alive physically in an immortal body. One of the most straightforward pieces of evidence of Peter and John’s lack of understanding was what they did next: They went home. Mary Magdalene was not present when the other women reported that Jesus was alive to the disciples, who did not believe them (vs.11). Yet, after seeing Jesus, she also returned to tell them the good news. They did not believe her either (Jn. 20: 13-18). Jesus would not show Himself to the eleven disciples until later that evening. The disciples had gathered at an undisclosed location. They were in a frightened and defeated condition, as John tells us, “...the doors where the disciples were had been locked because of the fear of the Jews (religious leaders)” (Jn. 20:19). Jesus allowed His closest friends, His brothers (Jn.20:17), to sit in their unbelief from morning until evening, but He was not idle during that day. He took a walk with some unknown disciples. These disciples were not part of the inner circle. Yet, they were close enough to know everything happening and where they could find the disciples. Their despair and disappointment were so great that they left to head home rather than stay with the other disciples and mourn. Essentially, they were running away. They had dared to hope in Jesus of Nazareth, and now that hope was crushed. Hope is a dangerous thing. If we dare to hope, we might be crushed under its weight. However, there is good news, Jesus restores hope in a dark world full of despair and loss.
Simeon’s Story 12/25/2022
December 25, 2022
Joseph and Mary had been visited by Angels who told them that Mary would give birth to the Messiah. Just like every other Jew, Mary and Joseph had grown up waiting anxiously for the day He would come, but they never expected that two young, poor kids would be the ones chosen for such an honor. Bringing God's Son into the world was not only difficult, but it would also soon be very dangerous, and Mary and Joseph needed to be warned. On the night this baby was born angels sent shepherds to a stable to assure a weary mother that all heaven was rejoicing that night at the birth of her child (Luke 2:8-14). But now, forty days later, as the family entered the Temple to present the appropriate offerings for both mother and son, an old man named Simeon was there waiting for them. He was a very special person whom God had been preparing for this moment all his life. In fact, He had kept him alive for this very moment.
Intimacy in Prayer - 1/1/2023
January 1, 2023 • Steve & Jen • Psalm 63:1–8, Ephesians 3:14–21
God desires fellowship with His people. We see this throughout the Bible. Serving our community and creating opportunities to help our church carry out that mission is critical. However, we tend to be so activity-oriented that we often forget that the heart behind our faith is a relationship with Jesus. This is not just about what we fundamentally believe, but it is about creating a relationship depended on Him. When we are depended on Him, our intimacy increases. This kind relationship can take a backseat to our Christian service if we are not intentional. Restoring this missing element in our prayer lives will revitalize us spiritually and enable us to carry on in our service to the Lord. We talk a lot about burnout in the church. Among those who serve and care and give of themselves, an exhaustion, physically and emotionally as well as spiritually can have an impact on how we minister and care for others. Many of the issues relating to burnout can be overcome by a restoration of relationship of intimacy with God in prayer. Since this is important to God, it should also be important to us. As we commit ourselves to grow in intimacy with God through prayer, it is important that we examine biblical accounts of those who had this intimate walk with God. It will help us better understand how special a close relationship with God can be. When we grow more intimately with God it increases our intimacy with people. Prayer is intimate and when you begin to have a fulfilling prayer life you find that intimacy and trust can grow with those around you.
Redeeming Comfort - 12/17/2022
December 18, 2022 • 2 Corinthians 1:3–5
2 Corinthians was written in a vulnerable time in Paul’s life (56 AD). This particular writing often speaks of his afflictions, tribulations, and struggles. Paul shares from a place of vulnerability of his own affliction and comfort found in God. He starts 2 Corinthians by praising God. He calls Him, “the God of mercy and all comfort”, and he tells us that we can comfort others just as we have found comfort in our afflictions. Jesus can and will redeem our past through comfort, and He will invite us to do the same for others. Not so they can find comfort in us, but so they can find mercy and comfort from the God of all comfort. What is comfort, and how do we get it? The words "all comfort" in this passage come from the Greek word paraklesis. This word for comfort in the New Testament is always more than soothing sympathy. It is the idea of strengthening, helping, and making strong. Paul says the Father is a comforter, a Paraclete (paraklesis). Paraclete is also used to represent both the Holy Spirit (Jn14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7) and Jesus (1 Jn 2:1, Heb. 2:18, Luke 2:25). The word Paraklesis is a compound of para and kaleo which means literally “to call near.” God, in every aspect of His being, is full of comfort, strength, and help for us. One of God's purposes in comforting us is to enable us to bring comfort to others. God's comfort can be given and received through others.
Celebrate the Nations! 10/30/22
October 30, 2022
Thank you for joining us with Seattle Foursquare Church to celebrate one of our favorite events of the year: Celebrate the Nations! We have many congregations together and pastors from those congregations guest preaching! Please join us for this awesome time!
Safe Sanctuary- Sunday 10/2/2022
October 2, 2022
As a church, one of the most critical goals is to create a Safe Sanctuary. A Safe Sanctuary is a place free of abuse where individuals can come and safely encounter the love of Jesus and grow in that love and discipleship. Part of creating a Safe Sanctuary is caring for the most vulnerable in our community. This group is our children, youth, and vulnerable adults. We do this by creating a culture of safety. Most Christians get saved between the ages of 4 and 14. There is no wonder why Satan would want to destroy their relationship with, first, the church and then God. Our Foursquare Child and Youth Protection videos say, "God has a plan for every child's life. Hell has a plan to delay fulfillment of God's plan." Keeping our church family safe does not happen on its own. It occurs when a church takes deliberate actions to protect, nurture and disciple. Whether you are a parent, a youth, or a single person who never plans to have children, we should care about protecting and keeping our family safe. So, today we are dedicating our service to a value we hold true to in our lives- creating a Safe Sanctuary.