ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9, the message is called REFLECTING THE REDEEMER, with Patrick Edwards, from Exodus 19-24. Rules are restrictive. They limit who we are, what we can do, and the fun we can have along the way. But our Designer knows how we are meant to work and, thus, gives us instructions how to best live. The Law shows us what God is actually like and how we can flourish in His design for the world.

ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2, the message is called KNOWING GOD, with Patrick Edwards, from Exodus 16-18. How quickly we can forget something that has just happened. One would think that after watching a sea parted that you’d be riding that spiritual high for quite a while, and yet, just like that, God’s people begin to complain. It seems, then, that our bigger issue is not finding redemption from something, but inwardly learning how to live in surrender to something that is not ourselves. Here is the video we showed at the start of the message (at 85 seconds in to the message):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYukmba5Vg

ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 26, the message is called WHO IS LIKE THE LORD, with Patrick Edwards, from Exodus 15. Worship is more than just music. Worship is a work of those who have been redeemed. Its focus is on who the Redeemer is and what need we have to be rescued. Worship is the proper response to salvation.

ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 19, the message is called HOW THE LORD REDEEMS, with Patrick Edwards, from Exodus 12-13. Whereas nearly 9 in 10 people claim belief in God, just exactly who that God is and what He or She or It is like differs based on who you ask. For most people it's a matter of opinion or religious dogma, but the Bible says only God Himself can answer this question. And to both the Israelites and Egyptians He reveals that He is the One who saves.

ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, the message is called THE LORD IS REDEEMER, with Patrick Edwards, from Exodus 1-4. Exodus 5-14 | Whereas nearly 9 in 10 people claim belief in God, just exactly who that God is and what He or She or It is like differs based on who you ask. For most people it's a matter of opinion or religious dogma, but the Bible says only God Himself can answer this question. And to both the Israelites and Egyptians He reveals that He is the One who saves.

ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, the message is called SLAVES, with Patrick Edwards, from Exodus 1-4. Exodus 1-4 | We tend to think of freedom as to what we’re freed from. Could be debt, chattels, a bad job, or a wicked government. As Christians we talk about redemption as freedom from sin and death, but we don’t often think as much as what we’re freed to. Turns out, we’re all slaves, it’s just a question as to slaves to what. As Bob Dylan sang, “You're gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord but you're gonna have to serve somebody.”

ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 28, the message is called LIVING IN THE MIDDLE, with Beth Anderson, from Exodus 6; Philippians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Hebrews 12:1-2; Romans 8:18-25. Life is full of “middles” - awkward, uncomfortable and often overlooked. From Ruth and Naomi to Moses and the Israelites, God’s people have always wrestled with the tension of the in-between. So how do we live with faith, hope and endurance while we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled?

ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21, When We Turn To An Extraordinary Redeemer, with Patrick Edwards Ruth 4 | The most extraordinary thing we’ll ever do with our lives is be used by God in the building of His Kingdom. Sometimes He do so in “big” ways but other times it may be “small,” and the thing is we may never know in this life all that He was doing. The key then is simply keeping our eyes on Him, desiring more than just an extraordinary life but, really, desiring an extraordinary redeemer.

ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14, When We're in God's Way, with Patrick Edwards Ruth 3 | Sometimes we have the best of intentions, but we still are guilty of trying to force God’s hand. Sometimes we think He needs our assistance. But a heart that desires to live an extraordinary life will do so in humility seeking God’s glory and will even in the small tasks of life.

ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7, When We're Not Paying Attention, with Patrick Edwards Ruth 2 | One of the things that make life feel so “ordinary” is that we don’t perceive where God is present and in work in us or around us. In between the mountain tops and valley lows, it can feel like much of life is coasting on the planes. The key, then, to the extraordinary life is in trusting in the invisible ways God draws us closer to both Himself and to the family of His people.

ON SUNDAY AUGUST 31, When Sin Gets in the Way, with Patrick Edwards Ruth 1 | Living in a world that has no interest in the things of God nor in submitting under His lordship, it can be easy to be subtly influenced by such things and led astray. Often, one of the biggest factors that stands in the way of us leading extraordinary lives of faith are the personal compromises we make with sin.

ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, How to Make Your Life Matter, with Patrick Edwards The biggest enemy we face, perhaps, is monotony. Day in and day out it's the same old routine. Even as followers of Jesus it can feel like we're just waiting for heaven and then the new age to come. The Book of Proverbs has stated emphatically, however, that this life matters greatly, and if we seek God with all our hearts and minds and His Wisdom then each of our lives can matter greatly, too.

ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, How to Have Friends, with Patrick Edwards Theologian Thomas Aquinas called friendship "the most prized thing on earth." Two other great thinkers once said, "I get by with a little help from my friends." History testifies to the importance of having people in our lives, and yet, in 2025, this seems harder to attain than ever. Thanks to a litany of factors very few people today can honestly say they have true friends, even in the church. All the more reason, therefore, for us to consult the wisdom of God on how to be friends once again.

ON SUNDAY AUGUST 10, How to Family, with Patrick Edwards To be blunt, deep down we all know we're failing on this front. Maybe we cope by saying we're doing better than "them", but more likely we all have something in our family lives that we feel guilty over. At best, we're phonies. Understanding, however, the grace we have in the family of God empowers us not to be burdened by our shortcomings but instead to strive in love together toward the master plan.

ON SUNDAY AUGUST 3, How to Speak, with Patrick Edwards The pen is mightier than the sword. Seems absurd if you find yourself just armed with a ballpoint pen in an alley against a guy with a sword, but this saying points to the ripples and waves words can make versus one stroke of the sword. In fact, the Bible tells us that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. Truly, death and life are in the power of the tongue.

ON SUNDAY JULY 27, How to Treat Money, with Patrick Edwards Money can be a source of great blessing as well as a source of great stress. No matter your income it can feel like you never have enough. And as one lyricist once remarked, “It's like the more money we come across the more problems we see.” The Proverbs show us how we should think about things like wealth and poverty and, more importantly, demonstrate the kind of heart we should exhibit when it comes to money.

On July 20, Patrick teaches from Proverbs on How to Make Decisions. Maybe you pray about major life decisions, but what about the small ones? Do you think God cares or has a plan for what you do for dinner or what outfit you wear today? If He does, how can we know the answer? Is life one of just constant guessing as to whether we're pleasing God and doing the right thing? We tend to either over-think our decisions or not think enough about them at all. God does care, though, and desires to give us the grace and wisdom we need daily to follow Him in everything we do.

On July 13, Patrick teaches from Proverbs on How to Work. We work hard all week to make it to the weekend. We work hard all year to take that nice vacation. We work hard for decades so that we can retire. Have you noticed, though, how busy your weekends are, or how tired you are after your vacation, or how you do more in retirement than you did when you were working? It would seem we haven’t quite figured out this work thing. The Proverbs show us that right working is a mindset and worldview that holds not the task itself as its focus nor even the end itself, but the One to whom it’s for.

On July 6, in Patrick's absence, Scott teaches about how the impact of MFuge is relevant to all believers. Our students are leaving in the morning to make a difference in Philadelphia, PA, so let's take this opportunity to see how that impact can happen right here, among our community of faith in Virginia Beach.

On June 29, Patrick teaches from Proverbs, on How to be Humble. In a world where we're all trying to get ahead, self-promotion seems to be the key. Thanks to social media, anyone can become famous, where fame itself becomes the goal. This type of pride and self-absorption, however, is destructive and, ironically, ultimately produces the opposite effect. Humility, we see, then, is not thinking less of yourself, but, rather, thinking of yourself less.