Matthew 5:21-26 - Through 6 case studies, Jesus explains what it means for Him to fulfill the law and to invite His disciples into a righteousness "greater than the pharisees." In the first case study, Jesus explores the deeper heart behind the Old Testament command not to murder. In a shocking twist, Jesus reveals the equal culpability of belittling words and the contemptuous heart. He also explores the connection between love for God and love for neighbor in surprising fashion. Through it all, Jesus affirms the incredible dignity with which disciples must learn to view their neighbors if they're going to live in step with His kingdom. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 5 of our series "Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace"] Questions for reflection: 1) Explain the connection between this passage and the previous one (Matthew 5:17-20). 2) Why would Jesus say that anger in the heart or contemptuous words will receive the same judgment as murder? What's he getting at? 3) In what ways can anger be a proper response? In what ways can it be a dangerous response? How does our culture often get this wrong? 4) What principle do you think is behind Jesus's story about not offering temple sacrifice while there is unresolved conflict with a brother or sister? 5) How does this passage push us toward a deeper recognition of our need for forgiveness through Christ?

Matthew 5:17-20 - Jesus transitions into the main body of His sermon by establishing His relationship to "the law and the prophets," which is shorthand for the entire Old Testament. Contrary to the thinking of many who want to simply pit Jesus against Israel's Scriptures, Jesus emphatically announces that HE has come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them--to bring them to their completion. In doing so He hints at the fact He is the one bringing about God's New Covenant, where the law will be written on the new heart and lived from the inside out with a new righteousness. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 4 of our series "Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace"] Questions for reflection: 1) What are some ways you've heard Jesus's relationship to the Old Testament described previously? 2) What do you make of Jesus's emphatic point about his "not abolishing" the law and the prophets? 3) What does this teaching have to do with Jesus's later encounters with the Pharisees (like in Matthew 12:1-8 or Matthew 23:23-24)? How does it help us make sense of later passages where certain requirements of the law are loosened like in Acts 10 or Acts 15? 4) Where does someone find a righteousness that "exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees"? 5) How would you summarize Jesus's relationship to the Mosaic law? 6) How would you answer someone who asked why Christians don't observe the laws about wearing clothes of mixed fabrics?

Matthew 5:13-16 - Jesus's introduction to the Sermon on the Mount continues with His proclamation of His receptive audience's role in the world as both salt and light. In this short saying, Jesus is calling His disciples to be who they were made to be: those who together make things better (and for a long time) in a broken world and those who boldly shine Christ's light in a dark world. Underneath it all is the great call to "love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength... and to love your neighbor as yourself." A sermon by Tsion Reid. [Part 3 of our series "Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace"] Questions for reflection: 1) What would you say you are known for? 2) What does it mean to be "the salt of the earth?" 3) How does someone let their light shine boldly as on "a stand?" 4) What is the relationship here between faith and works? Or between Christ's work in your life and your work out in the world? 5) How does this passage point us to the grace of Christ? How does it point us to the Holy Spirit's empowerment?

Matthew 5:3-12 - The opening of the sermon on the mount sets out to answer a question of great importance: Who is really blessed in God's kingdom? Who is really happy in His kingdom? Who is really well-off in His kingdom? Who has the good life? This opening, often called “the beatitudes,” gives an answer that shocks us the same way it shocked Jesus’s first audience the same way it shocks people from any human culture that hears it–because its answer never comes naturally or peacefully into any culture in this world. And that’s for good reason, because it is an otherworldly answer. And yet, it is an answer that is full of hope to all who recognize their need. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 2 of our series "Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace"] Questions for reflection: 1) According to your natural mind, who would you say has possession of "the good life?" 2) Who was the specific group of people Jesus was speaking to? What do we know about them? Why is their identity important for what Jesus says to them? 3) How does the list of types of people that Jesus mentions strike you? Why are they difficult ways of being in this world? 4) Where does the "blessing" lie in these statements? 5) How is Jesus the embodiment of the beatitudes? 6) How is the importance of the recognition of our own need highlighted here in Jesus's words?

Matthew 4:23-5:2 - This teaching begins our deep dive into Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, which is one of the most famous and important collections of teachings of all time and an especially load-bearing part of the New Testament. Matthew's gospel frames the sermon in ways that highlight it as an important part of Jesus's gospel of the kingdom, as a new law for the New Covenant community, and as an extension of Jesus's whole-person approach to ministry in word and deed. In short, it is Jesus’s vision of the good life in His kingdom of grace. It also begs the question, "What if Jesus was serious?" A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 1 of our series "Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace"] Questions for reflection: 1) What have you previously heard about the purpose of the sermon on the mount? 2) What do you make of the radical claims the sermon makes on Jesus's disciples? 3) What part of Jesus's sermon do you find most beautiful? Most challenging? 4) What does the sermon on the mount have to do with the Kingdom of God? What does it have to do with the grace of God? 5) What are some of the implications for us "if Jesus was serious?"

1 Peter 2:9-12 - In part 3 of our vision series we consider how we are to “boldly go.” Rooted in our identity together as “holy exiles” chiefly allegiant to King Jesus, we are to embrace a posture of love toward our city and neighbors, in word and in deed. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 3 of our series “Confidently Be, Boldly Go: On the Dance of Family Formation and Neighbor Witness”] Questions for reflection: 1) Do you personally tend toward separating into a holy huddle OR assimilating into a fan club in relation to our cultural environment? 2) How have you felt the reality of living as a “holy exile” or “ambassador” in your day-to-day life? 3) How does the idea of evangelizing sit with you? Why? 4) How would you describe your own degree of being wowed with the beauty and goodness of Jesus? 5) What is one population in Portland you struggle to love? Why? 6) What is one population in Portland that your heart really beats for? Why? 7) Why do you think faith and love expressed in word AND deed are so important across the Bible?

1 Peter 2:1-8 - In part 2 of our vision series we consider just what it is we're to "confidently be." Rooted in our cross-centered theology, fighting to be knit together as family, and doggedly committed to a focused simplicity--we are fighting to be formed as a community set apart for Jesus. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 2 of our series “Confidently Be, Boldly Go: On the Dance of Family Formation and Neighbor Witness”]

1 Peter 2:1-12 - We begin our 2025-2026 vision series with an examination of two great temptations that have always been with the people of God: to either separate into a holy huddle or to assimilate into a cultural fan club. The key to avoiding the failings of each is to remain radically committed to the Jesus who deeply cares both about the formation of His people into a spiritual family AND the witness toward their neighbors in word and deed. This year may God allow us to both confidently be AND boldly go. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 1 of our vision series “Confidently Be, Boldly Go: On the Dance of Family Formation and Neighbor Witness”]

Job 42 - At the end of Job it is clear that the book is neither a how-to manual nor a collection of explanations for our sufferings. Even still, the final chapter recounts many of the book's enduring principles that help us stand when suffering comes our way. It also leaves us with its most important principle of all: the call to trust the good and gracious character of the God who promises to one day put all things right. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 6 of our series "God, Goodness & Suffering: The Wisdom of the Book of Job"]

Job 38-41 - All of the questions and wrestlings of Job come to a head in these chapters as God finally responds from the whirlwind. But instead of supplying answers, God introduces even more questions--questions directed to Job meant to illustrate just how incomplete Job's knowledge of the universe and capacity for justice are. But within God's humbling questions is a greater invitation: to trust the goodness of God, even when we're in pain and even when we don't understand. A sermon by Ron Friesen. [Part 5 of our series “God, Goodness & Suffering: The Wisdom of the Book of Job”]

Job 30-31 - Throughout the main body of the book of Job, Job himself is responding to his friends and calling out to God with a kind of raw, shockingly honest rhetoric that recalls the Psalms of lament. In his final speech culminating in chapter 31, Job helps us see that learning to similarly bring our laments to God is a crucial part of a healthy path through suffering that ignores neither God nor our deepest emotions. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 4 of our series “God, Goodness & Suffering: The Wisdom of the Book of Job”]

Job 28:1-28 - A sermon by Lindsey Ponder. [Part 3 of our series “God, Goodness & Suffering: The Wisdom of the Book of Job”]

This past Sunday we announced our intent to purchase the beloved Fremont church building we meet in and to make a significant investment in it. Our desire is to raise the money necessary to address long-deferred maintenance so that it would remain a thriving, beautiful, Jesus-proclaiming space in our city for years to come. Listen here to the update that was given and learn how you can play your part in this exciting opportunity!

Job 3-27, 32-37 - The narrative opening of Job concludes with 3 of Job's friends arriving to comfort him. At first, they employ a quiet and compassionate ministry of presence. However, in chapter 3, Job's speech kicks off a series of cyclical dialogues that reveal just how short-sighted, falsely rationalizing, and insensitive the friends' verbal attempts at comfort are. In chapters 16-17, Job gives them his assessment: they are "miserable comforters" who simply can’t provide either the full answers or the existential comfort that Job needs in his agony. But in his longing, Job gestures at the possibility of One to come who will embody perfect truth and perfect compassionate presence--the true Comforter, Friend, Lord and Savior. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 2 of our series "God, Goodness & Suffering: The Wisdom of the Book of Job"]

Job 1:1-2:10 - The book of Job is an epic lyrical poem sandwiched between two narrative prose sections that add up to one of the great works of world literature (in addition to being the Spirit-inspired word of God). It examines the question of whether or not God is good and just given all the suffering we find in the world. In the opening section of the book it introduces us to the characters and theological dilemmas that the rest of the book will wrestle with. It also stands in relation to two other load-bearing stories from across the Bible about God, goodness and suffering, both of which will be crucial for understanding the answers the book of Job offers. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 1 of our series "God, Goodness & Suffering: The Wisdom of the Book of Job"]

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 - The Creed ends the way the Bible ends--with an answer to its first problem: How will sin, evil, sickness, death and separation from God be overcome? The answer comes in the form of the resurrection–first Jesus’s, and then the resurrection of all of His people into a new, glorious, abundant, eternal life. The Bible and the Creed both end with a vision of real life taken up again (and better than ever before) with Him. Praise be to God! And come, Lord Jesus! Amen. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 18 of our series "The Nicene Creed: The Ancient Theology of the Triune God"]

Acts 2:37-39 - Jesus left baptism to His church as one of its most important sacraments and practices. It serves as a sign and seal of the incredible blessings He brings to His people when they believe and confess Him as Lord. It becomes a deeply powerful act of public witness to our churches and neighbors as well as an anchor point to look back on in moments of discouragement. In this message we consider Peter's command on Pentecost to "repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins..." A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 17 of our series "The Nicene Creed: The Ancient Theology of the Triune God"]

Ephesians 2:19-22; 4:4-6 - The Nicene Creed uses some of its valuable real estate to highlight the crucial importance of the church for the Christian faith. In our day of digital and personal substitutes, the Creed seeks to remind us that there is no such thing as a churchless Christianity. Jesus created the church to be His body, His bride, and an embassy of His kingdom. When we confess with the Creed that we believe "in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church," we are reminded to fight for the kind of unity and Christ-likeness that Jesus prayed for, even as we know we won't see it in full until He returns. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 16 of our series "The Nicene Creed: The Ancient Theology of the Triune God"]

2 Peter 1:16-21 - The bishops who formulated the Creed wanted to make sure the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture was acknowledged, and what better way than to highlight Scripture as the vehicle of prophetic words from the Holy Spirit (another way of saying the Bible is the word of God)? And although the prophets, the Apostles, and Jesus Himself had an exceedingly high view of the Bible and its divine origin, they also readily acknowledged its thoroughly human origin. This is all the more evidence of the desire God has to work in, through, and alongside His image bearers to accomplish His purposes—even in the creation of his sacred texts! A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 15 of our series “The Nicene Creed: The Ancient Theology of the Triune God”]

John 15:26-27 - The brevity, mystery, and church-splitting importance of the phrase "Who proceeds from the Father" make it among the most difficult in the Creed to unpack. Debates over the eternal relations within God--especially the procession of the Spirit from the Father--led in part to the split of the single Christian church into the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in 1054 AD (the Protestant Reformation came later). But before we dismiss this debate as too obscure, we should fight to see the importance that the great Christian theologians of history have attached to it. It helps us understand the key distinctions within the trinity and ensures that we view the Holy Spirit, alongside the Father and the Son, as fully God and utterly worthy of our worship. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 14 of our series "The Nicene Creed: The Ancient Theology of the Triune God"]