Word of the Week

Word of the Week: Four Loves

Pastor Mark Tiefel discusses the word love and how it is used and described in the New Testament. Love is a common word, but one that is often difficult to define. In the Greek language used to record the New Testament Scripture, there are four different words for love, three of which are used in the New Testament. The word agape is the most important and common word which describes the love God has for us. It is a committment kind of love based on something that is not deserved. The word phileo describes a friendship kind of love. The third is storge, which is a love of respect or admiration which you might have for a teasher or role model (0nly used 3 times in the N.T.). The final word eros is a romantic kind of love and is not used in the New Testament, but it is descriptive of another aspect of love. In God's gift of marriage we have the ability to express all four of these kinds of love, and each type of love is important to the marriage relationship. Listen to find out how.

Word of the Week: Life

Pastor Sam Rodebaugh discusses the word "Life" - an appropriate word to consider following our Easter celebrations. He points out the importance of life and many of the questions raised in our society about life. When does life begin? Who has the right to take life? Life is viewed in a selfish way, and it is easy to see how life has been devalued in many ways in our world. But God is different. He values all life, every life. Jesus gives up His own life in order to save us from death and give us life. Our lives have been purchased back by the blood of Jesus. Knowing this, we gain a different perspective on life. The resurrection of Jesus and the salvation He has secured moves us to value our own lives, and to use them to God's glory. But it also moves us to value the lives of all people because they too are loved by the Savior.   

Word of the Week: Calvary

In our Word of the Week for Holy Week, Pastor Nathanael Mayhew takes us into the word Calvary. Most people are familiar with this word as the name of the place where Jesus was crucified on what has become known as Good Friday. The Hebrew name for the place of the crucifixion was Golgotha which meant "the place of the skull." This Hebrew term was translated into Greek ("kranium") by the New Testament writers since many of their original readers may not have known Hebrew or the geography of Jerusalem. The term Calvary is the Latin translation for "skull" which was used by Jerome in his Latin translation of the Bible. The name Calvary is interestingly not found in most modern English translations. It was retained from the Latin Vulgate in the Authorized Version (KJV) and then again in the NKJV. It is only found in Luke 23:33 in those translations. While we do not know where the site of Calvary is today, we do learn a few things about it from Scripture. It was near but outside Jerusalem and most likely within eyesight of a main road going in and out of Jerusalem (John 19:20; Hebrews 13:12). There was also a garden nearby where Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus burried Jesus after His death (John 19:41-42). While we do not know for certian the location of the crucifixion, we do know what happened there: Jesus "was cricified, died, and was buried" as we still confess in The Apostolic Creed. Thanks be to Jesus who suffered death and the agony of hell at Calvary to reconcile us to God and open the door of heaven to sinners! 

Word of the Week: Hades

Pastor Sam Rodebaugh defines the word "Hades" in our Word of the Week today. The word Hades can have different meanings depending on its context. It can refer to death or the grave or the place of eternal punishment for sin. In this episode Pastor Rodebaugh shows that Jesus has come to deliver us from Hades. Through His death on the cross, Jesus suffered death and endured the punishment of hell for our sins, and has now set us free from the curse which Hades held over us. Thanks be to Jesus for delivering us from death!

Word of the Week - Humiliation/Exaltation

In our Word of the Week, Pastor Rob Sauers takes us through a study of Jesus' Humiliation and Exaltation. These two words really encompass the life of Jesus from His conception through His resurrection and ascension, and they look forward to that day when Jesus will come again. Philippians 2:5-11 gives a really nice summary of what Jesus' humiliation and exaltation are all about: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." In our study, we will consider other Scripture passages that describe what Jesus' humiliation and exaltation are all about, and we will talk about the comfort we find in all that Jesus has done for us. May the Lord bless our study!

Word of the Week: Covenant

In our Word of the Week today Pastor Nathanael Mayhew defines and describes the word "Covenant" and shows how it is THE theme of Scripture. The word Covenant is used often throughout the Old and New Testaments. It means an agreement usually between two parties that is not to be broken. It describes human agreements like those between individuals or nations, but most often is used to describe the relationship between God and human beings. God makes a covenant with Abram and later the people of Israel. These were two-sided agreements in which God promised something and Abram and the people of Israel promised something. God was faithful, but human beings were not. Israel constantly broke the covenant they had made and worshipped false gods. So God also made a one-sided covenant - a promise which did not depend on human beings. He promised to send a Savior who would deliver sinners from death and the Devil through faith. This unbreakable promise of God to sinners was fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the Mediator of the new covenant which He secured with His death on Calvary. Through His blood we have redemption! Thanks be to God for His unbreakable Covenant in Christ!

Word of the Week - The Three Omnis

In our Word of the Week, Pastor Rob Sauers takes us through a study of the three omnis that we commonly use to describe certain attributes of God. Those words are omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Our study will consider just a few of the many Scripture passages that establish the fact that our God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present. We will also consider why these attributes of God might terrify us as well as why they are a comfort to us. 

Word of the Week - Transfiguration

In our Word of the Week, Pastor Mark Tiefel takes us through a study of the word "transfiguration." Most of our churches celebrate this event in Jesus' ministry each year on the last Sunday before the beginning of the Lenten season. The significance of this event is often forgotten about among us, but as we'll see in this study, the transfiguration was a pivotal event in Jesus' ministry. This event demonstrates in a dramatic way who Jesus is, and it also had a lasting effect on the disciples. We pray that this study will help you better to understand and appreciate the significance of this very important event in the Jesus' ministry.

Word of the Week: Denomination

In our Word of the Week Pastor Nathanael Mayhew takes us into the word denomination. This is not used in the Bible but something that we should know and understand in our current religious landscape today. A denomination is a group or affiliation of churches that gather together because they share a common belief. Sometimes we call this a synod or a church body. Some people say that they don't go to church at all because there are so many differences between churches and they don't know which one is right. First of all, let's be sure that God's Word is true, and differences between church denominations don't make God's Word false or worthless. The problem which causes denominations is sin and false teaching which God has warned His people about throughout history. Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul and Peter all warn about the danger of false teachers and tell believers to stay away from them. It is because of false teaching that we have so many churches teaching different things today. But God's Truth CAN still be known. We can study His word and compare it with the teachings of different churches to see what is false and what is true. May the LORD bless us through the study of His Word of Truth and lead us to gather with others who believe and teach the same thing!

Word of the Week - Conception

In our Word of the Week, Pastor Rob Sauers takes up a study of the word conception. This week marks the 45th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that allowed women to abort their unborn children in our country. Related to this decision is the debate as to when human life begins. Does it begin at conception or sometime later? We, of course, have laws in our country against taking another person’s life. But isn’t that what we’re doing in an abortion? To try to relieve this tension, those who support abortion say that human life does not begin at conception, but rather, either when the fetus could survive outside of the womb or when the child is born.
Does God’s Word have anything to say about this? It most certainly does! Our study will look at those key Scripture passages that deal with this topic, and we will see that God’s Word clearly indicates that life begins at conception.