January 25, 2015 | Pastor John Bayles | Before I Leave You: True Peace, True Reconciliation | John 14:26-31

These are that last comments that Jesus will make with his disciples in the upper room during the Passover and the last supper. It is interesting that here, in this upper room, He reveals to them that the Holy Spirit will come to them. Could it be that in this very same upper room, not many day hence, the Holy Spirit Jesus speaks about in this room, will come in power in the same room?

January 18, 2015 | Pastor John Bayles | Before I Leave You: The Coming Advocate | John 14:15-27

To this point in his Gospel, Jesus has not spoken very much about the Holy Spirit. We should not, however, assume that there is no presence of the Holy Spirit. The fact that this Gospel and all of the scriptures has been written and preserved throughout time and history is the absolute evidence of the inspiring and preserving work of the Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Peter stated, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20,21).

January 11, 2015 | Pastor John Bayles | This is My Prayer for You | Ephesians 3:14-19

In today’s text the Apostle Paul renders one of the most meaningful expressions of prayer and praise in all of Pauline literature. As we enter into the new year, my hope is that this prayer will become a reality in each of our lives. In this prayer we see a synopsis of the whole of the Gospel message and especially as we seek to become caught in it’s day to day flow in our lives.

January 4, 2015 | Pastor John Bayles | The Witness That Amazes | Acts 9:1-31

Under all the anger and persecution against the heretics of the Way, was a heart that had hoped for the Messiah. During his lifetime of education both as a child and then as a man engrossed in the Pharisaical training under the great Gamaliel, Saul had been prepared to the highest levels of his Hebrew religion.

December 21, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Fourth Sunday of Advent: Jesus, the Suffering Servant | Hebrews 12:1-4

How often do we interpret the life of Jesus from the vantage point of how we perceive our own life? Jesus was a man like us. He “endured such opposition from sinful men” (Heb. 12:3). We know from the Scriptures that He “suffered when He was tempted” (Heb. 2:18) and that “...we have One Who was tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Heb. 4:15). We can identify in a very worldly way with our Savior. However, though Jesus shared the humanity that we understand, it is wrong to believe that He experienced it as we do. Jesus’ visitation in the flesh was not at all common or even similar to us. Basically, He was like us in the flesh, but we are not like Him.

December 7, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Second Sunday Of Advent: What A Great Grace Is Mine! | Ephesians 2:1-10

The sentiment has been expressed throughout the ages that if we do not first understand how miserable our condition was and how far we actually were from God, we will not fully appreciate how great the benefits to us are of the cross. As has been the case throughout all of history, our present culture wants to think about the goodness of man, the greatness of man, the kindness of man. In fact it is believed by most that if treated well, fed well, and given equal freedom and comforts, mankind would never turn to evil naturally.

November 30, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | First Sunday of Advent: If Only There Were Someone! | Job 9:25-35

Often we minimize the importance of beginnings. All of us are affected by persons and events in our lives which shaped the pathway from where we came, who we are, what we believe, who we associate with, where we live, and what we do for work. As a human race we have a beginning which has deeply affected every person born since the creation of the earth.

November 23, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: Mansions and Missions | John 14:1-14

November 16, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: Betrayed and Denied | John 13:18-38

November 9, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: The Servanthood of Love | John 13:1-17