Category: Sermon

Today, Beavercreek Nazarene turns 60 years old. We have a wonderful heritage, but it's time to look forward. For the last decade, we've been Bridging Church to Neighborhood. As we follow God into the future, we want to Be the Church that connects and engages the unchurched in our neighborhoods.

Related Topics: Spiritual Formation, Evangelism, Gospel, Church, Worship, Story | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "The Next Right Thing"

This year, Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene turns 60 years old. Over the last 60 years, we've made Jesus famous in our community by Bridging Church to Neighborhood. As Jesus has for us, we've gone into our neighborhoods, taking Jesus' love with us and showing our community in tangible, practical ways that Jesus loves them. Now it's time to take the Next Right Step. What will Beavercreek Nazarene look like in the next 60 years? What kind of church will we become? For the month of September, we explore our new vision, imagining together how it will shape our announcement of the Jesus' Good News in Beavercreek, Ohio. We want to become the Church that connects and engages the unchurched in our neighborhoods. What does that look like? Join us as we dream together!

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We think of religion as a part of our lives, something we add to make the rest of our life better. But Jesus compares his new Kingdom to something so valuable it's worth our entire lives. Accepting Jesus' invitation to God's Kingdom changes how we live every aspect of our lives.

Related Topics: Priorities, Gospel | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "Priceless Kingdom"

How easily do we reduce Jesus' new life to 'spirituality'? We think of God's Kingdom as one area of our lives - what we do on Sundays, or with a small group, or when we're engaging in religious activities. But Jesus tells us stories that invite us to imagine a Kingdom so big it encompasses our whole lives. A new life that can't be measured, can't be quantified because it's too big, too excellent. This kingdom is worth everything we have and more. It demands everything from us and when we give it all, we wish we could give more. This new life Jesus offers is priceless!

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We who follow Jesus are anxiously awaiting his return. But how do we wait well? What does healthy waiting look like? Jesus tells a story about 10 bridesmaids waiting for a wedding - 5 who prepare to wait and 5 who don't. Those who don't prepare, who aren't stocked up on oil, miss the wedding. With this story, Jesus invites us to wait well by spending regular time making ourselves available to the Holy Spirit. That preparedness looks like reading scripture, prayer and other spiritual practices.

Related Topics: Spiritual Formation, Priorities, Gospel, Holiness, Holy Spirit | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "Waiting for the Kingdom"

Jesus' disciples often asked him when his Kingdom would come in full, when this new life he always talked about would arrive. In response, Jesus told several parables that illustrated the tension we feel as we wait for his kingdom to come on Earth as it is in Heaven. Waiting in Jesus' new reality isn't passive. It's an active, intentional patience. So how do we wait well?

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Jesus describes the Kingdom of God in parables to invite us to take a closer look at how radically God changes our lives. In this first parable, Jesus compares himself to a farmer extravagantly sowing seed, and we who hear his good news to various kinds of soil. His story begs the question: what am I doing to cultivate the soil of my life?

Related Topics: Holiness, Virtue, Character | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "Seeds of the Kingdom"

Jesus spoke in parables to invite us to consider the surprising challenge and offer of his new life more fully. In June, we look at four parables were Jesus talks about the Kingdom as a seed. What is this small, seemingly insignificant Kingdom? And what sort of new life will it grow into? Join us as we explore the seeds of the kingdom!

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Through the Resurrection, God calls us to join God in restoring the world. Jesus' resurrection is proof of God's faithfulness to bring life even in the face of death. When we live in the power of Jesus' resurrection, we can step confidently into the calling God has on our lives. We can step out in faith, take the big risk, jump with both feet into God's mission!

Related Topics: God's Will, Story, Risk, Resurrection | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "Already/Not Yet"

Jesus' resurrection wasn't the end of the story; it was the beginning of God's new creation. The Resurrection is God's first step toward reclaiming creation, and we get to be a part of it. By choosing to follow Jesus, we leave the old reality dominated by sin and death and step into God's kingdom, where we find life. This new life has already begun. And yet we're also still waiting, because God's kingdom has not yet come in full. How do we live in the tension between the Already and the Not Yet? This series explores who God calls the Church to be, and how the Holy Spirit enables us to join in God's mission in the space between the Resurrection and the Second Coming. We're not just waiting around for God to show up. God is already here and working, so we're joining in!

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Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. We gather to mourn and confess our Sin, and to repent.

Related Topics: Sin, Confession | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "Venom"

Everyone knows the world isn't as it should be. There's a sickness deep within us, a rot in the human heart. The Bible calls that rot Sin, and even though no one likes to talk about Sin, we can't escape its reality. A snake once whispered to us that we could be like God. We believed that lie, and the venom of Sin has been killing us ever since. But God will not abandon us. Why do we talk about sin? Because then we get to talk about how God rescues us from Sin. After we tried to become like God, God became like us, to become our Sin, to save us. Join us the six Sundays of Lent (February 17-March 24) as we explore what Sin is and how God saves us!

Revelation 4 teaches us how to resolve the identity crisis at the heart of much of our Christmas celebrations.

Related Topics: Priorities, Gospel, Worship | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "It's the End of the World As We Know It"

These days, we're obsessed with the End of the World. We should remember that when Jesus came the first time, it really was the End of the World, at least as we knew it. And the beginning of something much, much better. This Advent, we prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus' coming into the world by exploring the book of Revelation!

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We like to compare ourselves to the world around us as say, We're not that bad. But not bad isn't good enough for God's people! Week 1 of our series on Amos

Related Topics: Mission, Evangelism, Gospel, Church, Character | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "The Lion Roars"

Amos pictures God as a lion, roaring God's judgment from Mt. Zion. We don't like to think of God as a judge. But the biblical picture of God as judge is founded in God's love as our Father in Heaven. We can hear God's judgment as words as a firm love calling us to be whole.

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We all know what it is to have a beast within us, one we can't quite control. How does the Holy Spirit enable us to overcome the Wolf within?

Related Topics: Holiness, Virtue, Character | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

From Series: "It Came From Within"

This is the season of the year when people start to think about monsters - ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night. We normally don't think of monsters having anything to do with the Church, but we'd be wrong. The reason people tell monster stories is that monsters are a safe way to talk about things we're not ready to admit about ourselves. We don't want to see ourselves as selfish, unforgiving, ill-tempered. So we tell stories. We create monsters. So today, we're going to shine some light in the cracks of our lives. Expose the monsters to the light. And hopefully it'll be fun!

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