Title: The Light of Life
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this Advent message from John 1:4-8, Pastor Nate Holdridge explores three essential realities about Jesus, the Light of Life. First, the Light is integral—the eternal Word who gives life to all humanity and whose illumination reaches every person through creation and conscience. Second, the Light is victorious—shining in present-tense power through the resurrection, defeating the darkness that cannot overcome Him. Third, the Light is the One we need—which is why God sent John the Baptist as a witness pointing to Jesus, so that all might believe. Whether you're groping in darkness and need to believe for the first time, or you're a believer called to witness like John, this message reminds us that Christmas celebrates the arrival of the Light who cannot be defeated—the One for whom our restless hearts were made.

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Title: The Eternal Word
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this sermon from John 1, Pastor Nate Holdridge explores the profound opening of John's Gospel—the Logos, the eternal Word who was with God and was God, and who became flesh to dwell among us. Walking through the encounters of John 2–11, Pastor Nate shows how Jesus met every form of human darkness: religious confusion, moral shame, physical helplessness, spiritual blindness, and even death itself. The sermon culminates in the Bethany scene of John 12, where Mary's extravagant anointing and Judas's cold calculation present two starkly different responses to the Light who has come. We must consider which response will be ours—will we pour out our lives in worship, or will we remain calculating in the darkness? This message is part of the Light in the Darkness Advent series through John 1:1-18 at Calvary Monterey.

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Title: The Upside Down Kingdom
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: Pastor Nate Holdridge teaches Matthew 4:12-25, revealing how Jesus' ministry location, personnel choices, and healing demonstrations preview the radical nature of God's kingdom. This message explores why Jesus established his headquarters in marginalized Galilee rather than religious Jerusalem, how he called ordinary fishermen to immediate and costly discipleship, and what his comprehensive healing ministry reveals about the kingdom's power to overturn every form of brokenness—physical, mental, spiritual, and relational.

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Title: The Upside Down King
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this Sunday sermon from Calvary Monterey, Pastor Nate Holdridge examines Matthew 4:1-11 and Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Pastor Nate reveals how Jesus' forty-day testing reversed Israel's forty-year failure, demonstrating what kind of King he would be—one who lives by God's Word, trusts the Father's care, and maintains exclusive loyalty rather than taking shortcuts to glory. Through careful exposition of each temptation, Pastor Nate shows how Jesus fulfilled Israel's story as our representative, teaches us how to endure temptation through Scripture, and models the servant-King leadership that defines his entire ministry. The message offers practical guidance for pursuing satisfaction God's way, developing trust-based relationships with God through remembrance and worship, and rejecting idolatrous crowns to receive the imperishable crown from God. Pastor Nate concludes with a clear gospel invitation, calling listeners to trust in the Upside Down King who conquered sin, Satan, and death through his perfect obedience and sacrificial love.

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Title: Under Pressure - Enduring the Tests of Temptation
Speaker: Manny Collazo
Scripture: James 1:12-18

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Title: The Participationist King
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this sermon from Calvary Monterey, Pastor Nate Holdridge examines the profound significance of Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3:13-17. Why would the sinless Son of God submit to a baptism of repentance? Pastor Nate reveals how Christ's baptism was an act of complete identification with humanity—a deliberate choice to participate fully in our story so we could participate in his. Through the Trinitarian authentication at the Jordan River, we discover three transformative realities: we participate in Jesus' life (the "in Christ" union that brings redemption, new creation, and freedom), we participate in the Spirit's anointing (what Pastor Nate calls "dove power"—gentle yet authoritative strength), and we participate in the Father's delight (the eternal love spoken over the Son now extended to us through adoption). This message challenges believers to embrace their identity as beloved children who represent Christ with both truth and tenderness, understanding that salvation is far more than forgiveness—it is union with the Triune God. Part of the series "The Promised King and His Good Kingdom."

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Title: The Joy of Preparing for the King
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this week's teaching from Calvary Monterey, Pastor Nate Holdridge examines the dramatic arrival of John the Baptist in Matthew 3. While John's message to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" can sound harsh, this sermon uncovers the profound and surprising joy found in preparing our lives for King Jesus. Pastor Nate explains how John's call leads us into the liberating joy of true repentance, the refreshing joy of authenticity before God, and the deep joy of expiation—the complete cleansing from sin that only Jesus can provide. This is a foundational teaching on what it means to clear the way for the King to work in our lives.

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Title: The King in Humble Glory
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this week's teaching from Calvary Monterey, Pastor Nate Holdridge examines Matthew 2:13-23, a passage filled with divine guidance, dangerous threats, and deep sorrow. Follow the young Messiah's family as they flee to Egypt, witness the fulfillment of prophecy in the midst of Herod's horrific cruelty, and discover the significance of their return to the obscure town of Nazareth. This sermon illustrates how Jesus is our true exodus from sin, our real return from spiritual exile, and the ultimate embodiment of a humble, servant King.

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