Sermon Summary Tisha Connell, John 1:45-51 & Matthew 4:1-11. Many times we believe that how we are perceived impacts if and how we can do good ministry. What happens when we are inaccurately perceived? What is our response? Do we need to correct people’s perception so that ministry can be done? What Jesus shows us is that we can surpass people’s perceptions of us and do GREAT ministry. Before we do that we have to deal with how we perceive ourselves. We need to deal with our own understanding of our identity. Jesus shows us the areas of identity that we tend to wrestle with and what His foundation was for His own identity so he could do GREAT ministry.

Sermon Summary Hallie Harrington, Genesis 16:1-16. All throughout Genesis, Abram and Sarai struggle to live as the people of God. In their desperation to see God’s promises fulfilled, they decide to take matters into their own hands. Yet, God’s grace is bigger than their messy relationships and poor decisions, and we will see him come alongside his people as they learn what it truly means to represent him to the world.

Emily Vermilya, John 2:1-11. God encounters his people in the magnificent and the mundane. And while his Kingdom work is never limited by humanity, we see time and again, that his desire is to involve us in these efforts to restore and redeem. So often, the measure of God's activity is reflective of the measure of our obedience.

Brian Fry, Ephesians 4:1-3; Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus was gentle and lowly in heart (Matthew 11: 28-30). These are part of Jesus’s character and two aspects of the Jesus Way. The gentleness and lowliness of Jesus are how we—the body of Christ—maintain the unity of the Spirit in the midst of our disagreements and frustrations with each other (Ephesians 4: 1-3). The second-half of the sermon suggests 5 practices that can help us be gentle in our disagreements (the outside of the cup), while at the same time making room for the Holy Spirit to transform our inner lives so they become more like Christ’s (the inside of the cup).

Sermon Summary Zach Szmara, Mark 8:22-26 (supplemental text, Acts 8:26-31) . In Mark 8:22-26, the central theme is Jesus healing a blind man in two stages. Initially, the man gains partial sight, seeing people as blurry figures. After a second touch from Jesus, his vision becomes completely clear. Similarly, in Acts 8:26-31, Philip is first called to proximity to others, but then receives a second calling to deeply connect with him (kollaō in Greek). The sermon emphasizes that we often settle for the first touch or call, feeling content with imperfect vision or mere proximity. However, God desires us to pursue something more and something deeper - full clarity in our sight and to move from simple proximity to genuine connection with others.

Sermon Summary Steve DeNeff, Ephesians 3:14-21. There are two things that Paul wanted for the church in Ephesus. I want those same two things for us at CollegeWes: Power and Love.

Steve DeNeff

Steve DeNeff