Recent
Sermons
Practice Gathering: Fellowship (Sharing Resources)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues a new sermon series called, “Practice Gathering”. This series focuses on Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This week focuses on how the early Christians in Acts devoted themselves to gathering together for the purpose of sharing resources with one another. (See notes below for more)
Sermon begins at about 27 minutes.
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
When the church was birthed in Acts followers of Jesus met together every day to keep their relationship with God vibrant.
They devoted themselves to [the] fellowship. (Acts 2:42)
The Greek word koinonia can be both a noun and a verb so they committed themselves to fellowshiping (actively participating and sharing) in a fellowship (community bound by the common purpose of following Jesus).
Acts 2:44 shows that this including sharing financial/material resources.
Of the approximately 30 times a form of koina or koinonia is used in the New Testament at least 11 times it is connected to this kind of sharing financial resources (Acts 2:44, Acts 4:32, Romans 12:13, Romans 15:26, 2 Corinthians 8:4, 2 Corinthians 9:13, Galatians 6:6, Philippians 4:14 & 4:15, 1 Timothy 6:18, Hebrews 13:16).
The Bible promotes the contributing of financial resources to the ministry for the Lord in the Old and New Testament in principles that include:
Tithing: giving 10% of your income to God's kingdom work
Firstfruits: setting aside a portion of your income (perhaps your tithe) before spending
Offerings: additional giving beyond the tithe
Giving to the poor: Sharing financial with those in need
We are encouraged to excel in the grace of giving and operate in the same generous spirit of Jesus. (2 Corinthians 8:7-9)
God promises to bless our generosity by meeting our needs and in order to allow us to continue to be generous. (2 Corinthians 9:8-11)
Other Sermon Notes and References:
Practice Gathering: Fellowship (Sharing Life)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues a new sermon series called, “Practice Gathering”. This series focuses on Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This week focuses on how the early Christians in Acts devoted themselves to gathering together for the purpose of sharing life with one another. (See notes below for more)
Sermon begins at about 29 minutes.
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
When the church was birthed in Acts followers of Jesus met together every day to keep their relationship with God vibrant. Do you regularly set aside times to meet with other believers and intentionally grow in your faith?
When we have a relationship (are in fellowship) with Jesus we become part of his Body and are called to have relationships (be in fellowship with) other Jesus followers.
The early devoted themselves to [the] fellowship. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia.
As a noun it means association, fellowship, community of people living life together with a common purpose (following Jesus).
As a verb it means sharing, participating, contributing in a community of people.
We are to be devoted to a fellowship or fellowships (koinonia) of committed Jesus followers. Are you?
We are to be devoted to fellowshiping with a fellowship of committed Jesus followers. Are you?
Other Sermon Notes and References:
“The Body of Christ is nothing other than a fellowship of persons. It is the ‘fellowship of Jesus Christ’ [1 Cor 1:9] or ‘fellowship of the Holy Spirit’ [2 Cor 13:14, Phil. 2:1] where fellowship or koinonia signifies a common participation, a togetherness, a community life.” -Emil Brunner
“The faithful are bound to each other through their common sharing in Christ and in the Holy Spirit…” -Emil Brunner
Practice Gathering: The Scriptures
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues a new sermon series called, “Practice Gathering”. This series focuses on Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This week focuses on how the early Christians in Acts devoted themselves to gathering together and listening to the Apostles teaching, with emphasis on The Scriptures.
Sermon begins at about 49 minutes (this Sunday we welcomed new elders, so the sermon started later in the service than usual).
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
When the church was birthed in Acts followers of Jesus met together every day to keep their relationship with God vibrant. How often do you think you should meet with other believers with the intentional purpose of growing in your faith?
Followers devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching which includes:
Listening to teaching from those who know Jesus well and can help us learn how to receive God's love and love others.
Learning from the Scriptures of the Bible which point us to Jesus
Studying the Scriptures together with others
In the coming weeks or months find a way to gather with others around the Scriptures for a season.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
Practice Gathering:The Gospel
Pastor Andrew Schmidt begins a new sermon series called, “Practice Gathering”. This series will focus on Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This week focuses on how the early Christians in Acts devoted themselves to gathering together and listening to the Apostles teaching, specifically the Gospel.
Sermon begins at about 15 minutes
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
When the church was birthed in Acts followers of Jesus met together every day to keep their relationship with God vibrant. Why do we as Christians think we can meet together so much less often and still remain true to Him will all of our heart?
Followers devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching which was first and foremost 1) the good news of what Jesus had done for them through his life, death, resurrection and ascension 2) the call to repent or turn to Jesus to receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.
If we seek to get closer to Jesus others will follow.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
Christmas Eve 2022: A Great Light
Andrew Schmidt concludes our advent series, “Out of the Darkness…” with a Christmas Eve sermon, “A Great Light”. This series will has carried us through Advent with a focus on what the prophet Isaiah wrote about the Messiah.
Sermon begins at about 31 minutes
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Other Sermon Notes and References:
Find resources for this and other Advent messages here.
Advent Week 1: Out of the Darkness… (Faith)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt begins a new sermon series called “Out of the Darkness…”. This series will carry us through Advent with a focus on what the prophet Isaiah wrote about the Messiah. This week’s focus is on Isaiah 50:1-11
Sermon begins at about 26 minutes
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Other Sermon Notes and References:
Find resources for this and other Advent messages here.
People of Presence: Prayer Builders
Pastor Andrew Schmidt concludes the sermon series, “People of Presence”. In this message, Pastor Andrew reviews the last several weeks of our Prayer Builders initiative.
Sermon begins at about 43 Minutes
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Other Sermon Notes and References:
People of Presence: Intercession (Global Outreach)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. In this message, Celebrate Church Pastoral Care Pastor Judd Nelson shares about intercession. He focuses on global outreach and the power of prayer. Pastor Andrew emphasizes this point and encourages the church to pray specifically for our global outreach partners.
Sermon begins at about 25 min
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Jesus’ tells his disciples to pray: Ask the Lord to send out workers for the harvest. (Matthew 9:38)
Jesus sends his disciple out: As answers to the prayer of workers for the harvest. (Matthew 10:1, 5-8)
Jesus says: Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? What is your answer? (Isaiah 6:8)
Other Sermon Notes and References:
People of Presence: Intimacy
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. In this message, Nicolas Lirio shares about intimacy with the Lord. He focuses on David’s bold approach to God’s presence. Pastor Andrew emphasizes this point and encourages the church to practice both confession and repentance as they approach the Lord.
Sermon begins at 17:40
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
When we draw close to God, he promises to draw close to us (James 4:8)
God is reaching for us out of his love for the world.
The world system prefers to stay in the darkness rather than be exposed by light.
Confessing Jesus as Savior and Lord helps us draw close to God.
Confessing our sins allows us to draw close to God, rather than remaining in darkness.
Repenting, turning toward God and away from worldliness, helps us draw close to God.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
People of Presence: Intercession
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. In this message, Doug Terpstra shares about the power of praying for others. Pastor Andrew emphasizes this point and encourages the church receive prayer from youth prayer ministers during the service.
Sermon begins at 36:38
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Jesus ministered in power. So did his early followers. So can we.
Power was released through Jesus’ words and touch.
Jesus’ ministry wasn’t just powerful, it was personal.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
People of Presence: Imagination
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. In this message, Ali Cranmer shares about imagination, and how important it is to imagine with God. Pastor Andrew emphasizes this point and encourages the church to invite God into our imagination. Ali finishes by leading us through a prayer called The Garden of The Heart Prayer.
Sermon begins at 37:26
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
People of Presence: Intercession (Not Giving Up)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. In this message, Aubrey Schneider begins the sermon with a personal story about prayer intercession. She also shares some takeaways about blessing others. Jon Suntken follows with thoughts on Bamboo trees, and how this mirrors our need to keep praying. Andrew concludes the message with encouragement to pray without ceasing, and to see how God is answering prayers even when we can't see what He is doing.
Sermon begins at 23:48
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Blessing Prayer: Ephesians 3:16-20
Things To Remember:
We are to always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. (2 Peter 3:9)
God you owe me leads to complaining and a focus on what God is not doing.
God you love me leads to thanksgiving and a focus on what God has done, is doing and promises to do in the future.
Bamboo Plant: Like the Babmoo plant that doesn't break the ground for 4 years and then grows 90 feet in 60 days, God is often at work under the surface in response to our prayers.
3 Things To Do When You Bless Others:
Use their name
Pray scripture
Pray out loud
Other Sermon Notes and References:
“When we move from petition (asking for things for ourselves) to intercession, we are shifting the center of gravity from our own needs to the needs and concerns of others. Intercessory prayer is selfless, even self-giving prayer.”
People of Presence: Intimacy (Nature/Service)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. This week we focus on intimacy with God. Mike Moats shares with us about how nature is the place where he feels God’s presence most. Andrew continues with the series after, encouraging us to find intimacy with God as we serve others and also as we walk with Him in nature.
Sermon begins at around 35 minutes
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Jesus often went alone to pray in nature.
God communicates through nature. We still need His Word and community, but it is spiritually beneficial to connect with His creation.
We experience Jesus's Presence when we serve the least of these.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
He was sinless, and yet he needed prayer. Far be it from us to dream that we can do without it. In private, we must, like our God, equip ourselves for the public battle of life. -Charles Spurgeon
No doubt it was the constant habit of Christ to pray. But there were certain times where He retired into lonely places, and His prayer life was peculiarly fervent and prolonged. -Charles Spurgeon
People of Presence: Intercession (Elders)
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. This week we focus on intercession for the church as a whole body. Celebrate’s Elder Board shares scripture and prayer with us at the end of the message.
Sermon begins at 21:27
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
The church was born when people accepted the gospel message that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead to make a way for eternal life and was exalted into heaven that we could have His Spirit/Presence now.
Believers responded by repenting and being baptized, and devoting themselves to each other every day.
Ephesians shares God’s ideal vision for the church.
We learn that
The church is Jesus’ body and is intended to be filled.
That the church is a temple being built together so he can dwell with them.
The God through his love wants to fill us with His fullness and have his glory dwell in us like it did in Jesus Christ.
God wants to fill his church his body so we can be mature and complete and unified.
We can be filled with God’s Spirit by not being filled with other things and by speaking and singing praise to God.
Other Sermon Notes and References:
People of Presence: Ministering To The Lord
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. We begin with Matt Van Sant, Celebrate’s Worship Ministries Leader, teaching on what it means to minister to the Lord.
Sermon begins at 26:11
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
Things To Remember:
Ministering to God:
Extol- to record, to remember
Thank- to thank
Praise- to shine, to rave, to boast
Sermon Notes and References:
God being present everywhere is not the same as God being present somewhere.
A theme throughout the Bible is God desiring to be present in a specific place and time to be with his people.
David was not content with God's Presence being 'there', he wanted it to be 'here' in his midst.
David desires for God's Presence to 'somewhere' matched God's desire. In this way he was a man after God's own heart.
God brought God's Presence with musical worship and maintained his presence with ongoing musical worship.
When we come to worship are we more like Simon the Pharisee evaluating what we think of everything or more like the sinful woman ready to offer what we have to Jesus?
I Chronicles 16:4 Says that David appointed Levites to extol, thank and praise the Lord:
Extol: remember or recount what the Lord has done
Thank: express appreciation for what the Lord has done
Praise: to shine, rave, or boast about the the Lord
People of Presence: Intercession
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues the sermon series, “People of Presence”. This week he focuses on Luke 5. In the second half of the sermon, Pastor Andrew interviews three leaders of ministries that Celebrate Church partners with. Jennie Koenig, with Pleasantville Youth Initiative, Larissa Van Donselaar, with The Well, and Bruce Crozier, with Crosswalk and Food Pantry.
As you watch or listen to this week’s message, keep in mind it involves space for prayer. We encourage you to participate from wherever you are at.
Sermon begins at 17:40
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
People of Presence: Intimacy
Pastor Andrew Schmidt begins a new sermon series called, “People of Presence”. Intimacy and intercession are two key ingredients for being People of Presence as God intends. So this fall we are going to explore different ways of drawing close to God and praying for others. Each week we will focus on either Intimacy with God, or Intercession on behalf of others. This week, Andrew is joined by Skip Jackson, who leads us into the sermon, and Camille Schmidt, who teaches on intimacy with God.
Sermon begins at 37:23
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
Scripture References:
John 15:1-9
Things To Remember:
Intimacy is closeness in relationship that builds over time
Intimacy is costly
Intimacy is exclusive
Intimacy is experience
Sermon Notes and References:
“I feel simply carried along each hour, doing my part in a plan which is far beyond myself. This
sense of cooperation with God in the little things is what so astonishes me, for I never have felt
it this way before. I need something, and turn around to find it waiting for me. I must work, to be
sure, but there is God working along with me.”
“The core task of remaining in Christ is talking to Jesus. I often exchange the phrase “remain in Me” for the phrase “talk to Me” - I use them interchangeably. The Christian life is an ongoing dialogue with a real person. In fact, the essence of Christianity is living in an ongoing dialogue with the most Glorious Man who ever walked the earth. He is fully
God and fully man, and we get to talk to Him! Jesus has much to say to us, but He allows us to set the pace of the conversation. If we start, He will continue the conversation as long as we do. When we stop, He stops and waits until we begin again. He responds in the degree to which we communicate with Him.”
What Is God Doing? Week 3
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues our new sermon series, “What is God Doing?”
Sermon begins at 22:00
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
What Is God Doing? Week 2
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues our new sermon series, “What is God Doing?”, focusing on how Moses went up the mountain to be in God’s presence.
Sermon begins at 29:30
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.
What Is God Doing? Week 1
Pastor Andrew Schmidt begins our new sermon series, “What is God Doing?”
Sermon begins at 38 minutes
Audio:
You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.