Mission City Church w/ Pastor Josh Hershey

PARABLES — “THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS”

Jesus has been reclining with tax collectors and sinners while His disciples and some Pharisees watch and listen to His parables. After Jesus’ fourth parable in this setting, the Pharisees begin to “sneer” at Him because they were “lovers of money” and His parable had to do with God’s stewards abusing God’s wealth. Jesus is in no way intimated by their sneering, but goes on to teach yet another that also has to do with wealth. A parable with vivid imagery. A sore-covered poor man. A lavishly dressed rich man. Dogs. Gates. Angels. Chasms. Father Abraham. Moses. The Prophets. Join us as we dive into this fascinating teaching of our Lord.

PARABLES — “THE SHREWD MANAGER”

In Luke 16 Jesus tells two parables that have to do with money and how God’s stewards are to treat the poor. Jesus is still reclining with tax collectors and sinners as He is telling these stories, and the Pharisees are still listening in. In the first parable, “the Shrewd Manager”, Jesus paints a picture of how a wise religious leader must respond to His ministry. They must come to grips to their sin and death (like the prodigal son in the parable before this), and then begin to treat those under their authority with great mercy. Join us as we continue our parable series through the Gospel of Luke and allow the Word of Christ to challenge and encourage us!

PARABLES — “LOST AND FOUND”

Jesus hung around and dined with tax collectors and sinners. This frustrated certain people and caused them to ‘murmur.’ In response to this murmuring, Jesus delivered three powerful parables about the God who seeks and saves that which is lost! Join us as we journey through the parables of THE LOST SHEEP, THE LOST COIN, and THE LOST SONS.

PARABLES (PART 4) — “THE GREAT PARTY”

The Lord has prepared a wonderful PARTY for the world. A party all are invited to. Sadly, some make excuses of why they do not want to attend. Thankfully, God’s GREAT LOVE will not be thwarted! He doesn’t like empty parties. Or even half-full ones! God wants His party FILLED to overflowing! So He COMPELS us to come from every crevice and corner of society. The GOOD and the BAD are all corralled to eat, drink, dance, and be merry. Join us as we continue to look at the parables of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke!

PARABLES (PART 3)

Join us as we continue to dive into Jesus’ parables in the Gospel of Luke. We will be looking at the parable of THE FERTILIZED FIG TREE, the parable of THE MUSTARD SEED, and the parable of THE LEAVEN. God wants to brings us to repentance through His grace and forbearance. And He wants us to be encouraged about the power and potential of His kingdom at work in our world and in our lives. Even if it is a kingdom the eye can not always perceive!

PARABLES (PART 2) — “THE GOOD SAMARITAN”

Who is our neighbor? Is it our friends? Our religious community? Our country? What about, our enemies!? In this provocative parable Jesus helps us see that EVERYONE is a neighbor we are to love. And He does it by using a character who was not “religiously orthodox” as the main exemplar of what it means to be a loving neighbor! A Jewish enemy—a Samaritan! It was this man’s heart that bounded over with compassion rather than the religious priest and Levite. This man understood that LOVE comes FIRST. He had the “good and noble” heart. Join us as we dig into this beloved and challenging parable!

PARABLES (PART 1)

A large portion of Jesus’ teaching came in the form of parables. These were stories, at times even riddles. These parables were a powerful form of confrontation. They also communicated powerful truths that stick in people’s minds because of their imagery. Join us as we begin by looking at Jesus’ parable of “THE SOILS.” People’s hearts can be hard, rocky, thorny, or good. Depending on the state of our heart, God’s Word will react in various ways. Jesus wants us to have good and noble hearts who treasure His word with patience. Ultimately, He is the One who creates that heart in us. He is the Seed scattered over all the word. He is the One we receive and cultivate in our lives with humility and patience. 

HIDDEN GEMS (PART 4)

Nahum lived during the time of the very wicked and oppressive empire of Assyria. He was given a divine word about their destruction. A word which was “good news” and “peace” for God’s people, and the whole world (Nah. 1:15, 3:19). Part of the good news of Jesus is that the enemy of humanity has been defeated! Christ has defeated the deadly powers of sin and satan! In Christ there is joy and peace. He is our Deliverer! ”The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who trust in Him.” (Nah. 1:7). Join us as we finish our series by delving into the little book of Nahum!

HIDDEN GEMS (PART 3)

Habakkuk lived during a time of great moral decay. Jerusalem’s streets were filled with violence, oppression, and idolatry. His cry was, “How long?” How long would the wicked prosper? How long would God be silent? God answered Habakkuk that judgment would come but that in the midst of the judgment a remnant would be saved. How would that salvation come? By FAITH. “The just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). A powerful gem that is unpacked at length in the New Testament. Join us as we dig into this powerful little book!

Testimony Service

Join us as Bob Fryer, Mark Gersheck and Anna Herrera share at our Testimony Service.