Napoleon Church of the Nazarene

Pastor Dave picks up from last week with part two of John 5:18-47, talking about the authority of Jesus. Jesus explains how He is one with the Father and that by only through believing in Him, you may have eternal life. Have you placed your hope and trust in Jesus?

Pastor Dave preaches the first part of our two part sermon from John 5:18-47; talking about the authority of Jesus. Is He Lord over your life or are we just following the religion and traditions of men?

Week 10 through the Gospel of John brings us to chapter 5; where Jesus heals the man at the pool of Bethesda. We see the Jewish leaders completely overlook this miracle and start questioning Jesus on breaking man's Sabbath laws. Through this, we take a hard look at our hearts in the area of control. Are we wielding or yielding control to work of the Holy Spirit? Are we missing the bigger reality by holding on to our own ways of thinking and seeing?

We are in week 9 going through the gospel of John. Pastor Ben teaches on the royal official who asked Jesus to heal his son. At Jesus' very word the boy was healed and official believed. Through this time, Jesus told the crowd, unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe. We are challenged to re-examine our faith; is it dictated by circumstances or does your belief carry you through circumstances?

We reach John chapter 4 in week 8 through the Gospel of John. Pastor Dave teaches on Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. We see Jesus go beyond comfort and the norm to reach the lost. Are we willing to say "yes" to where Jesus is calling us to go?

Happy Resurrection Day! We are in week 7 of our series through the Gospel of John. Pastor Ben teaches from John chapter 3 where we are introduced to a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Jesus revealed the truth that you must be born again to see the kingdom of heaven. As we end the service with brothers and sisters getting baptized and testifying to the new life they have in Christ, we are left with this question; "Have you made yourself available to be born again?"

Pastor Dave teaches week 6 of our series in John on Palm Sunday. He teaches on the last part of John chapter 2 where Jesus clears out the temple of the money changers. Pastor Dave brings into prospective the matters of the heart and asks if we are allowing Jesus to clear out our temple; us. We are God's temple. Will we give Jesus the authority to purify His temple?

Pastor Dave Dooley takes us through chapter 2 of John, talking about the wedding at Cana where Jesus turns the water into wine. We take a look at deeper spiritual implications throughout this miracle and are left with the question, "what do you need to surrender to Jesus, so He can fill you up?"

We welcome back one of our veteran pastors, Joe Proudfoot, to bring the word this morning. We are in week 4 going through the gospel of John. We are introduced to some of the first encounters that Jesus has with His disciples. Through these encounters, we see an invitation to follow Him, that He is relational, transformational, and directs us to be on-mission to do as He did.

Pastor Ben takes us thought week 3 of our series through the Gospel of John. We learn about John the Baptist and how he lived out the calling on his life; to lead people to Jesus. John's only goal was to lead people to repentance and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, our Messiah. This makes us think about our own lives and callings. Will other's be pointed to Jesus when they look at our life?

We welcome guest speaker, Dwayne Mills, to share an update on his mission organization. Dwayne is the director of ARO, Appalachia Reach Out, an organization that meets the needs of the impoverished, while being the hands and feet of Jesus; sharing the gospel message. He shares amazing testimonies of what God is doing and challenges us as a church to say, "Yes", to what ever Jesus wants for our lives before even being asked.

We are diving in to the Gospel of John, as Pastor Dave walks us through John 1:1-18. We see that Jesus is the Light and Life and makes His dwelling among us. For us who have received Him, are we willing to share Him with others?

We start a new sermon series going through the Gospel of John. Pastor Ben gives an overview of John's account of the life and ministry of Jesus.

Pastor Justin Braun teaches his last sermon here at NapNap before he and his wife Emily transition to the new church the Lord has called them. He takes us to the all familiar story of David and Goliath; however, there is quite a twist to the application of this scripture that you may have never thought before. Take a listen, be encouraged, walk away changed.

We finish out our 21 day series on prayer going through Psalm 63. Pastor Ben took us through David's words on seeking after the Lord, knowing Him, and trusting Him. David was still continuing to praise God even among his dire circumstances because He knew God was for him and victorious! We are encouraged to continually abide in God's Word and confidently pray first in all things.

Pastor Justin teaches on how we can pray the scriptures, God's Truth, in our prayer lives. Looking specifically at Psalm 23, he asks the question, "What is the goal of praying?" It is to shift our perspective to see how God desires to lead us for His Name's Sake, to recognize the pattern of His provision and protection, and to recognize His rod and staff that surround us.

Our second week of, "Pray First", takes us to the Lord's Prayer. As common as this communal prayer is for many churches, the depth and life giving means of this prayer comes directly from our heart posture. Pastor Dave walks us through some key elements of this prayer that Jesus directed us to pray, to better understand that this isn't just a "religious" prayer, but one the Lord knew we needed to abide in Him with.

We bring in 2024 with a series called, "Pray First | The transformative power of a life built on prayer". Pastor Ben shares from Matthew 6 and how prayer is the lifeblood of our faith. Prayer should be our first response to all things, not our last resort. Pastor Ben then encourages the church into 21 days of prayer and fasting together; that we would be a praying church that truly seeks the Lord, not just a church that prays.

We welcome intern, Bailey Sonnenberg, to bring us the Word coming into the new year. He leads us to Psalm 1, showing us that true blessing comes from those who desire God's instruction. Meditating on God's Word is what brings life and vitality; like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.-psalm 1:3. This new year, will you choose to actively participate in life with God?

It's the third week of Advent as Pastor Dave teaches on the Moses, a story of redemption. We see how that even when all hope seems lost, "HE IS" the brilliance of redemption; always working even when we can't see or understand.

On Christmas Eve Sunday, we come to our last sermon of the series, "HE IS", with HE IS | The Radiance of Divine Love. Pastor Justin takes us through 1 Chronicles 29 where David gives thanks to God and declares that everything that he has received has been given by God; even the things we offer back to Him and give to others. But before that, we take a quick look into David's life, even his short comings. What have we received that we can share with others? It's Christ Himself! HE IS the One who goes beyond our lives and surpasses all of our mistakes and victories; showing us that HE IS the radiance of divine love.

The second week of advent in the series, He Is, brings us to see that Jesus is the spark of hope. Pastor Justin takes us through the life of Joseph from the old testament. We see so many parallels in Joseph's life to the promised Messiah, Jesus. Just like these stories from the old testament were a sign to bring hope to the coming Savior, we can be a sign to those around us that lead people to Jesus. What are you holding on to that is keeping you from being a light to others?

We welcome in the Advent season with our new series, "HE IS, the illumination of God's Promise!" We look back at Genesis and see the promises of God fulfilled through Abraham. A Promise of place, posterity, and position. As we continue celebrating the Advent season, let up anticipate with hope the continued promises of God!

Pastor Justin ends our Generosity series, taking us to the book of Habakkuk, where we learn what it means to be fully generous towards God. We see through Habakkuk's honest cries and complaints about the chaos ahead, that generosity with God is being fully surrendered and open to God about our hurts, worries, fears, and frustrations; giving those things completely over to Him. What are we holding on to that we are afraid to give to the Lord? Talk to Him about it today!

Pastor Justin leads us into week 3 of our series, "Generosity". We take a look at Luke 18 and see how financial generosity is important for our relationship with God. When we give generously for the Kingdom of God, we invite God to divinely unlock our hearts to experience His rest.

Pastor Dave teaches on Generosity in Action, for our second week in the Generosity series. We take a look at various scriptures, learning what the Bible says about hospitality and giving without the expectation of receiving. Pastor Dave encouraged us to be mindful of who we could be hospital to and what that looks like in the life of a follower of Christ.

Pastor Ben starts off our new sermon series, "Generosity". We may think that being generous always has to do with money, but in this series, we'll learn what Jesus says about being generous in how he live and serve others; all starting with the heart. Generosity is the currency in the Kingdom economy of God.

Pastor Dave Dooley shares with us part 4 of the series, "The Daniel Dilemma" where he talks about our testimony in sharing the gospel through a heart of love. Looking through 1 Corinthians 13, he shows how anything we do without love as the motivation will be as nothing. Through Daniel's life, we can see how his love for the Father and others was his prime motivation for standing firm in a culture of compromise.

Pastor Ben teaches from the book of Daniel in part 3 of our series, "The Daniel Dilemma". He shows us through scripture how vital it is to know and be confident in your identity through Christ. When you stand on the truth of who Christ is and who you are through Him, it will embolden faith, courage, and inspire others to stand firm when the rest of the world wants you to bow down.

We are in part 2 of our Daniel Dilemma Series. As we read through parts of Daniel chapter 4, Pastor Justin teaches on King Nebuchadnezzar's pride and how even while showing outward praise toward God, his heart was still full of himself, blinding him of the truth and the vision of his downfall. We as Christians can be prideful in our appearance of outward worship toward the Lord that we can become blind in our thinking that others need to "look like us" instead of just knowing who Jesus is first. It's about our heart and keeping our focus on Jesus and not on ourselves.

Pastor Dave Dooley introduces us to our new series, "The Daniel Dilemma" where we'll walk through the book of Daniel and learn how to stand firm and love well in a culture of compromise. We start in Daniel chapter 1 and talk about what it looks like to stand firm and love well with GRACE & TRUTH.

We conclude our series, "Who We Are", with a focus on ministries and how they are spreading the gospel to the community. We welcome our NapNaz Community Preschool teacher; Sarah Sonnenberg, our Napoleon LifeWise director; Cathy Bressler, and one of our LifeWise teachers; Krista Behm. They share about how they are using this community outreach ministries to share the gospel. Pastor Ben then encourages us to go out and share the gospel message to the world around us.

Pastor Justin Braun talks about connecting together as believers in our second week of our series, "Who We Are". He brings to the platform Brandon and Kristin Stacey who share about their life changing experiences with being involved and connected to the body of Christ.

Over the next 3 weeks, NapNaz will be walking through a series called, "Who We Are". This week, Pastor Ben Hartford shares the Lord's vision for our church as enter into a season of equipping the saints to do the work the Lord has uniquely gifted each and every believer to do.

We end our Colossians series taking an in depth look into the last part of chapter 4, where Paul is taking time to acknowledge his fellow laborers in Christ. From this portion of scripture, Pastor Ben has showed us that a life in Christ is a team effort. What is your role in the body of believers as you continue to do everything for the Lord and be surrendered to Christ Alone!

Pastor Justin Braun leads us in week 12 of our of series through the book of Colossians. We take a look a Colossians 4:2-6 where Paul talks about being steadfast in prayer being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Even while Paul was being prisoned, was encouraging the body of Christ that among difficult obstacles in this life, we can navigate through prayer and being thankful to God.

Pastor Dave Dooley teaches on Colossians 3:23-4:1. He relates this portion of scripture to our modern day work place but goes back to Paul's words from 3:17, that in whatever you do , do it for the Lord. Take a listen and see how the Holy Spirit will challenge you to live out your life in Christ in the work place!

Pastor Ben Hartford teaches from Colossians 3:18-22 in week 10 of our series through the book of Colossians. In this portion of scripture we see how to be a servant of all even through different cultural contexts. We look at the wife, the husband, and children and see how each can serve the Lord first and each other.

We welcome our intern pastor Bailey Sonnenberg to preach through our 9th week in the book of Colossians. He covers Colossians 3:12-17 on living as God's chosen people. The people of God forgive as they have been forgiven, with love as their motivation, so they can do all things as an expression of worship.

Pastor Justin Braun teaches through Colossians 3:5-11 on our baptism Sunday! He talks about how we have been made new in Christ and no longer live according to our fleshly desires; encouraging us to remember who we are in Christ.

Pastor Dave Dooley teaches from Colossians 3 on week 8 of our Colossians series. We what it means to set your hearts on things above and how to set your minds on things above. In being a living sacrifice for Christ and not focussing on the worldly view and circumstances of this life, we find our purpose in Him!

Pastor Ben takes us through week six of our series in the book of Colossians. In Colossians 2:16-23, Paul talks about how as Christians we are free from the religious ideology of works based salvation. Christ alone is enough. From the cross, to the grave, to the resurrection, the work of grace and salvation through Jesus Christ is all sufficient. The fruit and spiritual disciplines of a believer's life are not a merits earned out of their own doing according to the flesh, but is the work of the Holy Spirit. So stop striving to "act more religious", just be in a relationship with Jesus!

We welcome our newest Pastor, Dave Dooley, to bring us into week 5 of our Colossians series. He takes us through chapter 2:6-15, where Paul is encouraging the church to be rooted in Christ, built up by Him, and to be strengthened in faith just as we were taught. Pastor Dave reminds us that our changed life in Christ is all through the divine workings of Him in us and not of ourselves. Remembering that we have received Christ and are continually alive in Him, we can have an overwhelming response of gratitude.

Pastor Justin teaches from Colossians 2:1-5 in week 4 of our study through Colossians. Justin teaches on Paul's words about the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are found in Christ. In knowing Jesus and seeing the world how He sees it, we can have victory.

Pastor Justin ends chapter 1 of Colossians teaching through verses 24-29; where Paul talks about rejoicing in his suffering. Pastor Justin teaches us through Paul's example how we can have victory in the midsts of trials. Christians are called to have strength, endurance, patience, stability and steadfastness all through the power of God by daily living in His presence.

We have the privilege of inviting guest speaker and pastor, Eric Smith, to come share with us the impact that Christians are making in Germany with the organization, Church in Action. Hear his story and the lives that are being changed by Christ all over his community. We hope you are encouraged to do the same in your own communities. If you would like to help support Pastor Eric and the Church in Action mission, you can find more information at churchinaction.com/support-eric

We start a new sermon series, studying the book of Colossians. Pastor Justin starts in Chapter 1 and takes us through verses 1-14. He takes us through an over view of Colossians and how it is aimed at filling the heart and changing the mind, in order to keep our hands and feet moving. We must recognize that as Christians, we have an impact on the world around us. We must encourage one another to live out of the overflow of our faith!

We end our sermon series, "Found Family", praying over and encouraging our 2023 graduates. Pastor Justin takes us through Acts 1 and reminding us of the importance of waiting upon the Lord and the movement of the Holy Spirit. We are to be following the plans of the Lord through waiting and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and not depending on our own understanding.

We are in week 4 of our sermon series, Found Family, where Pastor Ben teaches on the power of prayer in the family of God. He teaches how were can better pray through the acronym..... A.C.T.S. Adoration & Worship Confession & Repentance Thanksgiving & Gratitude Supplication & Petition

Pastor Justin continues in week 3 of our series, Found Family. We go through Mark 3:31-35 when Jesus asks, "who are my mother and my brothers?" Pastor Justin looks at Jesus' response and we are taught how to find those who are in the family of God and reflect on our owns lives if we are indeed reflecting that we belong to Christ.