Come Follow Me: Remain

Pastor Kent Landhuis

THEME - Following Jesus like a tree.

TEXT - Psalm 1

1. How happy is the one planted in good soil.

· Psalm 1:1-2

· Torah - law - God’s desire.

· Matthew 22:34-40

2. How happy is the one rooted in good soil.

· Psalm 1:3-4

· John 15:4

· Abide - remain.

3. How happy is the one who bears fruit.

· Happy or perish. Fruit or fire.

· Psalm 1:5-6

· Galatians 6:7-9

· John 15:11

NEXT STEPS

1. Name your quiet place and time:

2. Name your spiritual practices:

3. Meditate on one of these verses: Psalm 1:1-3, Galatians 6:7-9, John 15:4, John 15:11

Psalm 1:1-3

1 Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

Galatians 6:7-9

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

John 15:4

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

John 15:11

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Come Follow Me: Abiding & Scripture

Pastor Leah Carolan

TEXT: John 17:14-19

KEY VERSE – Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (vs. 17)

1. What is Scripture?

Two Testaments/Covenants of 66 books

Divinely Inspired

2. What is the Word [logos]?

All of God’s spoken divine thoughts, wills, emotions released in His speech.

Jesus

3. What happens when we engage in Scripture?

Self-Examination

Spiritual Encounter

Guidance and Conviction

Transformation

4. How can we engage with Scripture?

Read it.

Write it.

Say it.

Sing it.

Pray it.

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 5:14

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

SCRIPTURE: John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 4 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

SCRIPTURE: John 15:5

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

NEXT STEPS

1. Name your quiet place and time:

2. Name your spiritual practices:

3. Engage with one scripture verse this week using the Read it, Write it, Say it, Sing it, Pray it method.

Come Follow Me: Remain

Pastor Kent Landhuis

THEME - Following Jesus like a tree.

TEXT - Psalm 1

1. How happy is the one planted in good soil.

· Psalm 1:1-2

· Torah - law - God’s desire.

· Matthew 22:34-40

2. How happy is the one rooted in good soil.

· Psalm 1:3-4

· John 15:4

· Abide - remain.

3. How happy is the one who bears fruit.

· Happy or perish. Fruit or fire.

· Psalm 1:5-6

· Galatians 6:7-9

· John 15:11

NEXT STEPS

1. Name your quiet place and time:

2. Name your spiritual practices:

3. Meditate on one of these verses: Psalm 1:1-3, Galatians 6:7-9, John 15:4, John 15:11

Psalm 1:1-3

1 Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

Galatians 6:7-9

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

John 15:4

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

John 15:11

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Come Follow Me: Abiding & Prayer

Pastor Steve Poole

1. We all abide in something

2. Abiding in Jesus means orienting our lives around Jesus the source of life, strength and

vitality.

• “Just as branches draw life and nourishment from the vine, so believers draw spiritual life, strength and

vitality from Christ. He is not an accessory to our lives; He is the source of our life.” (Rev. Kyle Borg, TableTalk)

• 2 Peter 1:3-7

3. Two core abiding practices are Bible study and prayer.

4. Deeper abiding takes pruning.

SCRIPTURE: John 15:1-5

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

NEXT STEPS

1. Believe and begin following Jesus and abiding in Him.

2. Answer the following questions as you abide in Jesus through prayer this week.

⃞ Envision starting your day with prayer. What excites you? What challenges you?

⃞ Think about your week and come up with a plan. When and where will you engage in prayer?

⃞ Pray and ask God what may need to be pruned from your life? What has He shown you?

SCRIPTURE: 2 Peter 1:3-7

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,

6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,

7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

Come Follow Me

Pastor Kent Landhuis

THEME - Following Jesus in 2026 will transform our lives.

TEXT - Mark 1:16-20, 35-39

1. Be with Jesus. (Vision)

• What does abiding with Jesus look like?

• What kind of person will I become when I abide with Jesus?

• What is at stake if I don’t abide? (Why is this a better alternative?)

2. Become like Jesus. (Intention)

• Have I truly decided to change? (Desire without intention is useless.)

• Have I moved from preference to conviction?

3. Do what Jesus did. (Means.)

• “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.” (Dallas Willard)

• Have I identified spiritual practices and a community of accountability?

NEXT STEPS

1. Name your quiet place and time

_________________________

2. Name your spiritual practices:

_________________________

_________________________

Four Chair Disciples: Healthy things grow.

The Biblical vision of discipleship points to organic (a seed or a tree), not mechanical growth (an assembly line). Growth is not an event but a slow and steady process requiring nurture, cultivation, and patience. The soil of growth is relationships developed in real-life situations, in real-time, with real people. We divide this process into four stages:

Chair 1: Come and See - Seekers

Chair 2: Follow and Grow - Believers

Chair 3: Abide and Serve - Servants

Chair 4: Go and Bear Fruit - Reproducers

People in Chair 1 explore Jesus and one question key to growth is to ask and answer the question “Is Jesus Lord and savior?”

People in Chair 2 discover new life in Jesus by asking “Who is Jesus and what is his mission?”

People in Chair 3 are growing in Jesus so that they learn to serve Jesus through serving others. They learn to ask, “What is the cost of following Jesus?” and “Where is God calling me to go and what is God calling me to do?”

People in Chair 4 are maturing as disciples and they are reproducing faith in others through discipleship and mentoring. They ask questions like “Who else is God calling?” and “Who is next for me to disciple?” and “How does the power of Jesus work through me?”

He Shall Reign: Eternal Song

Pastor Kent Landhuis

Revelation 4

1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

He Shall Reign: Rejoice!

Pastor Kent Landhuis

THEME - Celebrate God’s glory revealed in lowliness.

TEXT - Luke 1:46-55

GRACE #1- God’s shows mercy to the lowly.

• Luke 1:46-49

• “The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.” ~ Job 5:11

GRACE #2 - God shows grace to the lowly.

• Luke 1:50-53

• “For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” ~ Isaiah 57:17

GRACE #3 - God shows up for the lowly--as the lowly.

• Luke 1:54-55

• “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” ~ Zechariah 9:9

NEXT STEPS

1. Delight in your lowliness.

• Celebrate your low estate and need for God’s help.

• Celebrate in the low estate of others and refrain from judgement.

2. Don’t be a Grinch (or a Scrooge).

• Celebrate with generosity.

• Reveal God’s glory in your generosity.

3. Attend to the carols we sing.

• Celebrate God’s glory!

• Rejoice!

GO DEEPER: For continued reflection:

• And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. ~ Matthew 18:3-5

• But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

• Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. ~ James 4:10