Rigorous Biblical Teaching
We prioritize patient, verse-by-verse exposition of the scriptures over topical studies in our worship service. Join us as we study the historical and covenantal depth of God's Word together.
Scripture in Context
Our teaching is grounded in the historical-grammatical method. We read each biblical book in its original literary context, tracing the unified redemptive story of scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Feel free to check out below what we're learning & putting to practice from God's Holy Word. We'd love to have you join us Sunday mornings!
Our current study . . .
Titus: Hopeful Demeanor
We are reading and learning what it looks like to have a hopeful foundation, one that is strong, no matter life's storms. Our hopeful foundation enables us to have a hopeful demeanor. Whether we like it or not, people see our reactions to life--the good and bad days. When others see our hope, despite difficulties and heartaches, they will wonder where our hope comes from. Of course we all face challenges and stressors, but what do we do with that? Where do we seek refuge from our troubles? Where do we seek wisdom in how to respond? We need to live a lifestyle of hope. Our demeanor becomes our testimony.
TBA
TBA
TBA
Hopeful TBA
Hopeful TBA
Hopeful TBA
TBA
Coming soon . . .
TBA
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, September 13, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, August 30, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, September 6, 2026
Titus 1:1-16
Hopeful Foundation
We are to have a hopeful demeanor. Having a genuine, hopeful demeanor means that we need to know what is real, so we believe what is real. In other words, we must have firm footings.
We must believe in and share God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ.
We need to use the abilities God gives us to share the Gospel and show people God's love.
We must have a solid framework. We must view and think of the world through the framework of the Gospel.
Our lifestyle must reflect our firm foundation and solid framework. We must exemplify Christlike character. It's vital that we are strong in doctrine and lifestyle, so we are strong in witness--helping others to see and know Truth. Having a solid understanding of correct doctrine, letting this guide our lifestyle and worldview, and sharing truth with others will have an impact.
How do we establish a firm foundation? We read and study God's Word. We participate in the local church. We pray, seeking wisdom in how to apply God's ways in our lives.
Have firm footings. In other words, don't let the storms wreck your faith in God. Others see your reactions to life. Life is hard for everyone. People need to see us doing life, even the hard parts, with real hope.
Hopeful TBA
Hopeful TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, August 23, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, September 27, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, September 20 2026
Our last study . . .
Psalm 42: Hopeful Longing
We are read and learned through Psalm 42 what it looks like to desire God more than anything, to desire to be in His presence more than anywhere else. We learned to examine our hearts and minds and determine to focus on and seek God, declining all substitutes.
Psalm 42:6-8
Psalm 42:9-10
Psalm 42:5
Hopeful Memories
Hopeful Resolve
Hopeful Encouragement
Our memories of who God anchors us in hard times when we feel separated from God. We must focus on who God is, not our feelings of separation. If we don't focus on who God is, the stress of our situation takes over, causing internal strife, depression. Our memories of who God is stabilizes us in storms and substantiates our faith, giving us reason to hope.
To have hopeful memories, we must recognize God's work in our life. We must also learn about who God is. We cannot have a memory of something we have never learned. We are bound by dimensions of time and space, but God is not. He everything about God is eternal and holy. He's never had an impure thought. He is constant and perfect. He is never late. He won't always meet our expectations based on our human, limited knowledge and understanding. Yet He is always at work.
When life is changing, we can remember God is constant, always with us, always gives us exactly what we need when we need it.
God is always with His people. He never leaves us. Though we feel separated, He is always there to encourage, guide, provide, and protect.
We must learn who God is in order to pull memories of our knowledge of Him when we need to combat discouragement. We learn God's resume from the record we have in His Word.
Our hope in Christ is not wishful thinking. It is an absolute trust in God.
We must develop a desire for the presence of God, realizing it is only in His presence that we have hope.
In order to have a hopeful attitude, we need to focus on God and have proper thinking. We need to recognize stressors that are pulling our thoughts away from God, and then willfully increase our dependence on God. We encourage ourselves in memories of God. We cannot have memories of something we don't know, so we must make the effort to learn about God and recognize His working in our lives.
When we are heartbroken, angry, or simply don't understand, we need to take it to God in honest lament, pouring out our raw emotions and trusting God to help us move forward.
We need to keep our attitude in check. Are we maintaining a hopeful attitude despite disappointments, heartbreak, and failures? When we focus on praising God, our attitude will improve; our emotions will improve; our ability to handle life, even the hard things, will improve.
We must do an internal interrogation. We must assess our attitude and then our outlook to identify what we are focusing on--positive or negative. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?" (verse 5A). We ask ourselves why we are seeing the worst when God we are surrounded by God's blessings.
Then we give an internal command to encourage ourself in God, to "hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." (verse 5b).
We increase our habitation; we maintain an internal focus on God's presence. It is imperative to trust God. We must command ourselves to hope in who God is.
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, August 2, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, July 19, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, July 26, 2026
Psalm 42:1-2
Hopeful Desire
We need to thirst for God as the deer pants for water in a hot, dry desert. You can't thirst for something you've never had.
First, we must develop a taste for God by spending more time in His Word, more time studying, praying, and meditating upon His Word. We must ponder what we learn about God and how to apply it. God's Word is meant to shape us. Shaping is uncomfortable but necessary. We must be teachable, pliable.
Second, we must desire a refill. We must thirst to be back in God's presence.
Third, we must decline all substitutes. We need to be in God's presence. Listening to a preacher or teacher does not substitute for our time personally reading, studying, and praying.
Fourth, we must determine that in God's presence is where we find hope. We trust him; therefore, we give Him our concerns, anxieties, and shortcomings. When life attacks, we will seek refuge, strength, peace, and hope in God's presence.
The more we acquire a taste for being in God's presence, the more we crave to be there.
Hopeful Attitude
Hopeful Lament
How can we have a hopeful attitude despite the fact that we'll always be surrounded by strife? We'll always have external stressors and internal emotional distress.
The solution is to pivot. We made a decision to trust in our God and then act on it.
We go ahead and acknowledge we will face difficulties, suffer, and be attacked. We will even cause ourselves some unnecessary stress.
We must shore up our trust in God. He is sovereign, all-knowing, and never-changing. We can trust in Him.
Lament is a prayer of suffering, anguish. Lament is also a prayer of great faith.
A lament is a faithful cry of God's people who honestly bring their suffering to God. A lament must be prayed in total honesty. We’re expressing our pain to God, without holding back. We likely feel forgotten by God. We feel internal struggles, and we take them to God. It’s honest communication. It’s okay to ask God why. Being honest brings us closer to God.
The Psalmist
Three things to notice in this lament:
The pain of feeling abandoned by God
Our feelings impact our thinking, and often our feelings are wrong.
Our outward circumstances affect our feelings. The Psalmist takes it to God
Purpose of lament is an expression of our pain and also an expression of our trust in God (verse 9– “I will say unto God my rock, 'Why hast thou forgotten me?'”)
Power of the lament—articulation of raw pain requires the person lamenting to honestly evaluate their pain. To admit pain is to admit weakness. Lament is the augmentation of our intimacy with God.
Honest communication with God requires a deeper level of trust and results in peace. Bringing our lament to God removes the burden, allowing us the capacity to feel true peace. God is always there for us to invite Him to come into our heart and life to work out His will. True lament involves truly, fully trusting God with the outcome.
It’s okay to let God know how we feel. He is never surprised or caught off guard. He wants us to bring Him all of ourselves, bringing our needs, questions, and suffering. God loves us so much that He allows us to lament.
Psalm 42:11
Psalm 42:3-4
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, July 12, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, August 16, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, August 9, 2026
An earlier study . . .
Haggai: Hopeful Rebuilding
We are read and learned through Haggai what hopeful rebuilding looks like for God's people. We learned to examine our ways, learn from our mistakes, and take seriously our obedience to God and see that His will is more valuable than anything we can dream up on our own.
Haggai 2:1-5
Haggai 2:6-9
Haggai 1:12-15
Hopeful Rebuilding
Hopeful Planning
Hopeful Obedience
As we begin chapter two, we begin to see how God gives us hope, even after we royally mess up. We must bear the consequences of our actions, but God will never abandon us because He is devoted to our good.
We see that the people of Judah were depressed comparing their current resources for rebuilding the temple to the grandeur of the first temple built by Solomom. Of course the new temple wouldn't compare with gold, silver, and finer things, but it was blessed as much because the people sought to honor God in building it.
God encouraged His people to move forward, not holding on to the past, to be strong, work hard, and always remember that He was with them, helping them to do all He required of them.
We can learn from this account to look forward, not hold on to our past, to be strong, work hard, and always remember that God is with us, helping us to do all He requires of us. And yes, we can expect it to be challenging, and even difficult.
Hopeful planning requires self-examination. The people had to realize their actions were unclean and unacceptable to God. They had to take an honest assessment of where their choices had led them. They had to learn to not be self-absorbed but instead, focus on God. They had to consider their ways and recognize God's commitment to His people and to their benefit.
God is committed to His children to be personal, a provider, and a protector.
We need to learn to trust God and not go our own way according to what makes sense to us. And even when we mess up, we can rebuild.
The Israelites heard the message delivered through Haggai the prophet. As a result of listening with open hearts, they feared the Lord. As the Israelites began to obey God, they united for a common purpose. As they labored in building the temple, they became more excited about what God had for them to do. When we focus on ourselves more than what God has for us to do, we, like the Israelites, become miserable and unsatisfied. But there's hope! We, like the Israelites can choose to listen to and obey God, and we will find satisfaction in what He has for us to do.
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, June 21, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, June 7, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, June 14, 2026
Haggai 1:1-6
Hopeful Examination
As the book of Haggai opens, we see that the Israelites are focused on building for themselves luxurious houses and are not at all concerned with building the temple to worship God. They are repeatedly encouraged by God to examine their ways. We, too, must honestly examine our ways in order to see what we need to address in our thoughts, habits, and priorities.
Hopeful Consequences
Hopeful Outlook
The Israelites had to face the consequences of putting themselves before God. They had no satisfaction. They did not have a great harvest for their planting and tending of crops. Only after severe consequences did they obey God to work on the temple. Just as God used consequences to get the attention of the Israelites, He allows us to suffer the natural consequences of our actions in order to understand the results of our actions. God lovingly shapes us through consequences.
The Israelites had to realize God's power, that everything belongs to Him, and He is worthy of all our worship and offerings. They learned the temple would be glorious, not because of the building materials, but because of their worshiping God for who He is.
From this passage we learn to have a hopeful outlook in our own lives because God is sovereign, trustworthy, and has a plan for us.
God should be worshiped for who He is, for his love, righteousness, holiness, and His attributes.
Though we are guaranteed difficulties and suffering, we can have hope because of who God is and the fact that He has a redemptive plan for us.
Haggai 2:10-23
Haggai 1:7-11
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, May 31, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, July 6, 2026
Message by Pastor Chris Malone, June 28, 2026