Restoration Church

We continue pressing in to one of our core values: prayer. This week we look at the early church praying together in Acts 4. When faced with difficulty they didn't complain or criticize, but they cried out and contended in prayer.

One of our greatest values is prayer. To be a people of prayer. A people completely dependent on the Lord. This is week one of reminding Restoration about this important value that we hold.

Paul wraps up his letter with some final remarks and a bunch of names, and while it can be easy to pass over this part of his letter there actually is a lot in it for us. In this last chapter we get a vision for being a community that is devoted to prayer and lives differently.

Following Jesus isn't a list of no's, but in fact Jesus shows us how to truly live. In Colossians 3 Paul shows us what our new life in Christ is supposed to look like. A life that is not a sub-culture, but truly counter cultural.

As people who have been raised to new life in Christ, how are we to live? In this message we talk about the important step of putting to death the old. As you listen to this message, what do you need to put to death? What do you truly need to let go of?

Who or what is the greatest treasure of your life? As we look at Colossians 3:1-17 we see that it's not a list to check off, but the fruit of a life that is devoted to Jesus.

Disciplines can be good, but they can also be a distraction if we are looking to them for life. In this message, Reece talks about Jesus and His love being the foundation from which everything flows. Jesus is the reality. His love truly transforms.

The Gospel changes everything. Seriously, everything. We are brought from death to life. The charges against us are cancelled. Our enemies are disgraced. And all of this is because of Jesus. As you listen to this message may your heart overflow with thanksgiving.

Paul rejoiced in his sufferings for the church. Why did Paul suffering so much? How did he find joy in suffering? In this message we look at why do followers of Jesus suffer, and how do we find joy in the midst of suffering.

This week we look at what is arguably the greatest passage on the supremacy of Jesus. In this passage we get a clear, accurate picture of the greatness of Jesus. May Jesus truly be your all in all.

Colossians. A letter written by Paul to a people he had never met, but he had heard of. He had heard of their allegiance to Jesus and their love for each other, which was motived by their hope in heaven. Simply put, their focus on the future impacted their every day life. This is the power of the Gospel at work. In this first message we talk about the Gospel being the power of God to change us and grow us.

What a dumb question? Or is it? Jesus' question was actually brilliant and gets to the heart... do we truly want to be healed? Do we truly want to change? Do we truly want freedom? In this story from John 5 we see the difference between the religious systems and the Kingdom of God. As you listen, may you truly respond to Jesus' invitation to be healed.

Why do you persecute me? Jesus asked this when He confronted Paul in Acts 9. What does this question teach us about Jesus and His followers? In this message we explore the answer to this question.

What do you want me to do for you? This was the question Jesus asked Bartimaeus when He stopped by the blind beggar. How would you respond to that question if Jesus asked you? Bartimaeus asked for his sight back. What would you ask for?

Questions. Some stick with us forever. Some change our lives. Questions are powerful because they can get deep into our heart, but questions also reveal desire. In Genesis 3, God asks a powerful questions that reveals the desire of His heart. And how we view and respond to that questions has huge implications in our life.

Life is filled with interruptions. It's not a matter of will we be interrupted, but when. Jesus' life was filled with interruptions, but it's in these moments we see some of the most significant stories in Jesus' life. In this message, we are encourage to embrace interruptions. Actually, look forward to interruptions, because it just may be a moment the Kingdom of God is breaking into our lives.

The best Christmas movie ever... Elf. Yes, we started with that movie. In that movie, Buddy the elf here's Santa is coming and says with excitement, I KNOW HIM! What's interesting is Jesus said something similarly when it came to eternal life. It's all about knowing Jesus. And here's the crazy thing, He wants to know us too. As we wrap up 2025 we look back at all the ways God has been with us this year and look forward to how he's going to be with us in 2026.

You can tell the nature of a Kingdom by the actions of the King. What does the birth of Jesus tell us about our King? He came humbly. He came to serve. He was born not in a mansion, but in a lowly manger. This Christmas may the manger be more than a story or season, but may it be our way of life. To follow the way of Jesus and live humbly.

As we approach Christmas we look at the reality that God, who created the heavens and the earth, chose to not love us from afar, but came close. In fact, He moved into our neighborhood.

"The Light Shines in the Darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." This is how John communicated the coming of Jesus. The light was breaking in to a very dark world. And the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth was the perfect example of this.

This past Sunday we had an extended time of testimonies. Be encouraged as you listen to stories of God's goodness.

In this season of gratitude we look at the growth that God wants to produce in our lives. Jesus saves us, but also sanctifies us [makes us holy], and for that we are grateful.

In this season of gratitude, we thank God for new beginnings. He is a God who begins!

Our friends at Overland Missions led our gathering and shared stories of people experiencing freedom. It was a powerful gathering.

Our battle isn't agains the flesh, but against principalities and powers. We quote this verse often, but do we believe it? Do we live it? One of Jesus' main ministries was deliverance. Evil spirits left with a word. Jesus gave authority to His followers to do the same. Are we walking in the authority that Jesus gave us? Or are we simply settling for human solutions to spiritual problems. In this message we talk about walking in freedom from evil spirit and being people to not only proclaim the Gospel, but demonstrate it as well.

On average we have 45,000 thoughts per day. Many we don't even realize or spend time thinking about. But there are a few that occupy space in our minds. And those few thoughts are often negative or lies. How do we win the battle of the mind? In this message we talk about then importance of renewing your mind and give practical steps on how to do that.

Make sure no root of bitterness springs up. Keen a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontentment. As we get older it's easy to get bitter because of disappointment we've experienced, whether it's with God, ourselves or others. But God has given us a gift to battle bitterness - forgiveness. In this message we talk about forgiveness and give practical steps regarding how to walk in forgiveness.

What would it look like to give God your yes? Austin and Tate Bonnema share their journey and give an update on the work God is doing in Africa. Also, Austin challenges us to follow God wholeheartedly by waling through the story of Israel's escape from Egypt.

The first step to walking in freedom is to remember. Jesus told us to remember Him often as we take the Lord's Supper. What are we proclaiming as we take the Lord's Supper? This message begins with a picture of freedom and also includes a conversation about recent events.

It is for freedom that Christ set us free. This fall we step into a season of freedom. We are going to talk about various aspects of freedom and invite people to walk in the freedom Jesus purchased for us.

Ask. Seek. Knock. Never give up. This is the heart Jesus is looking for. Does this describe our lives? In this message we are reminded of the hunger we are to have for the Kingdom of God.

This was a powerful Sunday! We talked about the importance of gathering together and what should happen when we gather together. And then we did it. It was such a beautiful time of testimonies and songs.

God's will for our life is clear. He desires that we would grow and become mature. This reality is so life giving - He who began a good work in us is going to be faithful to complete it. In this message we look at sanctification and how God changes us. He will use any and every situation over time to grow us.

In Colossians 1 Paul reveals the mystery of the Gospel and it is this: Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Do you believe that? If so, this has huge implications for our lives and what God wants to do through us.

We love to look into the future. We love to make plans. We ask kids, what do they want to be when they grow up? But what if that isn't how Jesus wanted us to live? What if we stayed focused on the present instead of looking at the past or into the future? In this message we look at the importance of focusing on today.

Where is everyone else? Has only one returned? This was Jesus' question when only one leper returned after ten were healed. In this question there is a great invitation. An invitation to return to Jesus daily, regularly. In this message Meg talks about the importance of daily revival, and daily cultivating a devotion to Jesus.

What does the Holy Spirit do? Looking at Jesus' words in John 16 we explore the amazing work the Holy Spirit does in our lives.

We continue to learn who the Holy Spirit is through what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit in John 14. Dave presses into the truth that the Holy Spirit is a Person and challenges us to ask for hunger for more of the Holy Spirit.

As we continue to discuss our partnership with God, Dave delves into Acts 2, where he explains why the coming of the Holy Spirit is significant in the history of the church and our daily walk with Christ. Our sound quality for the next few weeks may differ from previous weeks as we adjust to our new setting at Maplewood!

At Restoration's last Sunday in Bethel's building, Dave encourages the church to live into the spiritual gifts they have been uniquely given.

Jon and Dave reflect on the partnership between Bethel and Restoration churches the past 2.5 years.

The mission of God comes with the power and the presence of God. This is such a great promise because we don't have to manipulate or manufacture a move of God. All we need to do is walk in partnership with God. This is a great reminder for us.

This week we continue to talk about the reality that God partners with His people to bring His Kingdom to earth. We look at the Spirit filled life of Jesus and the Spirit's involvement in Jesus' life. We also share the story of Peggy and Christine Smith, who God partnered with in a significant way, in the mid 1900's to bring revival to their town.

This was a unique Sunday in the life of our community. Our community was hit with a tragedy the day before, and this is how we responded. We strengthened ourselves in the Lord by looking at Psalm 107.

There are patterns throughout Scripture. Ways God works. One of those that is clearly seen throughout Scripture is that God works through people. In this message we talk about how God partnered with people throughout the Old Testament. As you listen ask yourself, am I available to God today?

We begin a season exploring what does it mean to partner with the Lord, to work Him. When you stop and think about partnership with the Lord, it's really a profound reality, but it's been that way from the beginning. As you listen pray and ask the Lord, how does He want to work with you today? Also, at the beginning of the message we give an update regarding the future location of our worship gatherings.

Jesus, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowd knew what that meant. They knew what Jesus was declaring. But Jesus came not to take over by power, but to serve and be the sinless, spotless Passover lamb. This is our King! The King of Kings.

How often do we rely on ourselves in situations? Or, how often do we try to make things happen when God has promised something? In this message, Meg shares a story of a time when she learned to fully rely on the Lord, and she invites us to do the same.

Mike shared testimonies from his recent trips to Honduras and the Philippines. We do apologize that for some reason the recording was cut short.