Recent Messages

August 30, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Series: Choices Along The Line #6 Bible Text: Jeremiah 32, 36, 43, 45 Message begins at 20:21

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No matter how dark the times, steady faithfulness to God makes an impact. The message opens with Sir Christopher Wren asking stone cutters what they are doing. One sees a task. One sees wages. One sees a cathedral where people will worship God for centuries. That question leads to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, who lives through the dark last years of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

In Jeremiah 32 Baruch handles the deed of a field bought while Babylon surrounds the city—an act of faith that declares houses, fields, and vineyards will be bought again. In Jeremiah 36 he writes, reads, and rewrites God’s Word after King Jehoiakim burns the scroll. In Jeremiah 43 he is accused and forced toward Egypt when leaders reject the Lord’s command. In Jeremiah 45 God meets his weariness: do not seek great things for yourself; wherever you go, I will let you escape with your life.

Baruch never stands in the spotlight, yet his quiet, costly faithfulness helps proclaim a hard and hope-filled word. The message invites hearers to tell Jesus the truth about weariness, lower the demand for great things, take the next small step of service, and find their place in God’s big story.

August 23, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Series: Choices Along The Line #5 Bible Text: Hosea 1-3, Romans 5:8; Ephesians 5:25-27 Message begins at 20:02

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God’s loving-kindness pursues unfaithful people paying the price to bring them home. The message opens with the questions people are almost afraid to ask: Can I ever come back? Can God love someone like me? Has God given up? Have I gone too far this time? Those questions belong both to those who have never turned to God and to those who once followed Jesus and wandered away. God answers not with a slogan but with a living parable. He calls Hosea to marry Gomer, to name children Judgment, No Mercy, and Not My People, and then—after a courtroom listing of Israel’s sins—to allure her, speak tenderly, and buy her back. Hesed is love that will not walk away.

That pursuit reaches its fullness when Jesus, the Son of David, is lifted up and draws all people to Himself. Romans 5:8 makes it plain: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Ephesians 5 shows why—He gave Himself to make His people holy, radiant, without stain. Followers of Jesus are called to take a costly step toward someone they have written off. Wanderers are invited to stop running from the One who has pursued them all their lives. 

August 16, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Series: Choices Along The Line #4 Bible Text: 2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 22–23; 2 Samuel 7:12-13,16 Message begins at 21:00

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When circumstances scream “Flee,” the wise remain loyal to their king. In 2 Samuel 15, as David flees Absalom’s rebellion, the Philistine commander Ittai the Gittite faces a classic pressure point. David offers him an easy exit: “Go back… this is not your fight.” Instead Ittai answers, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” His loyalty to the living God and God’s king later earns him command of one-third of David’s army.

The sermon draws the parallel to Peter in John 6, when many disciples turned back from Jesus. Peter’s response—“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”—echoes Ittai’s settled resolve. Four truths emerge for every follower of Jesus: Your allegiance is to who or what you believe offers life; true allegiance is revealed the moment an easy exit appears; easy exits are always dangerous dead ends; and staying with the True King is public, costly, and rewarding.

August 9, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Series: Choices Along The Line #3 Bible Text: 2 Samuel 15:17-22. 18:2 Message begins at 28:30

Resources Sermon Notes Reflection/Group Questions Devotional Study Guide

When circumstances scream “Flee,” the wise remain loyal to their king. In 2 Samuel 15, as David flees Absalom’s rebellion, the Philistine commander Ittai the Gittite faces a classic pressure point. David offers him an easy exit: “Go back… this is not your fight.” Instead Ittai answers, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” His loyalty to the living God and God’s king later earns him command of one-third of David’s army.

The sermon draws the parallel to Peter in John 6, when many disciples turned back from Jesus. Peter’s response—“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”—echoes Ittai’s settled resolve. Four truths emerge for every follower of Jesus: Your allegiance is to who or what you believe offers life; true allegiance is revealed the moment an easy exit appears; easy exits are always dangerous dead ends; and staying with the True King is public, costly, and rewarding.

August 2, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Series: Choices Along The Line #2 Bible Text: 2 Samuel 17:27-29; 19:31-39 Message begins at 31:07

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Even when all seems lost, God uses the costly choices of faithful people to advance His kingdom. David’s private sin produced public consequence; Absalom stole the hearts of Israel and the king fled Jerusalem barefoot and weeping. Shimei cursed and threw stones. Yet God had already promised an everlasting kingdom, and the promise kept advancing through quiet, costly faithfulness.

Eighty-year-old Barzillai of Gilead opened the wagons—beds, food, cheese—knowing that if Absalom won, everything he owned and his life itself were forfeit. When David returned in victory, Barzillai refused the honor of Jerusalem, asked only that Chimham go in his place, and went home content. The same pattern appears in Joanna, wife of Herod’s household manager, who risked status and resources to fund Jesus’ itinerant ministry.

Those who have tasted God’s hesed keep the supply lines open—even when it costs them everything. True faithfulness is revealed while the outcome is still in doubt.

July 26, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Series: Choices Along The Line #1 Bible Text: 2 Samuel 9 Message begins at 22:04

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The message explores how we all face seasons when life overruns us and we need friends who can cry through a crisis. 

The message opens with the gripping story of Lt. Col. Hal Moore in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley, where he called “Broken Arrow” — a desperate plea for help even if it meant bombing his own position. This illustrates our human need for connection in adversity.

Drawing from Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24, the message shows God’s design for friendship that shows up in hard times and sticks closer than a brother. 

The ultimate “Broken Arrow” came when sin contaminated humanity, but God the Father sent Jesus to answer the call. On the cross, Jesus laid down His life for His friends, absorbing the full force of sin, death, and evil, and defeating them. Jesus calls us His friends if we trust and follow Him. 

The message challenges us to build deep friendships empowered by our friendship with Jesus so others can cry “Broken Arrow” and find real help.

June 28, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Friendship Sunday Bible Text: Prov. 17:17, 18:24, John 15:13-15, Gal. 3:13, 6:2, Rom. 8:2, Col. 2:13-15 Message begins at 22:04

Resources Sermon Notes Reflection/Group Questions Devotional Study Guide

The message explores how we all face seasons when life overruns us and we need friends who can cry through a crisis. 

The message opens with the gripping story of Lt. Col. Hal Moore in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley, where he called “Broken Arrow” — a desperate plea for help even if it meant bombing his own position. This illustrates our human need for connection in adversity.

Drawing from Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24, the message shows God’s design for friendship that shows up in hard times and sticks closer than a brother. 

The ultimate “Broken Arrow” came when sin contaminated humanity, but God the Father sent Jesus to answer the call. On the cross, Jesus laid down His life for His friends, absorbing the full force of sin, death, and evil, and defeating them. Jesus calls us His friends if we trust and follow Him. 

The message challenges us to build deep friendships empowered by our friendship with Jesus so others can cry “Broken Arrow” and find real help.

June 21, 2026 Speaker: Mike Kleven Father's Day Bible Text: Gen. 3:1-5,15, John 8:31-32,44,10:10,14:6,9, Heb. 1:3 Message begins at 21:20

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The message explores how what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. There are two fathers competing for our hearts: the Father of love, truth, and life, and the father of hate, lies, and death. The serpent’s lies in Genesis 3 still circulate today and distort our picture of God.

Jesus came to expose those lies and show us the exact representation of the Father—“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). When our mental picture of God does not match the self-giving love of Jesus on the cross, it is polluted and harmful.

The sermon walks listeners through practical steps to identify the lie, replace it with truth, and confide in a trusted friend. On this Father’s Day, the message ends with a warm invitation: stop running and come home to the Father whose arms have been open the whole time. How will this truth shape the way you see God and live this week?