We shift gears for Thomas’ remaining time at Circle to look at 6 verbs of what love is. Today we talk about that love is active, actively pursuing as God pursues us, actively responding to each other with what we actually need, and actively seeking the best thing for each other.Oleh Thomas Pruett

The Parable of the Sower is a well-known parable, but what’s important to realize is not only what the parable means as far as how Jesus explains it, but also realizing the context in which it’s said and the extent of the application to the other sowers of God’s word – Kingdom citizens, you and me.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Jesus is undeniably demonstrating what the Kingdom is like by His miracles, His teachings, and His ministry. But, the religious leaders of the day, while they can’t deny what Christ is doing, do try to discredit Him, going so far as to call Him empowered by Satan. What does this clash of the true Kingdom and Religious Kingdom then teach us about th…

The Pharisees and religious leaders prided themselves on keeping the law of Moses. Except they didn’t. Oh, they may have kept it according to how they had made it – fences around the law and all, but Jesus reminds them that by keeping the law so strictly that they’re breaking a higher law, the law of love, of doing good, and of being like God.…

Denouncing cities? Claiming exclusivity? Saying our burden is light? CS Lewis once wrote that Jesus is either legend, lunatic, or Lord, and indeed, this passage is only something one of those could have said, only Jesus as LORD can make it be true and indeed something we can rest in and upon as truth.…

The Kingdom is replicated and demonstrated by people who love & live Christ in a way that makes them distinct, as John the Baptist did. This will sometimes cause division, but yet is the way to become truly human. Sometimes it seems that we need to expect different expectations if we truly are to be the Kingdom citizens we’re called to be.…

Jesus’ messengers’ mission is to replicate & extend the mission of Jesus, not just to proclaim it but demonstrate it to the world. Ours is to do the same, but what parallels can we draw from Jesus’ original messengers to us today? Quite a few.Oleh Thomas Pruett

After healing the leper, centurion’s servant, and calming the storm, Matthew continues to expound on who King Jesus is. Jesus’ authority is questioned when He heals the paralytic, He calls those who shouldn’t be called, and Matthew’s question starts to shift from who is this man to if this IS who this man is, what does that mean?…

Easter Sunday 2021 with a non-traditional text. A man tells Jesus he’ll follow Jesus wherever He goes, yet Jesus challenges his commitment. The apostles find themselves in a storm, and them in front of two demon possessed men. Happy Easter? In fact, these texts tell us a lot about the Easter story, and why the empty tomb makes these stories so impo…

Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with a quite serious parable, and the crowds are amazed at the authority with which He teaches. Matthew then writes about three interactions Jesus has with a leper, a centurion, and crowds needing healing. If this is purposeful, why include these stories and these particular interactions now? Could it be because M…

Jesus continues on in the Sermon on the Mount in the form of a jigsaw puzzle – what He’s teaching isn’t directly related to the teaching before or after it, but yet is important to round out the complete picture of what a Kingdom, Beatitudes citizen looks like. In this passage, we find very applicable teaching about whom to reach out to, how to tre…

Worry is a staple of life, and Jesus famously commands to not worry in Matthew 6. What does this mean? Does it mean don’t stress? Have no concern for things? How can we not worry when it seems that Jesus worried before the cross? And speaking of hot topics, don’t judge – what does that mean, and why does that definition matter?…

Jesus is interested not only in what we do, but how and why we do it, very much because what and why we do things impacts our true focus of our worship, our trust, and how we view God in our lives. Today, we look at fasting, and what it means then to store up treasures in heaven, and it’s not just about money or possessions, it’s about the very foc…

As Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount, He begins to focus in from the general view of the Kingdom citizen into the practices, specifically the hypercritical practices, of the leaders around Him, with addressing giving, prayers, & fasting. Today we look at giving & praying, and look at how the Lord’s Prayer reorders our motives, which is necess…

After the introduction of the Kingdom Portrait of the Beatitudes, Jesus then delves into practical living, what the influence of salt and the beacon of light looks like among those who believed in Scripture. But Jesus just doesn’t teach new things or encourage, but He takes Scriptures that have been misapplied and redefines them for HIs listeners, …

When Jesus began His sermon, He didn’t start with a story, or a joke, or a poem, He started with a radical image – the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are somewhat often misinterpreted as to their purpose and what Jesus meant by them, but what do they tell us about who Jesus is, who we are, and what the Kingdom is like? What is Jesus saying about being …

Josh Stutzman continues our year in Matthew by looking at Jesus beginning to call His disciples. He looks a the OT reference of people sitting in darkness, and explains why it’s worth repenting, healing, and following the light.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Today we address the temptation of Jesus, but we don’t just take a surface level look at the temptations. Today, we take an at time uncomfortable dive into the temptations behind the obvious temptations, at the discontentment behind an obvious hunger, self-doubt behind pride, and easier, less painful path behind a lust for power. We also answer why…

In Matthew 3 we meet Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. John came preaching repentance, and came with a special anointing of his own to now only anoint Jesus to start His ministry, but an anointing for all believers. What is repentance, what is faith, and what is our anointing?Oleh Thomas Pruett

“The Dark Side of Christmas” as one commentator put it, is an odd text to base a sermon around, yet Matthew has included it whereas other gospel writers didn’t, and indeed intentionally written the things about it that he has for his readers’ benefit. What does the massacre of the innocents on the heel’s of Christ’s birth teach us, along with the O…

Jesus is born, and this text shows the reactions of three different people – Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, Herod, and earthly king, and the wise men, who come to worship Jesus. How did their expectations affect how they saw and understood Jesus’ birth? How do ours affect when and how we see King Jesus today? This text teaches us an important and t…

As we kick off our year-long look at Matthew, we begin with the genealogy. While many people today find these sections of Scripture boring and meaningless to us, even just the genealogy tell us much about Jesus, including answering the question already that Matthew will spend his entire book answering – what kind of king is King Jesus? We look at 5…

As we close out 2020, we take a unique look at the year from Psalm 1 which also contains a challenge for us moving forward. Hope, peace, and joy sound good, but what happens with those things come in conflict with what happens in ‘real’ life? How can we really attain those things in our lives? Well, it all depends what the source of our ‘real’ life…

Today, with Christmas being a few days away, we come from hope and peace to joy: what is it, how to attain it, and why it matters, as well as particularly how it’s fulfilled in Jesus Christ.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Continuing our short series on the themes of Advent, today we look at peace. Our expectations help define what peace we’re looking for and what that peace is. Paul in Philippians 4 tells us the nature of peace, the disciplines of peace, and the secret of peace, and why all of these are integral in attaining the only true peace there is in the world…

As we are in December and the holiday times we begin to build to Christmas, the celebration of Christ’s birth and what that means for the world. We begin that today by looking at one of the greatest thing Christ’s life, and something in particular about the gospel, gives us: hope. How do we define hope, what’s the nature of hope, and what’s the pro…

Joshua Stutzman, Circle’s campus minister and the minister at the University Christian Center at OSU, takes us on a journey through Elijah dealing with hard times after his experience at Mt. Carmel, and how God provided, with an additional campus report.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Rolland House takes on the pulpit this week and he brings us lesson with a different take on Jesus calming the storm in Luke 8.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. Many people, and Christians, know this, but also don’t have a good definition or understanding of love, particularly when it comes to loving your neighbor. What truly is love as defined by God Himself in terms of loving ea…

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. Many people, and Christians, know this, but also don’t have a good definition or understanding of love. What truly is love as defined by God Himself?Oleh Thomas Pruett

When this sermon was preached, Election Day 2020 was the following Tuesday. Today we look at a Christian’s Perspective, the Perspective of a Christian, and an Christian Perspective of not necessarily politics, but the principles and truths that ought to guide us in not only having a political view ourselves, but in interacting with those who’s view…

The last thing that God says through Haggai is that God has plans for Israel and her leaders, but the book ends as an open question – if they do this…but do they? In this series finale, Thomas brings the lessons of the last three weeks into focus, and teaches how our choices, like the choices of those in Haggai’s day, matter, not just in terms of s…

Obedience. Obedience doesn’t have the best connotation in today’s society, even among Christians. Indeed, even children are aware that obedience isn’t the most fun, and often will do things just because they HAVE to opposed to wanting to. Why can’t we do that with God, why is faithful obedience different than compliance, and why does that matter? H…

Haggai prophesied to Israel to rebuild the temple, and while they did, those who remembered Solomon’s temple were sad and disappointed. The new temple was nothing like the old one – morale was low with unmet expectations. What can we learn from this example about our own temple, expectations, and how to apply God’s promise that the new temple will …

Today marks the first worship service at our building in nearly 7 months, and through thought and prayer, Haggai is our text. Haggai prophesies at a unique time in history – Israel has returned from Exile, but is focusing on rebuilding the wrong things. How do Haggai’s commands to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem correspond with how we can re…

So just what does being present, prayerful, understanding how God works in and through His people, and understanding the End Times mean for us today? We wrap up today with not only rounding out our understanding of our place in the end times, but some challenges on what that means for you and me today.…

Romans 8:28 is an extremely well known verse and is often used to reassure Christians that no matter what, God will use whatever happens for the good of those who love Him, the church, according to His ultimate purpose. While there is truth in that way of thinking and interpreting, it’s also not completely right. What does Romans 8:28 say in terms …

These are the end times- meaning every day since Jesus has been the end times (Hebrews 1:1-2). So how we do not only interpret these events around us (or do we) but what is our response? What is our vocation in a world of pain and hurt?Oleh Thomas Pruett

With as crazy as this year has been there has been much said about these events, what God is doing, and what they mean for the church. But is the church really experiencing things that are that different than the past? Must we rely on interpreting ‘new’ events, or should we interpret today through the same lens that Jesus did? Thomas begins to expl…

Rolland House guest preaches today and takes on a great, personal journey by looking at Jesus being tempted in the desert from Luke 4.Oleh Thomas Pruett

As we finish this series on parables, we reflect on some of the better questions to let them ask of us, and we explore the Parable of the Vineyard Workers from Matthew 20 & the Parable of the Wheat and Tares from Matthew 13 for some final lessons and challenges.Oleh Thomas Pruett

The parable of the unjust manager is arguably one of the most controversial and misunderstood parables. Is Jesus condoning unethical action? What’s the key to unlocking this parable? What exactly has the manager done which Jesus IS praising, and how does that relate to us?Oleh Thomas Pruett

Today we delve into one of the more well known parables, commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But is it really just about the prodigal son? Or is it more about how the Father interacts with the two different sons, which tells us about how Jesus acts towards people? You decide.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Thomas continues our parables series with a look at the Parable of the Sower, but through the lens of Isaiah 6, where Jesus quoted as how and why parables were to be used.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Thomas begins a new series on the Parables of Jesus, though not just explaining some of the more well-known parables – the point of this series is to truly understand what a parable is, why Jesus taught with them, Jesus’ Old Testament background, and how to use them in our lives. Today we begin with the parables in Mark 4, particularly the parable …

Thomas continues the series on parables by looking at the meaning of the word ‘parable’ from both Old and New Testament perspectives, and gives some OT foundation for the parable of the vineyard from Isaiah 5 & Matthew 21.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Campus minister Joshua Stutzman takes us through Christ’s temptations and connects it to temptations in the present day, along with how to deal with them.Oleh Thomas Pruett

Today we delve into Luke 14 and the Parable of the Great Banquet, and the lessons we learn from why Jesus taught this parable in this context – at the house of the Pharisee, at a Sabbath meal, to those who were more concerned with honor than Kingdom…the answers are unexpected!Oleh Thomas Pruett

We continue looking at kingdom wisdom, and today we focus on the word for ‘wisdom’ in Hebrew and how what makes up this concept is important.Oleh Thomas Pruett

We delve back into our yearly theme “2020 Kingdom Vision” by focusing on wisdom, particularly looking at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the choice that Adam and Eve had.Oleh Thomas Pruett