Reach Church

Interim Teaching Pastor Scot Pollok shares responses to many questions that have been submitted in our series, including extended comments on this past Sunday's sermon, "Married Sex"0:00 Extended comments on June 4 sermon from 1 Corinthians 7:1-714:29 Can you define "willful sin" as opposed to sinning and repenting?17:18 If someone asks me to use specific pronouns, is it loving to do so or enabling?20:05 What should a believer do if they are invited to a same sex wedding ceremony?23:58 Can two believers truly become one flesh in marriage if one or both of them have a sexual past?

After two chapters of addressing specific problems and test cases, Paul now turns to the positive ideals of sex inside of marriage. His comments are still corrective, instructive, and serve to protect hearts and set people free today. And although his primary target is clearly married couples, there is within these short verses a powerful and liberating word for singles, a subset of the church family that is often forgotten and overlooked.

The Corinthian Christians believed that God cared deeply for the souls and spirits, but had no concern for their physical bodies. In Paul’s correction, we get a glimpse of the tremendous plans and purpose God has for our bodies.

Wrapped in a statement about God's Kingdom, Paul identifies a host of wayward paths that many of the Corinthians formerly walked. And this ancient collection of pointed statements, properly understood and applied, remains vital truth for us today. Three short verses of text will allow us to dive into a timely conversation that has existed for thousands of years. And rather than a one-sided tirade, we will keep it a conversation… with God Himself.

Interim Teaching Pastor Scot Pollok shares responses to many questions that have been submitted in our series, particularly in regards to this past Sunday's sermon, "The Truth About Change"01:30 What version of bible does Scot use on Sundays?02:55 Can someone who is single fully image God?07:01 What about sincere Christians who willfully sin without conviction or repentance?10:50 What is asked of those in a same sex marriage before they can become a Christian?13:13 Can you offer some apologetic, relational and conversational help for talking with people who are hostile to Christians?17:10 What do I do as a public school teacher when I am asked to present things against my beliefs?20:57 Tell me more about the controversy around the Greek word for homosexual?25:18 What about Jonathan and David's relationship in the Old Testament?

Few things are as desperately needed today as the recovery of the ancient practice of Sabbath — a full day, every week, set aside to stop, rest, delight, and worship.

Within Paul’s discussion of Sex and Sexuality — God’s Beautiful Gift — he drops a powerfully instructive and timely word on the distinctive of the local church that is perhaps the most dismissed, and at times the most abused. In doing so he builds on Jesus’ powerful words and offers a brilliant guide for the church’s response to church sin. And it’s way better than mere conflict resolution.

We arrive at the second great subject in 1st Corinthians; a layered discussion of how the church in Corinth is facing corruptions of God’s Beautiful Gift: sex within the marriage of husband and wife. Join us for a timely and very personal conversation on this powerful topic.

A Gospel-survey identifying our need for a Good Shepherd to embark on a rescue mission to welcome us back home.

A Gospel-survey identifying our need for a Redeemer to liberate us from bondage to sin.

Unimaginable shock and despair lingered over a silent Sabbath day. But the dawn of Sunday morning brought with it an equally unimaginable truth. Jesus has risen from the dead. Come see Him. Behold His scars. Everything has changed.

We meet the seething crowd for Passover in Jerusalem so long ago, craning our necks to see the man everyone is talking about, the Great Miracle Worker, Healer, Prophet and Fulfiller of Prophecy, Jesus of Nazareth. He is humble and riding on a donkey as He enters the Temple. Behold Your King. 

As Paul wraps up his plea against division in the Church, popular cultural lies and Jesus-truth continue to collide. Paul speaks in a deeply personal, Fatherly tone, with masterful encouragement, reminders and warnings that the Church still desperately needs today.

Our maturity in Christ is determined by what we receive, not by what we earn.

Jesus is the unshakeable foundation of the Church, and it’s up to us to decide how we will build upon His finished work. We are His holy temple — a people called to build, knowing that He dwells with us.

Reach's founder Brian McCormack, delivers his final words as Lead Pastor and says "goodbye for now", after over 10 years of faithful leadership in our region.

Who do we belong to? Spiritual maturity is shown by a right understanding of belonging and allegiance. While the world says, “My tribe is my god, and to it I devote my entire self,” a Spirit-reliant person says “God is my tribe, and to him I devote my entire self.”

We are more like the Corinthians than we might expect; especially in our unexamined promotion of beauty, eloquence, power and popularity. In this ancient but relevant text, Paul contrasts these values with the mysterious “depths of God,” revealing that God’s wisdom leads Him to wildly different pursuits and tactics. We would be wise and fulfilled to follow His lead in seeking true spiritual depth.

God’s plan to save the world: a message it will call foolish, delivered by people it will call foolish. This way there will never be any confusion who should get the credit as all things are made new. So, we resist all temptations to boast in ourselves, and seize every opportunity to boast in him instead.

Corinthian “wisdom” was an arrogant clog in the hearts and minds of many in ancient times and still is today, preventing some from seeing the power and wisdom of God on a cross — the controversial idea that seems “foolish” to the watching world but is, in reality, the truth at the very heart of real freedom and joy.