Erin Church of the Nazarene

Don't Look Back: Lot's Wife and Forward Faith

Pastor Daniel Medders greets the ECN family during the lingering winter ice event of 2026, noting that main roads are improving but back roads and the church property are still slick, and he encourages people that conditions should get better soon. He then teaches from Genesis 19 and the story of Lot’s wife, stressing that God’s clear commands are to be obeyed even when we do not understand the reasoning behind them. He explores why “looking back” is so tempting, connecting it to a human impulse to watch others fall and to a culture drawn toward chaos and drama. He also warns against romanticizing the past, including sinful seasons and even past seasons of spiritual usefulness, sharing a lesson from his late friend James Anderson about the danger of missing “the old you.” Pastor Medders closes by urging listeners to be reflective and forward-looking, using each day as a gift to honor God instead of living in the “good old days.”

Snow Day Opportunities: Finding Grace in Winter Storms

Pastor Daniel Medders shares a short message during a January ice storm, noting the unsafe roads and describing the beauty and quiet of winter weather around his home. He recalls childhood stories of unexpectedly deep snow, including his parents’ anniversary trip to Gatlinburg and his own attempt to wade through snow in his grandfather’s garden. He reflects that difficulty can also create opportunity, and he points to the Israelites’ journey as a reminder that God is faithful and that people grow through hardship. He invites families to pause and discuss what opportunities this temporary loss of mobility might afford, then encourages them to enjoy stillness, savor time with loved ones, and check on neighbors who may need help.

Trust the Process: Righteousness Through Faith

Pastor Daniel Medders centers the message on Genesis 15, inviting listeners to picture Abram under a star-filled sky as God promises descendants too numerous to count. He reviews Genesis 12–14 to show Abram’s character forming over time, including Abram’s generosity toward Lot, Lot’s choice to settle near Sodom and the trouble that follows, and Abram’s rescue mission with 318 trained men. Medders highlights Abram’s integrity when he refuses the king of Sodom’s offer of wealth, so no one can later claim they made Abram prosperous, and he contrasts that with Abram’s earlier deception in Egypt during the famine to show growth in faith. He concludes that righteousness is found in trusting God through the process, then applies it to practical steps like living generously and acting with integrity, and he transitions toward baptisms and closes in prayer.

A Tale of Two Gospels: Jesus Pursues and We Choose

Pastor Daniel Medders opens by celebrating ECN’s recent growth, clarifying a small attendance math mistake from the prior Sunday, and offering practical ways to support continued growth through inviting others, improving parking flow, and making room for families and those with mobility needs. He introduces the message, “A Tale of Two Gospels,” by preaching two short sermons from Matthew that sit only 36 verses apart: the lost sheep in Matthew 18, which highlights God’s pursuit, awareness of the one missing, and the value of every person, and the rich young ruler in Matthew 19, which highlights surrender, trust, and the real responsibility of responding to Jesus. He cautions against forming “my Jesus” or “my Bible” around personal preference, explaining that believers can latch onto one biblical picture and treat it as the whole, which fuels polarization even within the same church. He urges the congregation to avoid extreme positions, to hold together both God’s compassionate pursuit and human choice, and to navigate hot button issues with prayer, humility, and care. He closes by inviting follow up conversation and praying for the church to handle differing opinions responsibly and with grace.

Break the Mirror: When Only God's Opinion Matters

Pastor Daniel Medders uses the story of Henry Molaison and the idea of “Henry’s mirror” to warn against living year after year without learning, then frames a 2026 challenge to grow in Christlikeness by learning how to handle opinions. He points to Moses as a model of steady leadership under criticism, Noah as an example of stubborn obedience while the culture spiraled, and David as a reminder that opposition can come from your own family when you step toward what God is calling you to do. He describes a “lonely chapter” that often comes with pursuing holiness, where you no longer fit with your old circle and have not yet found the new one, and he says it feels lonely mainly when your identity was rooted in people instead of God. He ends by saying the hardest opinion to overcome is your own, warning that “follow your heart” and self affirmation can become idolatry when they replace denying yourself and following Christ, and he concludes that the only opinion that truly matters is God’s as he closes in prayer.

Why We Do Christmas: Untangling Traditions and Truth

Pastor Daniel Medders says he is encouraged by the growing number of people at ECN who are new to faith or returning to church, and he uses their questions to explain why it matters to ask, “Why do we do church the way we do.” He intentionally shifts the service into a more conversational format to mirror how he believes Jesus taught, then uses Christmas topics to explore how traditions formed, including the real history of Saint Nicholas and how the modern Santa image developed much later. He highlights the hope of Christmas by emphasizing that God worked through an imperfect human in Mary, and he explains why December 25 was chosen based on early Christian reasoning tied to Jesus’ conception and death rather than a recorded birthday. He also challenges common nativity assumptions by arguing that “inn” is better translated as “guest room,” that the birth setting was likely a sheltered space connected to a home, and that some alleged historical contradictions can be understood with better context while others still leave room for “we do not know.” He closes by noting that Joseph disappears from the story after Jesus’ childhood, likely because Joseph died, and he ends with prayer that understanding these details will deepen gratitude and awe for Jesus.

Walking With Jesus: Emmaus and Everyday Faith

Pastor Daniel Medders reflects on how Christmas and Advent can start to feel routine, and he urges the church to recover the season’s meaning by remembering Jesus as “Emmanuel, God with us.” Rather than reading the birth narratives, he walks through Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus, focusing on two disappointed disciples, possibly a husband and wife, who talk about their shattered hopes while Jesus walks with them unnoticed. He warns against treating Sunday worship like a quick spiritual fix, and he challenges listeners to make spiritual conversation normal at work and at home even when fear of others’ opinions makes that feel risky. He also cautions newer believers that church is not a magic pill for an easier life, because following Christ involves sacrifice and can create real tension with others. The message closes with Jesus opening the Scriptures, being recognized in the breaking of bread, and the reminder that believers do not leave Jesus behind at church because he continues to walk with them in everyday life.

Invite With Urgency: Seize the Golden Years Now

Pastor Daniel Medders asks listeners to think about their best Christmas memories, then uses his family stories to show that experiences and relationships tend to last longer in our minds than the gifts themselves. He connects that “golden years” nostalgia to faith and church life, warning that people often only recognize a great season after it has passed, and challenging ECN to realize they are living in a meaningful growth season right now. He describes past and present momentum at ECN, cautions against shifting from mission to maintenance, and says the church must make room for newcomers while remembering that worship is first about honoring God and being equipped to be sent. He closes by urging personal, face to face invitations, saying that in a world where AI makes digital content harder to trust, an authentic invite to Christmas services can change someone’s life and ripple into eternity.

Joy Over Anxiety: Prayer and Peace at Christmas

Pastor Daniel Medders uses the Christmas season, with its travel, family tension, gift pressure, and financial strain, to introduce Philippians 4:4–7 as a passage about rejoicing, gentleness, and anxiety. He illustrates “rejoice in the Lord always” through personal stories, especially his mother in law Karen, who has endured both abandonment and widowhood yet remains deeply joyful, and through others like Miss Janet whose lives radiate steady joy. Pastor Medders explains that the word often translated “gentleness” carries the idea of more than justice, pointing to the way Jesus offers grace beyond what strict justice would demand, and calls believers to be people who refresh others rather than drain them. Instead of simply telling people to stop worrying, he teaches that God gives tools for dealing with anxiety, such as bringing every situation to Him in prayer and petition, being honest about fears, and giving thanks in all circumstances. He closes by urging listeners not only to admire joyful and peaceful Christians but to practice these disciplines of prayer, trust, and gratitude so that anxiety lessens and Christlike joy grows during the Christmas season.

To Know Christ: From Trivia to True Intimacy With Jesus

Pastor Daniel Medders begins by admitting his frustration that his mind remembers trivial facts, song lyrics, and useless information more easily than important things like people’s names, which leads him to ask what is truly worth knowing. He turns to Philippians 3:10 and explains that Paul, who was once obsessively focused on religious achievement, later counted those pursuits as rubbish compared to knowing Christ. Throughout the sermon, he warns against settling for head knowledge or Bible trivia and explains that the Bible’s language of knowing Christ is about an intimate, lived relationship where we deeply understand his character, heart, and ways. He unpacks Paul’s desire to know the power of Christ’s resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to become like him in his death, using examples like sulfur springs, King Tut’s grave goods, and a difficult mule trip in Wyoming to show how shared struggle and purposeful sacrifice create deep bonds and meaningful lives. The message ends in prayer, asking God to help believers clear out what is rubbish, truly know Christ rather than just know about him, and live lives poured out for others in light of the hope of resurrection.