Title: The Story of Daniel, Week 4

Series: The Unshakeable 

In Week 4 of the The Unshakable series, Pastor Patrick Hardy turns to Daniel 4 and the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dramatic encounter with God. After witnessing God’s power repeatedly, Nebuchadnezzar continues to live as though he is ultimately in control. His pride reaches its peak when he looks over Babylon and declares, “Is this not the great Babylon I built?” God then humbles the king, taking away his authority until he recognizes that the Most High is sovereign over every kingdom. Patrick uses Nebuchadnezzar’s story to expose the way pride blinds us, clouds our vision, and distorts our judgment, convincing us that we are more in control than we really are.

Patrick also highlights Daniel’s response to the king. Even though Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Daniel’s homeland and forced him into exile, Daniel faithfully tells the king the truth and urges him to repent—not out of revenge, but because he genuinely wants what is best for him. The story ultimately points beyond Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation to God’s patient mercy, as the king is given warning, time, and opportunity to turn toward God. Patrick challenges listeners to consider where pride may be keeping them from surrendering control and reminds them that acknowledging God is not the same as submitting to him. Through Jesus, we are invited to step off the throne of our own lives, bend the knee, and recognize Christ as Lord. Unshaken faith begins with a surrendered heart.

Title: The Story of Daniel, Week 3

Series: The Unshakable 

In Week 3 of the The Unshakable series, Pastor Patrick Hardy turns to Daniel 3 and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing before King Nebuchadnezzar and refusing to worship his golden statue. Patrick argues that the pressure to compromise our faith is ultimately an issue of worship: the world constantly invites us to place success, money, comfort, popularity, politics, relationships, reputation, or security in the place that belongs to God alone. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrate what it looks like to stand firm when everyone else is bowing, declaring that God is able to deliver them—but that even if he does not, they will still trust and worship him.

Patrick emphasizes that unshaken faith is not faith that expects an easy life or guaranteed outcomes. Rather, it is faith that trusts who God is, regardless of what God does. Sometimes God delivers us from the fire, and sometimes he meets us in the middle of it and carries us through. Drawing on the story of the fiery furnace, Romans 5, and Jesus' promise in John 16 that we will have trouble but that he has overcome the world, Patrick reminds listeners that suffering can become a witness to God's faithfulness. Ultimately, the gospel is that Jesus himself stepped into our fire, entering our suffering and taking our sin and death upon himself. Our hope is not that we will never face the fire, but that Jesus will be with us in it. As Patrick puts it, your fire may become the very place where someone else sees the faithfulness of God for the first time.

Title: The Story of Daniel, Week 2

Series: The Unshakable

In Week 2 of the The Unshakable series, Pastor Gabe Dean continues the story of Daniel by turning to Daniel 2 and the crisis surrounding King Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream. When the king’s wise men are unable to reveal or interpret the dream, Daniel faces the possibility of death along with the other wise men of Babylon. Rather than panic or rely on human wisdom, Daniel turns to God in prayer with his friends. God reveals the mystery to Daniel, demonstrating that true wisdom belongs to God, who knows what is hidden and rules over all things. Gabe connects Daniel’s experience to his own story of uncertainty and God’s call into ministry, emphasizing that God is not distant from his people but remains intimately involved in their lives.

The message focuses on how believers can remain unshaken when life is uncertain. We will not always have answers for our circumstances, our futures, or the mysteries we encounter, but we can have confidence in the God who does have the answers. Gabe contrasts Daniel’s response to uncertainty with Nebuchadnezzar’s response of fear, anger, and anxiety, challenging listeners to follow Daniel’s example by turning to God in prayer and trusting his perfect plan. Ultimately, our confidence is not found in knowing everything, but in knowing the One who does. When the unknown comes, we can trust that Jesus is present, that God is working, and that his wisdom is greater than our own.

Title: The Story of Daniel

Series: The Unshakable 

In this opening message of the Daniel Unshaken series, Pastor Patrick Hardy looks at Daniel 1 and asks what it means to stand firm in faith when the culture around us is pulling in another direction. Daniel and his friends were taken from Judah, brought into Babylon, given new names, and immersed in a culture designed to reshape their identity and allegiance. Yet Daniel “resolved” not to defile himself with the king’s food and wine. Patrick emphasizes that Daniel’s decision to take a stand was made before the pressure came—his circumstances did not determine his convictions. For followers of Jesus, the challenge is similar: our citizenship is ultimately in heaven, and we are called to live faithfully within a world that does not always share our values.

Patrick draws three lessons from Daniel for living an unshaken life: decide what you stand for before pressure comes, live faithfully within the tension, and trust God when you take a stand. Daniel did not run away from Babylon or simply give in to its culture; he lived faithfully in the middle of it, trusting that God was working even when circumstances were beyond his control. Patrick challenges listeners to identify their own non-negotiable convictions and to resist both cultural assimilation and withdrawal from the world. Ultimately, Daniel’s story reminds us that taking a stand does not mean standing alone. God gave Daniel favor, wisdom, protection, and influence, and the same God remains at work in the lives of his people today. The question is not whether pressure will come, but what have you already decided to stand for when it does?

Title: The Multiplication (I Have My Doubts) 

Series: Follow Me

In the final message of the Follow Me series, Pastor Patrick Hardy explores the multiplication of disciples through Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:16–20. Patrick begins with the reality of doubt, noting that even the disciples who stood face-to-face with the risen Jesus still had doubts. Yet Jesus did not wait for them to have every question answered or achieve perfect certainty before giving them their mission. Instead, he commissioned them to go and make disciples. Patrick argues that doubt does not disqualify us from following Jesus or participating in his mission; the real danger is allowing our doubts to become an excuse for disobedience. Because Jesus possesses all authority in heaven and earth, his command to make disciples is not merely a suggestion—it is the central mission of his followers.

Patrick explains that making disciples involves going, bringing people into belonging through baptism, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded. Discipleship happens beyond the walls of the church—in homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, ball fields, and everyday relationships. Just as Jesus transformed the disciples and then sent them back to the places they came from, he sends his followers to share what he has done in their own lives. Patrick emphasizes that we do not need a perfect story, complete knowledge, or a life without baggage before we can be used by God. Like the Samaritan woman who encountered Jesus and immediately went back to her town to tell others, our imperfect stories may be exactly what God uses to reach someone else. The message closes with a challenge to ask, “Who’s the person that God has placed in your life that needs to hear your story?” and to step into the mission with confidence that Jesus goes with us, empowers us, and remains with us always.

Title: The Transformation (The Fruits of the Spirit)

Series: Follow Me

In this message from the Follow Me series, Pastor Patrick Hardy explores what it means to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Working through Galatians 5:13–25, Patrick argues that the evidence of discipleship is not simply Christian activity, but a genuinely changed life. Paul contrasts the “acts of the flesh” with the “fruit of the Spirit,” showing that Christian freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want, but the freedom to become the people God created us to be. Because we belong to Christ, we are called to love and serve others, and the Holy Spirit works within us to reshape our desires, character, and actions.

Patrick emphasizes that transformation is not primarily about trying harder, but about walking, being led, and living by the Spirit. Drawing on the Wesleyan understanding of prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace, he explains how God's grace not only forgives sin but continually transforms us into the image of Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—is not something we manufacture through willpower; it is the byproduct of remaining connected to the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is a gradual journey, and Patrick encourages those who feel discouraged by their lack of spiritual progress to remember that God does not demand that we arrive today—He asks us to walk today. As we keep in step with the Spirit, God's sanctifying grace is quietly producing fruit and changing us along the way.

Title: The Mission (Living a Sent Life)

Series: Follow Me

In this message from the Follow Me series, Pastor Patrick Hardy explores the final movement of discipleship: being sent. Looking at John 20:19–23, Patrick examines Jesus’ appearance to the disciples after his resurrection, when they are hiding behind locked doors in fear and confusion. Jesus meets them with the words, “Peace be with you,” and then declares, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Patrick argues that discipleship does not end with following Jesus, but with being transformed and sent to help others follow him. God is a sending God—the Father sent the Son, Jesus sends the church, and the Holy Spirit empowers the church.

Patrick emphasizes that Jesus sends grace before responsibility and that he does not send his disciples because they are ready, but because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who gives life in creation and raised Jesus from the dead now lives in Christ’s people, equipping ordinary believers to live as ambassadors wherever God has placed them. Whether at work, at school, with family, or among neighbors, every Christian has opportunities to live a “sent life”—praying with someone, inviting someone into community, sharing their faith, or simply loving others in a way that points them to Jesus. The challenge is to stop waiting until we feel ready, step out from behind our “locked doors,” and trust the Holy Spirit to lead us. Discipleship doesn't end with following Jesus; Jesus saves us, transforms us, empowers us, and sends us.

Title: The Community

Series: Follow Me

In this message from the Follow Me series, Pastor Patrick Hardy explores the importance of Christ-centered community in the life of a disciple. Looking at Acts 2:42–47, Patrick shows how the early church devoted themselves not only to the apostles’ teaching, but also to fellowship, shared meals, prayer, generosity, and doing life together. While Sunday worship gatherings (“rows”) are essential for hearing and receiving God’s Word, discipleship was never intended to be a solitary journey. Patrick argues that “discipleship happens in circles, not just rows”—in the smaller, authentic relationships where believers encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, practice accountability, and learn to live out biblical truth.

Patrick emphasizes that Christian community is not simply about having people around us, but about belonging to a spiritual family where we can be genuinely known, loved, challenged, and encouraged. Drawing on Jesus’ own example of investing deeply in the Twelve, as well as the early church in Acts, he challenges listeners to move beyond simply attending church and become active participants in the life of the church. Connection groups and ministry teams provide opportunities to share our stories, serve together, pray for one another, and help each other follow Jesus faithfully. The message concludes with a challenge to consider, “What is your next step?”—whether that means saying yes to Jesus, joining a connection group, serving alongside others, or intentionally inviting other believers into your life. The church is not merely a place we attend; it is a family where we belong.

Title: The Formation

Series: Follow Me

In the second message of the Follow Me series, Pastor Patrick Hardy explores what it truly means to follow Jesus by looking at Luke 14:25–33, where Jesus challenges the crowds following him to count the cost of discipleship. Using the idea of counting the cost before making a major purchase, Patrick explains that while God’s grace is freely given, following Jesus is not cheap. Jesus calls his disciples to carry their cross, surrender their lives, and place their allegiance to him above every other loyalty.

Patrick focuses on three practical areas where disciples are called to “die to themselves”: dying to our need for control, dying to our excused sin, and dying to our old identity. Discipleship is not merely a dramatic decision made at conversion or baptism, but a daily surrender in which we trust Jesus with our plans, repent of the sins we have grown comfortable with, and embrace the new identity he gives us. Yet the cost of following Jesus must be understood alongside the cost of refusing him. Jesus himself counted the cost and went to the cross because he considered us worth it. The invitation to follow Jesus is ultimately an invitation to surrender our lives—and to discover that on the other side of that surrender is the true life God created us to live.

Title: The Invitation 

Series: Follow Me

In this opening message of the Follow Me series, Pastor Patrick Hardy looks at Jesus’ calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John in Matthew 4:18–22 and asks what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus. Using the contrast between being a sports “fan” and being a committed follower, Patrick argues that discipleship is more than attending church, completing a class, knowing the Bible, or avoiding certain sins. Jesus calls ordinary people where they are, sees their God-given potential, and invites them to leave their old lives behind and follow him.

Patrick develops four aspects of Jesus’ call: Jesus sees you, Jesus calls you, Jesus forms you, and Jesus sends you. Following Jesus is a lifelong process of being transformed into his image, taking up our cross daily, and ultimately being sent to help others follow him. The message challenges listeners to consider whether they are merely fans of Jesus or genuine followers—and, if they are followers, to ask the next question: Who are you helping to follow Jesus? Drawing on Matthew 4, Luke 9, Matthew 9, and the story of Hagar in Genesis 16, Patrick concludes with an invitation to “get out of your boat,” follow Jesus, and become a disciple-maker in the ordinary relationships and places God has already given us.