The Hero of the Week is Jonathan, son of King Saul, crown prince of Israel, and close friend of David, the anointed king. He is a model of genuine friendship, and this is his story.

Proverbs 18:1, 12, 19, 24 (NLT) ; 箴 言 18:1, 12, 19, 24 (CUVS)
2 Samuel 1:17-27 (NLT) ; 撒 母 耳 記 下 1:17-27 (CUVS)

You can also download Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript).

Photo by Duygu Güngör on Unsplash

Pastor Ryan is starting his new sermon series on Heroes and Villains of the Bible off with a bang! Jezebel (obviously a villain) was known for many things including leading Israel (via her husband king Ahab) astray to worship Baal. (Note: the recording starts about a minute into the sermon.)

Proverbs 9:13-18 (NLT) ; 箴 言 9:13-18 (CUVS)
Revelation 2:18-29 (NLT) ; 啟 示 錄 2:18-29 (CUVS)

You can also download Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript).

Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash (with apologies to the real woman depicted in this photo, who is unlikely to be like Jezebel! But she does look like she is planning something…)

Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash

“Emmanuel” by Pastor Ryan Emmons is in the Advent series “And He Will Be Called…” that talks about the names of Christ from the “O Antiphons”. These are a series of prayers from the early church liturgy, used in the week before Christmas and best known to us in the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. This one is from Isaiah 7:14:

Isaiah 7:14 (NLT) ; 以 賽 亞 書 7:14 (CUVS)

14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

14 因 此 , 主 自 己 要 给 你 们 一 个 兆 头 , 必 有 童 女 怀 孕 生 子 , 给 他 起 名 叫 以 马 内 利 ( 就 是 神 与 我 们 同 在 的 意 思 ) 。

Luke 2:1-7 (NLT) ; 路 加 福 音 2:1-7 (CUVS)
Luke 2:8-20 (NLT) ; 路 加 福 音 2:8-20 (CUVS)

Sermon Notes

Here is a PDF of Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript) from the sermon.


Sermon Image by Jeff Jacobs on Pixabay

Pastor Ryan’s Advent series for 2023 sermon is called “And He Will Be Called…”. It is based on the names given to the Messiah in the O Antiphons, a set of prayers from the early church liturgy that is best known to us in the verses of the carol “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. He looks at the four verses in the hymnal that we use, one for each of the Sundays in Advent.

December 3: Desire of Nations
December 10: Wisdom
December 17: Dayspring (Rising Sun)
December 24: Emmanuel


Image by Jeff Jacobs on Pixabay

“Day Spring” by Pastor Ryan Emmons is in the Advent series “And He Will Be Called…” that talks about the names of Christ from the “O Antiphons”. These are a series of prayers from the early church liturgy, used in the week before Christmas and best known to us in the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. This one is from Isaiah 9:2.

John 1:1-9 (NLT) ; 約 翰 福 音 1:1-9 (CUVS)
Isaiah 9:1-5 (NLT) ; 以 賽 亞 書 9:1-5 (CUVS)

Sermon Notes

Here is a PDF of Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript) from the sermon.


Sermon Image by Jeff Jacobs on Pixabay

“Wisdom” by Pastor Ryan Emmons is in the Advent series “And He Will Be Called…” that talks about the names of Christ from the “O Antiphons”. These are a series of prayers from the early church liturgy, used in the week before Christmas and best known to us in the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. This one is from Isaiah 11:2.

Isaiah 33:5-6 (NLT) ; 以 賽 亞 書 33:5-6 (CUVS)
Isaiah 11:1-5 (NLT) ; 以 賽 亞 書 11:1-5 (CUVS)

Sermon Notes

Here is a PDF of Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript) from the sermon.


Sermon Image by Jeff Jacobs on Pixabay

“Desire of Nations” by Pastor Ryan Emmons is in the Advent series “And He Will Be Called…” that talks about the names of Christ from the “O Antiphons”. These are a series of prayers from the early church liturgy, used in the week before Christmas and best known to us in the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. The first one is on the title “Desire of Nations” from Haggai 2:7.

Isaiah 7:149:6 (NLT) ; 以 賽 亞 書 7:149:6 (CUVS)
Haggai 2:6-9 (NLT) ; 箴 言 9:1-6 (CUVS)

Sermon Notes

Here is a PDF of Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript) from the sermon.


Sermon Image by Jeff Jacobs on Pixabay

Pastor Ryan’s Fall 2023 sermon collection “Nuggets and Pearls” is based on the book of Proverbs. Each sermon is on a different topic and they can be listened to in any order.

October 15: Learning for Life (about learning)
October 29: Well… I Heard… (gossip)
November 5: It’s a Zoo in Here (wisdom from a few unlikely beasties)
November 12: The Long View (the godly prosper while the wicked suffer, or do they?)
November 19: A Prayer for Enough (“two things I beg of you…”)
November 26: Invitations to Feast (Wisdom and Folly and how to tell them apart)


Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash