As followers of Jesus, it is important to know where we are going (heaven), but to do so we need a better understanding of what/where heaven is. What does the Ascension mean for us as Christians today?

“Heaven: Maybe Not What You Think”, by Pastor Ryan Emmons

John 14:1-6 (NLT) ; 約 翰 福 音 14:1-6 (CUVS)
Ephesians 1:19-23 (NLT) ; 以 弗 所 書 1:19-23 (CUVS)

This sermon is second in the series “Following Jesus“, based on the book by N.T. Wright.


You can set up a real-time transcript when you listen on your device. You can also download Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript).

Pastor Ryan’s sermon “Scattered Seed” is based on Jesus’ parable of the sower: some seeds fell on rocky soil, some on thin soil, some among thorns, and so on. Jesus explains what it means, so our job is to figure out where we fit in the parable. It all seems quite straightforward, until you look at the farmer…

Hosea 10:12 (NLT) / 何 西 阿 書 10:12 (CUVS)
Matthew 13:1-9 NLT) / 馬 太 福 音 13:1-9 (CUVS)
Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT) / 馬 太 福 音 13:18-23 (CUVS)

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

Photo by Roman Synkevych on Unsplash

Pastor Ryan’s sermon “The Jar Paradox” talks about the paradox in the image of believers being “fragile jars of clay”, as well as the paradoxes that follow in Paul’s letter. It doesn’t make sense that the great treasure of the Gospel would be “stored” in relatively fragile containers, and yet that is exactly what God has done in entrusting us not only to experience His love, power and grace for ourselves, but also to be witness of that to the world around us.

Psalm 18:1-6 (NLT) / 詩 篇 18:1-6 (CUVS)
2 Corinthians 4:5-12 (NLT) / 歌 林 多 後 書 4:5-12 (CUVS)

You can also download Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript). In this sermon, he talks about the classic children’s book The Velveteen Rabbit. Since it is out of copyright, you can read it online for free if you like.

Photo by Earl Wilcox on Unsplash

Pastor Ryan’s sermon “Honour the Lord” talks about what that means. Are we included in the “heavenly beings” that Psalm 29 calls to honour God? What are some ways that we can honour God with our words and actions? How do we turn our hearts to want to honour Him?

Isaiah 25:1-5 (NLT) / 以 賽 亞 書 25:1-5 (CUVS)
Psalm 29 (NLT) / 詩 篇 29 (CUVS)

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

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Pastor Ryan’s sermon “Before the Throne” invites us to imagine what it will be like to come before the Throne of God, based on the imagery in the books of Isaiah and Revelation.

Isaiah 6:1-7 (NLT) / 以 賽 亞 書 6:1-7 (CUVS)
Revelation 20:11-15 (NLT) / 啟 示 錄 20:11-15 (CUVS)
Revelation 4,5 (NLT) / 啟 示 錄 4-5 (CUVS)

Here is a PDF of Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript) for you to download.

Image from Bible.Art