Exeter Valley Church Podcast

Just Jesus

Matthew 16:1-12.  Jesus warns of the Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  By Noel Piepgrass

What Makes a Heart Clean

Noel Piepgrass teaches from Matthew 15.  In these 3 stories, we see the church Jesus is gathering, which consists of people of any ethnicity who have recognized their need for him.  This chapter concludes with a beautiful picture of the church gathered.  

Vision 2023

Pastor Noel shares a vision God put on his heart for 2023.  In this message, he describes what it would look like for us to grow as devoted disciples, wonder-filled worshipers, and must-do missionaries.  Acts 2:42-47    

Jesus Walks on Water

In Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus shows up walking across the sea in the middle of a storm.  In faith, Peter steps out of the boat to come to him but is quickly scared of the wind and waves and begins to sink.  In this moment of desperation he reaches out to Jesus to be saved and Jesus gives him his hand.  Noel Piepgrass shares that the moral of the story is not merely the power of God over the storm, but the way he uses the storm to invoke our worship.     

Jesus Feeds the 5000

In Matthew 14:13-21, Jesus performs the most famous miracle of his ministry, the feeding of the 5000.  In this story, Pastor Noel teaches us how Jesus uses his disciples to turn a little into a lot.    

The Hill John the Baptist Died On

In Matthew 14:1-12, we find out that Herod has been hearing about the deeds of Jesus.  In fact, Matthew tells us Herod actually suspects that John the Baptist has risen from the dead and is the one performing these deeds.  In this passage, we learn that John was killed because he took a stand against Herod's illegitimate marriage and sensual lifestyle.  Noel Piepgrass shares how we ought to be willing to take a similar stand against our culture's wayward views on gender, marriage, and sexuality.  

The Unbelief of Nazareth

In Matthew 13:54-58, we see that Jesus' hometown was not all that receptive to him.  So much so that he did not perform many miracles there.  Noel Piepgrass shows us how their unbelief caused them to miss Jesus's messiahship and how if we're not careful, we too can miss the power of Jesus.  (We had a technical glitch that prevented the original real-time recording so this recording was produced in the office afterward).    

The Gospel Seed and the Soil of the Heart

In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus begins his sermon of parables with a story about a farmer who's sowing seeds.  The seed falls upon 4 different soils and we're told, by Jesus, that each type of soil represents a heart condition.  In this sermon, Pastor Noel Piepgrass shares how the heart can be hard, shallow, or distracted and thus unable to receive the seed of the gospel and thrive.  Finally, Noel points us to Jesus, the one who makes our soil good as we turn to him through repentance.  (sermon credit due, Danny Bartlett, whose work Pastor Noel drew heavily from) 

Parable of the Seeds and the Treasures

In Matthew 13:31-33; 44-52, Jesus tells a pair of parables about a mustard seed and leaven and a treasure and a pearl.  David Jansson, a guest from Radiant Church in Visalia, teaches us in this message that the Kingdom of God is a treasure worth joyfully going all in on and like a seed, something that starts small but miraculously has enormous impact.  (The audio starts just a few seconds into his sermon, sorry!).   

Parables and the Story of God

In Matthew 13 Jesus gives a sermon using parables, short stories with a moral to them.  In verses 10-17, we see Jesus quote a passage from the book of Isaiah which effectively communicates to the audience that his use of parables is the most impactful way to help his audience hear and see the mysteries of the Kingdom.  In this message, Noel goes on to share his own story and invites the listener into the story God is writing over their own lives and over the life of Exeter Valley Church.