2026-03-01: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Service – You Must Be Born Again! (Simply Surrender)

A man named Nicodemus comes to Jesus under cover of darkness seeking to know more about Jesus.  He is curious.  And Jesus responds by saying, “Flesh gives birth to flesh.  Spirit gives birth to spirit.  Nicodemus, you must be born again.”  

Knowing Jesus…  How?  Seems to me, when people seek Jesus (including me) they want to know more about him.  Bible Studies, Church, Spiritual Disciplines, Discipleship Programs… all good in knowing about Jesus.  Can grow informational knowing of Jesus. Yet, these things can become the ‘thing’ themselves.  This seems to be more ‘flesh giving birth to flesh.’ 

What seems to be most needed, essential, and necessary is to have an encounter with Jesus.  To know Jesus is when ‘Spirit gives birth to spirit.’  This is what it means to be ‘born again.’

I wonder if this is what Jesus’ is getting at in the Book of Revelation to the church of Ephesus (to us today) when he says, “You’ve forsaken your first love.”  It’s a good pursuit to know more about Jesus.  But what is essential, needed and necessary is to have an encounter with Jesus, to be born again, because ‘Spirit gives birth to spirit.’  

Let’s talk about this some more Sunday, as we seek not to (only) know more about Jesus, rather, to encounter Jesus.  What does that look like?  (John 3:1-21 as a base text)

See you Sunday,
  Pastor Mark

2026-02-22: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Salvation/Service – By Grace, Through Faith, We Are Saved and Faith Without Works Doesn’t Look Like Faith

We are people of faith.  “We are people on a journey, following where the Master walks… in the shadow of the cross, in the power of the empty tomb, taking up the cross of Christ, moving on from death to life… to the table of the Lord, fed by water and the Word, rising up to life reborn, speaking peace, accepting scorn…”  Words to a song I appreciate.  

Faith is confidence in something hoped for, an assurance of what you may not now see.  By faith, it is seen.  I love it when faith comes around as a focus of our Scripture teaching, preaching, and meditations.  It’s foundational to seeking God and walking with God.

For Sunday, we will walk through Hebrews 10-12.  Highlighting the foundation, nature, and expressions of faith in God.  If you could read these three verses and follow the flow of teaching.  make note of the movements, how the writer moves from here to there and builds on the understanding of faith.  After reading and following the flow of teaching there, what would you say is FAITH? 

See you Sunday,
  Pastor Mark

2026-02-15: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Salvation – Victory over Sin, Death, and Hell!

Since September we have been on a focused Discipleship Journey through the heart of the Gospel, painting the Biblical Worldview: ‘In the beginning… Shalom!’  ‘Not the way it’s supposed to be!’  ‘In Christ, the now but not yet!’  And now we are entering, ‘Making all things new!’  Jesus is making all things new through the Spirit’s power and authority and through the invitation to his people to join him.  

This brings up the issue of authority.  Does Jesus have authority over our lives?  The Old and New Testament are filled with instruction, wisdom, guidance on what it looks like for Jesus to have authority over our lives.  Are we cooperative with God in this work of transformation and renewal of God making all things new for our thoughts, attitudes, desires, words, and actions?  

The Gospel writers understood Jesus authority and power.  His Lordship.  Matthew demonstrates this powerfully in chapter 8 of the Gospel with back to back to back stories demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah, Lord of heaven and earth.  God’s people for hundreds of years had been anticipating the Messiah’s arrival, recognized by having authority over three things: nature, sickness, and the demonic.  Read Matthew chapter 8 and there it is plainly to see and recognize.  

Jesus is the Messiah, he is Lord of all.  Does he have authority over you?  What are the signs of Jesus Lordship?  Can you see evidence?   

See you Sunday,
  Pastor Mark

2026-02-08: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Salvation – Resurrection! Welcome Back!  From Death to Life 

Do you believe in the resurrection?  It’s an astounding belief.  Easy to doubt and be skeptical, for we know that ‘dead means dead.’  And to believe in the resurrection is to believe that there has only been one exception to the truth, ‘dead means dead.’  The claims of Jesus.  

Believing in the resurrection of Jesus engages faith, but is far from irrational.  We can explore this together Sunday.  Do you ever feel there is more to life, a longing, a sense that there is something more?  That something more inkling and sense is the reality of the resurrection.  We are and the world is meant for something more.  

So, Do you believe in the resurrection?  A real body resurrection?  If you don’t, the Christian faith is all vanity… If you do, life is transformed now and later, for today, tomorrow, and the ever after.  It’s the central historic event of all history.  Do you believe it?

Read 1 Corinthians 15 and ponder the implications of this true, real, authentic, and life altering, transforming event. 

See you Sunday,
     Pastor Mark 

2026-02-01: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Salvation – Redeemed and Reconciled Part 2: God’s grace though the Son, our Holy, Human, Mediator 

Texts for Sunday: Job 9:33 and John 3:1-26  Hermetic principles.  Been looking into this.  Much information available from quick searches that tie this notion to ‘mentalism’ or eastern religions.  Yet, there are deep themes around it that resonate with a Biblical Worldview.  After all, ‘creation sings, around me rings, the music of the spheres’.  After all, everything was created by God, by God’s design, and so, we human beings are always observing God’s world leading us to create theories about God’s world, sometimes accurate, sometimes not so much.  Again, God’s design for us, in His image, to engage such things.  

Why mention this for the week? Our world is built on design – waves, correspondence, polarities, vibrations, rhythms… resignations.  As human beings, we too were designed to resonate, to be in relationship and rhythm with God and others.  It’s the beauty of being human, created in God’s image when we find this resonation (synchronization) with God.

Someone sent me this clip this week and got me thinking about God’s world, life in Christ, discipleship in following Jesus, etc.  Watch it, I’ll play it again at the beginning of the message on Sunday.   

 A couple questions to ponder: 

• We were made to resonate in relationship with God.  What does that mean?  How would that look?
• As 5 asynchronous pendulum clocks move in time to become synchronous with one another, how could this give insight to the following statement: We tend to become the average of our 5 closest friends.  
• A possible’ hermetic principle’ of human relationships: We tend to become like those we are in close proximity too and engage in the highest amplitude.  What do you think of that?  

The ramifications are many for our relationship with God and for discipleship with others.   See you Sunday,
            Pastor Mark

2026-01-25: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Salvation – Redeemed and Reconciled Part 1: Our Need for Jesus

I awoke today with overwhelming gratitude for the cosmic nature of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, that includes me, and includes you.  God, the Creator of the cosmos, the heavens and the earth, also, created me – created you.  I’m in awe of the Word of God, revealing God’s love for the world, and for me – reminded of the stunning reality that the cosmos and the world belong to God, thus, I too, (you too) belong to God.  From the opening words of Scripture (creation), to its telos (end), telling a story of God’s love in and through Jesus Christ for the world, for all of us, for me, for you.  And this fills life with purpose and wonder.  

As we continue to understand the love of God for us through what the Bible reveals as justification, atonement, redemption, and reconciliation, and the like, we further understand the purpose of our lives.  As we are grounded in God’s truth about his world, about us, his children, of God’s plan for his world and for us, realizing the depth of his love for us in Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, we understand who we are, whose we are… and our lives come into meaningful and purposeful focus.  

Scripture for Sunday: Job 9:33 and John 4:1-26.  We need a Mediator between God and us.  We are in need of ‘redeeming and reconciling’.  And Jesus is the One who achieves it.  Job expresses our need clearly for a Mediator.  And in Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, he reveals and demonstrates who he is, the Divine Mediator between us and God.     

See you Sunday,
       Pastor Mark

https://crestviewchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-18.mp3

2026-01-18: Guest Pastor Dave Beelen – Remember Your Baptism: God’s Delight

This Sunday we celebrate communion, have our fellowship meal post potluck, and welcome Pastor Dave Beelen, friend, mentor, and colleague of Mark and Deone, who will bring the message this Sunday.  We first met Dave while attending Madison Square for worship during college, and Dave took me (Mark) under his wing,  joining him in a Boys Club ministry.  During these years at Madison Square, an urban, multicultural, Christ centered, Holy Spirit filled church, we experienced the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  This place and space during college was an instrumental time of God shaping our lives together.  After college, Pastor Dave guided our pre-marriage counseling, married us, and over the years, baptized all of our children. Since then, we have connected with Dave periodically in our lives, a constant connection of relationship over 37 years.

During sabbatical 4 years ago, Dave and I reconnected on a more regular basis and continue to meet once a month, every month since.  Dave will lead a worship training time for all of Crestviews volunteers on Saturday morning, preach on Sunday, and attend our Deeper Roots time Sunday evening at the Madison House.  Dave and Mark will be on retreat together Monday and Tuesday.  Thank you Dave for making the trip from Western Michigan!

As we continue in our discipleship message series, the message will focus on our identity in Baptism!  See you all Sunday!

Pastor Mark

https://crestviewchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-11.mp3

2026-01-11: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Salvation – Atoned for!  Story of Temple and Sacrifice

Last week was Epiphany!  We began 2026 asking God for ‘revelation’, eyes opened to see, ears open to hear, feet ready to follow and hands ready to work, a heart eager to grow. Lord, hear our prayer.

Sunday was a significant Sunday in our discipleship series, turning the page from ‘not the way it’s supposed to be’ to ‘the now, but not yet.’  And this transition has everything to do with Jesus!  Jesus is God’s revelation of salvation – the greatest Epiphany!  We will explore God’s Word of truth (Scripture) and God’s living Word of truth (Jesus) to more fully understand, know, experience and live into God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.  Last week, justification.  This week, atonement.  Next week, redemption… In these next few weeks we will be moving between the Old and New Testaments to better know God’s plan of salvation!

Atonement: Do you ever wonder about all the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament?  Why all the shedding of blood?  What is the purpose of all the priestly roles of the Levites for God’s people?  Many have difficulty seeing the forest through the trees with these things… Let’s come together Sunday, seek God together, ask for an epiphany.

A couple of Scripture texts for preparation Sunday: Leviticus 16 (entire chapter), Isaiah 53 (entire chapter), and Romans 3:25-26.  What connections do you see between the Old Testament sacrifices, the prophecies of a Messiah (One who saves), and Jesus?  How does this impact your understanding of salvation in Jesus Christ?

For the Glory of God, God’s Kingdom come, God’s will be done,
Pastor Mark

https://crestviewchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-04.mp3

2026-01-04: Pastor Mark Quist – Gospel Discipleship: Salvation – Justified!  Story of Barabbas 

The new year has come and looking forward to our intentional return to our discipleship journey as we transition from ‘things are not the way they are supposed to be’ to the ‘now of Christ but not fully yet.’

Now that the Savior of the World has come, we ask the ‘so what’ and ‘what now’ of salvation.  We will dive deeper into understanding atonement, redemption, resurrection, justification, reconciliation… and some other essential and mind blowing benefits of life in Jesus.  God’s given us the plan, his plan for the world, and he invites us to join in!

Happy (and blessed) New Year (of our Lord), may the Shalom of God rule our world, may his kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

See you Sunday,
Pastor Mark

https://crestviewchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-21.mp3

2025-12-21: Pastor Mark Quist – Discipleship: Advent 4 – Love: God’s Salvation in Christ is Cosmic and It Looks Like Love

Good Morning and an early Merry Christmas greeting!  God demonstrates his love for the world by sending his (willing) Son to bring salvation to humanity – more than that, to the ends of the earth!  It began with God’s Son taking on humanity (fully human and fully God), becoming incarnate in the flesh.  Why would God do this, become this?  Because God loves what he has made (John 3:16).  Why incarnation?  It was necessary.  Only God’s power could bear the weight of sin and God’s wrath.  Only a human can pay for human sin.  Incarnation gives us both, and both are necessary for our salvation.

God’s love incarnate in Jesus opens the door for our salvation.  Because of Jesus, and only Jesus.  The salvation of God in Jesus Christ goes beyond personal, it’s COSMIC.

During Advent 2025, we have marveled at God’s COSMIC salvation in Jesus, for it looks like (is like) hope, peace, joy, and love on earth.  Sunday, we focus on God’s love in and through Jesus.  Join us Sunday for our pre-Christmas celebration with a telling of God’s story (a pageant/skit), communion, and a fellowship meal.

When it comes to God’s salvation in Jesus, what does it look like to embody God’s love and respond to it?  Think practical and tangible.  Think every day living.  Think about relationships.  Salvation gets authentically real really fast.

See you Sunday,
Pastor Mark