afterWord with Pastor Kent

Is the Church Built for Married People? (Part 1): What Scripture Says About Singleness

Pastor Kent Dresdow and Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer take up a listener question submitted at NorthCreek's Great Family Gathering — a layered, honest inquiry about the place of single adults in the church. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 7, they address whether singleness is treated as a holding pattern until marriage, how the church attempts to create genuine community for singles across all life stages, and why the vast majority of Scripture speaks to the Christian life in ways that apply regardless of marital status. The conversation is pastoral and candid, including honest reflection on where the church can do better and encouragement for those who feel unseen in a church culture that talks a lot about marriage. Are you finding genuine community at your church, or does it feel like the programming is built around someone else's life stage? When you hear the word "singleness," do you instinctively frame it as a problem to be solved? Have you considered the ways Paul's commendation of singleness in 1 Corinthians 7 might reframe how you see your own season of life?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

The Cracks Are the Point: Gospel Power in Jars of Clay

In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow sits down with Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer and Pastor Jeremy Pray to reflect on 2 Corinthians 4:7–12 — a passage that surfaced during a recent staff and elders retreat. Drawing on a message from Pastor Dave Harvey, the conversation centers on the "clay pot" image Paul uses to describe the relationship between ordinary human vessels and the surpassing power of God. The discussion unpacks what it means to "polish the pot" — the tendency to hide weakness, perform strength, and mistake outward polish for gospel effectiveness — and why Paul's logic runs exactly the opposite direction: the cracks in the pot are where the light gets out. The guys also work through verses 10–12 and the striking truth that death is at work in leaders so that life comes to the people they serve, before landing on verses 16–18 and the encouragement that the inner man is renewed even as the outer one fades. Do you find yourself trying to minimize weakness rather than let God work through it? Are there places in your life — suffering, limitation, or slow seasons — that you're tempted to despise rather than trust? When you think about who God most glorifies, do you default to the prominent and active, or can you see His power at work in obscurity and frailty? And what would change if you genuinely believed that your places of death are producing life in the people around you?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

What's Happening in College and Singles Ministry?: An Inside Look at Reaching the Next Generation

Pastor Kent Dresdow sits down with Adam Chiappelone, NorthCreek's Director of College and Singles, for a wide-ranging conversation about the church's ministry to young adults. Adam shares his own story — from a near-fatal fall at Yosemite that God used to arrest his attention, to his training at Talbot and Master's Seminary, to nearly two decades of shepherding college students and singles at NorthCreek. The conversation covers the structure and vision behind Interchange, Impact, and Kaleo, the challenges facing this generation (fragmented attention, weak spiritual disciplines, and the erosion of rest), and what it looks like to disciple young people toward real commitments — to Christ, to the local church, and to one another. Adam also shares the story behind Kērussō, NorthCreek's campus ministry at UC Berkeley, which grew from a conversation with three women and a commitment to simply open the Bible. Do you have the kind of spiritual habits that could serve as a model to a younger believer who is watching your life? If you are in a season of singleness, are you using it as a season of purposeful growth rather than waiting for life to begin? When is the last time you genuinely unplugged long enough to sit with God and his Word without distraction? And for those further along — are you actively investing in the generation behind you, or leaving that work to someone else? Welcome to NorthCreek Church! In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world. Connect With Us: Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598 Online Resources: Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

Where Should Your Money Go? (Part 2): Giving to the Church, the Poor, and Those in Need

Pastor Kent Dresdow, Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer, and Pastor Jeremy Pray return to the topic of Christian giving with a set of practical questions left over from Part 1. The conversation moves from biblical principles to everyday application — wrestling with where giving should be directed, how the local church functions as the primary channel for generosity, what role parachurch ministries play, how to care for the poor and those in immediate need, and how married couples should approach giving as a shared act of worship. Along the way, the pastors share honest observations about giving patterns in evangelical churches and offer pastoral encouragement to those just starting out. Are you and your spouse making giving decisions together, or has it quietly become one person's domain? If you've been a Christian for several years, have you ever honestly evaluated whether your giving has grown — or stalled? When someone in your church has a financial need, do you see that as the church's job to handle, or as an opportunity for you personally?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

What Does the Bible Say About Giving? (Part 1): Stewardship and the Cheerful Heart

In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow, Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer, and Pastor Jeremy Pray open a conversation that rarely gets a full hearing: what does Scripture actually say about Christian giving? Beginning with the admission that the topic often goes unaddressed, the three work through key passages including 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 8–9, Philippians 4:10–20, and a brief visit to Malachi 3 — tracing the biblical vision of giving not as a financial obligation but as an act of worship. The discussion covers the tithe, the distinction between Old Covenant law and New Covenant generosity, how to think about giving under financial pressure, and why Scripture consistently frames the giving of the local church as something warm and deeply personal before the Lord. Do you think of your giving as an act of worship, or does it mostly feel like a line item? If you're in debt or under financial pressure, have you ever talked with a pastor or elder about how to navigate giving faithfully rather than stopping altogether? When the offering plate passes, what is it doing to your heart — and what would it look like to let that moment be a genuine prayer of trust?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"