Creekside Church

06/03/2026

Women’s Missionary Outreach (WMO) will be meeting tomorrow, Thursday, June 4th at 9:30 AM for a workday at Creekside.

05/31/2026

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” (Acts 8:35)

Guest speaker and friend of Creekside John Ottley preached today from Acts 8 and a divinely appointed meeting in the desert between two unlikely people in a chariot over a scroll of Isaiah.

John’s message followed a prayer send-off for our team headed for Immanuel Mission this coming week.

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John Ottley :: Creekside Church :: Sunday, May 31, 2026 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” (Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭35‬) Guest speaker and fri

05/31/2026

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” (Augustine)

05/31/2026

One third of the New Testament is quotations or allusions from the Old Testament—mostly from the book of Isaiah.

05/31/2026

"God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them." (John Piper)

05/31/2026

Today’s message is from Acts 8:26-40:

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went.

And there was an Ethiopian, a eu**ch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”

And the eu**ch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eu**ch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eu**ch, and he baptized him.

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eu**ch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

05/30/2026

For those planning on going on the Immanuel Mission next week, there's a meeting immediately following tomorrow's 10:30 Connect service upstairs in the youth room (lunch provided—please wear your Immanuel Mission shirt for a photo!)

05/29/2026

Guest speaker John Ottley will be preaching this Sunday at 10:30. Please join us at Creekside or online at CreeksideDM.com/live.

05/28/2026

“Bill” stood in the airport sweating profusely in anticipation of his flight overseas. He joined our team going to share our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with those attending the ministry a local pastor and wife had planned for their community.

“Bill’s” decision to go cost him cash for the trip, comfort and convenience. He was neither a teacher nor an evangelist, he had never been out of the country, and he was leaving family and work behind. “Bill” offered expensive worship as sisters Martha and Mary did in their response to Jesus’ raising their brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11:28-44).

A few days before His crucifixion at a supper in Jesus’ honor, Martha was serving in the way Jesus exemplified and expects from His followers (Mark 10:45; John 13:14-15). Mary joined Martha in modeling expensive worship.

“Mary then took a pound (A “pound” in ancient Rome was 12 ounces) of very costly perfume…and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair…” (John 12:3). Mark’s gospel tells us that Mary “broke the vial.” She used all of this perfume (worth a year’s wages) to anoint Jesus. Mary’s was a complete, costly, and choice offering to the Lord with which He was very pleased.

That Mary “wiped His feet with her hair” was a gesture considered indecent at best and immoral at worst. By humbly performing a slave’s task, risking personal shame and financial loss, her expensive worship revealed her deep devotion to and honor for the Lord.

There are numerous accounts of someone witnessing Mother Teresa of Calcutta caring for the poor and declaring, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” Mother Teresa supposedly replied with a wry smile, “Neither would I.” She wasn’t there for love of money but love for Jesus.

The highest motivation for expensive worship for Martha, Mary, “Bill,” Mother Teresa, or for any follower of Jesus is a genuine realization of Christ’s Identity as Savior and a personal reception of His forgiving mercy.

Christ served by sacrificing His life so that all who believe in Him will be forgiven, given His righteousness, resourced by the Spirit to live rightly, and rewarded with eternal glory in Heaven. Every Christ follower’s gratitude for His gracious gift of salvation necessarily spills over into expensive worship for who He is and what He has done.

“The Love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all…that we should no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Recipients of the Lord’s favor (forgiveness) respond by giving Him honor (expensive worship).
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Pastor Steve's article, "Expensive Worship," for the June issue of Urbandale Living Magazine and others can be found at CreeksideDM.com/articles.