Teaching & News From Eastgate PCB

Rob Woodrum & Others
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Teachings from Eastgate Christian Fellowship in Panama City Beach Florida

  1. 5d ago

    Matthew #55: Proximity Doesn't Mean Transformation

    Matthew #55: Proximity Doesn't Mean Transformation (Matthew 26:1-16) Lawana Schreifer & Nate Prepelka Download Join us as Nate and Lawana continue in our study of the book of Matthew. Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

  2. Jun 14

    Matthew #54: Identifying With The Insignificant

    Matthew #54: Identifying With The Insignificant (Matthew 25:31-46) Janelle Greene (6/14/26) Download I once had a job where I wasn’t entirely sure what I was supposed to be doing. Every time my boss walked into the room, I suddenly felt the need to look busy. The problem was that I wasn’t even sure whether what I was doing was close to what was actually expected of me. Maybe you’ve felt that way before. Have you ever wondered if you’re spending your time on the things that matter most? Have you ever wished someone would simply tell you exactly what was expected? I know someone who started a new job and never received any training. A few weeks in, some friends asked how things were going. He replied, “To be honest, I still have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.” His friends were stunned and asked what he did all day. He said, “Well, I found a clipboard. Every now and then I walk around looking busy, and I make sure to walk somewhere with a sense of urgency.” As you might expect, he did not last long in that position. This Sunday, we will finish the final section of what is often called the Olivet Discourse. In these teachings, Jesus responds to His disciples’ questions about the fulfillment of God’s kingdom and His return. Interestingly, Jesus does not focus primarily on when these things will happen. Instead, He focuses on how His followers should live while they wait. Throughout this section of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has used parables to answer those questions. He has been showing His disciples that waiting for His return is not passive. It is a time of purposeful and faithful service. This Sunday, we will study the parable of the sheep and the goats. If you’ve ever wondered what our job is while we wait for his return, this passage offers some of the clearest answers in all of Scripture. It challenges us to examine our lives and ask a sobering question: If Jesus returned today, would my priorities line up with what Jesus has defined in scripture? We invite you to join us this Sunday at 10:00 AM as we study Matthew 25:31–46 together and consider both what Jesus’ return will look like and what He calls us to do until that day. Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    42 min

  3. Jun 7

    Matthew #53: The Risk of Grace

    Matthew #53: The Risk of Grace (Matthew 25:14-30) Rob Woodrum (6/7/26) This week we’ll be reading a very familiar parable – what is often called “The Parable of the Talents”, in Matthew 25:14-30. As you read this story, remember that parables aren’t meant to be exact representations of God’s kingdom in all the details. Jesus said it is “like” this sort of thing. The most important element of this story to discern is just what Jesus meant the bags of silver to represent. Older translations call this money “talents”, which is a literal translation. A talent was Roman currency. We get our English word “talent” from this parable, interestingly enough. Do you think Jesus is talking about money? Probably not, since money is the image he’s employing. Do you think he’s talking about our skills though? What else do we know that God has entrusted to us, his subjects, to manage while our King isn’t presently seen? The element of investing the talents is intriguing to me. It carries the implication of risk-taking. What would taking risks with what God has entrusted to us look like in our lives? What would it look like in our churches? The third steward in this story seemed to speak respectfully to his master. But what do you think his actions actually revealed? Contrast the way the first two stewards interacted with the master and the third stewards assessment of what the master is like. What do you make of that contrast, if anything? Here’s a hint – how did the Pharisees understand God’s nature in contrast to Jesus’ revelation of God? We’ll have a lot to think about as we engage this passage on Sunday. I hope you can join us! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    43 min

  4. May 31

    Matthew #52: Waiting For The Wedding

    Matthew #52: Waiting For The Wedding (Matthew 25:1-13) Rob Woodrum (5/31/26) It seems like every culture has a different approach to weddings and the rituals associated with them. This Sunday, as we continue our study in Matthew, we’ll be reading about the unusual wedding rituals of ancient Palestine as we study chapter 25:1-13. As you read the parable that Jesus tells, what do you believe the main point is?  How comfortable or uncomfortable are you with the topic of the end times? If you knew for sure that Jesus was going to return within the next hour, is there anything you would do differently? It’s interesting to note that both sets of girls fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom during a long delay. The only time the differences began to show up between them was when the alarm was sounded. One group was prepared, one was not. In what ways can we see to it that we are prepared for the reveal of Christ as King? I think this will be an interesting topic for our study – plus, we’ll be celebrating Communion – hope you can join us this Sunday at 10 AM! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    34 min

  5. May 24

    Matthew #51 Faithfully Waiting

    Matthew #51: Faithfully Waiting (Matthew 24:36-51) Rob Woodrum (5/24/26) Download My wife and oldest daughter were in Chicago once, trying to navigate our way to my son’s house on the city’s train service. This was back before it became much easier and all on your phone – at that time we had to buy metro cards and load them with the proper amount for our trip. My daughter had gotten hers in order and had gone through the turnstiles, but my wife and I encountered a problem and the cards wouldn’t work. “Wait for us on that side, we’ll be there soon!” we shouted to her above the noise on the busy platform. We finally got things squared away, paying more than we probably needed to, inserted our cards and moved through the turnstiles to look for my daughter. She was nowhere to be found. We looked around, confused and feeling a bit panicked, when we heard a shout from behind us. There she was, back from where we had just come, on the other side of the turnstiles, smiling sheepishly. “I got tired of waiting and came to see if I could help.” she offered. Happily, she got through and we made it to our train…but just barely. It can be a frustrating thing when we’ve asked someone to wait for us, and they don’t do it or befuddle a plan by doing something extra. It can be a devastating thing if we fail to wait faithfully for Jesus when he told us to. This Sunday we’ll be reading Matthew 24:36-51 in our study of that Gospel. In our text, Jesus makes it as explicit as he can that nobody will know just when Jesus will return. It’s astonishing how many ignore that bit of Scripture. Jesus will use a few picture to emphasize the point. It will be like the days of Noah – everything going along as it always had until it doesn’t. Some will be swept away in judgement, others will remain behind in safety. The only difference, apparently, is their faithfulness in waiting. Then Jesus tells a parable to explain what faithful waiting looks like. What was the faithful servant doing when the landowner returned? How does that contrast with the unfaithful servant – what parts are common denominators in both their descriptions? What do you think we learn about the nature of faithfully waiting for Jesus to return? What might it entail in a real-life scenario? Hopefully we’ll be challenged and grow from our exploration of this text. We’ll have a missions update from Suzy Zechman about In Deed and Truth ministries as well! Hope you can join us! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    31 min

  6. May 17

    Matthew #50: Wise Living In A Troubled World

    Matthew #50: Wise Living In A Troubled World (Matthew 24:15-35) Rob & Janelle (5/17/26) Download This Sunday we’ll be continuing our trek through Matthew 24, reading v15-35. Much of what Jesus predicts in this section deals with the upcoming siege of Jerusalem, a prediction that was fulfilled in 70 AD. As we did last week, we’ll focus on the instructions we receive from Jesus concerning how we respond and live in light of the temporal nature of this world’s systems. As  you read through the passage, pay attention to the places where Jesus gives specific instructions to his disciples and consider how those instructions would apply to our lives in this present world. While so much of our modern Church’s interest is in the speculations about when, what and who of these predictions, Jesus seems to focus on more pragmatic issues. What can that tell us about how we, as the Church, should respond to these words? This will, hopefully, be an encouraging study – I hope you can join us this Sunday at 10 AM. Click here for a PDF of the teaching slideshow.

    48 min

  7. May 13

    Matthew #49: Living In A Fading World

    Matthew #49: Living In A Fading World (Matthew 24:1-14) Rob Woodrum (5/10/26) Download This Sunday we’ll be starting chapter 24 of Matthew’s gospel this Sunday reading the first 14 verses. End time predictions are almost a cottage industry in the Church over the years…needless to say, we won’t be adding to those. What we’ll learn from Jesus is that there is a presupposition of the world’s ending. It’s how we live in the time we have that’s truly important. v1-3 give us the overall heading of this section. Jesus predicts the end of something – what is it? The disciples ask him when this will happen, and what sign to look for to signal his coming. Do you find that odd? He’s right in front of them – why are they asking about his coming? They didn’t expect him to leave – what were they talking about? The word “coming” in the Greek is “parousia” – the arrival of a king. They are asking when he’ll be revealed as King and bring the present, broken world to it’s conclusion. They don’t realize it, but they are asking two different questions. What then, are the two subjects in view in this section? Jesus describes things that sound like current events to us and could be alarming – except for what Jesus says in v6. What are these events, in his view? Instead of giving his disciples a straight forward answer about when these things would happen – what does Jesus say to his disciples as instruction? (hint: v4, v6, v13) Before things really end, what is happening according to v14? What is our mission then, in light of the end? Does knowing when the end may come have any bearing on what our mission is? Does it change? If not, what does that tell us? We may not all agree on how to view eschatology (views on the “end times”), but that should never be a reason to divide us. Let’s approach this text as objectively as we can and see what we may learn by God’s Spirit. See you this Sunday! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    41 min

  8. May 3

    Matthew #48: Bad Religion

    Matthew #48: Bad Religion (Matthew 23:1-39) Janelle Greene (5/3/26) Download Join us as we continue our study of the book of Matthew. In this passage, Jesus pronounces woes upon the religious leaders. Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    45 min
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