Anxiety
Drinking Beauty

Drinking Beauty

God paints on a large canvas. His creativity is seen in the grandeur of the mountains, in the wildflowers on a rolling hillside, in classic masterpieces in an art gallery, or in the curious expression on the face of a child. Beauty is all around us. But seeing it...

Pausing to Detach

Pausing to Detach

So much about the pace of life conspires against us. We might even be convinced that the faster we go and the busier we become, the more we’ll get done. But what does that kind of toxicity do to our souls? Could it be that God invites us to find Him through a...

Where You Do Not Want to Go

Where You Do Not Want to Go

Saying that Jesus is Lord, implies surrendering to His will over ours. No matter how you frame it, surrender is frightening. When we surrender, we are vulnerable. When we surrender someone else determines our path and can take us where we do not want to go. Jesus...

Contentment Matters

Contentment Matters

Everywhere we look, we are confronted with messages telling us about the things we need to be happy and whole. If only we can get, the better phone, go on the better vacation, drive the better car, get into the better college, then we will be content. We will be...

The Final Victory

The Final Victory

Jesus is distinct from any other political leader. He is God in the flesh. He is a coming King. He will bring earthly powers into account. He will win the final victory. It’s not unusual these days to hear people ask, “Is this the end times.” Maybe. God tells us what...

When a Loved One is Struggling

When a Loved One is Struggling

When a Loved One is StrugglingWe are blessed to live in a time and society where conversations about mental health are not only accepted but supported. The open conversations in our culture surrounding mental health have created an environment in society where people...

When To Seek Professional Help

When To Seek Professional Help

When to Seek Professional Help  A counselor I know once described therapy like this: There are the things about ourselves that we know we know. How much sleep we need to be able to function in the morning or what foods will make us sick. There are also things...

New Direction

New Direction

When we find ourselves moving in a certain direction and focused on our goals, it can be jarring to feel like God suddenly is taking us in a new direction. It's hard to consider that what we are currently building is no longer necessary or worse, futile all along. We...

New Habits

New Habits

Habits can have a profound impact on our lives in both good and bad ways. And often, we’re unaware of how much we do in our lives simply by force of habit. We’ll discuss how modern behavioral science is catching up to what the church has known for thousands of years...

Living By Faith AND Living with Anxiety

Living By Faith AND Living with Anxiety

Living By Faith AND Living With Anxiety  hen I was a child, I was terrified of thunder and lightning. During a thunderstorm, you could count on finding me hiding behind the couch or under the dining room table. My parents would attempt to...

Coping in Crisis: Five Ways to Maintain Mental Health

Coping in Crisis: Five Ways to Maintain Mental Health

Coping in Crisis: Five Ways to Maintain Mental Healtho one wants to have mental health issues, but the truth is that life can be painful and difficult at times. As humans, we can and do break. For the overwhelming majority of us, mental health...

A New Mind

A New Mind

There is a powerful connection between how we think and how we live. We’re not always aware of those connections, but what we think about and how we think about it directs our actions and responses. The Bible draws a direct connection between spiritual transformation...

Our Finest Hour

Our Finest Hour

It’s possible to experience “our finest hour” in the most challenging of situations. That’s true, in part, because God uses hardships and difficulties to reveal what’s inside of us. Then, we can change and become better with His help. It’s ambitious to envision our...

Faith Over Fear: How to Help Your Child Deal with Anxiety

Faith Over Fear: How to Help Your Child Deal with Anxiety

ne of the most important things we can teach our children is that their strength comes from Christ, while fear is from the enemy. 2 Timothy 1:7  While this is true, fear and caution in children is normal and expected, particularly during stressful...

The Burden I Give You is Light

The Burden I Give You is Light

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the...

A Healthy Body

A Healthy Body

We are the Church. The Church is the Body Christ. When this Body is healthy, God uses us to change history. That happens with the Body is mobilized by love. The world sees the hope they are searching for when we reach out to them in love. However, if we give in to...

Finding God in the Darkness

Finding God in the Darkness

ASL Interpretation - Message OnlyThe last week of Jesus’ life began with a parade of celebration and hope. He would be dead by the end of that week. What happened? Even in darkness, God is at work; it just doesn’t feel like it sometimes. And even though there is no...

Family Life Weekend

Family Life Weekend

ASL InterpretationHow do we build for the future when the future seems so uncertain? This week, we'll turn to Acts 2 to see how the early church began as a model for how we can continue to build the future of the Church together. As we follow their lead, we not only...

One Last Thing

One Last Thing

Last words are important words. Books have been written and lists compiled about the last things that famous and influential people have said. This week in our study of 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul will write his last and most important words to Timothy, his protégé....

Live as One Approved by God

Live as One Approved by God

Approval is something we all long for, especially from the people who matter most to us. There is something deep inside of us that craves knowing that others are pleased with what we do and who we are. Approval gives us a sense of meaning and significance in the...

Shalom

Shalom

Peace. We sing songs about it. We march for it. Demonstrate for it. Hold conferences about it and create think tanks to create it. We long for it. But it remains elusive. We live in a world broken by war, poverty, hatred, and illness, making peace seem impossible. Yet...