On the surface, hearing God and following His commands seems straightforward. However, when God calls us to do something that generates fear in us and feels daunting, second-guessing His call becomes reasonable. Finding the courage to obey such a call is overwhelming....
Vote for Jesus
It seems clear that Jesus wants to shape culture. To ultimately transform the conscience and morality of a people. His disciples anticipated that Jesus was about to establish a political machine capable of toppling the Roman Empire. But that’s not what Jesus did. The...
He’s Got Your Back
“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord." Isaiah 54:17 OBSERVATION Reading this verse we can be assured...
A New Heaven and A New Earth
God makes all things new. He is about taking the brokenness brought on by sin and offering a new reality. God’s plans for a believer’s eternity are staggering in immensity and joy. We will exist forever on a new earth—a reality more alive than our present existence....
The Throne of God
"Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give...
A New Purpose
Living without purpose is not really living at all. When you find new life in Christ, you can then find a new purpose—an investment of your life that makes sense and brings glory to God. If someone asked, “What is your purpose in life?” how would you respond? Those of...
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...
Kids Experience May 17
They were able to have determination Peter and John saw many things and they went back to their friends and told them about everything God had done. Lots of people who had seen the healed man and heard Peter’s message about Jesus put their faith in Him. The number of...
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...
Finishing Well
How would you end your last words to someone? As Paul ends his second letter to Timothy, he works through a list that feels out of place at first. Honestly, it’s part of the letter that we tend to skip when we read it. But what if God has something significant to...
Life in Perilous Times
When Paul writes to Timothy, he describes the last days as perilous times. They are days filled with evil and evil doers. The last days began when Jesus left the earth. And until Christ returns, we are to live godly lives and become agents of change. At the same time,...
Strong in Grace
Strength is found in the grace of God. The things we learn from God are worth passing along to others—those who are showing themselves faithful already. Living for God and investing in others is always related to faithful endurance. Life is difficult and so is life...
Suffering for the Gospel
As Paul writes his last words, he encourages Timothy to remember the gospel in kind of a strange way: he urges Timothy to join with him in suffering for the gospel. Is there a different way to see suffering? In this message, we’ll see how God empowers us to maintain...
The Strength to Live for God
Our lives are better when we believe in Jesus and when someone else believes in us. We need to know we’re not alone. We have a valuable contribution to make as we remember the gospel and share it with others. And we don’t have to be afraid. We can know we’re empowered...
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...
The Story of Your Life
Your life is a story. Its chapters are filled with joys and sorrows, successes and failures, good people and hurtful people. Maybe you’ve found it difficult to follow the plotline at times. But there are no wasted experiences in your life. That’s because the main...
Becoming Unoffendable
Seems like there’s plenty to be upset about in our world. We can even get personally offended by the actions and comments of others around us. Here’s a radical, relational idea: What if you can become unoffendable? That’s right—unoffendable. It’s rare but possible....
Paul & Power
Week 7 Paul & Power Week 7 Most of us measure success by whether or not we achieved the desired outcome. Success means achievement. Success, therefore, is rooted in our ability to control processes and circumstances to achieve the outcomes we want. But as we learn...
The Secret Path to Courage
Sometimes secrets are meant to be told—especially when those secrets could help us change for the better. For many people, finding courage can be a difficult assignment. But what if we all discovered the secret path to courage? Maybe it’s possible to create a...
A Way to Wander
The Bible is a book about wanderers and it was written for people who wander. Throughout its pages we find that those who follow after God are often led to places they never thought God would take them; to forsaken places of wilderness and times of confusion and...
The Nudge to Judge
We’ve all felt its stinging effects. And we’ve all wielded its destructive sword. Judgment. Jesus plainly tells us not to judge others. What does He mean by that? Dig a little deeper into the Scriptures and you’ll discover a strange twist: We’re actually encouraged to...