Philippians
Learning Contentment

Learning Contentment

Contentment is one of those difficult to define qualities that’s even more challenging to put into practice and actually experience. Growing in this quality is a continual process that can’t be rushed. Whether you are very aware of your discontent or feel mostly...

Stand

Stand

What would it look like for you to stand strong in your life right now? At different times in life, internal and external pressures can force us to lose our footing and direction. As we near the conclusion of the letter to the Philippians, we find encouragement to...

Eyes on the Prize

Eyes on the Prize

It’s not uncommon to find people who begin to pursue Christ with unbridled enthusiasm only to see them falter when life gets hard. A believer who pursues Christ must do so with a Spirit-empowered perspective. Paul had a deep desire to know Jesus more and more. And he...

Finding Your Confidence

Finding Your Confidence

So many factors conspire against our living in a way that pleases God. We not only deal with our inner struggles, but we must also face people who sound well-intentioned but oppose the ways of God. We can unwittingly embrace a conspiracy of confidence in our...

Connecting and Reconnecting Others

Connecting and Reconnecting Others

As followers of Jesus we are able to share with one another the rewards and joys of our faith as well as its demands and sorrows. In doing so, we come to experience the love and comfort of belonging to a community of believers that is as concerned for us as we are for...

Our Work and God’s Work

Our Work and God’s Work

Christian growth is complex but simple. God does His part, we do ours. Put another way, God invites us into a cooperative work with Him. And part of that process involves how we treat each other. It really does matter. Our attitude toward each other often speaks...

Really Living

Really Living

Have you ever had a moment when you thought, “Now, I’m really living!”? Maybe that feeling came with a thrilling moment, significant achievement, or meaningful experience. All of us want to experience that good life, but those feelings of “really living” seem to fade...

A Clear Perspective In Unclear Circumstances

A Clear Perspective In Unclear Circumstances

Experiencing hardships is a normal part of life that can cause us to focus on negative feelings and anxiously anticipate negative outcomes. Being courageous followers of Jesus Christ doesn’t exempt us from these experiences and may, in fact, be the cause of them and...

Knowing Yourself and Your God

Knowing Yourself and Your God

Getting to know God ranks high on the list of life’s most meaningful quests. God has revealed Himself to us. He is knowable. And we can grow to know Him in deeper and deeper ways. But our knowledge of God is always connected to the knowledge of ourselves. As we get to...

A Good God

A Good God

Nothing challenges our view of God like challenges. Maybe, lately, you feel like you’ve had your share of obstacles and hardships. When we’re pressured with difficulties, our idea of a good God can end up on the chopping block. How can God be good when evil exists and...

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...

A New Purpose

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...

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...

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...

Crossing the Finish Line

Crossing the Finish Line

If our life with God is described as a race, it’s natural to assume we’ll one day cross the finish line. Life begins when you believe in Jesus as your Savior. Although heaven is then guaranteed, it really does matter how you live. Living for God means you’re pleasing...

Staying on Course

Staying on Course

Your life with God is the race of your life. But as you run, it’s easy to get off course. Be alert to the things that hinder your running. There’s no guarantee you’ll run well. So, fix your eyes on Jesus and run for His approval. Stay on course and live to please...

The Race of Your Life

The Race of Your Life

You may not consider yourself a runner but you’re in a race. The race of your life. What would it look like for you to win this race? Running the race begins with finding the starting line. Life starts with Jesus. Then, life is run with Jesus. What might you need to...

Game Ready

Game Ready

The results on the playing field are largely determined off of it. In sports, in work, on the battlefield, even in our relationships, much of our success in the moment of engagement is determined by the work we did or didn't do preparing ourselves for it. In short,...

Get Your Hands Dirty

Get Your Hands Dirty

Following Jesus calls us out of the bleachers and into the game. But being in the game means we have to get out of our comfort zones and get our hands dirty. This willingness to lay aside ourselves is at the heart of volunteering. In this message, we’ll see how Jesus...

the god of control

the god of control

There is one true God. But all around us are substitute gods competing for our devotion. You don’t have to bow down to a statue to be an idolater. False gods are everywhere. One false god that screams for our attention is the god of control. When we’re satisfied only...

Come and Die

Come and Die

When we believe, Jesus invites us to follow Him and live with Him as apprentices of His way. This is an invitation to come and die to ourselves in order to follow Him into a new life with the Father. To die to our sin, our brokenness, our plans to save ourselves, and...