When facing hard questions, a person's natural first inclination is to try and find out what other people think about it. We Google it, read articles about it, and see what other people say about it. We are being formed by the thoughts of others. Is that OK? Is that a good plan? Should we base what we believe simply on what others believe? Or is there a better way?
We talk often about "being saved" in church. For people who have been saved, the purpose of life changes. For a saved person, what is that new found purpose? Listen to find out more.
Facing persecution is something Jesus warned his followers about. Many times. Yet, most of Jesus followers today are avoiding it at all costs. Do we believe Jesus when he said that facing persecution is actually a mark of a blessed life?
In a world full of conflict, Jesus calls us to something radically different: to be peacemakers. This week, we unpack what Biblical peacemaking really looks like, how it goes beyond conflict avoidance, and how it reflects the very character of God who made peace with us through His son Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells his listeners that people with pure hearts will be... blessed. Or happy. Which is what most people are looking for. So the question we have to ask is, "How, then, do we get pure hearts?"
God the Father shows Jesus-followers mercy, both now and forever, and it's from a place of having received mercy that Jesus-followers cannot help themselves but show mercy to others.
Jesus teaches us that those who hunger and thirst for right relationships will live the blessed life in his upside-down kingdom. Our desire for rightness in our relationships with God and each other honors him and moves us to take action to bring restoration into many different spaces in our life.
Jesus adds another one to his "string of blessings" we call the Beatitudes, and this one isn't any less confusing than the first two. Jesus, instead of advocating for aggression and a go-getter attitude, he tells his followers that meekness is one of the keys to a blessed life.
If Jesus didn't confuse them with the first Beatitude about being the happiness found in being poor in spirit, he really catches them off guard by telling them happiness is found in mourning! What does Jesus mean here? And what are we supposed to mourn about? Listen to find out more.
Jesus opens up the most famous sermon of all time with a beautiful poem about happiness, which is the number one thing most people in the world are looking for. Have you found happiness? Have you heard where Jesus says it can be found?
Sometimes, the story of Jesus, who He was, what He did, and what it means can be confusing. In this message, the good news of Jesus is plainly shared and an invitation is made to become a follower of Jesus.
Sometimes, the story of Jesus, who He was, what He did, and what it means can be confusing. In this message, the good news of Jesus is plainly shared and an invitation is made to become a follower of Jesus.
Jesus, at the end of his life, demonstrates complete trust in the Father. He puts it all in His hands. How are we to respond to this act of complete trust?
Jesus cried from the cross that God had forsaken him. He did this because something cosmic, something prophetic and something personal was happening on the cross. Listen to find out more.
Of the seven things Jesus said on the cross, this is the least well-known one. Jesus looks down at his mother, his mother's friends, and one of his disciples, and emphasizes the reality and importance of being in a spiritual family.
Jesus' humanity is on full display when he cries out from the cross, "I am thirsty." It proves that this was not an out-of-body experience for Jesus, but that he felt the whole thing. All for us.
Two criminals were crucified on either side of Jesus. They both had the same experience. But they each had completely different interactions with Jesus. What was the difference, and why does it matter? Listen to find out more.
Looking down at the people who literally hung him on the cross, Jesus prays that God the Father will forgive them. This is an incredible act of "enemy love" - which is what Jesus preached. What does this mean for us? What questions do we need to answer in response to this incredible story of forgiveness?
Many lessons on prayer can be learned from the mundane, in ministry, and in misery. These lessons and biblical truths can bring about a rich lifestyle of prayer.
What makes Three Creeks... Three Creeks? What does our church value the most? What kind of church do we want to be? Listen to find out more.
As we wrap up the book of Ruth, we find that the last five verses are a list of names that are hard to pronounce? Why is that in there, and why should we pay attention to it? Listen to find out more.
It might be easy to simply read the book of Ruth and remember it as a sweet story. But the deeper you look into it, the more you're able to see that the story of Ruth foreshadows the story of Jesus in a powerful way! Listen to find out more.
Ruth is single. Boaz is single. They both want a family. So, the obvious next step is... a late night chat on a threshing floor next to a pile of recently winnowed wheat? Interesting. Listen to find out more.
What is joy? How is it different than happiness? Do we have to go out and find joy? Or does it come to us? Listen to find out more.
Ruth, a lonely foreigner in Israel, gets up and gets after it. She finds herself looking for food in a field, and that field just happens to belong to a rich, good man named Boaz. And the rest is history...
Naomi, crushed by the circumstances of her life, chooses not to hide her pain but to express it. It's a deep, gut-level, indescribably pain she's living through. And yet, in the middle of that, she puts one foot in front of the other and returns all the way back to Bethlehem, symbolizing a repentance and return to God's plan for her life. She laments, and repents, and draws out the kindness of God through these simple, rare acts of faith.
In one of the loveliest short stories ever written, packed with literary art and theological insight, we meet Ruth a few verses into the first chapter of this book. Just after meeting Ruth, we read about one of the most decisive moments in world history. Ruth has a decision to make. Which way will she go? Listen to find out more.
God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. If your story doesn't seem very good right now, Mary and Joseph can relate. But the story wasn't over for them and it isn't over for you. Take heart. The arrival of Jesus changes everything.
Paul starts and ends his letter to his spiritual son Timothy with the same word. Grace.
Life and ministry will be hard because people and the world are broken by sin. In spite of all the hardness, as Christians, we are never alone. The Lord stands by us. The power of the gospel cannot be thwarted by sinful humans.
