Most of our nativity scenes are filled with cute animals, a swaddled baby Jesus, wise men and angels joined together in worship, but did you know that Christmas has a dark side? The arrival of Jesus meant that a new king was coming, and this new king would threaten the rule of other kings.
When God spoke to Mary and Joseph He mentions that they were both people of faith and character. They weren't waiting to live faithfully once they heard from God, but living faithfully expecting Him to speak. Are you living a life of faith?
Part of God's plan to heal the world is the Church, but in order for that to happen the Church needs to be healthy. A healthy Church is one made up of individuals who have taken Jesus seriously at the call to "die to self". Will you risk everything for the sake of the kingdom? Are you all in?
Dallas Willard (a philosopher and scholar) said the world is “Our cultural and social practices, that are under the control of Satan and, thus, opposed to God''. Do you feel this to be true? If not, could it be that you feel more at home within the world than you do with Jesus? This is a tension we should all wrestle with.
In the fight against our flesh, (which scriptures describes as our disorders desires) we will need all the help we can get. The good news is Jesus hasn't left us on our own to win this fight. He's given us everything we need.
When you think about freedom what comes to mind? The ability to do whatever you want whenever you want? Ironically what the world calls freedom the Bible calls enslavement. When we act on our strongest desires instead of our deepest desires we fall victim to what the Bible calls our flesh or our sin nature. This is one of the great enemies of our souls.
Last week we talked about coming to terms with the reality that we are in a spiritual battle. Our greatest enemy in this battle is Satan, and his main weapon is lies and deception. With such a powerful force coming against us how can we as the people of God stand firm in this fight?
There is violence and chaos everywhere you look. The world is broken and dark. It does not take long to look around and just feel hopeless. On top of all that, we face a daily onslaught of attacks. We are tired, depressed, fearful, and anxious, and often we do not know why. It feels like at times it's a struggle to keep the faith, and the thought in our head keeps spinning, "Why is this happening? What is going on?" We are in a war church. That's why we are excited to kick off our Sunday series ...
The church on fire is great, but that's not God's dream. His dream is for the city to be reborn. So what does it take to see revival in our communities? What must we do to see our city reborn?
James addresses the tension we will feel as christians while living in a world that opposes us. He encourages us to remember that Jesus is returning while also teaching us how we should live in the waiting.
I believe that nothing reveals the heart of humanity more than what we do with our money. The tension we need to wrestle with is do we use our resources the way the world does, or do we reflect the heart of Christ in the way we earn and spend our money?
Most of us are concerned with planning for our future, but what happens when worry and planning take over our head space to the point where we don’t trust Gods faithfulness or plan for our life? Our heart is that we would learn how to not worry and plan correctly!
As we take some time to celebrate all that the Lord has done over the past three years, we also want to look ahead as to where the Lord is leading us.
Do you wish to be a friend with the world? Most Christians would say "no", but do your desire's and life style say something different than your confession?
Studies show that the average person says about 16,000 words a day. That means we have 16,000 opportunities every day to use one of the most powerful weapons on this planet. Our tongues. This weapon can protect, encourage, empower, lift up, bring life, or... This weapon can hurt, discourage, devalue, tear down, and bring death.
Brennan Manning once said “ The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” Does your life reflect the faith you claim?
Who do you honor, and what makes that person worthy of honor? Is it status, wealth, power, style, or influence? In today's message we're going to be looking at who the world says is worthy of honor vs. who is in the Kingdom of God.
James tells followers of Jesus to not just be hearers of the word but also doers. There has been a great misunderstanding of this passage that has lead many people to see this as a dichotomy or contrast, but it's actually a collaboration.
If I asked you the question, "would you like to grow in faith or be more faithful"? You would most likely say "yes", but what if I told you that God would give you more faith but it only comes through trials, pain and suffering? Would you still ask for it?
There is great hope in knowing that Jesus is coming back for His bride, but the question is when He returns will we be ready? Jesus is not going to unite Himself to a stranger. Do you know Him, and is your life marked by intimacy with Him?
There have been many kingdoms built over the centuries but none of them have ever lasted. Jesus came to build an everlasting kingdom. A kingdom filled with blessing, peace, and abundance, but there will also be a king ruling over this kingdom. Jesus tells the religious leaders of His day a parable that cuts to the heart and reveals whether or not we want Him or just the benefits of His kingdom.
Everyone enjoys a good underdog story. Stories like Cinderella where the main character comes from a very low station but then eventually rises up to rule the kingdom with her prince. But... could it be that we enjoy these stories so much because we view ourselves as the underdog? If we're honest with ourselves, could it be that we want to be the main character of our story and sit in the place of honor? Jesus tells an interesting parable in Luke 14 addressing this issue of pride and what true g...
Last week we talked about how kingdom citizens risk it all for the one. They are willing to give all of their time, treasure, and talent to see the kingdom of God advance, but if we're honest most people find it hard to let go of their treasure. Jesus had a lot to say about this and He talked a lot about money. He knew it had such a stronghold on people. This week we look at what Jesus has to say about our finances and the principle of tithing.
Have you ever lost something so valuable that you'd do anything to find it? How would you feel once it was found? In Luke's gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a lost sheep that gives us major insight into the Father's heart.
Jesus told His followers that it was better that He leaves so He can send the Spirit. This moment in Acts 1 and 2 changed history forever. Today we celebrate the coming of the Spirit and the vital importance of knowing and being lead by Him.
What do feasts and festivals have to do with the redemptive story of God, and why is it important that we remember them? What was God doing throughout history that lead us to where we are now in the redemptive story of the gospel? We pray you're inspired by this message and it equips you to go and make disciples.
The Shema ends with us loving the Lord with all of our strength. The Hebrew word used for strength is "Moed" and it means "greatly, exceedingly, mightily". What would it take for the Church to love the Lord with all of our "Moed"? How might the world be changed if we truly loved Jesus with all of our strength?
When we are told to love the Lord with all of our heart and soul what comes to your mind? Is it with our feelings and a disembodied spirit? What does the word for heart and soul mean in Hebrew and how did the biblical authors view it? We pray you're inspired and equipped to make disciples as we continue walking through our series on the Shema.
Last week we learned that the first step in the Shema is to hear. We need to have ears that hear the Lord in every area of our lives, and this week we move on to the next word in the Shema, which is love. Love is used in such a broad sense in our culture but what does this word mean biblically, and how are we to love God? We pray you're inspired and equipped to make disciples as we continue walking through our series "Shema".
For thousands of years every morning and evening, Jewish people have prayed these well known words as a way of expressing their devotion to God. They’re called the Shema and it's found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. It is our prayer that we would learn how to hear the voice of God in every area of our lives because God is not silent, the question is are we listening?
