Week 2 of the series "Time of Your Life". The secret to achieving your capacity isn't about getting more done, it's about prioritizing correctly. Priority determines capacity. We need to take the time to identify our priorities and then plan the rest of life in around them. As Christian, we're called to make God's will the organizing principle to our life. We need to give God's desires, ambitions, priorities first place in our lives. In order to do that, we need to examine what is taking priorit...
Aug 17, 2014•41 min
Week 1 of the series "Time of Your Life". The "Time of your Life" series comes from Northpoint Church. It's based on the premise that we have a limited number of days to our lives. Therefore, we should use them thoughtfully and carefully. When we realize how short our lives truly are in light of eternity, we see how foolish it is to live as though life revolves around us and our interests. If live as though we are the minor characters contributing to a story that revolves around God, we find pur...
Aug 10, 2014•44 min
The Faith Community Church Student Missions Team shares testimonies from their trip to Philadelphia.
Aug 03, 2014•1 hr 1 min
Week 5 of the series "Everybody's Watching" from Faith Community Church. Society has become fascinated with anti-heroes: people who do the wrong thing for “right” reasons. Breaking Bad transforms a chemistry teacher into a Crystal Meth drug dealer in order to provide for his family. Dexter is a troubled man trapped by the desire to live out a double life as a police officer and a serial killer who strives for justice. In both stories, the main character learns that our choices catch up with us. ...
Jul 27, 2014•48 min
Week 4 of the series "Everybody's Watching" from Faith Community Church. The People's Chocie Awards picked "Iron Man 3" and "Gravity" as two award winning movies. Both movies explore the way suffering shapes us and how we can overcome it to be reborn anew. Tony Stark is trapped by debilitating fear from violence and Ryan Stone is trapped by the tragic loss of her daughter. They have to find the means to escape their prisons. In Gravity, the director purposely put in images of rebirth to walk his...
Jul 20, 2014•47 min
Week 3 of the series "Everybody's Watching" from Faith Community Church. The 2014 Kid's Choice Awards picked Frozen as the animated movie of year. The movie explores the dimensions of true love between two sisters and how it can save the people we love. Another Disney movie, Saving Mr. Banks, based on the real life story behind the scenes of making the original Mary Poppins film, also explores the pain of family members whose choices leave a lasting impact on their children. Both stories share t...
Jul 13, 2014•40 min
Week 2 of the series "Everybody's Watching" from Faith Community Church. In 2014, the People's Choice Awards picked The Voice as the best reality competition television series. Along with American Idol and The X-Factor, these shows give vocalists/musicians the opportunity to perform in front of celebrity judges with the possibility of receiving a record contract and other lucrative deals/prizes. The compelling forces of these shows are based on the desire to see a "rags to riches" story. We long...
Jul 06, 2014•47 min
Week 1 of the series "Everybody's Watching" from Faith Community Church. The series starts with the question, "How do I find that hope?" In 2014, movies and TV shows about hope - the loss of it - gained prominent attention. In The Walking Dead, humans are constantly pursuing hope (healing, safety, community) only to have it ripped away from them. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, champions are placed in an arena where they must fight to the death until one victor remains. Friendships can't be ...
Jun 29, 2014•40 min
Week 3 of the series "Don't Just Give" from Faith Community Church. God established a system of giving to empower ministry. When the people gave faithfully to the work of the Temple, ministry flourished. When they didn't, ministry was hindered. When ministry flourishes, God is glorified (people praise God for the help they receive from the church), ministry is empowered (we are able to subsidize the work of the church that helps people). Generous giving supports the work of people who travel aro...
Jun 15, 2014•41 min
Week 2 of the series "Don't Just Give" from Faith Community Church. Giving is a great way to grow spiritually. When we give, we have to evaluate our priorities, ambitions, values and desires. We give from a fixed sum so the distribution of money in one direction takes it from another. The exercise of determining how much we give and to what direction forces us to examine our hearts. In addition, it is an exercise of trust (or faith as the Bible states it). When we give, we are trusting God to me...
Jun 08, 2014•52 min
Week 1 of the series "Don't Just Give" from Faith Community Church. In the OT, God taught the people to bring their first and best as an offering to God when they came to worship. These offerings were generally used in two ways: for sin and celebration. In regards to sin, it was a foreshadow that someday God would send His firstborn son as a sin offering for the people, the best He had to offer. We don't need to give an offering for sin because Christ was the final offering for all sin. However,...
Jun 01, 2014•41 min
A standalone message from Faith Community Church. Pastor Mike speaks about the Global Leadership Summit.
May 18, 2014•47 min
Week 3 of the series "Why Worry?" from Faith Community Church. Paul is another person who lived in difficult circumstances that would cause most people worry and concern. We're looking at a letter he wrote while under house arrest. Christ changed the direction of his life, moving him from a career path of financial, social and mental security. In doing so, Paul became an itinerant preacher, church planter in foreign countries and significant influence into the formation of our Christian beliefs....
May 11, 2014•41 min
Week 2 of the series "Why Worry?" from Faith Community Church. Jesus was another person who had a lot to be concerned over. He did not have a steady income. He was constantly challenged and defamed in public by respectable leaders. His closest followers were unreliable. He lived under a foreign power that could be ruthless in maintaining control. Anyone of these conditions could be worth our worry. Yet, Jesus clearly says we should not worry. How could He say that? He challenges us to consider t...
May 04, 2014•42 min
Week 1 of the series "Why Worry?" from Faith Community Church. We're going to study the lives of three people who had a lot to be worried about. We'll look at the troubles they faced and how they responded in order to learn how we can turn our worries over to God and find peace. The first example is Elijah. He was a prophet of God who had to face off against two of the most debase, immature and unpredictable leaders in the Bible - King Ahab and his Queen, Jezebel. God met Elijah in one of his da...
Apr 27, 2014•43 min
Week 6 of the series "Portraits of Christ" from Faith Community Church. Luke tells an interesting story of an encounter between two followers of Christ and a stranger. Through the story, people who have lost hope and are struggling to find their way in life meet someone who listens, guides and instructs them. Suddenly, in an intimate and surprising way, Christ reveals Himself as the Risen Savior. This story can inspire all who are genuinely pursuing truth. If Christ truly is a living, personal b...
Apr 20, 2014•43 min
Week 5 of the series "Portraits of Christ" from Faith Community Church. Jesus possessed the power of life over death while He walked among us, preparing for the cross. He could raise the dead with the command of His voice. His words were life because He is life. Moved by compassion, Christ raised children from the dead. In a scene from John's Gospel, Christ waited for a friend to die in order to demonstrate His power. Lazarus' resurrection is a "production week rehersal' for Easter. It is marked...
Apr 13, 2014•42 min
Week 4 of the series "Portraits of Christ" from Faith Community Church. Jesus commanded authority over evil. Demonic forces trembled in His presence. Jesus released tortured souls from influence. We will look at a story Mark tells about a man so plagued by demonic forces that he dwelled in a cemetary, cutoff from people who were terrified of him. Christ delivered the man from their control and transformed him. The man found freedom, purpose, and a relationship with the living God from Christ's i...
Apr 06, 2014•43 min
Week 3 of the series "Portraits of Christ" from Faith Community Church. Jesus possessed power over Creation. He could calm storms, multiply food stores, and walk on water. We'll focus on the storm at sea an example of Christ as Master of Creation. This one incident demonstrates Christ's trust in God for His safety, the ability He had to control nature, and challenge to us to trust in His power. John, who was in the boat, recognized that only the Creator could control creation like Jesus did. Thi...
Mar 30, 2014•42 min
Week 2 of the series "Portraits of Christ" from Faith Community Church. This week, we'll look at Christ's own claims about himself. Jesus made some remarkable statements about His identity, mission and relationship with God. We'll examine the "liar, lunatic, Lord" matrix as a means of grappling with the serious insight Christ had into His life. In examining this, we'll look at a string of statements Christ makes about Himself. When seen as a whole, they are remarkable. If His words are true, the...
Mar 23, 2014•45 min
Week 1 of the series "Portraits of Christ" from Faith Community Church. As we move into this series where we will examine portraits demonstrating Christ's nature, we need to make sure that the documents we are using are trustworthy. This Sunday, we're looking at evidence for the reliability of Gospels. We'll look at material that supports the reliability of our present day Gospels, support for the integrity of the authors, support for the validity of the Gospel accounts as well as the impact of ...
Mar 16, 2014•43 min
Week 3 of the series "Listen & Learn". When it comes to hearing from God, the challenge is not getting God to speak as much as it is getting in a position to listen. We want answers, God is looking for submission. In the Gospels, Jesus would sometimes say, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." This was Jesus way of saying we need to be receptive, willing to obey His teaching. Living in a state of rebellion means we won't hear God speaking because we are choosing to not listen. This expl...
Mar 02, 2014•40 min
Week 2 of the series "Listen & Learn". There are principles to healthy living that are obvious if we are listening. We know that wearning a seatbelt increases our chances of surviving an accident. Spending time with your fiance's family helps you prepare for marriage. Reading a contract before signing it helps avoid a bad financial decision. Having said that, we still struggle to listen to the voice of reason and so made bad decisions. Wisdom is not difficult to find if we are listening for ...
Feb 23, 2014•46 min
Week 1 of the series "Listen & Learn". Who or what we listen to will influence what we do. All of us can think of actions we took based on the advice of or while under the influence of another person like our parents, a coach or someone else. The challenge is to be discerning about these voices, filtering out those that will lead us astray versus those that provide sound guidance. Ahab was a king who failed to discern good counsel from bad. As a result, he lost his life. We need to learn to ...
Feb 16, 2014•45 min
Week 2 of the series "Body of Christ". God has equipped specific people to serve in a leadership role in the church. Their job is to train, direct, assist and resource people to fulfill their service in the church. When leaders do their job well and ministry partners work along side them, the church becomes vibrant, strong, and mature. Because of the teaching of this passage, Faith Community Church is an equipping church. This means everyone is considered a partner in ministry. We all contribute...
Feb 09, 2014•40 min
Week 1 of the series "Body of Christ". In this two week series, we are going to talk about the value of serving. In order for the church to function, everyone needs to serve in ministry in a manner consistent with the way God has shaped them. To illustrate this, we'll use Paul's comparison of the human body to the church (commonly referred by him as 'the body of Christ'). God has shaped each organ of the body to serve a specific purpose in the functioning of the body. Without one part, the body ...
Feb 02, 2014•40 min
Life is a race with a finish line. When we die, we face God to determine how we finish. The choices we make while running the race of life affect whether or not we receive the crown of life God offers. Those who have surrendered their lives to Christ will receive the crown of life. Those who do not, will not receive the crown of life. Every Christian is called to bring that message to people. Some are particularly gifted in sharing their faith. They have an unusual effectiveness. Most people do ...
Jan 26, 2014•46 min
The mission God has given us - alleviating suffering, effectively preaching the Gospel and leading people to a transformative relationship with God - is impossible for us to achieve on our own. Fortunately, God has promised to help us. He partners with us by giving us the resources we need to succeed. One of the most powerful resources He provides is prayer. God has promised to hear our prayer and respond. Only God can reach into a soul to enliven it. Only God can reach into the heart and mind o...
Jan 19, 2014•44 min
Last April, we were shocked when two young terrorists committed atrocious acts of violence that changed people's lives. As Christians we should be compassionate but not surprised when evil strikes so visiciously. Christ promised that we would have trouble in the world (even being betrayed by family and persecuted by opponents). Instead of responding with fear, shock and anger, Christians should be motivated to engage the world with a passionate commitment to mission. When we surrendered our live...
Jan 12, 2014•44 min
