When it comes to your life, do you really just want to have a nice time? No adventure, no risks, no rescues, nothing to write home about? And what about you personally or your children? Do you really want them to be nice all the time? In this message, Max Vanderpool tackles the myth of Christian niceness and offers a compelling alternative - Jesus, who clearly was NOT a nice guy.
What do you do when the person you've been praying for (who desperately needs God) walks away from church and/or their family? What do you do when a relationship you're in turns sour and, to your surprise, you're served divorce papers? What do you do when you interview for a job, get told it's in the bag only to find out a week later it was given to someone else? Do you conclude that God messed up or that He's not involved? In this message, Max Vanderpool helps us peer into the life of Daniel to...
Because baptism has been so widely practiced in the United States, it has created a TON of confusion. Some people think you have to be baptized to get to heaven. Others think you don't need to be baptized at all. And forget about all the various forms it takes. In this message, Max Vanderpool tries to blow away the fog surrounding baptism and to make a case as to why individuals who have made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ should be baptized.
Don't just warm the pews your whole life, or you may not like where you end up. Commit!
Taking orders and doing what someone ELSE wants is hard, even if that person is your boss, advisor or parent. We Americans are SO independent, wanting to do things our own way without anyone telling us what to do. In this message, Max Vanderpool explains why that approach doesn't work with God and why being filled with His Spirit always means accepting Him as Master.
Chances are, you may know a young man who never showers or who refuses to launder his clothes until those items have been worn several times...really well. Never showering or rarely laundering for a young man can serve as a natural woman repellent. Obvious, you say. And you would be right. But few people realize that there are also things any of us can do that serve as a natural spirit repellent. In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches on what attracts and what repels God's Holy Spirit.
Jesus told his friends and disciples that he wouldn't be able to stick around with them, and that they would be better off because of it. It almost sounds crazy, because most American Christians believe they would be more faithful and devoted to God if they simply had some one-on-one time with Jesus. But Jesus believed that being filled with the Spirit was BETTER than having him next to you. In this message, Max Vanderpool begins a teaching series on the Holy Spirit.
Chances are, your wife or husband or kids or boss don't like to admit they're wrong, especially if the offense is a particularly onerous one. There IS something, however, you can do in your relationships that will create a context in which they are more likely to admit it when they're wrong. The key is that they have to feel safe enough to be vulnerable.
What does God want me to do with my life? What job does He want me to take? Where does He want me to live? We generally ask these questions, because we believe God's will for our lives is quite specific and very detailed. But what if it isn't? What is God would be perfectly content for us to live in Nicholasville or even Cleveland? In this message, Max Vanderpool challenges believers to let go of specifics and commit to the life-long habit of making good decisions.
You have a major decision to make by Friday, and you don't want to blow it. In this message, Max Vanderpool shares the one strategy in decision-making that can greatly reduce the risk of disaster and greatly increase the chance of success. Sadly, it's the one thing a man from annuals of 1 Kings violated...costing that man his kingdom.
THE primary metaphor Scripture uses for God's guidance is that of Shepherd and sheep. Here's the good news: sheep can ALWAYS discern the voice of the shepherd from other voices.
What should I do this summer? What should my major be? Should I go to college? Should I get married? Whom should I marry? Should we have kids? Should I stay at my current job? Should we stay or move? Is now the time to buy a house? In this message, Max Vanderpool lays out a starting point for determining God's will for your life...in a place many people ignore (but a place God deeply cares about).
We could wear Christian T-shirts with pithy sayings; we could purchase billboards touting the coolness of our worship services; we could even pay secret shoppers to come and worship at our church and tell us how we need to improve our guest experience. In short, we could market. But Max Vanderpool doesn't think Jesus needs any marketing help. In fact, he feels that if we would just start bearing witness to who God is and what God has done, the Holy Spirit would take care of the rest.
In America, you and I are confronted with what we don't have every day. It pulls up in our neighbor's driveway, it comes out of our co-worker's laptop bag, and it's always bigger and better. So what do you do? How do you cultivate a spirit of contentment in a culture that is incredibly discontent. The Apostle Paul shows us how - and the good news is that ANYONE can learn to be content.
Perfectionist? Live with one? Then you know what it's like to attempt to live up to unattainable standards. The problem is many people take that expectation and place it on God...believing that God is mad at them or displeased with them because they're not perfect. Ironically, that's the exact environment into which John the Baptist was born. Into a time and place where most people were convinced God had written them off.
In this message, Max Vanderpool returns to the topic of worry and give seven practical habits that can help you worry less and trust God more.
Parenting brings with it a truck-load of fear. Will I fail my child? Will I mess them up? Will I have enough money? Will I give them a good enough education? Will they turn out okay. In this message, Max Vanderpool addresses the more basic fears parents have over their children and what to do about it.
We climb and claw our way on top (and over others) to be noticed. It shows in the clothes we buy and the careers we build and the Facebook posts we make (in which we drop the name of Somebody Important to show the world that we're important, too). All because we're afraid that we don't (matter) and that no one has noticed (at all). And yet, God notices. In this message, Max Vanderpool addresses the fear of insignificance and why Jesus takes our fears (including this one) seriously.
Everyone worries. And most people (even non-Christians) will tell you that worry isn't helpful and you shouldn't do it. In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches on the connection between worry and fear and how faith can help you win over worry.
In this message, Max Vanderpool shares a simple tool that can help you identify the MOST IMPORTANT thing for you and/or your family...and some practical steps to do it. To obtain a copy of the Family Scoreboard from today's message, contact us and we'll send you one.
You have a project looming at work, your spouse is working late three nights this week. Your son's team made the finals, meaning another Saturday on the bleachers. And let's not forget the ballet recital this Friday night. You're busy, and tired, and wondering how you ended up where you are. And you're not alone. In this message, Max Vanderpool poses a question that could help you begin to create the kind of life (and family life) you really want...by understanding who God made you to be....
Q&A
We all know we should be saving money, and we all think we get to it somewhere down the road. But financial hits can come out of nowhere. In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches on the spiritual principle behind saving money and why Grandma was right: It's gonna rain.
The number one myth about money is that to have more, you need to hold on to what you have as tightly as you can. It's a MYTH, because while many people believe it to be true, it really isn't. In this message, Max Vanderpool outlines a proven way to make sure the flow of money and stuff into your hands FLOWS rather than STOPS.
A tax refund, and a hefty one. Chances are, if you knew you were receiving one, you'd have developed a list of things that money was going to do. What if you took that kind of planning and applied to your finances on a regular basis? What if your money actually went where you directed it? In this message, Max Vanderpool tackles a common myth about money and challenges everyone to become a traffic cop for the money that flows in and out of their hands.
As Dave Ramsey points out, normal in America is broke. Normal in America is being in debt up to your eyeballs. In this message, Max Vanderpool shares how to release your inner gazelle and get free from financial debt.
How did we get HERE? How did the richest nation in the world become the largest debtor nation in the world? And how did Americans, known for generations for their frugality and thrift become such driven consumers? It's easy to throw stones. It's harder to look in the mirror and realize we ALL struggle...when it comes to money and contentment. In this message, Max Vanderpool launches our financial series called Cover Your Assets.
Somewhere along the way, you may have prayed and believed and hoped - only to experience no miracle, no perceptible move of God. What do you do with those moments? Chuck faith into the trash can? In this message to wrap up our series on faith, Max Vanderpool argues for why it's worth it to keep your faith (confident action) in God.
In this message, Max Vanderpool makes the case for why faith isn't something (completely) passive. Faith is confident ACTION in response to what God has promised or done or made known. In a very real sense, faith is putting your money where your mouth is.
If you read the Bible, you read about men and women who experienced God doing BIG things to save them, provide for them, heal them and so much more. Yet, for many of us, that kind of faith seems utterly foreign. At best, we hope that God simply gives us a good day. But what if God is still able and willing to do BIG things? How would you know? And would you have the faith to count on God to do what He has promised? In this message, Max Vanderpool talks about bold faith - the kind that is confide...
