Adultery. We tend to think of it as that thing that happens when a husband or wife CHEAT (sexually) on their spouse. We tend to think of it as PRIVATE MATTER. And our thinking couldn't be farther from the truth (or the reality of it). In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches on the 7th Commandment (you must not commit adultery) and why the Bible has so much to say about it when it comes to OUR RELATIONSHIP with GOD!
Thou shalt not kill. We hear this commandment, and like the one forbidden us to make graven images, think to ourselves how great it is that we've kept it. WE haven't murdered any one, let alone have made an idol. Woo, hoot! That's 2 out of 10...just for showing up. But there's MORE to this commandment than meets the eye - and it has something very POWERFUL to say to us for where we are in America these days. Because murder is never about the act - but what preceded it.
Honor your father and mother. It's a pretty straight forward command. And yet, we typically make a couple of assumptions when hearing it: (1) that it's for kids (no, it's for adults) and (2) that it's for our parents' benefit (no, it's for our future). In this message, Max Vanderpool tries to blow away the fog that surrounds the 5th Commandment and why it's really NOT about your parents but about YOUR future.
Nobody is born with a gene that makes them content...that causes them to think they have the most awesome car (job, house, friends) EVER! Tucked away in one of Paul's letters in the New Testament is some good news for us Americans - contentment can be LEARNED.
YouTube celebrity and guru Amy Porterfield lived a Groundhog Day life - one in which she had to produce a video EVERY SINGLE DAY. But then a friend introduced her to mega-batching and now she makes all the videos she needs in ONE WEEK and takes 5 weeks OFF in between mega-batches. What if you could be MORE PRODUCTIVE by actually doing LESS? The BIble shows us a better way to live - one in which we can be truly human and truly living life...to the full.
Even though it's 2018, there are certain words, that if you say them, Tweet them, or post them on Facebook can cause you to lose your job and possibly end some of your friendships. Ironically, what was considered blasphemous 50 years is acceptable today and what was considered acceptable 50 years ago is blasphemous today. Most folks think the 3rd Commandment is just about speech (be careful what you say) - but it's so much more than just bleeping words.
When we read the 2nd Commandment (make no graven images), we think: NOT ME. That's one commandment I haven't broken - I don't even have a chisel or a lathe - couldn't make one if I tried. That's because, when it comes to idols and idolatry, we tend to think of statues, temples and people in grass skirts on a National Geographic special. But idolatry has to do with your HEART. In this message, Max Vanderpool exposes 4 common idols of contemporary American life - and what to do about it.
We often forget that, when it comes to initiative, there are two kinds of people: (1) those who see what needs to be done right away and (2) those who tend to miss what needs to be done. Neither type is necessarily better than the other - but understanding your default setting can help you become a person who is BETTER at taking initiative.
One of the BIGGEST things we despise in other people is the sense they think (or believe it to be the case) that they are somehow better than us. Here's the GOOD NEWS: God feels the same way (read James 4:6). In this message, Max Vanderpool talks about the things God brings in our lives to cultivate humility.
Why is it that some people are honest and other people aren't? Is it the case that some people are just good people and others are bad people? Or is it (more) the case that some people are simply in the habit of being honest, of telling the truth? In this message, Max Vanderpool explains why the Apostle Paul (and so many others from ancient times) talked about vices and virtues - because habits are really, really important.
There are a LOT of different ways Baptism is practiced in America: you can be sprinkled as an infant, you can get dunked as a kid, teen or adult, you can don a white robe in a traditional setting, and you can get a cool t-shirt in a party-like contemporary one. Face it. Because there are so many different ways Christians baptize, there's confusion. In this message, Max Vanderpool makes a case for why baptism is still important and what it is, at a core level.
Is being SMART the same thing as being WISE? Some people think so, but the Bible makes a case for why wisdom is, in fact, different and why it's worth pursuing. In this message, Max Vanderpool, teaches on the ONLY passage in the Bible to describe Jesus's childhood.
What do you do when you get bad news? When it's something you cannot do anything about? Something like cancer? In this message, James Ballard shares that, when Jesus is with you, you can face ANYTHING.
We all know what it is to be afraid, to be fearful. It's that feeling when we're on the side of a mountain and unsure of our climbing abilities (or the ropes that hold us). It's that feeling when a relationship has exploded and we know we can't forgive them or that it will never be the same. In this message, Brian Hull places our fears in relationship to Jesus - and Jesus, apparently, has a perspective that can help us through it.
We all obsess a little about our friends. Do we have enough? Are the ones we have good friends? Some of us will even go so far as to measure our value as a person by the friends we have. In this message, Max Vanderpool, lays down ONE THING every follower of Jesus should do with intentionality when it comes to friendships.
Despite what you may FEEL, God is actually WITH you...all the time.
When you face something that's wrong, something that's unjust, something that's evil - you have to remember that not everyone (else) responds to it the SAME way you do. God has given people different temperaments, different personalities and different callings. In this message, Max Vanderpool draws out the differences between Elijah the prophet and Obadiah the palace administrator - each of whom faced Dr. Evil.
Potential alone will not guarantee future success. How else do you explain all those people in high school voted most likely to succeed? How many of THEM live up to that label? Samson, the ancient Superman, had as much potential as anyone listed in the Old Testament. His birth was announced by the Angel of the LORD, he was given supernatural strength, and God's Spirit was upon him. And YET, Samson never really lived up to it. In this message, Max Vanderpool makes a case for human potential - wha...
God has consistently used other people to help YOU - to bless you, encourage you, help you, teach you, walk alongside you, correct you and so much more. And yet NOT ONE of those people completely had their act together. It's a theme we see over and over and over again in the Bible: God can use you, no matter what.
God has consistently used other people to help YOU - to bless you, encourage you, help you, teach you, walk alongside you, correct you and so much more. And yet NOT ONE of those people completely had their act together. It's a theme we see over and over and over again in the Bible: God can use you, no matter what.
It's EASY to forget what our grandparents' generation sacrificed or endured. It's easy to forget how long they waited to see change (the right kind of change) happen. That's why we build memorials and put up historical markers. In this message, Max Vanderpool explains the reason for memorials in Old Testament and why we shouldn't forget what God has done...because God's NOT DONE YET!
For hundreds of years, Christians were called to prayer by tower bells. DONG. DONG. DONG. DONG. DONG. It's time to stop and pray. For better or worse, we don't have anything like that here in America. In this message, Max Vanderpool offers some suggestions on how to leverage prayer three times a day.
He will say no. They're busy. I don't want to bother them. Face it: some of us have a problem ASKING others for things. And to make matters worse, we ask ONCE and, if the answer is no, we walk away and give up. But that's the WRONG approach to take with prayer. Prayer requires a stick-to-it-ness and a resolve to keep praying. It requires the P-word.
Mike LaSage reports back on his recent missions trip to Mexico. The LaSage family served there over 20 years ago as missionaries. This time, Mike got to see answered prayer and how God always does more IN and TO us than He does through us.
Tucked away in the Old Testament is the story of a man who wanted to be healed - and would reward handsomely to be whole again. It's also the story of someone who lied - and the consequences of being dishonest. Here's the teaching time from our May 2018 InterGen Worship centered around the virtue of honesty.
Prayer is communication. We talk to God; He listens. God talks to us; we listen. In this brief teaching time, Max Vanderpool describes a couple of tools that could help you better recognize the voice of God in your life: Praying in Color (a creative exercise where you draw or doodle as you pray) and The Examen (a set of questions that helps you get in touch with where you are emotionally and where you are with God). This message PRECEDED an interactive worship experience at Generations on April ...
The NATURE of the relationship determines HOW you talk to somebody. If they're a friend you can trust, the conversation comes easy. If they're a jerk you CANNOT trust, the conversation is strained, at best. But what's true of human relationships is ALSO true of our relationship with God. Which is why, of all God's attributes, there's ONE quality, ONE character trait, ONE aspect that matters MOST when it comes to prayer.
Anyone 40 years of age (or older) understands there's a difference between what you hope and plan (to happen) and what actually comes to pass. And there's a LOT of waiting. Waiting to finish. Waiting to graduate. Waiting for that relationship. Waiting. In this message, Paul Huber, shares a bit of his life's twists and turns and how the story of Hannah is a story we can ALL relate to.
Was it Jesus's preaching that turned the world upside down? Was it the miracles? No. Jesus submitted to death on a cross, and he died. Jesus, the corpse, could do NOTHING - but God raised him from the dead. If you want to see God's power in your life, it just won't come from your strengths, your talents, and your connections. God's power is most displayed when we can't, won't, and don't want to.
Do you ever wake up and think: Man, I want to be powerless today? Have you ever asked God to render you incapable? Is one of your goals for 2018 to become completely dependent upon others? OF COURSE NOT! We try to deny our weakness, refute our weakness, defend our weakness, excuse our weakness and HIDE our weakness. But God says to us: I want to use them. In this message, Max Vanderpool shares one of the secrets to living to the Christian life.
