85% of Americans own and use a smartphone, and the "smart" part of smartphone means that it's really a hand-held computer that can also make phone calls. And we use these smartphones. A LOT. While driving, while using the bathroom, and before going to bed (and some of us sleep with our phones). But what if these devices are actually ramping UP our fears? In this message, Max Vanderpool walks through two passages from Matthew and why faith and fear tend to move in opposite directions. WARNING: Li...
Sep 18, 2022•31 min
There's a LOT going on in Genesis 18 when Abraham and Sarah are told that God will FINALLY deliver on what he promised - and that Sarah will deliver a baby some time the following year.
Sep 04, 2022•10 min
Often, in the face of loss and change, people want to go back. They want to go back to the way things were when mom and dad were together, when things were simpler, before the internet, when things seemed safe. But the problem is NONE of us can (really) go back. Because those worlds (and sets of circumstances) no longer exist. We can only go FORWARD.
Aug 28, 2022•35 min
We often think of peace as simply the absence of conflict, so that when Jesus tells us he gives us peace, we tend to think of a conflict-free life or conflict-free set of relationships. But the word Jesus (actually) used meant (and means) something different, something MORE. In this message, Charlotte Lacy, unpacks what SHALOM means and why what Jesus offers is better.
Aug 22, 2022•29 min
The earth takes roughly 24 hours to rotate on its axis. And the earth takes roughly 365 days to circle the sun. These facts are constant and unchanging (as it is with time). You cannot store up time for later. And when you kill time, it doesn't come back from the dead. In Psalm 90, we have a Psalm of lament - from of all people - Moses, "the" man of God. So what can Moses tell us about how to live life well? And what does Moses know about God and how God works - in our lives - that is reason to ...
Aug 14, 2022•27 min
In the famous Disney film "Frozen," Ella gives voice to a song that, at its core, is a song of lament. It's why Disney wouldn't allow Elsa to be the villain in the film. How could the character that sings that song BE the villain? Interestingly so, Americans (and the American church) don't know HOW to lament. Our spirituality is filled with victory chants, songs of praise, and hopes for deliverance. But isn't the journey to hope one that starts off by lament - by recognizing what is? In this mes...
Jul 31, 2022•28 min
Singing is amazing if you think about it. Somehow, we humans are able to push air up our throats over some sort of flexible fleshy membranes that vibrate a different speeds, changing the pitch of the sound we're producing (which we intuitively know how to do) all the while shaping our tongues, lips, and mouths to form words while making this happen. And the songs we sing over and over again (somehow) get lodged in our brains, hearts, and consciousness for the long haul. Maybe it's why parents, t...
Jul 24, 2022•22 min
Celtic Christians had a word to describe places where the boundary between heaven and earth had been collapsed. They called it "a thin place." Thin places are those places and spaces where it's EASIER to encounter God, EASIER to hear His voice, EASIER to sense the leading of God's Spirit. In this message, Max Vanderpool unpacks the broader meaning behind the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) and why it matters that we regularly visit thin places.
Jul 17, 2022•25 min
People under the age of 18 are the most vulnerable, the most teachable, and have the potential to live the longest among any other age demographic. What we do (or don’t do) with and for people under the age of 18 impacts our future…impacts everything. In today's message, Pastor Max reminds us that we must pass the history and reality of our faith into the next generation. You might call it our next generation obligation.
Jul 10, 2022•23 min
Here's the teaching time from our July (2022) InterGen worship that continues our 2022 summer focus in our children's area on the Fruit of the Spirit.
Jul 03, 2022•14 min
When we talk about a grandmother's love, we're talking about a particular kind of love...one that's over-the-top, a bit spoiling, and tremendously accepting and encouraging. When we say that no one loves you like grandma does, we're saying something about the QUALITY of that love. The Bible, and The Psalms in particular, are FULL of metaphors (like a grandmother's love). And Psalm 23 is the most famous of them all: God's care for us is LIKE that of a shepherd to his sheep.
Jun 26, 2022•29 min
I'll be happy when... I'll be happy when I'm finally finished with school. I'll be happy when we have a bigger apartment/house. I'll be happy when the kids are older and not so much work. And the list goes ON. Americans spend incredible amounts of time and energy trying to get happy or make themselves happy. And it often ends in disaster. Why? Because pursuing happiness NEVER results in being happy. In this message, Max Vanderpool makes a case for why the Psalmist exclaims "Happy is the man who....
Jun 19, 2022•24 min
When we were kids, we handed out 18, 25, 30 or more Valentine's Day cards. A holiday built around the idea of love, and we give away cards like candy. When it comes this particular fruit of the Spirit (love), God wants us to be generous. God wants us to know that He loves us completely, He isn't going anywhere and won't abandon us, that we can love others, because He will constantly resupply us on the inside.
Jun 05, 2022•11 min
When you're free to live your true self, your relationships have a better shot at being at their best. But FEW Americans know how to do this well. We see it all the time on Instagram...we post things that will get affirmed and liked, but we hide (the things that are TRUE about us) for fear we will get judged or condemned. Jesus shows us a better way. Jesus lived a life FREE from the control of the approval or disapproval of others.
May 29, 2022•24 min
Christians often confuse peace-MAKING with peace-KEEPING. Jesus was a peace-MAKER. That means that he didn't ignore tensions or differences. In fact, Jesus wasn't afraid to disagree with people. Peace-KEEPERS, on the other hand, tend to appease, avoid, and defer to others when tensions arise. True peace will NEVER come by pretending what is wrong is right. In this message (taken from Peter & Geri Scazzero's Emotionally Healthy Relationships), Max Vanderpool will spell out what it does and do...
May 22, 2022•28 min
When was the last time you were with a family member, friend, or co-worker and felt like they weren't listening to you? What were the clues? How did you KNOW they just weren't getting you or getting it? Listening is linked to CARING, which is why it's critical for Christians (followers of Jesus) to learn the art of incarnational listening. Jesus was a good listener, and the world would see his followers (Christians) VERY DIFFERENTLY if they were known for being good listeners. Imagine someone sa...
May 15, 2022•28 min
In life, there is a continuum of emotionally compromised people. Some lean toward OVER-regulating their emotions, pushing negative feelings deep down into their heart and soul, hoping that those highly charged and highly negative emotions will simply disappear or fade away over time. Others lean toward UNDER-regulating their emotions, expressing EVERY passing feeling they have with robust intensity. BOTH ends of the continuum are unhealthy. BOTH ends of the continuum will hamstring your relation...
May 08, 2022•27 min
Imagine a husband who calls every day from work. One day, however, he doesn't call. The husband and wife had had an argument the night before, the but the wife thought it had been resolved. Now, in the wake of no phone call, she begins to wonder if she was mistaken. Perhaps her husband IS still angry. Perhaps he's pulling some kind of passive-aggressive tactic (the kind HIS father used). Later that night when both the husband and wife are home, the wife says nothing (all the while stewing inside...
Apr 24, 2022•29 min
Everybody's got an angle, or so it would seem. Friends, family members, and co-workers sometimes disappoint us, because it becomes apparent (over time) that their interest in us in ONLY because of what we will do for them. It's a take-give relationship (they take, we give). Unfortunately, too many of us take that disappointment and place it at God's feet, assuming that God will be just like these friends, family members, or acquaintances. But He is not. Jesus truly is the good shepherd, and beca...
Apr 10, 2022•31 min
We define hope as believing that something GOOD can come out of something BAD. And, given the past couple of years, it is necessary to HOPE, good to HOPE, and right to HOPE.
Apr 04, 2022•13 min
We live in a world marked by chaos, ugliness, and scarcity - and that makes us afraid, so we try to mitigate our fears by exerting control. But NO amount of control will ensure our safety or guarantee that we have what we need. Which is why, time and time again in the Bible, we're implored to have faith, to put our trust in God and NOT in ourselves or in what we can control. In this message, Max Vanderpool unpacks Jesus's statement, "I am the door" and what it means to trust God for protection a...
Mar 27, 2022•29 min
There's often a disconnect between the person that gets projected out into social media (and in conversations) and the real person on the inside. Which is why we're sometimes blind-sided by a friend's failing marriage (they seemed so happy together) or a bankruptcy (they just took a vacation to Disney World) or an arrest (I had no idea he was an alcoholic). The Bible speaks to this reality - this disconnect - and Jesus offers a way out - a way forward. Make no mistake. God IS light, but people a...
Mar 20, 2022•27 min
It's difficult to deal with a family member, close co-worker, or friend who's making BAD decisions. Why? Because it eats you up on the inside! And it eats you up on the inside, because (more often than not) YOU don't say anything to that friend...for fear you ruin the friendship or because it's really none of your business. It's absolutely CRAZY that we would tell the WORLD about a potentially stupid decision or pattern but NEVER tell the person it will negatively impact. In this message, Max Va...
Feb 27, 2022•29 min
You're going to have people in your life (from time to time) who expect YOU to fix THEIR problems...their money problems, their relationship problems, or their emotional problems. And if you're not careful, you'll walk right into this trap of trying to fix (or rescue) people. Whether you consider them "extra grace required" people or emotional vampires, one's things certain: there's GOT to be a better way. In this message, Max Vanderpool teaching on how to love people without rescuing them (from...
Feb 20, 2022•25 min
You're going to encounter difficult people. People who push your buttons. People who interrupt. People who never shut up. People who violate your personal space. People who do not seem to possess the ability to see ANYTHING past the end of their nose. So what do you do? What do you do with the non-listener? The one-upper? The gossip-er? The curmudgeon? In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches on the "wisdom from above" when it comes to dealing with inconsiderate people.
Feb 13, 2022•27 min
Many of us have encountered a sudden reversal of fortune in life...a deadline that got moved or a tax refund that increased when the paperwork was finished. At the heart of the Gospel is a similar sudden reversal of fortune for humanity. In this message, Max Vanderpool explains the heart of the Gospel - from Romans 3 - that has a perfect illustration from Polish history.
Jan 30, 2022•26 min
Any time a pastor, rabbi, priest, or religious leader calls out a "sin," a lot of Americans just roll their eyes (in disgust) and dismiss those statements as illegitimate. After all, the religious leader saying them is a hypocrite and they just think they're "better than everyone else." This makes it terribly difficult to talk about sin - particular the personal sins of you and me. And if we can't talk about sin, how can we talk about the good news?
Jan 23, 2022•24 min
Our church family has endured some loss (of late). Lost groups & gatherings (due to Covid). Lost people. Lost marriages. And lost pregnancies. But Americans (for better or worse) aren't very good at supporting people through loss. We tend to say the darndest things. If you've ever struggled with what to say to a friend who's grieving or how to support a friend who's experienced loss, you're not alone. It isn't easy or intuitive to know what to say or what to do. In this message, Max Vanderpo...
Jan 09, 2022•27 min
Mike Rowe, longtime host of the TV series Dirty Jobs, learned FAR more than he anticipated doing that series. In TED talks and subsequent interviews, it turns out FAR MORE is going on behind doing a dirty job. Maybe that's why Jesus appeared in a manger or why Jesus claimed that the Son of Man came (not to be served but) to serve. In this message, Amanda Duke explains why getting your hands dirty is the very definition of Christianity and what that might look like where you live.
Dec 12, 2021•29 min
When we launched Generations in 2004, we were the ONLY church in the USA with that name. Today, there are over 30 versions of Generations Community Church throughout the United States. Perhaps God IS doing something we might not easily recognize. Our very name comes from one of our church's values - a belief that we should ALL take our faith home with us. Faith isn't just something that happens at church for 60 minutes on a Sunday morning. Faith is an every day thing - a family thing - a school ...
Nov 28, 2021•22 min
