Sin, repent—Rinse and repeat. That was Israel’s spiritual resume, and they often paid dearly for it. But sometimes, a grace-filled God raised an unexpected leader to save them. In today’s message, God’s first-round draft choice was a left-handed (considered a defect in Jewish culture) man named Ehud and the incredible things God did through him.
Mephibosheth was lame in both feet after falling when he was five years old. The fall occurred after his dad and grandfather died on the battlefield. Though an outcast in a harsh society due to his disability, he later lands a lifetime reward: a seat at the king’s table. This message will focus on God’s love and inclusion of broken people like us and the place we have in his family at his table.
God sent Hosea into the red light district to marry a prostitute name Gomer. He wanted to use their unorthodox marriage as an example of his unwavering love for his people and how that love can redeem any sin in anyone’s life. In this message we will look at how God refuses to give up on us even when we give up on ourselves.
Speed has become a virtue in our culture. We’ve bought into a lie that bigger is better and faster is better, but the results say otherwise. We may not be burned out, but we’re worn out and we’re racing through life and sleeping through experiences that really matter. Slowing down and smelling the roses is a must, and in this sermon we will learn how to do that from someone who didn’t.
One of the reasons it’s so important to understand that we are free from sin’s bondage, penalty, and guilt is that it increases our capacity, through Jesus, to express joy and experience peace. This message will examine the gift of our freedom in Jesus and how it plays out in our lives in a positive way.
Elijah was furious with the false prophets, so much so that he called down fire from heaven on them. Later, Jezebel threatened to kill him, so Elijah ran for his life. He sat down under a tree and begged God to take his life. Sadness and anger are often interwoven. This message will examine how anger debilitates us and how we can recover.
The Enemy Behind My Pain (I Peter 5:8-10): When we face suffering, we need to remember that the enemy wants to use our pain to draw us away from God. This enemy is not to be taken lightly. He desires to devour us. This message will make us more aware of Satan’s intent to destroy us and how we can stand against his attacks.
Peter’s story of guilt and shame is one for the ages. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle, but on the night of His arrest, Peter passionately denied Jesus. He even swore that he didn’t know Jesus. Then, they made momentary eye contact, and Peter ran off and wept bitterly. This message will examine how to recover from our worst sins.
Our friends and neighbors see how we live and they know if we really love them. How we express our faith matters in big way at the local level.
The good news about Jesus is something everyone needs to hear so that everyone has the opportunity to respond. We have the beautiful responsibility to take that good news to the very ends of the earth.
“He is not here, but has risen.” Those seven words spoken at the empty tomb changed everything for all of us. Because of Jesus’; death, burial, and resurrection we can experience new life.
When we love someone who is hurting, it isn’t enough to express sympathy; in reality, that changes nothing. Empathy is a better approach. Empathy empowers compassion to move us to action. This message will remind us that we’re called to identify and understand other’s pain and serve them compassionately.
Legalism is what it looks like when one is living on the wrong side of the Cross, not seeing our old nature buried with Jesus and our new life alive in Him. Jesus came to fulfill the law through grace—dying for our sins on the Cross. This message will remind us that legalism loses and grace wins.
We all need to be prepared to deal with criticism. Criticism is inevitable in this life. As Christians, how we respond to and handle criticism reveals the level of our faith in God. Handling criticism gracefully is possible because Jesus vividly portrayed it, and He’s our example.
Real faith helps people in real need. Our faith isn’t only for us; it’s also for others. Jesus demonstrated this daily and we have the opportunity to live in the same way.
When our minds are set on the right things our emotions will follow. Our feelings can and should be shaped by who God is and what He has done for us.
We have solid reasons for what we believe and every Christian needs to be well versed in them. This doesn’t mean we should try to bully people into accepting our positions on faith, but we can gently and humbly challenge those who oppose our beliefs.
Our speech and our action need to align. Instructing others with our words is only effective when we demonstrate what we teach with our lives.
How, when and what we speak to others matters deeply. When we encourage others with our words it reflects what God has done for us in giving us His Word.
Controlling our words may be one of the most difficult things to do. The same mouths we praise God with also can be used to hurt and harm others. Understanding how powerful and dangerous words can be can also lead to using them for the ultimate good which is praising God.
The Gospel is the good news of who Jesus is and what He has done. When we use our words to spread and share this good news beautiful things happen! Instead of choosing to spread gossip we can spread the gospel.
Family, faith, and community—we'll discover how God places the lonely in families and how strong families grow through grace and truth. Southland has always been a place where the broken find belonging. Jesus came to bring people from death to life, and our mission is to join Him in that work.
Jon Weece and Scott Nickell discuss Southland's exciting future.
The Bible describes the church as “the body of Christ.” In other words, the church should look a lot like Jesus. And one of the best things Jesus did for people was encourage them to serve and empower them to lead. Southland will always need an abundance of servant leaders.
In order to have the kind of life we really want; we have to walk away from the current life we have. Jesus specializes in moving people in a new direction towards a stronger life.
As we begin the new year, we’re diving into what it means to love God, love people, and grow closer to Jesus. Over the next couple of weeks, as we wrap up 2024 and step into 2025, join us as we explore growth in our relationship with Jesus and how to live out His love!
As we begin the new year, we’re diving into what it means to love God, love people, and grow closer to Jesus. Over the next couple of weeks, as we wrap up 2024 and step into 2025, join us as we explore growth in our relationship with Jesus and how to live out His love!
We long for peace. We long for the fighting to stop, the pain to cease, and the tears to stop flowing. Jesus made peace for us and peace is available to everyone! Who can we introduce to Jesus this Christmas season?
In a world where things and people wear out, grow old, fall apart, and die we have an everlasting Father who doesn’t get tired. He never fails and he never fades. Who can we extend an invitation to this Christmas season to sit at our table, come to church with us and sit by our fire?
