If we were to trace some of our worst choices, our bad habits, our addictions, and even some of our emotional problems back to their source, we would find a deep and unsatisfied spiritual hunger. Pastor J.D. continues to teach in this message how Jesus satisfies that spiritual hunger we all have and the two things we need to feast on Jesus’ grace.
As humans, one of our most basic needs is food—when we don’t have it, we experience discomfort, irritability, or even sickness or death. And yet, as unbearable as physical hunger can be, it is our spiritual hunger that we often neglect to address, to our own detriment. As we begin a series looking at the seven “I am” statements made by Jesus in the Gospel of John, this message from Pastor J.D. explores the first of these, from John 6. Jesus’ claim to be the “bread of life” is a truth that we so ...
Our emotions function like smoke from a fire—and just like you can follow a trail of smoke to figure out what’s on fire in your house, you can follow the trail of your emotions to figure out what is on fire in your heart. Pastor J.D. concludes with the emotion of shame.
We’re in the final couple of days of our series on difficult emotions titled, “Smoke from a Fire.” Or, to change the analogy—each of these emotions—depression, anxiety, anger, envy, and now “shame”—functions like warning lights on the dashboard of our hearts, indicating what is going on in the engine of our souls.
Sociologists say that envy seems to be a bigger problem for our generation than any before us, because social media seems designed to play on it! But when we look at other people’s lives on social media, we are seeing a filtered image. Pastor J.D. concludes his message on the difficult emotion of envy.
Envy surrounds us—and most of us don’t realize the deadly poison that envy is. We think of envy as a kind of petty jealousy that just comes from wanting a little more. But the Bible treats it as far more serious. We’re discovering what the Bible really says about our emotions as we continue our series called, “Smoke from a Fire.”
We seem to live in an angry society. Just turn on any evening news talk show. The issues change by the day, but the anger doesn’t. People seem queued up and ready to be angry—in the classroom, at work, on Twitter, and on the freeway. Pastor J.D. teaches how we can be angry like Jesus.
Remember that one time in the Bible when Jesus got angry? And he didn’t hide it? And he didn’t sin? Pastor J.D. is helping us see how we can be angry like Jesus, too. We’re discovering what the Bible really says about our emotions … as we continue our series called, Smoke from a Fire .
When it comes to money, parenting, marriage, education, career, and any of the other litany of things we worry about, God is not telling us to sit back and do nothing. He is saying that we need to do what we can—in obedience to God, to the best of our ability—and trust him with the results. Pastor J.D. continues our study of difficult emotions called, Smoke from a Fire , with the emotion of anxiety. While anxiety thinks too little about God, it also minimizes how much God thinks of us....
What brings you the most worry and anxiety? Is it your kids? Your job? Your finances? We worry most about what we are devoted to most. Jesus talks about the difficult emotion of anxiety by first challenging what we are most devoted to. Today, Pastor J.D. continues our series called, Smoke from a Fire .
For some reason, most of us tend to think of “good Christians” as those who’re always smiling and encouraging others. So whenever we struggle with depression, despair, or doubts about God, we think there’s something wrong with us or maybe we just don’t have enough faith. And it can be difficult to ask for help because we don’t want anyone to see us as broken. Today, Pastor J.D. addresses this very real struggle from a biblical perspective.
St. Augustine once said that our deepest emotions often function like smoke from a fire: They can indicate what is going wrong in our hearts before we can articulate it. In this series, Pastor J.D. shows us that the aim of the Bible’s teaching on emotions isn’t to suppress them or even to manage them, but to read them accurately, express them honestly, and allow the gospel to reshape them completely.
Death is never a comfortable subject, but in the back of our minds, we all know that death is eventually coming. So, what happens after? Pastor J.D. talks about the two eternal destinations as he concludes our overview of the Bible titled, The Whole Story .
In art and film, heaven is usually portrayed as this ethereal place in the clouds full of harps and chubby cherubim. But, is that really all we have to look forward to in eternity? In this message, Pastor J.D. gives us a biblical picture of the new heaven and new earth promised in the book of Revelation. It’s part of our series called, The Whole Story .
If you were to flip through the book of Revelation with no previous Bible knowledge, it would probably sound like a piece of science fiction or someone’s crazy dream journal. All that talk of dragons and beasts can be pretty confusing! But Pastor J.D. is walking us through this book of prophecy and explaining how God pulled back the curtain to give us a glimpse of the spiritual reality. It’s part of our series called, The Whole Story .
In our series called, The Whole Story, we’ve been traveling from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how every page is pointing to Jesus and revealing the gospel. In this message, we’re looking at the life of the Apostle Paul and the example he set for how the gospel transforms our priorities and our definition of success.
In our series called, The Whole Story, we’ve been traveling from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how every page is pointing to Jesus and revealing the gospel. In this message, we’re looking at the life of the Apostle Paul and the example he set for how the gospel transforms our priorities and our definition of success.
Everyone wants to feel like they’ve succeeded at life. But, what does “success” even mean? Our world often points to fame, wealth, or accolades from peers. But as believers, we should have a different metric. In this message, Pastor J.D. describes the biblical standard for a successful life and explains how we can make our days count. It’s a challenging message from our series called, The Whole Story .
In this message, Pastor J.D. tackles a subject that can be a bit sensitive, but is vital to advancing the gospel. We’re talking about biblical generosity—in every area of life! Pastor J.D. is challenging us to surrender everything to God as he continues his series called, The Whole Story . We’re in Second Corinthians 9:7.
Tragically, it’s not uncommon to hear speakers and pastors who promise God’s blessing in order to manipulate their audience into giving them money. They claim that if you give a certain amount, God will bring you physical healing or financial success. But is that really what the Bible means when it talks about blessing? What should be the heart behind true, biblical generosity? That’s our subject as we continue the series called, The Whole Story.
When asked about their hopes for the future, 96% of teens in a recent survey said they want to make a difference in the world. Clearly, we all crave a greater purpose and for our lives to leave an impact. But, how do we make that happen? How do we find our calling? Pastor J.D. addresses those questions as he continues our survey of the Bible called, The Whole Story.
Have you ever come to a crucial moment where you realized that, one way or another, the decision you were about to make was gonna change your life forever? Maybe it was your wedding day or when you took the plunge and launched a new business. Well, as we continue our series called, The Whole Story , we’re looking at a crucial moment that changed—not just the course of a single life—but the course of human history. And how you respond to this moment will change your eternity !
In our series called, The Whole Story , we’ve been going from Genesis to Revelation to see the unfolding story of God’s redemptive plan for mankind. In this message, we’ve come to the climax of the story, the moment on which everything else hangs. It’s a hope-filled message about the crucifixion.
As Christians, we all know that prayer is important. And yet, sometimes it feels like just another thing to check off on our to-do list. In this message, Pastor J.D. is reminding us of the ultimate purpose of prayer and why it matters. And when we catch sight of this vision, it’ll give us a fresh excitement for prayer like never before! This message is part of our series called, The Whole Story .
Have you ever noticed that people tend to be a lot more honest about their opinions when voicing them through an anonymous email or online profile? It’s easy to be bold when no one can hold us responsible for what we said. But Pastor J.D. is challenging us to take a bold, public stance for our faith. He’s calling us to step out of our comfort zone and make our private faith known to the world as he continues our series called, The Whole Story .
According to tradition, there are two topics you should avoid in social conversations: politics and religion . It’s much easier and more comfortable to keep our faith a private, personal thing. But Pastor J.D. is challenging us to get outside our comfort zone and make our faith known. It’s part of our series called The Whole Story .
Even with all the comfort and luxury of modern life, happiness is still hard to come by. And all the self-care and positivity in the world can never truly satisfy our souls. So, what are we missing? In this message, Pastor J.D. explains how Jesus himself tackled that question in the Sermon on the Mount. It’s part of the series called The Whole Story .
We all crave happiness, and yet, it often seems elusive. We pin our hopes on something in the future, like marriage, kids, career success, or retirement, and we think if we can just get to that goal, we’ll be happy. But nothing ever seems to satisfy! So what’s the solution? How do we escape the rat race and find true, lasting joy? Pastor J.D. answers that question as he continues his series called The Whole Story .
When artists try to depict Jesus, they often paint him wearing a clean, white robe and holding a lamb in a quiet, green pasture. It’s a peaceful and comforting representation, reminding us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. There’s nothing wrong with those images, in and of themselves, but they don’t capture the full picture of Jesus. In this message, Pastor J.D. draws our attention to another aspect of Jesus’ character. And it might surprise you! It’s part of our series called The Whole Story ....
Sometimes, a little scare can be fun, like when you’re watching a suspenseful movie or riding a roller coaster. But aside from that, we don’t typically think of fear as a positive thing. However, when it comes to our relationship with God, fear is actually a good, healthy, and even essential emotion. That’s our subject as we continue our series called The Whole Story .
