Most of our new year resolutions are about seeking better health, better, finances, or a better life for ourselves. What if this year we focused on seeking Jesus? And not just seeking Him, but living our lives like He is real and He is always with us? During this service, we start 2025 together worshipping and focusing on Jesus.
Jesus is the light of the world, and He calls us lights of the world, too. So, what better way to prepare for Christmas than praying together? In this experience, we walked through specific ways we can pray for the people in our lives and the cities we live in. We're so excited to meet with God at our Christmas services!
Christmas is the celebration of the moment when Jesus became one of us so He could save all of us. It’s a powerful reminder that God doesn’t do salvation from a distance. In this message, Pastor Jason Hillier shares about Immanuel, the name of Jesus that means God with us. This season, may we remember that not only is God with us, but He will also never leave us, and He is for us. Jesus came down so we could be with Him forever.
How do you define peace? It's something we all desire, but how do we experience peace in our every day lives? In this message, Pastor Jason Hillier reminds us that peace is not a feeling; it's a person named Jesus. The Prince of Peace (Jesus) offers us His peace at any time. Peace is not the absence of conflict, it’s the presence of Jesus.
Slowing down to reflect on what we've been learning is a powerful way to respond to what God's been saying. It takes time to process new revelation, so we've created some space to go through our Season 4 notes from "A Different Way" and create a summary statement about everything we've been learning together.
In order to follow someone, you need to agree with the direction they're going and then move in that direction. When we follow Jesus, we do the same thing. In this message, Pastor John Stickl explores the last spiritual practice of confession (agreeing with God) and repentance (acting on that agreement) and how they are God's love expressed in our lives.
We would all say that we want to be generous people, but how does God's Word define generosity? In this message, Pastor John Stickl walks us through what Scripture says about generosity - how to define it, how to recognize it, and how to practice it in our daily lives.
Jesus' entire life was spent practicing service. If we want to follow Him, we will take on the nature of a servant, just like He did. In this message, Pastor John Stickl walks through how the life of Jesus was arranged around the practice of serving and how we can follow Him in expressing love through service.
By looking at Jesus, we can see the depth of what real community looks like. We see that Jesus intentionally pursued and invited people into a community that lived life together and wasn't transactional, but transformational. In this message, Pastor John Stickl breaks down the definition of community and how Jesus shows us how to practice community in a different way.
Throughout Season 3 of A Different Way, we learned about the practices of prayer, fasting, sabbath, silence & solitude, and simplicity. These practices aren't religious obligations; they're means of grace. In this experience, Pastor Jason Hillier walks us through taking some time to recap and review our Season 3 notes, reflect on what the Holy Spirit has been saying to us, and write out our summary statement for Season 3. May Jesus continue to be our one thing as we do what Jesus did so we c...
What if the things we spend our life seeking are the very things that rob us of the margin to enjoy those things? What if our lives are just too complicated to be disciples of Jesus? In this message, Pastor John Stickl breaks down the practice of simplicity and how it helps us arrange our lives in a way where we can seek God first. We learn that Jesus practiced simplicity which gave Him the margin to respond to what God was doing in Him and through Him – and we can too.
Our lives are arranged around constant noise, but our souls crave peace. Jesus invites us to live a different way by engaging in silence and solitude. But silence and solitude is so much more than “quiet time”! In this message, Pastor John Stickl reminds us that the practice of silence and solitude trains us to live with peace in the midst of chaos and positions us to hear God’s whisper.
Most of us believe that busyness is just part of life and that, the more busy we are, the more successful we are. But, what if we’ve gotten it backwards? What if we’re missing out on the life of freedom God has for us? In this message, Pastor John Stickl teaches us that the Sabbath is not just a spiritual practice, but a command designed for our good. It’s not a rule to follow, but a gift to receive. We learn that the Sabbath is designed to help us rest from work so that God can work in us. God ...
Fasting is a practice that can feel so archaic in our modern day but is actually very strategic. It's the ancient path that has been practiced by the people of God for thousands of years. Fasting is one of the most relevant and necessary practices because it reminds us that we are not sustained by the world but by God alone. In this message, Pastor John Stickl walks through the practice of fasting. We learn that fasting is abstaining from food in order to seek God; we fast from food to feast on ...
What is prayer? What if it's more than just asking God for things? What if it's more than just a religious exercise? What if prayer was simply being aware of God? In this message, Pastor John Stickl shares that prayer is talking with God about the life we're living together. We learn that prayer is intimacy and authority, it's relationship and rulership, and it's communion and commissioning. We learn that prayer is living in the present with God. Jesus, teach us to pray!
Today we wanted to start Season Three of A Different way with a blackout experience by intentionally removing several service elements we love like lights, videos, and a full band to make Jesus the One thing we focus on. In this experience, Pastor John Stickl walks us through a teaching about gold shields and bronze shields from 1 Kings 10-14 and 2 Chronicles 9-12. We learned that bronze is a picture of man, but gold is made by God. Bronze is a form godliness without any power; it's trying to fi...
Do we really want to change? If we want to live like Jesus, we first have to decide we want to be His disciples. If we want Jesus's health, we need to first build our life around Jesus's habits. In this message, Pastor John Stickl recaps Season One of our A Different Way series by reminding us that a disciple is a student of Jesus who is training to be like Him. The spiritual practices/disciplines – the lifestyle of Jesus – opens us up to be fully immersed into the love of the Father, the grace ...
Do you like the direction your life is going? If we want to do the things that Jesus did on-the-spot, we first have to do the things Jesus did behind-the-scenes. Before we jump into Seasons 3 and 4 of A Different Way this fall, we revisited the first message in our series to again ask ourselves, who am I becoming, and who do I want to become? We are all being molded and shaped into the image and likeness of someone. Is it Jesus? In order to do the things that Jesus did, we need to do the things ...
In this upcoming season, are you going to choose your routine, or are you going to let your routine choose you? In this message, Pastor John Stickl invites us to prepare our hearts for the fall by asking us who we need to forgive, what we need to grieve, and where we need to obey. There is a race that God has marked out for each of us, and His grace gives us everything we need to run it. Let's look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, to help us identify where we need to forgive, gri...
What is church? Why does it matter? And why are you here? It all comes back to Jesus because our view of Jesus will determine our view of the church. The more clearly we see Jesus, the more clearly we see everything else. In this message, Pastor John Stickl helps us re-focus on who Jesus is and what He's done for us, he gives us a couple definitions of the church, and he reminds us of who we are as Valley Creek Church. The church was, is, and always will be Jesus' idea, so, Jesus, have Your chur...
Unbelief asks, "What if...?" But unwavering faith says, "Even if...!" In this message, Pastor Becca Reynolds reminds us that our feelings can never lead us into the future God's creating for us... only faith can! Both fear and faith require us to believe in something we can't see. Are you going to choose to let fear of the unknown keep you stuck in the past? Or are you willing to trust that, in God, there is always more? Don't let your belief in bad circumstances become stronger than your belief...
Are you aware that God is with you wherever you go? In this message, Caleb Chapple, one of our Central Students Directors, teaches us how we can learn from how Joshua led the people of Israel to defeat giants and claim the Promised Land. God's presence is the greatest change agent in the universe, and it's what allowed Joshua and the Israelites to be victorious! But remember, if God didn't go with them, then the desert would have been no different than the Promised Land, and the same is true for...
Who defines your needs? The world, the news, social media, your friends? When God and His Word defines our needs, we can trust that He will always give us what we need to be who He's called us to be and do what He's called us to do. In this message, Justin Lanham, one of our Student Directors, reminds us that God is a good Father, and we can trust Him to meet our needs! And the truth is, what we need from God is really what we want in life – freedom, joy, peace, strength, and breakthrough! So ar...
Twice a year, we take intentional time to celebrate and then to rest. This helps us stay healthy, refreshed, and focused on the goodness of God! In this experience, leaders from all our campuses came together to worship, pray over each other, celebrate God's goodness, and declare God's promises over our lives. Church isn't a building, it's a family! Jesus has done so much for us, and through unity, we show Him our gratitude.
God didn't create us for worry! In this message, our Next Gen Pastor, Dave Scriven, teaches us that worry is a choice, and when we choose to worry about anything, it's robbing us of a kingdom life full of peace and joy. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus invites us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, promising us that, when we do, He will provide for us. The enemy wants us to live in a constant state of worry, fear, and control, because when we worry, we're paralyzed. But Jesus can – and wants ...
Trusting in God is a foundational part of being a disciple of Jesus. But, how often do we trust ourselves more than we trust God? In this message, Sebastian Mancillas, our Central Students Director, reminds us that trust and doubt can't coexist. If we try to control everything in our lives, then we're not able to surrender to Jesus. When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, they didn't understand everything He was asking of them, but they still trusted and believed that, as they walked forw...
In times of trouble, we may have heard someone tell us a promise from Romans 8:28, that God works all things for His good – and He does! – but do we believe that? In this message, Dawson Shields, one of our Student Directors, looks back at the life of Paul and Joseph to remind us that God never promised us a life of constant ease and enjoyment, but He does promise us that He will always be at work on our behalf. When we look at our lives through God's perspective, we can see how He can use every...
The Bible is full of God's promises for us! In fact, we may know many of them or have them hanging on the walls in our home, but have we claimed these promises in our heart? In this message, Pastor Jason Hillier kicks off our new summer series, 60 Days of Unfamiliar Promises, by reminding us that God's promises are not common or familiar; they're beautiful and sacred. Our beliefs drive our behaviors. So this summer, can we claim, declare, and walk in the truth of what God has promised us?
Throughout Season 2 of A Different Way, we have received a deeper understanding of what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus. In this message, Pastor John Stickl walked us through reviewing all we have heard from God in Season 2 of our A Different Way series. Reflecting on everything God has revealed to us helps us continue to renew our minds with His truth, and a renewed mind can see God's will! Jesus, make us more and more like You.
Jesus loved to celebrate! So as we continue to train ourselves in the ways of Jesus, we can't ignore the practice of celebration! Celebration is paying attention and calling attention to the goodness of God. In this message, Pastor John Stickl teaches us that there is always more goodness of God than there is brokenness of the world. Have we trained ourselves to see it? Or are we training ourselves to grumble? Celebration isn't looking at how good we are, or how good a certain situation or circu...
