Control

We are all controlled by something or someone.  Paul says that Christ's love should control the Christian.  God worked through Jesus to reconcile the whole world to Him.  For that reason we should not live just for ourselves anymore but for God.

As a church this is important to determine what drives us or controls us.  Here are the 3 applications Pastor Chris mentioned to allow Christ's love to control us:

1. be ready for changes
2. be praying for unchurched people
3. be at church 5/15 as we start our values series "Jesus & We".

Breathing Room - Week #4

In our effort to get the most out of life, we continually try to cram one more thing into our life and eventually the whole thing breaks. We end up with a mess.

Usually this shows itself relationally. Relationships thrive with breathing room. Relationships die when we live at our limits.

Part of the struggle is that we don't always realize that we will cheat someone. There is not enough time in life to get everything done, talk with the important people, and achieve everything. Choosing who we will cheat helps us to be more intentional about who/what we will spend time on.

Paul discusses how we are to submit ourselves to people, particularly for married people to our spouses. We are never called to submit ourselves to our careers, progress, or any other healthy tasks. We only have a few unique roles, so we shouldn't trade what is unique to us for something someone else will do eventually.

Breathing Room - Week #3

When we talked about time, we acknowledged that our time is limit, so we need to limit what we do with our time.  However, when it comes to money, we don't necessarily have to limit what we do with our money.  We can't borrow time; we can borrow money.

Without breathing room financially we feel pressure & stress in our relationships.  Usually we do this because we have bought into a lie that "standard of living" is the same as "quality of life".  However, this is not true and some of us have already experienced this truth.  We make more now that we ever have, but we aren't happy or satisfied.  

If there really is a God who knows our names and cares about us, He cares more about our quality of life than our standard of living.  Jesus taught that we shouldn't put much value in standard of living "stuff" because it can be destroyed or stolen.  Jesus encouraged us to put our value in quality of life - relationships with people & with God - and create financial breathing room.

Breathing Room - Week #2

Many of us are inclined to pack more into our calendars & schedules without taking anything out.  We pack so much in that we don't enjoy much of what we do.

While there are many approaches to managing our time, Moses helps us to remember an important step before those approaches.

God is beyond time, but we are not.  Our days are limited.  Moses' prayer to God in Psalm 90:12 (NIV) is so helpful to remember.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

• How does your schedule need to look different?
• + What do you need to add?
• - What or who do you need to remove?
• > What do you need to increase?
• < What do you need to decrease?

Breathing Room - Week #1

Clutter or over-stuffed closets, cars, or basements can be funny; maxed out finances, over-booked schedules, and stressed relationships are not funny.

Many times we put ourselves in these situations because of fear.  This fear is usually based on a

• Fear of missing out
• Fear of falling behind
• Fear of not mattering

Thankfully our Heavenly Father knows what we need.  From commanding a day off to creating margin financially to trusting God to provide, life is better with breathing room.  There is a direct connection between our willingness to trust God and the amount of breathing room in our lives.

Easter - Death to Life

The idea of Jesus moving from death to life seems like non-sense to us.  The good news is that was the same thing Jesus' followers thought after his crucifixion.  Even while they looked into His empty tomb, they assumed someone stole his body.  His closest followers believed He was dead, and He was not coming back.  They thought it was non-sense that Jesus would move from death to life.

...that is until they saw a resurrected Jesus!

These same cowardly, unbelieving followers would receive a new life, new courage, new hope from seeing Jesus move from death to life.  Everything that we believe about Jesus was brought to us by people who saw a resurrected Jesus. 

Jesus offers all of us the same opportunity to move from death to life.  Because the same God who rose Jesus from the dead can live inside of you and me!

Breathing Room - new message series

The busy, fast paced world we live in doesn't leave much room to breath.

• Meetings & projects filling up our work & school calendars
• More activities & lessons jammed into our schedules
• Advertising everywhere encouraging us to buy happiness
• Constant & instant communication through email, text, and social media

Our lack of margin makes us stressed and short-tempered.  It can distract us from the important things in life...our relationships.  This even includes our relationship with God because our willingness to create breathing room is connected to our faith in God.  Join us April 3, as we begin a discussion about this important part of all of our lives.

Life can be better with breathing room.  

The Time Is Now - Week #3

Sometimes when we try to do the right thing or obey God, things don't turn out like we thought they would.  So why should we obey God?  Is it just so we feel better about ourselves?  Do we obey just to receive a blessing from God?

We obey God not just to receive a blessing. but to be a blessing.  Thankfully our Savior, Jesus, saw obedience the same way when He walked into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  His obedience to God's plan has blessed all of us.

We may never know how our obedience to God impacted someone else's life.

• being honest at work or school when others aren't
• forgiving someone even when they don't deserve it
• being kind & compassionate to those on the fringes of society
• loving & valuing others to show they have intrinsic value.

What area in your life do you need to be obedient to God?  How could your obedience bless someone else?

The Time Is Now - Week #2

Are you discouraged?  What did and what should be our approach when we are discouraged.  The Jews who were re-building the Temple also faced discouragement for similar reasons as us - comparison & lack of progress.  God understands this, and He has an answer.

- Be strong through God's power in you.

- Do the work, the last thing He told you to do.

Thankfully, God doesn't leave us to do this alone, but His power works inside of us.  He is with us to help us overcome discouragement!

The Time Is Now - Week #1

We all have un-finished business in some area of our lives.  

As we looked at chapter 1 of Haggai, we see that the Israelites also had un-finished business when they started to rebuild the Temple.  They didn't finish because they began to face opposition.  So they focused on themselves and their families.  God became simply an afterthought.

However, Haggai reminds the people of the importance of obedience and that God is with us!

The Time Is Now - new message series

There are always reasons to wait because of laziness, convenience, fear, discouragement, etc.  When we wait on what God wants us to do however, obedience becomes all the more important.  

Join us starting March 6 as we look at the little book of Haggai and examine being obedient now no matter the circumstances.

Permission Slip message

We all enjoy new, fresh starts.  However, with anything new comes the temptation to back to the old habits, routine, lifestyle.

When it comes to our new life from Jesus, going back to the old could be disastrous.  In Colossians 3, Paul discusses how to avoid slipping back into the old life.  If we give God permission to be in control and permission to let His Words change us, then we can fully enjoy the new life He has given us.  Without giving God permission to work in our lives, we will never fully know how God could have used our lives.

Preventative Groups - Week #3

For this week we all participated in a Life Group as part of the worship service, so that everyone could get a sampling of what can happen connected in a group.

Our discussion revolved around John 5 as we looked at Jesus healing a man who had been crippled for 38 years.  Jesus did for the man what he couldn't do for himself.

This proves to us a bigger point that God did for you what you couldn't do for yourself - fix your relationship with God.

Preventative Groups Week #2

Preventative maintenance is tricky in all areas of life because we don't always know what we are preventing.  Or better yet we don't know how much we are saving ourselves by doing the preventative maintenance.  Life Groups can be the same way.

To gain the full advantage of how God has wired us, we must give other people access to our hearts now.  If we don't, like David in 2 Samuel 11, we are capable of some terrible actions with some horrible consequences.

When we become less accessible, do we make better or worse decisions?

Are you willing to give some people access to your heart who can tell you "No"?

Preventative Groups Week #1

Last Sunday we wrapped up "Five Things that Grow Our Faith" by talking about Providential Relationships.  Those relationships that really have impacted our faith in God through a conversation, a series of conversations, or just through watching the way they lived.  When our relationships intersect God's timing, our faith grows.

While we can't make a Providential Relationship happen, we can put ourselves in places & positions to have a better opportunity to do that.  Primarily, our focus to make those relationships happen is through Small Groups or Life Groups.  Reading Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, we see Solomon's wisdom in having people around to help us when we fall.  In many cases, having people just a bit ahead of us can even prevent us from falling.

Join us the next few weeks as we discuss the power of being connected to a Life Group, and we will give you an opportunity to find or start a group!

Preventative Groups - new message series

Prevention is easy to ignore because of time, energy, & schedules. But what if you could go back and avoid your greatest regret? Starting February 7th, join us as we talk about one of the best ways to prevent regret through groups.

Week #4 - Personal Ministry

Our faith is important to God.  It is so important that He will challenge, exercise, and stretch our faith "muscle" through service.  While we have all wrestled with feeling unprepared & not skilled enough to serve, God grows our faith in those moments when we are not fully prepared or able.

In Matthew 14, Jesus challenges His disciples to do things they could not do on their own, so that they would have to place their trust in Him more.  He challenges them (and us) to do what they can do and trust God to do what only He can do.

Where is God nudging you to serve?  Are you willing to be uncomfortable & possibly unable to do alone what He is asking you to do?

Week #3 - Pivotal Circumstances

Pivotal circumstances can be positive or negative.  However, it seems from experience that the negative circumstances of life are what typically help us grow the most.

The call...

The diagnosis....  

The relationship....  

The tragedy....

While we wouldn't sign-up for this to happen again, somehow God grew our faith in a way maybe He couldn't have done another way. In John 11, we read of a circumstance that Jesus allowed to happen so that He could strengthen the faith of the people.

While in this life we will have difficult circumstances, it is critical to have Christian community support and to remember that God is with us.

“There is only one thing worse than disappointment with God, disappointment without God.”

— Philip Yancey

Week #2 - Private Disciplines

Disciplines are hard.  However, as with any discipline, if you stick with it, it has the potential to become a joyful part of our lifestyle - exercising, eating healthy, organized, etc.  Spiritual disciplines are no different.

In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus teaches us the importance of giving & prayer as ways that God grows our faith.  He challenges us to give our money because that discipline helps us not to place our trust in bank balances or little pieces of paper, but rather in God who sees everything.  He also challenges us to pray as a way to demonstrate that our trust is in God not our circumstances, abilities, or the data around us.

When we give of our resources & pray, we are telling God we trust Him with our money & our time.

Week #1 - Practical Teaching

Looking at Matthew 7:24-29 we see Jesus address the importance not just of being in environments where we hear the Bible taught in practical ways, but that we actually apply what we learn.  

When we see the Bible as something God wants us to do not just know, our faith gets bigger.  Being a consistent attender is of almost no value, if you don't do what the Scriptures teach.  Obedience makes the difference.

Are you practicing and applying the teaching from the Scriptures?

Are you looking more like Jesus?