My Bad Religious Experience - Week #2

Many of us have had a bad religious experience for one reason or another. For many people, the main cause of the bad experiences is judgment about their past. In some way the religion or church has judged, alienated or made people feel disqualified because of their past.

There are several reasons why this happens, but when we look at Jesus and the Bible, we see something different. In the book of Acts, we see Saul/Paul who had a very bad past - worse than all of ours! Yet Jesus chose to use Paul to spread His message around the world!

If there is hope for Paul, there is hope for ALL! Your past doesn't have to stop God using you. There are three ways to deal with your past:

1. Acknowledge it.

2. Deal with it.

3. Leverage it.

The second is where we can help. If you would fill out this form about your situation, we will contact you about ways to deal with your past and possibly allow God to leverage it to help other people.

 Series adapted from North Point Community Church

My Bad Religious Experience - Week #1

Religion is one of the taboo topics in our culture. However, unlike politics, sports, or technology, religion doesn't have the same type empirical evidence to support positions, arguments, or beliefs. Many people rely on their religious experiences to determine what or how they feel about religion. Unfortunately, all religions have created bad experiences that have pushed people away, especially Christianity.

One of the big obstacles for many people searching for "god" or meaning through religion is that it can seem like an exclusive club designed for exclusive people. There is a way things are done, disciplines to practice, routines to do, and expectations to meet. All of these can create an atmosphere where outsiders can't join or don't fit in. This isn't a problem if religion is all just kind of made up.

But what if God really did something in the 1st century for everybody? If we look at Jesus' life against the actions of the early church, we see that the church was becoming an exclusive club for exclusive people.  In Romans 3, however, Paul shows us that Jesus' message is for everybody so the church should be for everybody too!

Series adapted from North Point Community Church

My Bad Religious Experience

Have you had a bad religious experience?  

• Maybe it was boring.

• Maybe the group was unwelcoming.

• Maybe the people were hypocritical.

What if "god" is actually more than that, better than that, and bigger than that?

Maybe we should talk about it.  

The conversation begins Sunday, September 11.

Guardrails - Week #4

All of us regardless of our spiritual beliefs, have hopes and dreams for our future. For those of us who are Christians, we even believe that God could use us to positively impact the future. However, we all also have the potential to miss that future because of how we manage our appetites or desires.

There are many appetites beyond food like an appetite for progress, love, responsibility, or things. If we don't keep our appetites in check, we all know that disaster could be close by.

In Genesis 25 we learn from the story of Jacob & Esau that we shouldn't trade our future for a bowl of stew. Our appetites can cause us to sacrifice future opportunities and relationships. Re-framing the decision in light of how it could impact future is one way to handle this.

What appetite guardrails do you need to establish to protect the future God may have for you?

Guardrails - Week #3

God knows something about all of us because what has been true of all humanity is true of you & me.  God's chief competitor for your heart is your money.

Jesus was very clear in Matthew 6:24 that you cannot serve both God and money.  Whatever money or stuff represent for you - safety, security, opportunities, material possessions, or control  - the pursuit of those things can capture your heart. Then we are led towards one of two danger zones - saving or consuming.  We justify our positions by saying...

• I'm a saver
• I'm careful
• I'm just a spender
• I enjoy life

The problem is that both danger zones can be self-centered, fueled by greed, and leave us living as if there is no God.  God uses the habit of giving to combat money from being the master of our hearts and lives.  Giving a percentage of our money away helps us remember that not everything that comes our way is for our consumption.

• What guardrails do you need to establish for consuming or saving?
• Are you giving away a percentage of your income?

Giving to your local church is a great way to support the mission of God and to remember that God is the Master of your life not money.

Guardrails - Week #2

This Sunday we had a special combined program with our Chinese Congregations in which we celebrated 6 baptisms! Click here if you want to learn more or sign-up for a Life Group.

Friendship can a be a good and bad thing because friends can influence us. We are all acceptance magnets - attracted to acceptance and repelled by rejection. We open up when we feel accepted; we close down when we feel rejected. Unfortunately this principle doesn't care if the friends are wise or foolish.

While most areas of life need at least some guardrails, friendship particularly needs 2 guardrails. In Proverbs 13:20, Solomon teaches 2 powerful, friendship guardrails.

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

- Are there some foolish friends you need to distance yourself from?

- Are you in opportunities and environments to make wise friends?

Guardrails - Week #1

A guardrail in driving is "a system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off limit areas". We don't usually argue that guardrails shouldn't be present on bridges, medians, or cliffs. In driving, we acknowledge that there are some dangers beyond the guardrail.

In our lives, we also acknowledge danger somewhere out there. But we usually do not acknowledge that we need guardrails to protect & direct us away from that danger.

Our culture will not encourage us to establish guardrails, in fact they most likely will not understand them at all. In Ephesians 5, Paul says that we must be careful how we live, as wise not unwise, and taking advantage of every opportunity.

What area of your life do you need some guardrails?

Guardrails New Series This Sunday

Guardrails are important in driving. However, they mostly go unnoticed until we need them. Thankfully for us, someone else already established them. In our lives the same can be true. Unfortunately, we are the only ones who can establish them, and our culture will not encourage guardrail development. Join us starting August 14 as we discuss different guardrail areas and how to establish them.

YOUnited States of America - Week #5

Just like the nation of Israel, there is something inside of you that wants to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want.  Similarly our God will still hear our cries for help even in our disobedience.

In these dark days of disobedience with no King in Israel, God was beginning to decorate for Christmas in the book of Ruth.  He would use 2 women and a man.  One of the women had come to the point believing God had abandoned her or didn't care about her.  The man decided to go against the culture around him and believe that God was still at work.

While none of them could probably fully comprehend the magnitude of their involvement, they were all at the epicenter of the activity of God.  Throughout Ruth we see an important question answered in different ways...when you could yield your life to another, will you be the king or yield to the King?

YOUnited States of America - Week #4

Everyone has had a moment when we had to answer the question - what do you do when your body wants what your heart knows is wrong?  Your answer to that question can speak to the success and/or happiness you feel.

Unfortunately this is nothing new for humanity.  Back in ancient Israel, one of their leaders Samson faced the same dilemma.

Samson had been set apart for something extraordinary even before his birth.  He had superhuman strength that God was going to use to rescue the nation of Israel, and God's Spirit rested on Samson in a special way.

Unfortunately Samson's desire for the enemy's women got in the way of what he knew was right.  He was so intoxicated by what his body wanted that he did some very stupid things and went to the edge of disaster...and eventually over the edge.  

You have the freedom to do what your body wants or what your heart knows is right.  Because your body can be the temple of God's Spirit, you should honor God with your body.

YOUnited States of America - Week #3

Are you an extraordinary person? What if you decided to be an extraordinary... employee, wife, son, friend? When we ask the question "what would an extraordinary person do" we seem to know the answer.

Unfortunately, many of us rarely choose to be extraordinary. These are 3 common reasons you might not be extraordinary:

1. You use your freedom to be like everybody else.

2. You use your freedom to trust in the data you receive.

3. You don't know your identity.

As Christians, we are invited just like the nation of Israel to be so extraordinary that those around us would want to participate in what our God is doing. However, we let these ordinary things get in the way.

In Judges chapters 6-8, we find Gideon hiding from the captors of Israel. An angel from God comes to Gideon and reminds him that God is with him.

What would you do if you were confident God was with you, in you, and for you?

God invited Israel & Gideon to an extraordinary life.  Gideon trusted God.  The same invitation is available today for you & me.

Message adapted from North Point Community Church.

YOUnited States of America - Week #2

We all desire freedom.  It is actually a big part of the American dream - to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want. Sometimes we add the condition...as long as you don't hurt anyone.

This is similar to the state where we find the nation of Israel in the beginning of the book of Judges during the time God was supposed to be their King. However, the nation abandoned His law in favor of what they thought was freedom. Even though they made a commitment to follow God and his standards, they thought they were gaining freedom from their King by choosing another set of standards. However, actually they were just trading one king for another.

Sometimes we do the same thing thinking

• we are choosing to do what we want
• we deserve this
• we have the freedom to do it
• no one can tell us what to do

When in reality, we are simply trading one king for another because eventually what started as an expression of our freedom has now mastered us. Because you were designed to be ruled, not to be autonomous.

YOUnited States of America - Week #1

Freedom can be great!  In fact, all of us desire it in some form.  However, freedom without responsibility leads to problems.  Individual rights must be coupled with individual responsibilities.

Many times we hope that the law will provide those responsibilities.  However the law only represents the minimum requirement and won't inspire greatness, excellence, or virtue.  If only the law regulates our freedoms, it is a recipe for us to be as selfish as we legally can.

Our hope isn't in who we elect or what laws we should pass, though you should vote and be informed.  If only Christians would treat their freedom like Paul instructed in Galatians 5, our country could change dramatically.  You are to leverage your freedom for the sake of the freedom of those around you.  If we don't do this, we will devour ourselves in our quest to be free as individuals.

New Series begins This Sunday

The United States of America is a republic of 50 individual states.  It is also a huge group of individual people.  Both states & people have rights, freedoms, and ways they want to live.  What happens if either become more about the individual than the group?  Join us Sundays in July as we discuss our rights, freedoms, and ways to live along with how God views those things.

See the world

We all have a way we see the world.  We all also have lens through which we see the world that have been impacted by family, experiences, and people.

Unfortunately we have all become accustomed to the way we see the world.  Sometimes we blame everything and everyone around us, but the truth is our view needs to change and adapt.

What if God wanted to challenge the way all of us see the world?  In Acts 9, we see a glimpse of how God can challenge and adjust how we see the world.  Saul saw the Christianity as a threat and distraction from those truly following God.  God challenged the way Saul and a Christian enemy, Ananias, saw Him and the way He works.  Even Ananias, who was following Jesus, had his views challenged.  No matter where you are on any spectrum (politics, religious, relationships, etc.) God might want to adjust your view of the world.

We value... - Week #3

If God answered all our prayers, for many of us the only people impacted would be us and our families. It is easy to just pray safe, small prayers that don't involve any risk or sacrifice.

However, when we look at the early church, they prayed and lived very differently. In Acts 4 & 5, the church leaders were faced with persecution, yet they prayed for more boldness knowing they could be harmed along the way. Even when they were severely beaten or killed, the early Christians continued to live out and pray a bold faith.

To accomplish our mission & vision, we have to value...God-sized goals that might involve risk & sacrifice. One way to verify if the goal is large enough is to ask "Is this something we could achieve on our own or only with God's help?"

These type of goals might involve risk & sacrifice, but safe and comfortable was not the way Jesus came to live. We have been entrusted with the most important message of new life, and we can't become trapped by small meaningless goals.

We value... - Week #2

What determines how God views you?  Is it your behavior, your church attendance, your prayers?  Behavior is so important in life that sometimes we project that onto God.

However, God's love for everyone is not based behavior, performance, or under any conditions.  He loves us in spite of those things.  Jesus constantly taught & lived this out.  One particularly powerful instance happened in Luke 15 when He had 2 completely different groups of people together.  He was able to teach both the law-keepers and law-breakers that their behavior didn't impact God's view of them - Jesus did everything!

In this parable, we see through Jesus that God values people regardless of what they have done.  We should value unchurched people as much as churched people.

We value... - Week #1

While our mission is "to help people take a next step to follow Jesus" and our vision is "to create churches for more than church people", how do we get there and make that happen?

There is a strong connection between what organizations do and what they value.  Values are important to an organization because we do what we value and we value what we do.

Jesus lived out many values, but in John 8:1-11 He shows us one of the most important values of His time on Earth.  The way Jesus showed the religious leaders and sinners His value for people was fairly remarkable.  He showed everyone that God values people above everything.  Therefore, we should value people above everything.

What gets in the way of you valuing people above everything?

New Series begins this Sunday

...lots of things - identity, ourselves, traditions, people, etc.  What we value as a church matters just like it does individually.  Many times we don't realize what we really value until we have to make a difficult decision.  Join us starting This Sunday as we discuss our church values and how we can ensure we really value them.

Mother's Day - Comparison Trap

Comparing is something most of us begin doing at an early age.  We compare to see if we measure up, are ok, and fit in.  The problem is that there is no finish line to these comparisons; they could go on forever.  There  will always be someone nicer, better, and with more.

Add to this the fact that many of us also compare our spouses, kids, families, and friends to other people's spouses, kids, families, and friends where we drive ourselves and these people crazy!

Should we just fold our hands and sit on the sideline of life so we don't compare ourselves?  King Solomon actually speaks to this in Ecclesiastes 4:4-8, and he offers us maybe the most powerful advice in verse 6.

Solomon says it is better to grab all we can with one hand and keep one hand open than to use both hands to grab all we can.  When we keep one hand open, we allow God to place in it and take out what He wants.  One hand open allows us to have peace, tranquility, and trust in God.  Both hands closed results in stress & no peace.  It also means there is something you can't grab, while you hold on to things God may want to take from you.