November 15th, 2020 | Eric Laughlin
This Sunday, we heard from Eric Laughlin, as he preached on The Mission of God: the story of God's love for the nations and the role you play in it.
"Be Prepared" – 1 Peter 3:15
August 23rd, 2020 | Mark Tatum
This Sunday, we look at 1 Peter 3:15, and focus on how we can be prepared to make a defense for the hope within us.
1 Peter 3:15
“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”
"Above The Noise" - Psalm 93
August 16th, 2020 | Dave Keener
Psalm 93
The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!
Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, forevermore.
James 4:13-17 "Our Lives are a Mist"
May 3, 2020 | Kyle Brenon
James 4:13-17
"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
"God's Grace In The Midst Of Our Trials" (James 1:1-4)
March 15, 2020 | Kyle Brenon
James 1:1-4
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Ephesians 3:14-21
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
What Preview Are You Watching? (Revelation 5:8-13)
December 29, 2019 | Jake Mitchell | Revelation 5:8-13
What causes someone to lay down their lives in sacrificial obedience to a cause? What causes someone to move forward in giving up their rights to themselves, their futures, and their dreams? Specifically for us, Church, what causes someone to live a life of total surrender and pursuit of Jesus? The answer to that question lies in another question: What preview are you watching? In Revelation 5, God, in His kindness, speaks a preview of hope to people who are struggling to hang on in faithful obedience amidst suffering, persecution, and temptations to compromise in their faith. This preview of hope to them is also a preview of hope to us. And if we allow this reality to grab hold of us, it won’t just transform us for the new year, but it will transform us for every year to come.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
More & More Like Christ - (1 Thessalonians 4:1)
A Faith That is Seen and Moves
July 21, 2019 | John Bartlett | 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
Our faith should be something others see, impacting how we live, as we share the Gospel and make disciples.
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
"A Life of Irony vs. A Life of Integrity"
May 26, 2019| Charles Causey | Psalm 15:1-5
This week, we are probing into a crucial aspect of intimacy with God: living a life of integrity.
The world would make us think we can live any way we want and still be able to call upon God to deliver us from all of our troubles. There is some truth to this—God is faithful when we are faithless, and He is always capable to hear and heal us in our time of need. However, this kind of philosophy misses out on a huge blessing of the Christian life, that of daily intimacy with Him. Is there a current disconnect in the life you present to others and your true secret life?
Praise
December 30, 2018 | Jake Mitchell | Psalm 150:1-2
As we come to the close of the year, many of us take time to reflect on our past year and resolve for the upcoming year. Oftentimes, in our reflecting and resolving, we focus on different practices that need to be changed or continued as we move into the new year. While this is important, God is calling us deeper. During this time of ends and beginnings, let us shift our focus from examining practices to asking God to examine something much deeper–the posture of our heart. One prime thing that sheds light onto the posture of our heart is asking God to examine the state of our PRAISE.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Psalm 150:1-2