Merging Lives...

Jesus came to show everyone what life was initially designed to be like & how we are able to live the fullest life imaginable. He led the way for us to follow and then, by emulating HOW He lived, we will be able to live life as we were created to live. Jesus calls us to renew our hearts and our minds. What does that even mean and why do we need to do that? God has given us the incredible gift of our imagination. And, with such a great gift is an incredible responsibility because what exists in the reality of our lives begins within our imagination. God has given us a power to create in our minds and, therefore, create in reality. Jesus calls us to transform our hearts and our minds because our transformed hearts and minds will create a transformed reality in us, around us, and through us. If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The Sermon on the Mount...Message #6

Jesus came to show everyone what life was initially designed to be like & how we are able to live the fullest life imaginable. He led the way for us to follow and then, by emulating HOW He lived, we will be able to live life as we were created to live. The life of Christ is a genuine life. It is not a life of worrying about what things look like. It is a life of authenticity. Of owning what is ours to own, both failures & successes, and surrendering them all to Him. We alone cannot make this life all that it is meant to be. Jesus came to show us that life with Him &  in unity with the Father is the only way to live the fullest life imaginable.. If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The Sermon on the Mount...Message #5

What did Jesus mean by this metaphor of salt & light? Christian character as described in the beatitudes and a Christian influence as defined by Jesus' salt & light metaphor are directly related to each other. Jesus is inviting us to have great influence in shaping our families, communities, culture, & world for His great purpose & to His great outcome. In order to live out that great calling, there are a few things we need to take more seriously...and some things we need to accept responsibility for... If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The Sermon on the Mount...Message #4

Do you want a life that is whole, genuine, satisfying, full? When Jesus says, "I have come that you may have life to the full" (John 10:10), He meant it. And...it is possible! At the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares the "beatitudes." This list of characteristics/attitudes are not a legalistic formula or a list of ethical "duties" that we all need to accomplish. The beatitudes are a series of fundamental emotional attitudes toward God and others that will change our lives & change the lives of everyone we come in contact with. These are the emotional attitudes that are both the cause & the effect of the "full life" that Jesus invites us to live with Him. If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The Sermon on the Mount...Message #3

Today we ask the question, Was Jesus Serious? Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is "probably the best known part of Jesus' teaching...Though arguably the least understood and certainly the least obeyed" (John Stott). The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' Manifesto. He lays out His expectations of who His followers are to BE in this world. Jesus gives clear expectations of how we are supposed to be different...set apart for His purpose...Holy. If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The Sermon on the Mount...Message #2  

Have you ever felt "stuck"? As if there is a level of life waiting for you but you just can't get there? If you've ever felt that way, you have some choices to make... You can simply concede that you've reached a point that you cannot exceed. You can run away and start over. Or, you can do something different than you've done before to try and reach a level you've never achieved before. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, challenges His followers to choose what's behind door #3...to do something different in our life with Him to rise to a level of life that He is showing us is possible. If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The Sermon on the Mount...Message #1  

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables. Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives. After Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He shared with them a story about the attitude with which we are to approach prayer to God. In this parable, Jesus teaches us that prayer is not about "niceness." We are praying to the Creator of the universe, so we are to "approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16). Jesus tells us to approach God with a "not-to-be-deterred" attitude or, as I like to call it, with Shameless Audacity! Pray continuously and pray expecting God to move...pray with faith & trust.

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables. Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives. Jesus was often confronted about traditions because He & the disciples didn't always follow all the old traditions (Because Jesus came to usher in the New - listen to last week!) In this week's parable, Jesus confronts the old way of "doing religion" that consisted of outward appearances. Jesus wanted to see people transformed & hearts renewed. Transformation & renewal is something that happens from the inside out...it begins with our hearts and is expressed in our actions as the goodness of God pours out of our hearts through our words, actions, intentions, & motivations. There is no such thing as "fake it 'till you make it" because that is all about outward appearances...It's all about surrendering to God and abiding in His presence.

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables. Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives. Jesus came to ring in something completely new. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26) Jesus came so that we may have that new heart and new nature so we can become a new creation. In this week's parable, Jesus reminds us that we cannot bring our old self, our old nature with us as we are transformed into His image. We must open our hands to let go of the old before we are able to receive the new life Jesus brings.

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables. Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives. This week, we begin with a HUGE & CRITICAL realization...a critical first step (& an "always" step we need to continually remember!) God's Kingdom is greater than anything and everything else we could even imagine. God's Kingdom is the "Pearl of Great Price" or the "Priceless Treasure". If we truly realized the value of God's Kingdom, we would surrender everything for it because it is worth more than anything & everything.

As we close out 2021 and move into a new year it is important for us to come together and move forward into the mission which God has invited us to join Him. Word of King Solomon's wisdom and achievements traveled throughout the world. As his reputation for wisdom spread it caused people to wonder about and question the authenticity of the rumors. In 1 Kings 10, Solomon receives a guest who traveled far to "test Solomon with hard questions" to see for herself if Solomon really was the man she heard he was. Listen in and find out what this has to do with us and the Spirit & Mission God has for us (Seeds of Faith & the Church as a whole) heading into 2022...

Do you feel that you have gifts to give that are worthy of a King? Do you ever feel inadequate? Unprepared? Unworthy? Undeserving? Do not fear. Do not be discouraged. Because God knows the gifts He has given to us and all He asks is that we give all we've got.  

Advent is the time where we, as God's people, prepare for and anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ. At Christmas we celebrate the 1st Advent and we prepare for, anticipate, and celebrate the FACT that there will be a 2nd Advent. Advent begins with hope...the sure and confident expectation in God's faithfulness and presence. When our hope is firmly grounded in God alone, we experience a peace that is beyond our understanding. That peace clears space within our hearts and our lives for JOY! Joy isn't a feeling. Feelings come and go...JOY is a state of being...always present at the foundation of all of our other feelings. When we HOPE in God, He gives us PEACE, and His PEACE allows us to feel JOY even in the midst of hardship and sorrow because God is the source of all our HOPE and life.

Advent is the time where we, as God's people, prepare for and anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ. At Christmas we celebrate the 1st Advent and we prepare for, anticipate, and celebrate the FACT that there will be a 2nd Advent. Advent begins with hope...the sure and confident expectation in God's faithfulness and presence. When our hope is firmly grounded in God alone, we experience a peace that is beyond our understanding. This peace comes because we are centered, grounded, and focused on Christ and all He is and all He invites us to be and do in this world. As we follow Him and become transformed into His image, we have the incredible privilege to be the bearers of His peace to a world so desperately in need of the peace that only comes from Him!

Advent is the time where we, as God's people, prepare for and anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ. At Christmas we celebrate the 1st Advent and we prepare for, anticipate, and celebrate the FACT that there will be a 2nd Advent. Advent begins with hope...the sure and confident expectation in God's faithfulness and presence. We know that God is who He says He is and does what He says He is going to do. That is our hope. God is our only sure hope because He promises to never leave us or forsake us...no matter what!

This 7th letter to the 7th church of Revelation, the church of Laodicea, is the most stern and the most tender of the 7 letters. Jesus first shares his disappointment with their attitude of compromise. They didn't zealously stand for for Christ & Jesus lets them know that he sees it.  As strongly as Jesus admonishes them, he offers them hope by letting them know how beloved they are. No matter what is in our past, Jesus offers grace, mercy, hope, and love. Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are. He is always knocking on the door of our heart...waiting for us to hear and respond to him. In the book of Revelation (chapters 2 & 3), John shares Jesus' words of encouragement and challenge to 7 churches. In this mini-series, "Whoever Has Ears...", we are learning about what Jesus saw in these 7 churches and how his encouragement and challenge applies to us today. Some suggest that the challenges facing these 7 churches show the chronological development of Church history and the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church over time. One could make an argument that the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church is simply a reflection of that same regression of the individual/collective members of the church family. As we learn from these 7 churches, an important (& very difficult) thing for us as believers to do is to ask ourselves how many of these boxes (stages of faith regression) can I check, for myself, in my life of faith?

The church in Philadelphia got it. They kept God's Word and did not deny the name and mission of Jesus. They loved God and the loved people. They loved each other well and that loved poured out of the church and overflowed in their community and throughout the whole region. The church in Philadelphia knew Jesus' love and they loved like Jesus so the world would come to know Jesus. In the book of Revelation (chapters 2 & 3), John shares Jesus' words of encouragement and challenge to 7 churches. In this mini-series, "Whoever Has Ears...", we are learning about what Jesus saw in these 7 churches and how his encouragement and challenge applies to us today. Some suggest that the challenges facing these 7 churches show the chronological development of Church history and the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church over time. One could make an argument that the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church is simply a reflection of that same regression of the individual/collective members of the church family. As we learn from these 7 churches, an important (& very difficult) thing for us as believers to do is to ask ourselves how many of these boxes (stages of faith regression) can I check, for myself, in my life of faith?

The Walking Dead...is that a real thing? Maybe not, but "The Walking Death" may be a better descriptor. The corruption of this world (& religion) does not offer life. It only offers death and darkness. Jesus invites us to bring His life, the Full Life, to this world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, what is in us is what pours out of us...So, rather than being people filled with death and darkness that this world has to offer (The Walking Death), how do we become The Walking Full Life? Listen in this week as we deal with some hard truths. In the book of Revelation (chapters 2 & 3), John shares Jesus' words of encouragement and challenge to 7 churches. In this mini-series, "Whoever Has Ears...", we are learning about what Jesus saw in these 7 churches and how his encouragement and challenge applies to us today. Some suggest that the challenges facing these 7 churches show the chronological development of Church history and the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church over time. One could make an argument that the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church is simply a reflection of that same regression of the individual/collective members of the church family. As we learn from these 7 churches, an important (& very difficult) thing for us as believers to do is to ask ourselves how many of these boxes (stages of faith regression) can I check, for myself, in my life of faith?

Corruption is a serious issue in the world today. We, as the church, are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in this world. Corruption within destroys our witness to the world.Corruption in our lives and in the church is like a viral infection...It brings nothing but death. So...how do we "UnCorrupt" ourselves?  Listen in as we learn from this letter Jesus sent to the church in Thyatira helping them to see, identify, and deal with the corruption that was threatening to kill them, the church, and the community. In the book of Revelation (chapters 2 & 3), John shares Jesus' words of encouragement and challenge to 7 churches. In this mini-series, "Whoever Has Ears...", we are learning about what Jesus saw in these 7 churches and how his encouragement and challenge applies to us today. Some suggest that the challenges facing these 7 churches show the chronological development of Church history and the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church over time. One could make an argument that the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church is simply a reflection of that same regression of the individual/collective members of the church family. As we learn from these 7 churches, an important (& very difficult) thing for us as believers to do is to ask ourselves how many of these boxes (stages of faith regression) can I check, for myself, in my life of faith?

Corruption is a serious issue in the world today. We, as the church, are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in this world. Corruption within destroys our witness to the world. Corruption in our lives and in the church is like a viral infection...A virus is an outside corrupting force that does nothing but bring destruction and death for living things. Allowing anything other than the Fruit of the Spirit into our hearts, minds, and lives will, eventually, bring destruction and death to our lives as individuals and the life, vision, and mission of the church. In the book of Revelation (chapters 2 & 3), John shares Jesus' words of encouragement and challenge to 7 churches. In this mini-series, "Whoever Has Ears...", we are learning about what Jesus saw in these 7 churches and how his encouragement and challenge applies to us today. Some suggest that the challenges facing these 7 churches show the chronological development of Church history and the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church over time. One could make an argument that the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church is simply a reflection of that same regression of the individual/collective members of the church family. As we learn from these 7 churches, an important (& very difficult) thing for us as believers to do is to ask ourselves how many of these boxes (stages of faith regression) can I check, for myself, in my life of faith?