The birth of Jesus reminds us that God knows us and sees us. It is the story of hope for a hopeless world. In this message we're going to look at the very real and modern problem of hopelessness and how the birth of Christ brings hope to us once again.
12.10.17 - I Feel Alone
While the Christmas season is one of great joy for many, it can be a sad time and lonely time for others. In this message we'll look at the struggle with loneliness and the ancient roots of this issue that go back all the way to the beginning of creation. We'll also consider Mary and how she may have felt when she first heard she was going to give birth to Jesus.
12.03.17 - Consumed
Of all the countries of the world, the one most defined by consumerism is America. What does it mean when we consume so much? What does it mean to our humanity? In this second message of Advent we'll look at consumer culture and consider how Jesus challenges to walk a different road.
11.26.17 - I'm So Hungry
At Thanksgiving time, food ends up front and center in our minds and conversation (and gratitude!). What are the modern problems we have around food? Specifically what are the social justice issues in our own city about food and what can we do about them? In this message we'll look at the concept of hunger in our city and how the ancient followers of Christ had a unique solution to address hunger- one that can still work today.
11.12.17 - I'm Addicted to My Phone
Technology permeates every part of our lives--work, home, friendships, dating. And while much of technology is great and fun and even helpful, it isn’t all great. Are there limits to how we use technology? Should their be limits? In this message we'll look at Jesus' teaching on how to strategically retreat from culture. We'll also look at ways we can put healthy boundaries around technology so we can live healthier lives.
11.5.17 - The New Sexual Revolution
Harvey Weinstein, Hugh Hefner and the #metoo hashtags have brought the topic of sex to the surface again in our culture. We live in our culture that is sexually conflicted and sends a lot of mixed messages. How do we cut through all that? In this message we'll look at how the Christian sexual ethic differed from the Roman culture of it’s day and how it differs from our culture today. In digging into Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, we'll discover ways the Christian understanding of sex can challenge and even help correct our current cultural ideas.
10.29.17 - This Job is Killing Me
Over the course of our lives, we'll spend about 80,000 hours of our lives at a job. So it’s important that we think about what we're doing there and how we're doing it. God is interested in our whole lives and a big part of our lives is spent at work. What is the purpose of work? How should we view it? And what are the modern traps we fall into when we think about work? In this message we'll look at the Biblical ideas about work and see how they help us deal with our modern work frustrations.
10.22.17 - Ancient Habits for the Modern Storm
Modern America is in an unprecedented age of anxiety. The experience of feeling overwhelmed by normal life is so common that it leads us to ask - Is there something bigger going on in our culture? There is. In this message we'll see that the cultural storm is a crisis of habit, and it's affecting everyone. But we'll also see there are ancient answers for this modern problem in the centuries-old practice of the "rule of life," which refers to a set of communal habits intended to shape a community in love. We'll look at a modern adaptation of a rule of life called The Common Rule, and talk about how formational habits are central to living lives of love for God and neighbor.
10.15.17 - A New Kind of Slavery
Our world is improving in so many ways. Technology is amazing. Who would’ve thought that we could video chat easily with people from all over the world? Even though many things are getting easier we still have a lot of problems.When we drill down into those problems we see things that humanity has always struggled with. In this series, we'll reflect on problems we all deal with and look to some ancient sources to find answers. In this message we'll explore freedom and what it takes to truly be free.
10.08.17 - Live With The End in Mind
If Heaven and Hell are real places and real people will actually go there, then what can we do about that? How should we live now? In this message, we'll look at the difference this makes to our lives now and how we should be living in light of eternity.
10.1.17 - Is Hell For Real?
Jesus teaches about Hell more than anyone else in the Bible. He believed that it's real and that people will actually go there one day. Perhaps no other idea is offensive to the modern mind than this idea that a supposedly loving God could send people to Hell. In this message we'll look at Hell and how it is actually related to peace and love and see what it teaches us about our own hearts.
09.24.17 - What Will Heaven Be Like?
Many Americans believe in a place like Heaven that they go to when they die. However, we have lots of questions about Heaven.Who will be there? What will our bodies be like? How old will we be? Will we know people there? In this message we'll look at the scriptures on this and see what they teach about these questions
09.17.17 - What Happens When You Die?
It’s a fact of life, we all die; but what happens after that? Is that really the end? Is there nothing after that? In this message we'll look at what one of Jesus’s closest followers believed about what happens after death, and what difference that makes for how we live our lives here and now.
09.10.17 - What If It Doesn't Get Better?
Surveys show that most Americans believe in some kind of heaven, but our specific beliefs about heaven are all over the place. What will it be like? Who goes there? Who doesn’t go there? In this new series we'll be talking all about Heaven, Hell and HOPE and why any of that stuff matters. In this first message we'll explore why we need Heaven and those situations where things on Earth just don’t actually seem to get any better.
09.03.17 - The Goodness of Relationships
The first thing that God said was not good was for man to be alone. This sentiment is echoed in all of Scriptures. What does it look like to build strong life-giving friendships?
08.27.17 - The Goodness of Man
God's creation of mankind is the climax of the Creation Story. God tells us that we are made in His image. What exactly does that mean and how do we reconcile it with all of the pain and suffering we see in the world?
08.20.17 - The Goodness of Time
At some point in life, we must all face our mortality and how limited our time here on earth actually is. During the Creation Story, God creates time and calls it 'good.' How do we understand the goodness of time and make the most of ours?
08.13.17 - The Goodness of Creation
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." Those words at the beginning of Genesis comprise one of the most recognized sentences in the world. We've heard it a thousand times, but have we ever stopped to consider what it means? What does the creation story in Genesis 1 and 2 tell us? What doesn't it tell us? There is far more going on in the story that we may have realized. In this message we'll explore the Creation Story and what the rest of the Bible teaches us about God's Creation and how we should relate to it.
08.06.17 - The Goodness of God
The way in which we communicate often says as much about us as what we communicate. God first revealed Himself to us through the act of creation. What does Genesis 1 tell us about the nature and character of God?
07.30.17 - Rewrite Your Future - The Choice is Yours
The road to a new future is paved with all sorts of choices. The challenge is to recognize where we are making them and then own them. In this final message of the series we will look at how Jesus challenges us to look beyond surface actions and look at our own hearts. The choices we make reveal our hearts.