from Luke 2:1-20
Order. We spend a great deal of time and energy in our lives seeking to achieve and maintain some sort of order. And yet, all it takes is a phone call, a meeting at work, a notice in the mail, a visit to the doctor to realize that at any given moment we are a breath away from chaos breaking in and disrupting our safe, calculated lives.
The good news is, as a census was being taken in the Roman Empire…as order was being set…Jesus was entering the world…not in the midst of order, but on the fringe of it…on the edge of chaos.
In unexpected ways to unlikely people the birth of Jesus and news of His birth came…with a proclamation that through Christ, God is coming to make peace in the midst of the chaos…
w/ Vern Collins
from Luke 1:57-80
Have you ever thought of yourself as a tour guide? While you may not make a living directing sightseers, you are living a life that people are watching.
With that said, the question becomes: what is the life your living pointing to? In the way you spend your time, energy, finances…the passions you pursue…what does your life point to as being of utmost importance? Is it truly worth pointing others to?
What if, in this Christmas season, you began living a life pointing to Jesus?
w/ Vern Collins
from Luke 1:26-38
God will act. Things will change. This is the hope of Advent. But have you ever stopped to consider HOW God initiates and brings about this change in the world?
Have you ever considered that God might just ask YOU to be a part of His kingdom breaking in to the world…in to LIVES around you?
Many of us would shy away from such an invitation because we are convinced that there is nothing in us that would qualify us for such a task. What it as long as you thought such a thing…that meant you were right where God wants you to be…poised to change the world around you?
w/ Vern Collins
from Joshua 24
Options. Many live in a culture full of options. Options for clothing, cars, the way you spend your time…upgrade options, warranty options, media options, options for the way you connect with others…it is a culture that caters to the consumer.
What if, however, we have become so accustomed to crafting this life to be the most comfortable it can, that we have made optional things that should not be?
Take serving and loving others for example…Jesus never presented it as an option…even in our Old Testament passage from Joshua, we see that amidst the options of lesser gods, Joshua makes it clear that those options are no option at all, really.
What if the way you served was a life style, not simply another option on your list?
w/ Luke Edwards
from Revelation 7:9-16
Silent Mediation. Old Hymns. Traditional. Contemporary. Praise and Worship. There are as many different opinions about what worship should be as there are people worshiping…or as there are people in church.
As we begin our “Foundations” series by looking at both foundations of the faith and foundations of who we are as a church and how we accomplish our mission of, “Loving our Community and inviting all to discover life in Christ,” we begin with worship as being a vital piece of that identity.
What your worship were not a matter of preference of style, but was the, “True Worship,” Jesus refers to in John 4, and that we catch a glimpse of in the vision of the throne in Revelation 7?
w/ Vern Collins
from 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Whether it is the worry associated with not having enough, or the pressure of knowing how to steward if you have it, money continued to be for many one of the greatest causes of stress in many people’s lives.
While it is a necessary part of living in this consumer-driven culture, surely God’s intention was never for it to become the burden that it is.
In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul is telling of a group of believers who though they find themselves in the midst of severe persecution and poverty, are begging for the opportunity to participate in the offering for the Jerusalem church.
How is this possible, when many of us stress over paying bills for the roof over our heads.
Perhaps our problem is less a money issue, and more one of perspective…imagine how you would view the things in your life, money included, if you had a bigger view of God.
w/ Vern Collins
Ephesians 2:11-22
In the Creation story in Genesis we see that were not only born out of the relationship of Who God is in Three Persons, but we were created with relationship in mind. Add to that science’s understanding that physically and emotionally we have to have relationship (because without it both the mental and physical state of our bodies suffer), and we know we need relationship.
If this is the case, then why are relationships often one of the biggest burdens and largest source of stress in our lives? Because we are broken people trying to be connected to broken people.
What if you approached relationship differently based on the relationship God has mended with you through Jesus Christ?
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 24:1-8, Mark 4:35-40
How long, O Lord…how long? So many around the world, those affected by the events told in the headlines and those who watch from afar, find themselves asking this question.
How long? How long must this go on…this hurt and pain?
As we begin our 5 week “Overwhelmed” series, we do so by looking at the headlines. We are overwhelmed with difficulty in this world…a world that is beginning to look much like that which Jesus describes to His Disciples in Matthew 24.
Perhaps, though, rather than worry about when, we would do well to worry about where.
Where is Jesus in the midst of this? What if you lived knowing He was right in the middle of the storm with you? In a place of peace, and faith?
w/ Vern Collins
from Philippians 3:3-16
What goals have been set before you? What are you chasing? What are your dreams for your life? Have you accomplished any of those goals? Are you in the midst of chasing them? What happens when you’ve completed them? What happens when you accomplish your goals?
What are you going to do now?
How does that accomplishment leave you feeling? Satisfied? Empty? Worn thin? Like you have purpose, or like life has been stolen from you?
What if you pursued the dream that Jesus and the dream He has for you with the same drive that fuels the pursuit of your own dreams?
What if the dream Jesus has for you was enough?
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 5:1-12
Once we truly begin to wrap our minds and hearts around God’s dream for this world…that all will be made right…that even now, Christ, through His church is working to make things right, to bring hope, to bring healing, to offer something “more,” to a hurting world…once you find yourself open to that in your own life, it becomes a compelling invitation to make that dream real for the world around you.
But it is difficult.
While it is a dream the world needs, it is one that often seems out of place…like it is somehow competing with the dreams this world has and the things the world chases.
Perhaps a better understanding of the things Jesus values in the Kingdom He came to inaugurate gives us a better understanding of what God sees as beautiful…and a deeper willingness to embrace those things in your own life.
w/ Vern Collins
from John 1:35-51
Have you experienced something so amazing that you wanted to tell everyone you know…yet at the same time, you didn’t really want to tell anyone because you were afraid of what might happen to that experience?
How have we come to the place where we treat the Gospel the same way? How have we come to the place where we treat the Hope found in Jesus like something we want to protect for our own? Jesus is God’s dream for humanity, God’s dream in the flesh…open for all…and yet so many are never invited into the dream.
Perhaps being reminded of your own invitation into the dream…perhaps being reminded that the invitation we offer to others was never meant to be complicated…it was meant to be as simple as, “Come and See.”
w/ Vern Collins
from John 6:24-35
The journey through this life is full of transitions…transition between jobs, transition in relationship, transition in faith, transition in family, transition in seasons of life…we’ve talked about what it means to navigate those transitions, but the questions remains: what anchors you in those transitions? Do you have what you need for the journey?
In our passage this morning from John’s Gospel, we find Jesus promising a bread that will last…what is this meal He is offering? Is it still available today? If so, where do we find it, and how could it be so lasting?
Come to the Table, and see…
w/ Vern Collins
from John 3:16-17
While it might just be a verse so familiar that you have become numb to the weight of it, John 3:16 carries for you a foundational truth that will anchor you in any transition or season of life you happen to find yourself in. The keys to appreciating the power in these words of Jesus are recognizing the desperation of your situation, understanding the difficulty of this kind of love, realizing the reality of the remedy, and seeing the danger in keeping your distance from this life-giving truth.
w/ Vern Collins
from Mark 9:2-8
We came away from week 1 of our “Transitions” series daring to believe that transitions not only carry the possibility of being good, but also necessary for what God desires to teach us…about Who He is…about who we are…not only does God teach in the midst of transition, but He is faithful to use transition to prepare us for what is next.
So knowing that God is not surprised by your circumstances, that God does not waste time, and that He knows you intimately…just how do you go about allowing God to maximize the transitions in your life to the fullest extent?
Simple.
Listen. That’s it. Listen to Him. That’s the starting point. That’s the instruction for the journey…listen.
w/ David Hockett
from Luke 4:1-13
Life is full of transitions. Transitions in work. Transitions in relationship. Transitions from one stage of life to another. They are simply part of the rhythm of life.
When transitions in life go smoothly, they are little more than one thing ending and another beginning. When transitions become difficult, however, they can begin to feel more like an interruption or a road block to whatever may be coming next.
As we begin this new series on transitions, we find from the story of Jesus’ time in the wilderness, that not only is can we find purpose in transition, but that God is faithful in the midst of them.
w/ Vern Collins
from Acts 10:44-48
In our final week of our “Questions” series, we wrestle with perhaps one of the most piercing questions yet.
Have you experienced the love of God? Do you share it with others, or do you find yourself being choosey with whom you decide to share it? Have you experienced the grace of God? Do you freely offer grace to both your friends and your enemies? Have you experienced new life in Christ? Do you share that new life with the world around you, or is it something you keep to yourself?
In this week’s passage, we find in Peter a willingness to trust the end without seeing it, a willingness to go to the fringes, and a willingness to offer the hope of Christ to the most unlikely people…
Are you willing to do the same?
w/ Vern Collins
from Mark 8:31-38
What does a new perspective of Jesus mean for any who seek Him? It means a deeper understanding of why He came and what life with Him is meant to be.
In this week’s passage, the Disciples come face to face with some shocking news that means everything for them is about to change…perhaps more should change for us as well.
Is the life you are pursuing with Christ truly a life WITH Him, or is it a life that seeks only to fit Him in to the places that are safe…the places in your life where He will do the least amount of damage?
Jesus is calling you to more.
w/ Vern Collins
From Job 38:1-11
Perspective is everything! In this passage giving us a window into a conversation between God and Job, we find that Job is being offered a fresh perspective of God…
What if you had a fresh perspective of the living God?
It could change everything!
*This week’s message includes the announcement about our senior pastor, Jason’s Byassee new appointment starting July 1st. We are incredibly grateful for his leadership, we love he and his family deeply, and pray God’s blessing on their faithfulness in this call.
from John 21:15-19
People do crazy things for love…quit jobs, move half way around the country, get tattoos, change lifestyles…what do you do to show love to those you in fact love? What are you willing to do to show love to someone?
Are you willing to protect them, willing to commit to them, willing to challenge them…would you be willing to jump out of a boat for them? Peter did all of these things for Jesus. Perhaps, the greatest example of Peter’s we have to follow, however, is his willingness to meet Jesus on the shore of his need for grace, hear the question, “do you love me?” and be willing to follow Him once more into a life of surrender to the cause of the Gospel.
What are you willing to do?
w/ Vern Collins
