Message Archive

Road Tested

6/1/2025

Many people (even some Christians!) think the Bible is outdated, and yet its wisdom has continued to hold up for thousands of years. Much of yesterday’s medical guidance or economic principles is already outdated, yet the Bible’s advice has maintained credibility across all cultures, circumstances, and technological advances. Since the Bible is “road-tested,” we can rely on it! So let’s kick the tires on our rugged Bible. In this series, we’ll examine six surprising areas of life in which the Bible reveals enduring power and wisdom to help us navigate the rough terrain of life.

The Recipe for No Regrets

4/20/2025

At the end of our lives, we all would like to be able to look back with no regrets. None of us want to grow old feeling bitter, hopeless, or overwhelmed. To avoid this possible future self, there are clear relational choices we can all make today! The Bible paints a picture (which sociology confirms) that our future lives are improved—not by the quantity of our relationships—but by the quality and variety of our relationships. While life often feels too busy to make time for people, if we don’t make relationships a priority, we are setting ourselves on a regret-filled path.

Called Up

3/9/2025

As Christ-followers, we’re not called to live on the sidelines of life. Jesus doesn’t ask his disciples to be benchwarmers of faith, but to courageously get in the game. In this series, we’ll look at the steps that all Christians are called to take in order to be championship-caliber teammates in the game that matters most for all the world.

Let's Unpack That

2/9/2025

Four Bible words that mean more than you think. There are some words in the Bible that are so packed with meaning that we have a hard time appreciating how much they have to tell us. In particular, there are four words that are absolutely crucial to your relationship with God, and you probably know them, but how well do you KNOW them? Join us as we unpack four critically important and consistently misunderstood words in the Bible!

The Character Forge

1/5/2025

Church is called a refuge for the weary, a hospital for the sick, or even a greenhouse for the growing. In this series, we’ll look at a forgotten purpose of church—a forge where we are shaped into people of character for the good of the world. Join us as we look beyond the birth narrative of Jesus to examine five character traits from his early story that just happen to be the traits our world needs from us most.

Stronger than Oak

11/3/2024

We’re in the time of year where each night gets a little longer than the one before. As we ramp up into the holiday season, we expect to feel joy, peace, and gratitude, but all too often we’re overcome by stress, frustration, and despair. In these times, only the reassuring words of Jesus can cut through the noise and the pain. We can always count on the Word of God, Jesus made flesh, and His promises over our lives. If Jesus said it, we can rely on it! Here are eight promises of Jesus Christ, rock-solid guarantees that we can trust in all situations.

How to Lose an Enemy in 10 Days

9/29/2024

Jesus tells his followers to do many hard things. But the hardest one of all might be when he commands us to “love our enemies” (Matthew 5:44). This is a counterintuitive instruction, and an ideal that seems nearly impossible. Yet this is not some pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking from Jesus. In fact, when Christians take the small, but important, steps to treat our enemies differently—we don’t just win the battles, but we actually lose the enemies!

ReGenesis

8/18/2024

Reclaiming Our Humanity in a High-Tech World Technology is always disruptive. Sometimes the disruptions are welcomed changes that make life safer and better; other times the changes leave us wondering if we were better off beforehand. Every generation has had to learn how to adapt when innovation changes their world, but these days, the rate of change and the level of advancement have disrupted nearly every part of what it means to be “human.” In this series, we’ll learn how to live in a changing world, while protecting the core of what makes us, us.

Reel Gospel 2

8/4/2024

Reel Gospel 2: Unexpected Truths in Movies The most important and best story ever told is this: the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ, the God who became human to save the whole world! And all of our best human stories contain echoes of this divine truth. In this series, we’ll see how some popular movies contain an unexpected facet of the Gospel, and how these fictional stories can reveal important truths about the love of God.

When Life Gives You Lemonade

6/30/2024

Life can be hard. Many of us have learned that when things are difficult, we have the power to take a bad situation and make the best of it—we can take life’s lemons and make them into lemonade. But what about when life gives you sweet lemonade itself? Why, even then, is it still so difficult to take in life’s sweet moments? In this series, we’ll help you live out of a deeper sense of gratitude by highlighting five simple steps you can take when life gives you lemonade.

Down to the Studs

5/19/2024

Christianity is built on the foundation and frame Jesus gave us. In this series, we will explore how some of our biggest spiritual questions can only be answered by returning to the studs of our faith; the core tenets established by God. As we do so, you’ll discover the enduring principles that shape lives of faith, in all times and seasons.

Living the Dream

3/31/2024

God has always dreamed bigger than we do. From the first time he told Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the universe, to elevating a shepherd boy to a king, to introducing the Savior of the world in a manger—God’s dreams are better than ours. But often, we resist God’s better vision until our own dreams fall to pieces around us. But God is always there to pick up the pieces of our shattered striving, and to graciously show us what we’d been missing all along. In this series, we’ll look at seven common dreams that all human beings have. We’ll see how those dreams ultimately fall short and do not satisfy. And we’ll see the dreams that God envisions for us instead, if we’ll trust him to build something new out of the ashes of our old dreams.

Knockoff Spirituality

3/3/2024

While there is a steep decline in church attendance, our culture remains quite spiritually curious. Gurus, celebs, and influencers promote spiritual practices that are promised to bring health, prosperity, guidance, and peace into your life. On the surface some of these practices may look good to you, or maybe they’ve captured the attention of your friends and family. In this series we’ll learn more about what makes these practices powerless knockoffs, when compared to a single Christian spiritual practice that has the power to replace them all.

The All Y'all Doctrine

2/4/2024

Jesus' final commission to his followers—as he ascended into heaven—was to share His good news with all the world. We naturally have a tendency to focus on the people who have the most in common with us, but Jesus Christ tells us that His community will include a shockingly diverse group of people. As C.S. Lewis said, “It takes all sorts to make a world; or a church. This may be even truer of a church. If grace perfects nature it must expand all our natures into the full richness of the diversity which God intended when He made them, and Heaven will display far more variety than Hell.” In this series, we’ll learn, from Jesus’ example, how to invite—and exist alongside—people of all ages, all nations, all values, and all stations.

Identity Inc.

12/31/2023

We’re entering another New Year, the time when everyone is talking about how to create a better “YOU.” But before you dive into that frenzy, we’re going to pause and make sure you know who “you” are to begin with. When we try define ourselves by a single part of us, what we do for a living, what we’ve accomplished or failed at, who we love, and who loves us, we get an incomplete picture of who we are, but in this series, we’ll get back to the Biblical core of all the things that truly make up who we really are.

Full Color Christmas

11/26/2023

“Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!” Right? If we’re honest, not exactly. But from an early age, we are taught to keep our negative emotions out of Christmas, even though what we resist persists; it refuses to lie low. What if, in our attempts to keep the negatives at bay, we actually deepen our hurts and keep ourselves from experiencing the true Christmas story in full color? In this series, we’ll see the full range of human emotions present that first Christmas and learn how to embrace all our ups and downs to discover a deep and rich Christmas.

The Way Upstream

10/29/2023

Lessons in Courage from Daniel In some ways, it was a blessing that Christianity enjoyed prominent cultural clout in the United States for most of the 20th century. But it had at least two major consequences: Christians forgot that the strength of Christianity is not contingent on its embrace by our culture, and it often led to complacency (and even heresy) on the part of comfortable Christianity. As Americans less frequently define themselves as Christians, it’s tempting for the Church to look back with longing for nostalgic, glory days of decades past. But that’s not what God’s people are ever encouraged to do. Instead, we’re encouraged to look for the “path forward” to revival, to see how God brings dead things to life again, and resurrects his people to power and glory. By looking at how Daniel lived as a believer in a pagan nation, we can learn a healthier, holier way forward. It requires us to be courageous and faithful. But rest assured, we’re walking in well-trod footsteps of the people of faith who have come before us!

Inspired: Stories of Life Change

10/22/2023

A Life Less Lonely

9/10/2023

It seems like we should have far more time and ability to live a connected life than ancient people. Technology means that we have more capacity to reach more people, even people all across the globe! We can physically and virtually travel anywhere. And yet, there is a widely-recognized loneliness epidemic in modern life. As the joke goes, Jesus’ greatest miracle was not walking on water, but having 12 close friends in his 30’s! Even though Jesus was constantly on the move, he knew how to prioritize the kinds of connections that would make life meaningful. In this series, we’ll learn from his example how to push back against the loneliness which is endemic in modern life.

Neighborhood Walk Weekend

9/1/2023

Every year we designate one weekend to get out and prayer walk for our community. We won’t have any services that weekend–instead we encourage you to walk your neighborhood and pray for those around us.

Reel Gospel

8/6/2023

Reel Gospel Seeing Jesus in Our Favorite Movies The most important and best story ever told is this: the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ, the God who became human to save the whole world! And all of our best human stories contain echoes of this divine truth. In this series, we’ll see how some popular movies contain an unexpected facet of the Gospel, and how these fictional stories can reveal important truths about the love of God.

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