Your Training
There is a scene in the movie “Greyhound” where they are in the midst of battling a German submarine and one of the sailors blurts out there is a torpedo in the water. Tom Hanks, who plays the captain, calmly but forcefully says, “Your training son; bearing, range?” If we are going to navigate the treacherous waters of living today, we can’t just blurt out what’s wrong, we need to identify the target and apply a solution. That is why we will study this weekend about God as our Father.
Mastering Sabbath
We come into the Worship Center every week. We sing songs, we interact with scripture, we pray. But what benefit is it to us? See there’s a choice we have to make each week as we step into this space. Will we seek to be formed into people of God, or only seek the effects that church should have on us? What happens when we play the part of worshiper without becoming a worshiper each week?
Missions and Mobilization
Many of us have heard that David was a man after God’s own heart. However, when we look at the act of committing adultery and killing Bathsheba’s husband, we may wonder how is that possible. Yet in David’s own words we hear a man who is convicted of his sin, and through God’s redeeming work, he desires to proclaim His restorative work so that people will turn back to Him.
Smoothing Out the Rough Edges
The word “love" is tossed around flippantly in the world today and means different things to different people. But if we are going to be “Formed and Filled” to be used by God we need to understand what love is and how He wants us to show that love to others.
Redeeming, Restoring, and Renewing HOME
Everyone longs for "home," but its definition has different meanings for everyone. Ever since the Fall, our perfect environment has been broken and messy. BUT God!! God is at work in His restoration process that involves us all. He is at work to “form us” and to “fill us” and that process takes time, patience, and great care.
Artistry of the Potter
People are broken and lives are shattered. The Bible paints the picture of a master potter taking the broken pieces and skillfully putting them back together in such a way that the cracks become part of the story but not “the” story.
Giving Directions
What if you were able to read the newspaper that was to be published three years from now? All the news then is still our future. But because you are the only reader, you have insight no one else has. It would be troubling and exciting at the same time. Such was the experience of Daniel as he was given a glimpse into the future by God.
The Way of the Wise
How wisely are you living life? Good question. Dr. Kevin Leman begins our weekend we are calling “Leading Your Family Well” with a message from Proverbs entitled “The Way of the Wise.”
The Power of Consistency
Chicken or egg? You know the question: which came first? When we consider life, which comes first, consistency or opportunity and influence? If our lives were a book and people were turning the pages from chapter to chapter, what would they see? As we have done so with Daniel’s life, there is a thread that traces down from beginning to end: the thread of consistency. We will see the outcome of a consistent life as we continue our series “Long Haul Leadership" and look at one of the most famous stories in the biblical narrative in Daniel 6.
Presumption Prevention
We often talk about our need to learn from the past. But what happens if we take the wrong lesson? We will see how we, as leaders, can ensure that we learn the right lessons from the past.
Speaking Truth
It can be tough as a leader to give hard or difficult news to the people around us. In this week of our series, “Long Haul Leadership”, we will be looking at how Daniel explained hard news to Nebuchadnezzar and what lessons this gives to us today.
Speed Limits
People who have had a huge impact over time are those who have stood out from the crowd, who have had the courage to stand alone. Their actions are so stark that it cannot go unnoticed. This week we will see how one act of courage can impact a whole nation, and that act of courage could be yours.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Truckers spend long hours alone, delivering the goods for the rest of us. But when issues start happening on the road, you find the truckers band together to assist each other. This contributes to the safety and longevity for each of them for the long haul. This week we will see how banning together for the common good is a key to longevity in our faith journey.
Proper Inspection
Longevity. It takes persistence, consistency, and desire. It takes always doing the next right thing. What habitual practices aid us in choosing what the next best thing to do is? It all starts with a good foundation.
Righteous Resistance
What can we do? That is the cry we hear most frequently when we feel like the systems we have relied on forever have become corrupt. The only option seems to be radical resistance. But what if that radical resistance is not using power against power but rather us simply doing what is right no matter what everyone else is doing? Standing for the good is God’s solution for a broken world.
Standing Against Evil
I have gone through many seasons as a dad. Seasons where I have felt in control and at full capacity, and seasons where I was in desperate need of help. Those seasons seem to fluctuate fairly often as God teaches me more about myself and builds me up in His image. I love how God continually tells us to not be afraid and to stand firm. Those commands can be challenging during these crazy days but, nonetheless, they remain. How do we stand firm? How do we live, parent, and engage in this world without fear? These are great questions that we will explore as we gather together on Father's Day and celebrate dads ... and that's no joke.
Fixing What’s Broken
When we seek to fix what’s broken in our world, who does God really change? Does He change the world around us, or does He first change us? It may seem like a simple question, but Nehemiah 2 sheds light on why God first has to works in us.
What is Missing that We Can Fill?
As we have been learning about leadership this year the thought may have crossed your mind: but how do I actually exercise the role I have been given in order to impact the world for God’s glory? In this new series called, “Start Rebuilding,” we will be looking at the book of Nehemiah and how God directed him to start rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem in a time of brokenness. We begin by asking the question, “What is missing that we can fill?”
Convictions
Jesus brings extreme clarity about the relationship between attitude or motivation and action. And in the midst of His discussion, He gives the key to true transformation for our lives, a transformation that gives both freedom and a basis for powerful convictions.