Melbourne Heights - Sermons: Recent Episodes
Melbourne Heights
Sometimes the most powerful spiritual practices are the ones we overlook. While we often think of prayer and Bible reading as key disciplines, praise is equally vital to our faith - appearing over 300 times in scripture.
More than just celebration, praise is a conscious choice we make regardless of circumstances, focusing on God's goodness even in difficult times.
Just like athletes need rest days for physical health, we need rest for our spiritual well-being. This is why God created the Sabbath - a day of rest and reflection.
Though our busy lives make it challenging to pause, taking time to rest isn't just about following rules - it's about remembering God's goodness and recognizing that nothing is more important than Him.
When we think of spiritual disciplines, prayer and Bible reading usually come to mind first. But there are other important practices that can strengthen our relationship with God - including fasting, which Jesus explicitly expects his followers to do.
Though often overlooked in modern churches, fasting helps remind us that we need God more than anything else, even our daily bread.
As we start a new year, many of us make resolutions to improve our lives. While most resolutions fail, experts say it's often because we make goals without plans. The same is true in our spiritual lives - our relationship with God could be better, but improvement won't happen by accident.
In this sermon, we'll explore spiritual disciplines - practices found in scripture that help our faith grow and place us in a position where God can transform us.
We love to picture Jesus as a sweet baby in a manger, but He didn't stay that way.
This sermon challenges us to see beyond the nativity scene and embrace the grown-up Jesus who calls us to radical change. Discover how letting Jesus be present in your daily life can transform you in ways you never expected.
Do you ever feel like something's always missing at Christmas, no matter how hard you try? You're not alone.
In this sermon, we'll explore how the peace announced by angels to shepherds isn't just about the absence of conflict, but about wholeness and completeness. And together we'll find out how Jesus can be the missing piece in your life this season.
If Christmas is "the most wonderful time of the year" then why does everyone always look so miserable in December?
This sermon dives into the true source of lasting joy. Discover how trusting in God, rather than in fleeting holiday experiences, can bring a happiness that persists long after the decorations come down.
Remember those childhood Christmas wishes that seemed too good to be true? Isaiah's prophecy felt like that – a world of perfect peace.
But what if that world is closer than we think? Learn how being Jesus' presence in this world can help bring His kingdom to earth, one act of love at a time.
Do you ever feel like you're always waiting for Christmas to arrive? But what if the greatest gift is already here?
This sermon explores how we often miss Jesus' presence while preparing for the holiday. Discover how to stop waiting and start living as if Christ is already with you – because He is.
Before Thanksgiving Day even arrives, it's easy to shift our focus to Christmas. But before we leave gratitude behind, let's ask: Who gets to be blessed by God? Is it only the "perfect Christians" among us?
In this sermon, we'll dive into Psalm 1 to uncover a surprising truth about blessings. Spoiler alert: It's not about following rules perfectly, but about developing a relationship with God that transforms us from the inside out.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we're often too busy getting ready to reflect on gratitude. But what does it really mean to be "blessed"? Is it about material possessions or something deeper?
This week, we'll explore the true meaning of blessings, challenging the idea that being blessed equals worldly success.
Although our nation has been politically divided throughout our history, something about this election just feels different. It feels like we are more divided than ever...and we might just be doomed to stay that way. But is that true? Are we doomed to be divided?
In this sermon, we'll talk about what it means to be united and challenged to do our part to be united with our family, friends, and community not because we're all donkeys or elephants but because we love Jesus.
In a world obsessed with political power, it's easy to lose sight of the true kingdom we're called to serve. As election fervor reaches its peak, we're pausing to ask: What does God's kingdom really look like?
This week, we'll discover a radically different kind of kingdom – one that puts others first and shows up when we need it most.
Do you ever feel like your faith and politics are in a constant tug-of-war? You're not alone. As Election Day looms, tensions are high and divisions deep.
But what if there's a way to navigate this political minefield without compromising your faith? This week, we'll explore how to follow Jesus while everyone else is fixated on donkeys and elephants.
The phrase "God won't give you more than you can handle" is often misunderstood. This phrase implies that God causes our difficulties. Instead, Scripture teaches that God is our refuge and strength during tough times.
So God doesn't give us difficult things to handle; God helps us handle difficult things. God is always there to support us through life's challenges.
You can't talk about misquoted verses in the Bible without talking about this one: Money is the root of all evil. But most of us know the actual verse states, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil."
This verse reminds us that following Jesus isn't about getting rich, but about loving people more than possessions.
The phrase "an eye for an eye" is often misunderstood as permission for revenge. However, in the Bible, it actually sets limits on retaliation.
And Jesus takes this further in the Sermon on the Mount, calling us to "turn the other cheek," challenges us to respond with love, just as God loves us, even when we're hurt or offended.
One of the most commonly quoted verses in the Bible is Matthew 7:1, which says, "Don't judge." But when we take a closer look at this verse, we'll find that Jesus isn't saying we should never hold other people accountable.
Instead, Jesus calls us to evaluate our own actions and attitudes first. Before pointing out others' faults, we must examine our own lives.
We often misquote Philippians 4:13, thinking it's about achieving greatness through Christ's strength. But when we take a closer look at what Paul writes, we discover this verse isn't about becoming superhuman; it's about finding strength in God during tough times.
So Philippians 4:13 isn't a motivational quote, it's a promise that God is always with us and will help us make it through.
Even though the Olympics showcase incredible athletic achievements, there are also stories of disappointment and failure. Similarly, in life, we all face difficult days and moments of doubt.
As we run the race of life, we must remember that God is there to support and guide us through our struggles.
Even though the athletes competing at this year's Olympics are some of the greatest athletes in the world, that doesn't mean they don't have their struggles. And there are times when we all struggle too.
But when we have moments in life when we feel like giving up, we need to remember that we are stronger than we think.
In the Olympics, athletes compete in events where the difference between winning and losing can come down to fractions of a second. Similarly, in the race of life, we want to make sure we're spending our limited time on things that really matter.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded of what really matters...and that's chasing after God.
When Nineveh repents, you'd think Jonah would be thrilled. Instead, he's angry that God showed mercy to his enemies. How often do we feel the same way?
This sermon explores the tension between our desire for justice and God's heart of compassion. It challenges us to see people as God sees them - not as enemies to be punished, but as children to be loved. Whose side are we really on - our own, or God's?
When Jonah finally arrives in Nineveh he preaches a half-hearted sermon that is exactly nine words long. As representatives of God, are we sometimes just as half-hearted in our obedience?
This sermon challenges us to examine how we're representing Jesus in our daily lives and interactions. Are we truly reflecting God's heart for the world, or are we, like Jonah, just going through the motions?
After spending some time in the belly of a fish, Jonah finally decides to do what God told him to do. But he isn't exactly enthusiastic about it.
But Jonah's half-hearted obedience highlights the gap between our words and our hearts. And in this sermon, we'll learn the importance of aligning our inner attitudes with our outward actions as we serve God and others.
As a new week begins, many of us continue to wrestle with the events that unfolded at a campaign rally in Butler, PA. In this sermon, we'll hear our pastor's perspective on these heinous events and think about how we as individuals, as followers of Jesus, and as a nation move forward.
In the book of Jonah, God calls Jonah to preach to Nineveh - Israel's sworn enemy - but Jonah runs the opposite way. There are times we want to do the same thing.
But Jonah's story reminds us that God's love extends to all, even those we struggle to love. So how will we respond when God calls us to love those we'd rather avoid?
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday with crowds cheering "Hosanna!" and welcoming Jesus like a king. But by Good Friday the cheers of "Hosanna!" were replaced by calls to "Crucify him!" So what happened during those 5 days?
The crowds realized that instead of being who they wanted him to be, Jesus was different. And Jesus wanted them and us to become more like him.
In the book of John, a woman named Mary annoints Jesus' feet with a bottle of perfume that costs about as much money as the average person makes in a year. And Mary was willing to do that because of everything Jesus had done for her (including raising her brother from the dead).
Jesus laid down his life for us. So what are we willing to give for him?
Every kid may dream of winning an Olympic medal or a Super Bowl ring...but no one dreams of coming in last. But Jesus tells us, "The first will be last and the last will be first."
And this isn't just something Jesus said, it's something he did when he laid down his life for us on the cross. So, if we want to be more like Jesus, we have to learn how to put ourselves last and to put God and others first.
We all know that our world can be a messed up place filled with violence and hatred. But none of us want the world to be that way. So is there some way that we can overcome violence with mercy? Is there some way that we can learn to love instead of hate?
Jesus tells us there is. But just because there's a way to do it, that doesn't mean it's easy...but it is possible if we practice what Jesus preached.
We’ve all experienced things that have caused us to lose our temper or hold a grudge. We've all experienced things that have made us bitter.
But, if we want to be more like Jesus, we have to let go of our bitterness. Instead, we need to learn to be more kind, more compassionate, and more forgiving.
In Acts 8:29, we're reminded that God wants us to "be like his Son" Jesus. But we all have times when we don't really act like Jesus. Things happen in life that make us angry, or jealous, or greedy. Or, to put it another way, we get dirty.
So we need to clean up. And that's what Lent is all about. Lent reminds us that we need to clean up to become more like Jesus.
Sometimes it feels like there are a million things to get done on our to-do lists. And all of the things we want to get done are important...they wouldn't make it onto our to-do list if they weren't.
But, in our busyness, we need to make sure we don't let things that are important get in the way of things that are imperative.
No matter how hard we try to keep up with all of our commitments, things always end up on the back burner. Sadly, our relationship with God tends to be one of the first things we put on the back burner when life gets busy.
So what can we do to make sure God remains a priority in our lives when life gets busy? We can slow down and remember who God is.
Many of us struggle to tell other people "no." Because of this, we fill up our time and schedules with things that aren't that important to us.
So if we want to overcome our busyness, we need to learn to set boundaries. And we need to learn to make sure that all of our yeses count.
We live in a culture that often tells us that our worth comes from our work. So, we think that we have to be constantly busy just to show how valuable we are.
So if we want to be able to slow down and make time for what really matters, we have to understand where our value truly comes from.
Even though the New Year has only just begun, many of our calendars are already filling up. But no matter how busy we get, we still try to cram more events and activities into our lives.
But our chronic busyness is taking a toll on our lives. So we need to find ways to slow down and make time for what matters the most in our lives.
In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving each year, it feels like everyone has tips and tricks to make us more thankful. But the truth is that in spite of all of these tips and tricks, we still aren't great at being grateful.
And we're never going to be great at being grateful until we realize just how blessed we are.
Though diversity divides, the Holy Spirit unites. At Pentecost, people from countless cultures heard one message in their own tongues through the Spirit's power. Despite our differences, we gather as one body, filled with the same Spirit that descended at Pentecost.
No matter where we're from, who we are, or what we've done, there's always room for one more in the Spirit's community.
When the ghost of Jacob Marley came to visit Ebenezer Scrooge, it seemed unlikely that Scrooge would ever change his ways. But as three other ghosts visited that Christmas Eve, Scrooge saw the error of his ways and changed forever.
There are times when it feels like we'll never be the people God created us to be. But the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in our lives, showing us where we mess up, so that we can become more like Jesus.
There's no such thing as a perfect person. We all mess up. We all make mistakes. We're all still works in progress. But even though we aren't perfect, that doesn't mean that God gives up on us.
The Holy Spirit is constantly at work in everyone who follows Jesus, helping us become more like Christ.
Halloween is a time for trick-or-treating, scary movies, and ghost stories. But not all ghost stories are about spooky specters of things that go bump in the night.
Our faith is filled with stories about the Holy Ghost (or the Holy Spirit). And these aren't stories we tell around campfires to creep each other out. These are stories we tell in church to help us understand who God is and how God works in our lives.
In the Bible, names reveal something about a person's nature or character. That's also true for the names of God we find in the Bible. The names of God we find in the Bible tell us that our God is great and powerful and that there is no one like our God.
But there is one name for God we find in the Bible that reveals as much about how God sees us as it does about who God is...and that's the name Father.
We all know how rare it can be for someone to keep their promises. Politicians break their promises. Parents break their promises. People break their promises. And, in Genesis 17, it looks like God might just break a promise too.
But instead of breaking a promise that God made to Abraham and Sara, God proves that he is a God that can make a way where there is no way. God shows that he is a God who will never let us down.
There is an old adage that tells us, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." This piece of advice is true whether you're interviewing for a job, going on a date, or just introducing yourself to someone for the first time.
And it's even true for when we're first introduced to God in the Bible. When we're first introduced to God in Genesis 1, God wants to make an impression that we'll never forget.
In Exodus 3, God tells Moses that God's name is "I am." And this isn't a one time thing, this is the same name for God that is used more than 6,500 times in the Bible.
But it still seems like a strange way to introduce yourself. So why does God introduce himself as "I am"? Well, that name has a lot to teach us about who God is.
When we think about the future, there are a lot of things that we could worry about. We can worry about problems we'll face, people we'll have to deal with, or our performance at school or work. And all of these worries can feel "heavy," as Marty McFly might put it.
But, in this sermon, we'll be reminded that Jesus tells us not to worry because God is always with us no matter what the future may hold.
What does it mean to be rich? Is it about having so much money in your bank account? Or earning so much money every year? For the Goonies, being rich means having enough money to keep developers from destroying a neighborhood.
But, as the movie plays out, the Goonies realize something we all need to learn. Money doesn't make you rich...love does.
When Rocky Balboa stepped in the ring with Apollo Creed nobody thought he would last longer than three rounds. But in spite of the odds, Rocky believed in himself. He put his faith in himself into action, and did what no one had ever done before.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to put our faith into action as well, trusting that God can help us no matter what challenges we may face.
The new Super Mario Bros.movie reminds us that there are times when we mess up and make mistakes, and don't feel super about ourselves. So we end up wondering if God could love someone like us.
But despite our imperfections, God's love for us never wavers. No matter how many times we mess up or how unworthy we feel, we are precious in God’s eyes.
When you're a kid, life seems to be filled with things to celebrate. You celebrate losing a tooth or finding a toy. You celebrate every holiday that pops up on the calendar.
But when you get a little older, you only seem to celebrate life's biggest moments. But God never wants us to hesitate to celebrate everything that he does for us from the big things to the small ones.
When we're little, we learn to make quick assessments about a lot of different things. We learn to quickly pick out which box of cereal we want to eat, which cartoon we want to watch, or which book we want to read. The problem is, we also learn to make quick assessments about people.
But when we learn to look past a person's cover, we can recognize the inherent value and worth in every individual as children of God.
Whether we see a classmate fall on the playground or see a friend cry when their toy gets broken, we learn from a young age that we need to comfort people who are sad. But, as we get a little older, we learn that not all of life’s problems can be solved with a hug or a band-aid.
In this sermon, we'll talk about how we can move beyond band-aids to offer real comfort when people are sad.
From the time we're young, we learn that people won't always get along. But in our world today it seems like we're more divided than ever. So, as followers of Jesus, we need to shine His light when people disagree.
But how do we do that? In this sermon, we'll discover the best way to shine Jesus' light when people disagree is to learn to be empathetic with everyone we meet.
No matter how much we may want to shield and protect our children, we can't keep them from learning that our world can be a dark place. But another important lesson our children learn early on is how big of a difference a little light can be.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to let the light of Jesus shine through us into the darkness of this world.
It's easy to tell when a plant is growing. The stem will lengthen, branches will form, and eventually fruit will sprout. But how do you know if your faith is growing?
In church, we typically try to measure our faith by talking about how often we read the Bible, or how long we pray, or how frequently we attend church. But none of these things truly measure our faith. Just like a plant, or faith is measured by the fruit we produce.
Do you remember the first time you swung a baseball bat...did you hit a home run or strike out? What about the first time you rode a bike...did you go sailing down the street or fall into some bushes? Whenever we try new things we usually fail more than we succeed.
The same is true for our faith. Nobody has a perfect faith...so we all have to start where we are and keep working until our faith grows.
We live in a world that often tells us that we're not good enough. We hear it from car commercials. We hear it from our co-workers, we hear it from our own kids.
So, it is easy to believe that God feels the same way about us...that we're not good enough. But in this sermon, we'll see that not only does God believe we are good enough, God also calls us to do incredible things.
In a world filled with overwhelming problems, personal disappointments, and waiting that seems endless, it's easy to lose hope and want to give up. So how can we keep hope alive when we reach a point where we want to quit?
By maintaining a sense of gratitude and recognizing God's faithfulness, we can keep hope alive in the face of adversity and we can keep going when we're ready to quit.
When you reach a point where you're ready to throw your hands up and quit, you're also in danger of compromising your character and doing something you'd never dream of doing - like lying, or cheating, or hurting someone else.
So how can you keep from compromising your character when you're ready to quit? You have to cling to God and remember who God made you to be.
There are times when it feels like everyone has given up on you...and, when that happens, it's hard to have faith in yourself. And when you lose faith in yourself, it's easy to want to give up.
But before you give up, you need to remember that God never gives up on us. And that, no matter what we're facing, God is with us.
Whether you've received a troubling diagnosis from your doctor, or hit a rough patch in your marriage, or reached your breaking point at work; we've all had times when we've been ready to give up.
But before you give up, you need to remember that you are still a child of God, and God will help you make it through because God still has good planned for your life.
There are times when we all feel resigned to the violence and hatred, pain and suffering, sorrow and despair that we see in our world. It can feel like these problems are too big to solve and there's nothing we can do about them.
But before we give up, we need to remember that we should never grow weary of doing good. So no matter how big the world's problems may be, there is still good that we can do.
On Friday, Jesus had been betrayed and abandoned. On Friday, Jesus was convicted and sentenced to death. On Friday, Jesus was tortured and died on the cross...but that was Friday.
On Sunday, Jesus rose from the grave. And when Jesus was resurrected, the world changed. We know longer have to live in a Friday kind of world, we can live in a Sunday world.
Following Jesus demands a lot from you. Following Jesus means that you make Jesus your first priority, that you love others and yourself, that you produce godly fruit in your life, and that you serve other people.
But even though following Jesus demands a lot from you, it's worth it. Because following Jesus is the only way you can be who you were created to be.
When we first decide to follow Jesus, it's natural to want to look the part. But following Jesus is about so much more than just carrying a fancy Bible or wearing Christian clothes.
When you follow Jesus, he will change you from the inside out. And that means that you'll start producing godly fruit in your life.
We all know that we mess up and make mistakes when it comes to following Jesus. We don't love each other the way we should. We don't notice people who are hurting and need our care. We're blind to suffering all around us.
And because of all these mess-ups and mistakes, it's easy to feel like God couldn't love us. But nothing could be further from the truth...God always loves us. And following Jesus means that we have to love ourselves too.
John 3:16 is perhaps the best known verse in the entire Bible, and it teaches us about a God who so loves the world. And that means that God loves the entire world and everyone in it...including people that we don't.
But, if we're going to follow Jesus, we have to commit ourselves to loving everyone the way that Jesus does.
We all know that most things in life take work. It takes work to plan a vacation. It takes work to purchase a new car. It takes work to pick out a new book. But sometimes we forget that following Jesus takes work too.
Following Jesus isn't just about sitting back and watching a worship service. Following Jesus is about putting your faith in action.
Time and time again, when Jesus called his disciples he said to them, "Follow me." Jesus wants us to do the same thing today, he wants us to follow him...but what does that mean?
Well, Jesus tells us what it means to follow him when he says, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me." But, ultimately, we get to decide if we're going to do what it takes to follow Jesus.
The biggest reason that many of us are afraid to share our faith is that we're concerned with what might go wrong. We don't want people to reject us, or think we're crackpots, or anything else. So how can we share our faith when we're afraid of what could go wrong?
In this sermon, we'll be reminded that the only way to share our faith in Jesus is to act like Jesus, and trust that his love will more than make up for anything that goes wrong.
Neil Armstrong may have been the first person to walk on the moon, but this wasn't something he could've done on his own. It took more than 400,000 engineers, scientists, and technicians working together to allow Neil Armstrong to become the first person to walk on the moon.
When it comes to sharing our faith, we can't do it all on our own either. Instead, we each need to play our part to help people who need Jesus find him.
After Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." And he was right. It took one small, easy step for him to reach the surface of the moon...but it took a giant, difficult leap to get him there.
Sometimes we think that sharing our faith can be as difficult as putting a man on the moon. But, in this sermon, we'll see that all it takes to share our faith are a few small steps.
The theologian Elizabeth Johnson describes Jesus as "ineffable mystery" - meaning that Jesus is beyond our ability to fully understand or explain. So how can we ever hope to know who Jesus is?
Well, knowing Jesus isn't about information...it's about a relationship. So the only way to know Jesus is to know him personally.
Who is welcome in the Kingdom of God? This is a question that just about every follower of Jesus wrestles with from time to time.
In this sermon, we'll wrestle with an uncomfortable exchange Jesus has with one particular woman. And we'll see what this exchange has to teach us about who is and isn't welcome in God's kingdom.
The word miracle means "to marvel" and, when we read about the miracles Jesus performs, it's easy to want to marvel at how he can heal the sick, or calm the sea, or feed the hungry.
But sometimes we get so caught up in the individual miracles that Jesus performs that we miss the bigger picture. In this sermon, we'll take a step back and look at the miracles Jesus performs as a whole to see what they teach us about who Jesus is.
You can't become more like Jesus unless you know who Jesus is. But if you've been a part of a church for years, it's easy to feel like you already know everything there is to know about Jesus.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded that Jesus is an ineffable mystery - Jesus will always be beyond our ability to fully understand or explain. So we all still have a lot to learn about Jesus.
It's been said that the New Year is like an empty book waiting to be written...but it's not always easy to know what story you want to write. As a new year begins there are so many possibilities that it's easy to become paralyzed by them.
In this sermon, we'll talk about what our first priority always needs to be as followers of Jesus. And we'll be challenged to focus on this priority as the new year begins.
The story of Jesus' birth has been told for more than 2,000 years. So this is a story we know well. We know who was involved. We know when it took place. We know where it happened.
But because we know this story so well, we take it for granted. In this sermon, we'll take a fresh look at the story of Jesus' birth and we'll be reminded of how Jesus' birth changed everything.
From buying the perfect presents, to putting up the perfect decorations, to baking the perfect cookies...there seem to be a lot of reasons why we want every Christmas to be perfect. But many of these reasons boil down to just one thing: We want to be loved.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded that at Christmas God shows us just how much God loves us all.
From buying the perfect presents, to putting up the perfect decorations, to baking the perfect cookies...there seem to be a lot of reasons why we want every Christmas to be perfect. But many of these reasons boil down to just one thing: We want to be loved.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded that at Christmas God shows us just how much God loves us all.
In the movie Jingle All the Way, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character spends the entire movie trying to find an action figure for his son as a way to make up for missing out on an important moment in his son's life. But no matter how hard he tries, a toy won't make up for his past mistakes.
Having the best Christmas ever won't make up for your past mistakes either. But Christmas can give you the chance for a clean start.
If you've ever tuned into the Hallmark Channel leading up to Christmas, it's easy to feel like everyone is having the best Christmas ever...except you. But no matter how pretty a tree may look, or how happy your holiday guests may seem...there's no such thing as a perfect Christmas.
So instead of wishing that your Christmas could be better, may it's time you start focusing on the blessings you already have.
Jesus was once teaching more than 5,000 people. As he taught, the day drew on and Jesus knew the crowd was getting hungry. But in that moment, it seemed like there was nothing that could be done for the crowd. There were just too many people and not enough resources to go around.
But Jesus fed all of those people with just a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, reminding us that in God's hands even the tiniest resources can accomplish incredible things.
John Lennon famously sung that "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans." The same thing is true when it comes to faith...most of our journey of faith happens on ordinary days.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded how important it is to choose to follow God on ordinary days, and how those oridinary days prepare you to trust in God when the extraordinary happens.
From promising Abraham and Sarah that they'd have a baby when they were both over 90 years old, to telling the people of Israel to march around in circles to defeat the city of Jericho, to having David face a giant with just a sling and a stone; there are times in life when God asks us to do impossible things. But God has a habit of making the impossible possible.
God does this to show how powerful God is and to show us that we should always trust in him.
It's easy to say that the past is in the past, but there are plenty of things that we have all experienced in our past that can continue to hurt us in the present.
In this sermon, we'll talk about how we really can put the past behind us and how God gives us all a clean slate when we commit to follow him.
Whenever we look to the future, it's easy to get scared. And we get scared because we just don't know what will happen.
But when we're struggling with fear about what tomorrow may bring, it can help to remember the past. When we look back on the past we can see how God helped us make it through challenges before and we can trust that God will continue to help us when we face new challenges.
It's been said that fear is the glue that keeps us stuck. In the book of Joshua, we can see just how true that statement was for the people of Israel. They had been on the verge of entering the Promised Land for 40 years...but their fear kept them from being able to move forward.
In this sermon, we'll see how the people of Israel were finally able to move forward and we'll learn how we can overcome our fears and get unstuck.
Hypocrites, liars, deceivers. We typically use these terms for groups like the Pharisees in the Bible...but what we, as followers of Jesus, don't often realize is that those terms are what people outside the church use to describe a Christian.
How can we reach people outside our walls if they all think we're full of hot air? Well it starts by trying to spread the word that we aren't perfect. And it continues by helping people realize that we all make mistakes in our lives.
Do you know someone who has left the church because of something that did or did not happen to them? In this sermon, we'll explore the story of the Prodigal Son to see how God responds to his children who wander from him.
But we'll also focus on the older brother in the story of the Prodigal Son. And we'll see how God wants us, as his followers, to treat those who have left the faith.
If you've ever had your car break down, or lost your luggage while traveling, or had a fussy baby that wouldn't stop crying; then you know what it's like to wonder "What now?" We wonder "What now?" whenever we aren't sure how to proceed.
However, as followers of Jesus, there is always one thing we need do even when we're not sure how to move forward. As followers of Jesus, we are always called to make disciples.
Have you ever sat in the wrong seat at a ball game or went to the wrong restaurant to meet up with your friends? We've all had moments where we have been convinced we were in the right spot only to find out that we weren't.
But when it comes to our faith, whenever God wants us to move forward, it's not because we were in the wrong spot...it's because God has a better place for us to be.
From choosing a destination, to figuring out how you'll travel, to deciding on what you'll do and where you'll eat when you arrive...it can be a lot of work to plan a trip. But no matter how much work you put into planning, there is no such thing as a perfect trip.
So what do you do when things don't go according to plan? In this sermon, we'll talk about how you can move forward even when life throws you a curve ball.
It doesn't matter if you're talking about arriving at your destination when you're on vacation or reaching a goal you've set in your life...when we know where we want to go, we want to get there as fast as we can.
But rather than racing through life, trying to get from one point to the next, we need to remember that there are lessons to learn on every step of our journey.
Being stressed can take a toll on your health. Stress can lead to high blood pressure & heart disease. It can aggrevate asthma. It can cause anxiety & depression, and more. So what can you do to make sure your stress doesn't negatively impact your health?
In this sermon, we'll take a look at one important thing you can do to reduce your stress and protect your health...and it's something that we've been told to do from the beginning.
Although it may feel like there are a million things that stress you out about your job, there are really two major things that can make our jobs especially stressful. We feel stressed about work when we don't feel like we belong or when we find our work meaningless.
In this sermon, we'll talk about what you can do to find your place and make a difference in whatever work you may do.
When it comes to money, there is a lot that can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Inflation is at a 40 year high. The stock market is down almost 6,000 points. Your 401(k) feels more like a 201(k).
So what can you do when you're overwhelmed by money? In this sermon, we'll talk about one practical thing we can all do to take control of our finances.
From the ongoing war in Ukraine, to the downturn in our economy, to the recent surge in COVID-19...there is a lot that we can worry about. And this doesn't even begin to talk about the stress we face in our daily lives.
So what are you supposed to do when all of this stress gets to be too much? In this sermon, we'll talk about practical things you can do to help you when you're feeling overwhelmed.
There are times when it can feel like being a follower of Jesus is just about spending an hour each week attending a worship service. But, when Jesus was on this earth, his ministry wasn't limited to one hour each week. No, Jesus shared every hour of every day with his followers.
So, if we are going to reflect the light of Jesus into our world, we have to share life together too.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to reflect the light of Jesus through our lives. But we can't reflect Jesus when we're focused on ourselves and our own preferences.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded of just how selfish we can be and we'll see that there is far more that draws us together as followers of Jesus than pushes us a part.
As a follower of Jesus, your life is the only Bible that some people will ever read. And that means that your words are the closest things that some people will ever hear to the words of Jesus. So the words you use when you talk about your spouse, your job, your church reflect who Jesus really is? Or are your words driving people away from God?
Whether we want to admit it or not, the church has a reputation for playing favorites. And when we play favorites, we show the world a Jesus that only loves and cares for certain types of people.
But there is no one who is not loved and welcomed by Jesus. So if we want to reflect who Jesus really is in our lives, then we have to stop playing favorites and love everyone like Jesus does.
A mirror is used to reflect light...as followers of Jesus, we are called to do the exact same thing. We are called to reflect the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world around us.
Unfortunately, we sometimes get it wrong and, instead of being a reflection of Jesus, we expect Jesus to be a reflection of us. So, in this series, we'll explore how we can do a better job of reflecting Jesus in our lives.
Have you ever seen an implosion? An implosion pulls everything inward and then disperses the debris out at the end. God’s love is a lot like that implosion.
After getting back to a relationship with God, what comes next? What is it that we are supposed to do as followers of Jesus to actually follow Jesus? Having a relationship with God isn’t enough to be a follower of Jesus. It comes from being able to love yourself, and love others as well.
What do we do when we find ourselves falling away from Christ? How do we get back into an intimate relationship with Jesus?
Well, it starts from coming out of hiding. It starts with realizing that it isn’t too late to come back. It starts with realizing that God is looking for you.
When we find ourselves in situations when we don't know what to do, there isn't typically a quick solution to our problems. And since there isn't a quick solution to our problems, we often give up before we even begin to solve them.
In this sermon, we'll talk about the need to persevere and to keep working until the work is done.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to let the light of Jesus shine through our lives. But in the face of tragedy, it isn't always easy to figure out how we can put our faith into action.
So what are we supposed to do when we don't know what to do? We have to find whatever ways we can to let Jesus' light shine through us into our world.
After the mass shooting that have recently taken place in Uvalde, TX and Buffalo, NY, many of us are struggling to figure out how we can move forward. It feels like there are just some problems that are too big to solve.
But does that mean we should just give up? Or do we need to find some way to keep moving forward? In this series, we'll talk about what to do when you don't know what to do.
Has anyone ever told you, "God won't give you more than you can handle"? It's something we tend to say when someone around us is struggling.
But is God really the one that gives us things to handle? Or should we be saying, God will help you handle whatever you're given?
The phrase, "Love the sinner, hate the sin," seems like it should be in the Bible. After all, the Bible tells us that all have sinned. And the Bible teaches us that God loves all.
But the Bible doesn't say, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Instead, the Bible says, "Love your neighbor." In this sermon, we'll be talking about just how big a difference there is between those two statements.
Over the years, there have been plenty of different issues that have divided churches. And many of these issues have been magnified by the belief that "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."
But this phrase isn't in the Bible. Instead, in Matthew 23, Jesus reminds us what really matters to God...loving God and loving others.
Benjamin Franklin made the phrase "God helps those who help themselves," famous in his "Poor Richard's Almanack." But there are plenty of people who think this phrase comes right from the pages of the Bible.
But the truth is, the Bible has a completely different message. The Bible shows us that God helps those who cannot help themselves.
We have all heard someone say, "Everything happens for a reason." We usually hear this phrase when someone is trying to make sense out of pain and suffering in the world around us.
But when we say that "Everything happens for a reason," in church, we fail to take responsibility for the choices we make that may hurt other people.
There are times when Easter Sunday can feel like just another historical event. And since we have all witnessed moments that have defined generations - like the moon landing or 9/11 - we think we can understand the importance of Easter.
But Easter is so much more than just another historical event. Easter is a personal event where God shows how much he loves you.
On Good Friday, Jesus grabbed a six-foot long, hundred pound, rough cut beam and drug it out through the city of Jerusalem. As he did it, Jesus was isolated. Jesus was abandoned. Jesus was alone.
But in his hour of darkest need, God sent a man named Simon - who was from a place called Cyrene - not only to help carry Jesus' cross...but also to remind Jesus that he was not isolated. He was not abandoned. He was not alone. And if God didn't abandon Jesus as he carried the cross, God will not abandon you either.
As Jesus was dying on the cross, the very first thing that he said was, "Father, forgive them..." But how could Jesus ask God to forgive the people who were taking his life?
As we struggle with the problem of pain, one of the hardest issues to deal with is people who intentionally hurt us. In this sermon, we'll explore how Jesus forgave those who hurt him so we can do the same.
Although we all would like to be able to answer some of life's most difficult questions, the reality is that knowing why there is pain and suffering in this world wouldn't bring an end to the pain and suffering in this world. So we don't need an explanation for pain...we need a way to endure it.
In this sermon, we'll begin exploring how Jesus dealt with pain and suffering in his life, and learn from his example.
What would your life be like if you never had to worry about stubbing your toe, biting your tongue, or getting a headache again? The idea of a world without pain sounds pretty incredible.
But in this sermon, we'll see that a world without pain wouldn't be a world of permanent euphoria. And that's because there is actually a reason why we experience pain.
When it comes to the problem of pain and suffering in the world, we have either blamed it on God or blamed it on the person who’s suffering. But both of these types of answers just aren't true.
In this sermon, we'll explore what God has to say about the problem of pain and suffering in the book of Job. And we'll see that we'll never be able to answer some questions.
Some questions have an easy answer..like we all know that 2+2=4. But not every question has an easy answer. And that's especially true when it comes to our faith. Like, we've all wondered why bad things happen to good people.
Well, just because something isn't easy doesn't mean it should be avoided. So, in this sermon we begin wrestling with one of life's most difficult questions: Where is God when it hurts?
There are times when it feels like we live in a world where everything changes...and that includes the church. Over the years, churches have seen everything change from the way sermons are preached to the music that is sung. So, is there anything that stays consistent?
In this sermon, we'll be reminded that Christians are and will always be defined by three qualities: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
What images do you think of when you think of hope? If you've spent much time around the church, you might think of things like a dove, a rainbow, or the cross.
In this sermon, we'll explore a symbol that you'd probably never associate with hope: a sandal. And we'll see how a sandal shows us that we can always anticipate that God will keep his promises.
Great football players are defined by their size, strength, and what they accomplish on the field...but what defines us as Christians?
Are we defined by attending worship services or carrying a Bible? Or is there some other essential quality that shows we are following Jesus? In this sermon, we'll be talking about the qualities that make us Christians.
When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" they answered that some people thought he was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.
But even though a lot of people thought Jesus was a prophet, in this week's service, we'll be reminded that Jesus was so much more than that.
What do a fictional racecar, a football fullback, and Jesus have in common? All three of them disappeared when they were on the verge of accomplishing something incredible.
When Jesus was on the verge of creating an incredible ministry in the small town of Capernaum. And in this week's service, we'll see what Jesus' disappearing act can teach us about God's priorities.
From feeding the multitudes to healing the sick; Jesus performed plenty of miracles during his time on this earth. But when we struggle to see God at work in our world today, it's easy to wonder: Do miracles really happen?
In this sermon, we'll talk about what we can learn from about Jesus from the miracles that he performed. And we'll be inspired to find ways to be a miracle for others.
Before Nathanael meets Jesus, he wonders if anything good can come from Nazareth. So before he even got to know Jesus, Nathanael wanted to reject Jesus.
But even though Nathanael wanted to reject Jesus, Jesus doesn't reject Nathanael. Jesus accepts us all. How different would our world be if we acted more like Jesus and less like Nathanael?
We live in a world that can feel obsessed with gaining wealth and power regardless of the cost. We live in a world that can feel obsessed with privilege and pedigree - where who you know is more important than who you are. We live in a world where we're only worried about ourselves.
But in the book of Mark, Jesus tells us that a new kingdom - the kingdom of God - is near. And the kingdom of God will turn this world upside for good.
As Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized, he couldn't have been in a more ordinary place...but this ordinary place would show us just how extraordinary Jesus is.
As Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized, Jesus showed us that he is both ordinary & extraordinary. Jesus showed us that he is just like us & greater than we will ever be able to understand.
After Jesus was born, some people were so excited to meet him that they traveled for months on end. But not everyone felt the same way. One man wanted to kill this baby, others wanted to ignore Jesus altogether.
As we try to better understand who Jesus is, we face the same choice these people did. We can meet Jesus with excitement - knowing he will change us. We can want nothing to do with Jesus. Or we can ignore him. But we all have to decide.
Every year countless children sit down with a sheet of paper in one hand and a marker in the other to make their Christmas list. Over the years, these lists have included everything from Rubik's cubes, to Tickle Me Elmo, to the latest video game system. And, with all the emphasis we put on these lists, it can feel like Christmas is all about presents.
But there is far more to Christmas than just a few gifts. Christmas tells us the incredible story of God becoming one of us, and reminds us that God loves us all.
From presents to buy to trips to arrange, Christmas is filled with plans. But, if we want to leave the ugly to the sweaters, we also need to plan how we will act this Christmas.
But sadly most of us spend way more time picking out the perfect gift or putting together an itinerary than we do thinking about how we will respond when we face difficult situations. But in this sermon, we'll be reminded that the only way to avoid ugliness is to plan ahead.
Everyone loves giving and receiving presents at Christmas. But what motivates you to buy the gifts you buy for the people you love the most? Sometimes our motivations are a little selfish.
And these ugly motivations keep us from truly enjoying this season. So, to leave the ugly to the sweaters this Christmas, we need to be reminded of what should truly motivate us in everything that we do.
How do you feel about Christmas lights or egg nog? Without making you hang a single light or drink a drop of egg nog; these words are powerful enough to make you feel a certain way.
But we often forget just how powerful our words can be, which can lead us to say some pretty ugly things. But to make sure we leave the ugly to the sweaters this Christmas, in this sermon we'll talk about how we can tame our tongues and keep from saying such ugly things.
From singing carols to decorating the tree, we all have our favorite Christmas traditions. But one tradition may do a better job of capturing what Christmas is really like to do than any other: the Ugly Christmas Sweater.
Ugly Christmas Sweaters remind us that even during Christmas our attitudes can become pretty ugly. In this series, we'll discuss how we can leave the ugly to the sweaters this Christmas season.
After being forced to cancel our Thanksgiving plans and Christmas celebrations last year, many of us are feeling more thankful than ever to just be able to sit down and spend time together with the people we love the most.
But Thanksgiving should be more than just a time of gratitude. Thanksgiving should also be a time when we remember that this world is filled with people who aren't as fortunate as we are, and we should find ways to give back and help other people.
We all have baggage that can cause us to do villainous things. Like we may not be the parents we want to be today because we had a rocky relationship with our own parents. Or we may struggle to trust our co-workers now because people we worked with in the past betrayed us.
But our past doesn't have to define our future. So no matter what baggage we have, and no matter what villainous things we've done; God can still use us to be heroes in the future.
We may all love our heroes...but sometimes our heroes turn out to be the villains.
In this week's service, we'll talk about how one man, who should have been a great hero, ended up becoming the villain of his own story instead. And we'll learn from his mistakes so that we don't become the villains in our own stories.
From Snidely Whiplash to Biff Tannen to Frankenstein's monster, we all have images that come to our minds when we think about villains. But what makes villains do villainous things?
Well, a lot of villainous acts start with being selfish. So in this sermon, we'll talk about how to avoid selfishness so that we don't become the villain in our own stories.
When you're talking about villains in the Bible, there's really only one place to start...and that's with the man who betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot.
But even though Judas committed one of the most villainous acts in history, there is an important lesson he can teach us to make sure we don't become the villains in our own stories. We all need to realize we are capable of doing villainous things.
A dollar bill is quite possibly the most recognizable form of currency in the world...and that means that a dollar bill is was made to be spent (whether we spend that dollar immediately or save it for the future).
But there are two ways to think about every dollar that we spend. We can think about how much something costs us, or we can think about the blessing we get from the money we spend.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than 19 months ago, we have all faced uncertain times. And, when we're not sure what the future holds, it's easy to be afraid.
But even though no one can tell you exactly what the future holds for your family, your job, or your life; we can look back over the last 19 months and see that God has been with us throughout these uncertain times...and we can trust that God will be with us no matter what the future holds.
There are a lot of words that people use to describe the Bible. You'll hear people talk about the Bible being all-knowing, all-seeing, infallible, and our first and last line of defense against the darkness of this world.
But is that really what the Bible is? In this sermon, we'll be exploring some of the things that we say about the Bible, and we'll also discover that the Bible is way more than we think it is.
There are people out there that will try to convince you that all you have to do to be a Christians is say a little prayer. They'll tell you that once you pray this prayer, Jesus will come into your life and then everything in your life will be perfect from that moment forward.
But there's more to being a Christian than saying a prayer. In this sermon, we'll be exploring what it really means to follow Jesus. And we'll find out that it may not mean what you think.
It's been said that being smart means you know a tomato is a fruit, but being wise means that you know better than to put a tomato in a fruit salad. What this little joke tells us is that there is a difference between knowing something and applying something.
Throughout this series, we've covered a lot of information. But this week, we'll see how all of the information we've learned about God and our faith actually applies to our lives.
If you grew up in church, you probably remember the little rhyme and hand motions that taught you about the church. It went something like: Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.
Now, that's a cute little game to play with kids...but the church is so much more than a building where Christians meet. So, this week, we'll be talking about what we, as Christians, believe the church really is.
When we talk about what we, as Christians, believe, we have to talk about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. And that also leads us to talk about the Trinity.
But let's just be honest here, the doctrine of the Trinity can be pretty confusing - because basic math tells us that 3 cannot equal 1 and 1 cannot equal 3. But the idea of the Trinity has far less to do with mathematics and far more to do with personal experience. And, in this sermon, we'll see how our personal experience helps us make sense of the Trinity.
As Christians, when we talk about God, it's not too hard to talk about God the Father and God the Son. But when it comes to God the Spirit - or the Holy Spirit - it gets a little trickier. As a matter of fact, trying to explain the Holy Spirit can feel about as productive as nailing Jell-O to the wall.
But just because it's not always easy to talk about the Holy Spirit, that doesn't mean it's not worth it. So, in this sermon, we'll be thinking about how the Holy Spirit works in our world and in our lives.
With more than 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, it's safe to say that you'll find Christians all across the theological spectrum. You'll find Christians who are more conservative and Christians who are more progressive. You'll find Christians who are more charismatic and Christians who are more reserved.
But when it comes to what we, as Christians, believe, you'll find that we all get together around Jesus.
There are roughly 7.9 billion people in the world today. About 30 percent of these people - or roughly 2.3 billion people - call themselves Christians. Based on these numbers alone, it's hard to imagine we could all agree on anything...let alone something as big as God. But we do.
In this sermon series, inspired by the Apostles' Creed, we'll be exploring the beliefs that make us Christians.
When you sit back and watch the incredible displays of athleticism at the Olympics, it's easy to feel a little inferior. No matter how hard we try, we'll never be on the same level as Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, or any of the other athletes who competed in this year's games.
Fortunately for us, our value as human beings doesn't come from our athletic ability. Our value comes from the God who created us all. And the God who made you loves you more than you can imagine...and there are no exceptions to that.
There are times in life when we all feel discouraged. We might feel discouraged because of something happening with our health, in our family, or at our job. And when we feel discouraged, we're all tempted to give up.
But in this sermon, we'll hear the remarkable story of a future gold medalist who almost walked away from his sport because of a devastating injury. And through his story, we'll be reminded that we are all stronger than we realize.
From the original Dream Team to Vitaly Scherbo, the 1992 Olympic Games featured some of the greatest athletes to ever compete in the Olympics. But the most memorable moment from these games didn't happen on a basketball court or during the gymnastics competition.
The most memorable moment from these games happened on the track...and it featured an emotional moment between a son and his father. This story reminds us that our Father is always with us, and we are never alone in the race of life.
If you've spent much time around a church on Sunday morning, then you probably have an idea of what worship is all about. Worship is about singing songs, saying prayers, collecting an offering, and listening to a sermon...right? Well, even though all of these things are part of our regular worship services, they are not what worship is all about.
Worship is about taking God with you wherever you go, not just meeting God at the church. So we all need to find a rhythm that includes God in every aspect and area of our lives.
For many of us, when we think about rest, we think about lounging around on the couch all day while we scroll through social media or binge watch something on Netflix. But that's not exactly what rest means. Rest is about rejuvenating our body, mind, and spirit so that we can live out God's purpose for our lives.
But how do we do that? How do we find time to rejuvenate our body, mind, and spirit? Well, it starts by prioritizing rest and including it in the regular rhythm of your life.
Work. We all have to do it, don't we? We have to earn a living so we can put food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads. But, for many of us, work is more than simply what we do...work has become part of who we are.
But our identity is not defined by the work that we do. Our identity comes from God. And, although our jobs are important, we have to find a rhythm with our work to make sure our jobs don't keep us from following God's will for our lives.
There are times when we pray when it sounds like God is little more than our Amazon Wish List. We constantly make requests of God, asking God to do more and more for us.
But, when we pray, we can't lose sight of who we are praying to. When we pray, we are entering into the presence of the God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them...including us. So rather than seeing prayer as a time to ask for more, we need to remember prayer should be a time to thank God for what God has already done.
Have you ever noticed that some people sound completely different when they talk to God than they do when they talk to other people? Sometimes they talk to God and sound like they're reading from the King James Version of the Bible or like they've just discovered a Thesaurus.
But God doesn't care how elegant our prayers sound. What God really cares about is that we are real when we pray. And being real means that we aren't afraid to tell God how we really feel or to ask God for what we really want.
Often when we talk about prayer, we say that we will pray for someone or something. But when you for someone or something, how many times do you really pray for them? If you're like many people, praying for someone or something means that you might pray about it once or twice.
But what if God wants us to do more than just pray for? What if God wants us to pray through? What if God wants us to pray and keep praying until something happens? In this sermon, we'll talk about how we can be more persistent in our prayers.
One of the most common definitions that you'll hear for prayer is that prayer is talking to God. And this means that many of us do all the talking when we pray. But prayer is really a two-way street.
So a better definition is that prayer is talking with God. So, when we pray, we need to learn to do a better job of listening to God. In this sermon, we'll talk about how we can listen to what God wants for us and from us.
As life begins to return to normal, many of us feel anxious about what the future holds. Whether it's taking off our masks, getting on an airplane, or eating inside a crowded restaurant again; there's a little to feel anxious about.
So what do we do when we experience these occasional bouts of anxiety? What do we do when we feel like things are beyond our control? We turn to the one who is always in control and share our fears and anxieties with God through prayer.
One of the biggest reasons that we don't fight fair with the people we love the most is that we have unrealistic expectations for the other people in our lives. We expect that everyone around us won't make mistakes or mess up.
So, when we find out that our relationships aren't perfect, we can take it out on the people we're supposed to love. But, if we want to fight fair, we have to remember that nobody's perfect...including us.
You can't really fix a problem if you don't know what the problem is. But, when it comes to fighting with our family, we're often afraid to address a problem head-on. Instead, we behave in passive-aggressive ways hoping that the people we love the most will just magically know what's going on in our heads.
But that's never going to happen. So, if we want to fight fair, we have to be willing to be direct and face our problems head-on.
There's an old cliche that says there are three sides to every story - your side, their side, and what actually happened. One of our biggest problems when it comes to fighting fair is that we forget that not everyone sees things from the same perspective.
In this sermon, we'll be reminded that we all see things differently. And we'll be talking about what we can do to learn to see things through someone else's eyes.
Over the last year, we have all had a lot of moments where we've thought "If only I could do ______ then things would feel normal again." And, even as things begin to slowly return to some semblance of normal today, many of us are continuing to look forward to the future when we can this "if only" things once again.
But, in our hurry to reach the future, we can't forget that God calls us to follow him in the present.
As the world around us continues to change, our calling as a church has not. But the church is not capable of fulfilling that calling on its own. And that's because the church is not some self-sustaining organism. No, the church is made up of individuals - just like you.
So, if the church is going to be who God has called us to be, we all have to do our part. And God has given you gifts that no one else has because God needs you to make the church what God has called it to be.
Have you ever had a moment where you found yourself ill-prepared for the circumstances you were facing? We all have...and that includes the church.
As we resume worshiping in-person for the first time in more than a year, we're asking ourselves "So now what do we do?" Well, even though we're facing unprecedented times, our calling s a church has not changed. It's been the same since the beginning of the church. In this sermon, we'll remind you what the church is called to do.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. It's changed the way we think about our health, the way we interact with others, the way we shop, and even the way we eat. So it seems like COVID-19 will also change the way we do church as well.
And, although church will be different in the future, God's calling for our church has not changed. In this sermon, we'll explore the primary calling for all churches...and be reminded that this priority never changes.
Last year, we missed out on many of the moments that we look forward to each Easter. But as things start getting back to normal this year, we don't want to miss out on the meaning of Easter.
This Easter at Melbourne Heights as we'll celebrate Jesus' resurrection and talk about what the resurrection means for each of us.
After being viciously tortured, Jesus was unable to carry his own cross all the way to the place where he would be executed. So another man, Simon of Cyrene, was pulled from the crowds and forced to carry Jesus' cross.
Although we don't know much about Simon, there are hints that this event changed his life forever. In this sermon, we'll see what we can learn from Simon's experience that can change us too.
As Easter approaches, there are times when we can falsely believe that Jesus is the only one who died on a cross. But Jesus was far from the only one to ever experienced this horrific form of execution.
As Jesus hung on the cross, he actually had another person on each side of him. And, as we look at how these two criminals behaved during the hardest moments in their lives, we can learn a lot about following God in difficult times in our own lives.
Only hours before he will be arrested and put on trial, Jesus gathers together with his disciples to share a meal in a borrowed room. We can only imagine how much the events that would soon unfold weighed on Jesus' mind that night.
But in spite of what he would soon face, Jesus remains more focused on his disciples than he is on himself. So what can we learn from Jesus' selfless behavior to help us follow God through difficult times in our own lives?
Holy Week is filled with some of the most significant events in the entire Bible. From Jesus' triumphal entry, to the last supper, to the crucifixion. But on Holy Tuesday, we read a story about Jesus picking fruit?
Why is this story of Jesus and the fig tree included in the stories of Holy Week? And more importantly, what can it teach us about how we can follow Jesus during difficult times? That's what we'll be exploring in this sermon.
On Holy Monday, Jesus enters the Temple in Jerusalem...and he's not real happy about what he sees when he gets there. In this week's sermon, we're going to discuss what was happening in the Temple, why it was happening, and what made Jesus so angry.
We'll also see what we can learn from Jesus' anger to help us continue to follow God when we face difficult times.
Holy week begins with Jesus entering into Jerusalem. But there is far more to the story than Jesus coming to town. Everything in this story is meant to show us who Jesus is: Jesus is our king. But Jesus isn't treated like a king for long. Five days later Jesus will be crucified. But in the story of his entry in Jerusalem, we're reminded that nothing can change who Jesus really is. And we're inspired to trust Jesus no matter what we may face.
When you realize that God is present in your life every moment of every day, you should enjoy praising God and celebrating what he is doing in your life. But real worship is about more than just having a big ole party for God.
Real worship also requires us to change ourselves for the God who is present in our lives. So, in this sermon, we'll talk about what God's priorities are for each of us and how we can change ourselves to be the people God created us to be.
Our God is the God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them...but our God isn't just a big and awesome God. Our God is also a God that is present in our lives every moment of every day.
So how do we respond to God's presence in our lives? We respond by praising God. And praising God is about more than just singing a song or two. So, in this sermon, we'll talk about what real praise looks like.
We come together every Sunday to worship...but what does that mean? Is worship just about watching a video for 45 minutes on a Sunday morning, or is there something more to it?
Of course, there is more to it. In worship, we get to encounter God. So, in this sermon, we'll be talking about who God is and we'll try to understand why we sometimes forgot that God is at the heart of everything we do in worship.
It's been reported that the average American has about 5 hours of free time each day. So, as followers of Jesus, it's important for us to have some guidelines on how God wants us to use that free time. In this week's service, we're talking about three guidelines that you can use to make sure you are following God with the way you spend your free time.
Throughout this new year, we've been talking about how we can follow Jesus in every area of our lives. So, in this service, we'll be talking about how we can follow God with our finances. And we know that nobody really likes when a church talks about money. But we promise we won't be talking about money like a late-night televangelist. Instead, we want to give you practical advice on how to follow God with your finances.
As we begin this new year, we want to help you follow the way of Jesus in every area of your life. And we tend to focus on three specific areas in our lives every new year. We focus on our health, our finances, and the way we spend our free time.
This week, we'll be talking about how we can follow Jesus with our health and why God wants us to be as healthy as we can be.
Every year about 60% of Americans make New Year's Resolutions. The majority of these resolutions have to do with our health, our finances, or the way we spend our free time. But no matter what you may resolve to do, your resolution becomes your top priority as the New Year begins.
But there is only one thing that should be our top priority...and that's our relationship with God. And when we prioritize our relationship with God, it can make a difference in every other area of our lives.
Throughout this Christmas season, we have reminded you that even though COVID-19 has changed the way we'll celebrate this year that Christmas isn't cancelled. But there is something that can cancel the good news of this season...and that's the way that we keep Christmas throughout the year. So now that December 25th has passed for another year, you have to decide if you'll keep Christmas or try to cancel it.
Christmas is a season of love. But we don't often stop to think about who it is that God truly loves. We only think about God loving people like us...but God loves everyone.
God loves people we wouldn't invite to Christmas dinner or even send a Christmas card to. And God sent his son into this world to die for them. And that is the scandal of Christmas.
Throughout this season, we have reminded you that Christmas isn't about how we celebrate...it's about who we celebrate. So, to help us better understand who we celebrate at Christmas, we have been exploring the story of Jesus's birth. This week, we'll explore the story of the shepherds. And we'll see what the shepherds' involvement in this story tells us about the meaning of Christmas.
When you were a kid you may have dreamed that you would grow up and become a firefighter, an astronaut, or a pilot. But for kids growing up in Israel 2,000 years ago, they would've dreamt of being the Messiah...and that includes Jesus's earthly father, Joseph. In this week's sermon, we'll see how Joseph's dreams helped him to realize who God is and to discover the purpose of Christmas.
We know that the way we celebrate Christmas is going to be different this year. But Christmas isn't really about how we celebrate...Christmas is about who we celebrate.
So we're looking at different parts of the Christmas story to see what they can teach us about who Jesus is. This week, we'll be taking a closer look at Mary's part in the story and through her story, we'll see what it means to be blessed by God.
Although it would've been nice to only worry about items on our Christmas list that were back-ordered on Amazon or how we could avoid Aunt Agnes's fruit cake...it's becoming clear that this Christmas isn't going to be normal.
So can we actually celebrate Christmas if we can't get together with our family and friends? Well, we'll see throughout this sermon series that Christmas isn't cancelled.
Thanksgiving is only a few days away. And most years that means that we are making plans to travel to see our family, or heading down to our basements to pull out our card tables and extra chairs...but 2020 is different. So what do we do when Thanksgiving is only a few days away and we don't feel like we have much to be thankful for?
Every kid has something that they want for Christmas. It might be a toy or a video game, a new pair of shoes or some fancy jewelry...but every kid dreams of finding something under their tree on Christmas morning.
But this dream doesn't come true for every kid. In this sermon, we'll talk about what our church is doing to make Christmas dreams come true and how you can help.
After Election Day every four years, members of the winning political party begin to celebrate while members of the losing party tend to freak out. But instead of celebrating a win or grieving a loss, the days following an election are the perfect time to think about the work that still needs to be done to create the more perfect union that our founders envisioned.
If you've ever tuned in to a Presidential Debate or watched a couple of hours of cable news, you've seen the way that our world does politics today. But, as followers of Jesus, we're not part of the kingdoms of this world...we're part of a different kind of kingdom. In this sermon, we'll be talking about what that kingdom is all about.
With the election less than a week away, many of us have had just about enough of politics for a while. That's because politics in America has become so partisan and so divisive. So how do we, as followers of Jesus, live out our faith in the face of the partisan political divide in our country? That's what we'll be talking about this Sunday.
As we read the Bible, we are invited to be a part of God's story...but we don't always want other people to be involved in this story. So we write people off based on their covers. In this episode, we'll see how one of the most important stories in the New Testament would not have happened if God judged us by our covers.
We all know that the Bible is important to us as followers of Jesus. But just because we know the Bible is important, that doesn't mean that we do a great job of actually reading it. So in this episode, we're going to give you three tips to help you read the Bible.
We have all heard the parable of the Prodigal Son...but even though we call this parable "The Prodigal Son" it isn't really about the son. This is a parable about the father and his mercy and love for all of his children. And that's the same way God feels about us.
The parable of the Good Samaritan might just be the most well-known parable that Jesus tells. But just because we've heard this parable before that doesn't mean we understand it. Because this parable isn't really about who your neighbor is...it's about so much more.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who scatters seed everywhere. So what can this parable teach us about who God is and how we should live? That's what we'll be exploring in worship.
There's no question that we're going through a difficult time right now. When we face difficult times we have the choice to focus only on ourselves or to help others make it through. God created us to be heroes and to help others...but how often do we end up being the villains and only focus on ourselves?
Last week, as we explored the story of the showdown on Mt. Carmel, we were reminded that God is always with us. In this week's life lesson from Elijah, we'll see that God isn't just with us...God is also for us.
With everything that is happening in the world right now, it can be hard to see God at work in our world and in our lives. But in this week's service, we'll be reminded that God never abandons us...we just need to remember to focus on God.
We're starting into a brand new series of sermons where we'll be learning life lessons from the prophet Elijah. And this week, we're going to see what Elijah, a widow, and a boxer can teach us about living through difficult times.
Over the last few weeks, our pastor has shared some of the lessons that he's learned over his 13 years in ministry. But this week, Adam will be talking about what it's been like to be a pastor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We're continuing on in our "Confessions of a Pastor" sermon series. And for this week's confession, our pastor borrows a line from the old REM song to remind us that "everybody hurts".
It may not make sense mathematically but, after 13 years in ministry, our pastor has learned that one is greater than 99. In this week's sermon, he'll explain what that means.
A lot of us want to put our pastors on a pedestal. But no matter how great our pastors may be...they'll never be perfect. Our pastors will make mistakes and let you down. But in this week's sermon, we'll be reminded that our pastors aren't meant to be perfect, they're meant to point us to the one who is perfect.
On July 15th, our pastor celebrated his 13th anniversary of being a pastor...he's spent 8 1/2 of those years with us at Melbourne Heights. So, starting this Sunday, July 19, he's going to be reflecting on some of the lessons he's learned over the last thirteen years in a series called "Confessions of a Pastor."
And his first confession has to do with that old expression, "If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck then it's probably a duck."
Over the last few weeks, we've been exploring what's next for our lives and our world as we continue to live through a worldwide pandemic. So this week, we're going to be thinking about what's next for the church.
The truth is that church has changed a lot over the last few months, but this change has created new opportunities for our churches to reach out to our world. As we enter into our new normal, we'll have to decide if we want to keep it up.
Over the last few months, we've all learned just how important it is to be connected with other people...but, at least for right now, we know that being connected with other people might spread a potentially deadly virus. So how are we supposed to interact with others as we enter our new normal?
In this episode of our podcast, we'll explore how Jesus interacted with someone that could have made everyone in the crowd around him sick.
When our economy shutdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, many of us realized how poorly we've managed our money in the past. So, as we continue to talk about how we can make our new normal better than our old normal, we'll have to decide what our relationship with money will be like in the future.
Right now, we are living through a time of unprecedented change...so we're all wondering what the future holds for us. But no one can tell us that because it's the choices that we will each make that will shape our new normal.
In our time of worship this week, we'll be talking about one of these choices. And that choice is about the mindset that we'll have as we face change.
There is no question that we are living in a new reality due to the coronavirus. But, as stay-at-home orders have been lifted and we start returning to the outside world, we all want to know what the future holds.
In this week's sermon, we're starting a new series where we'll be talking about what's next for each of us and our world. And we'll be focusing on the choices that we'll have to make that will shape our new normal.
The word "gospel" means good news. This week, we'll be digging deep into what the good news of Jesus is and we'll talk about how you can receive this good news for yourself.
A lot of people think that all you have to do to get to heaven is to do more good things in your life than bad things. But that's not really how it works. There is no great cosmic scoreboard for your life...and the only thing that can save you is God's grace.
The first part of the Gospel, or the good news of Jesus, is that God loves you. But that's not all there is to the Gospel. In this episode of our sermon podcast, we're going to be talking about why God made you.
This week, we are starting into a new series where we'll be exploring the most basic aspect of our faith...and that's the gospel. So what is the gospel and how does it shape our relationship with God?
We're getting closer to seeing many businesses open up in the state of Kentucky, and that means that we won't be long before we're spending less time at home. But that doesn't mean we should be any less concerned with having healthy relationships with our families.
We have all lost something due to the coronavirus. Some of us have lost family members or friends. Some of us have lost jobs and financial security. Some of us have lost milestone moments like graduations or weddings.
Because we have all lost something, we're all grieving. And our grief will impact our relationships at home. So this Sunday, we'll be talking about how we process our grief and how we can support each other during this time.
After weeks of social distancing, we're all starting to feel at least a little friction in our relationships at home. This week, we're going to continue to talk about why we're experiencing some of this friction and what we can do about it.
It's been over a month since we started social distancing. And spending so much time at home is starting to cause some friction in our relationships. So starting this Sunday, we're going to be talking about some things that we can all do to have healthier relationships at home.
Easter is going to be a lot different this year. Instead of getting up, putting on our Sunday best, and driving to our church; we're going to be celebrating the news that Christ is risen through our computer screens.
That may leave you feeling like it isn't really Easter. But it's at times like these that we need the good news of Easter the most because Easter means that the worst things are not the last things...and God is not finished yet.
On Good Friday, Jesus finds himself abandoned by his disciples, isolated inside of Pilate's palace, and alone awaiting his execution.
Right now, we can all relate to feeling abandoned, isolated, and alone. But, during this week's service, we'll see how God used a man named Simon to show us that we are never alone.
In Matthew 16, Jesus tells us what we have to do to follow him. We have to deny ourselves daily and take up our cross and follow him. But what does that mean for us in this time of social distancing? That's what we're talking about in this week's sermon.
We're two weeks into social distancing to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and we're all wondering when life will get back to normal.
We believe that life will get back to normal, but we still have to be able to live out our faith where we're at today. That's what we're talking about in this service: how we can live out our faith where we are today.
With the spread of COVID-19, the world around us has changed over the last week. Sporting events have been canceled, grocery stores have been emptied, the stock market has been plunging.
So how are people of faith supposed to live in light of everything that has happened in the last week? That's what we're talking about in this sermon.
On Holy Monday, Jesus enters the Temple in Jerusalem...and he's not real happy about what he sees when he gets there. In this episode's sermon, we're going to discuss what was happening in the Temple, why it was happening, what made Jesus so angry, and what we can learn from Jesus' anger to help us continue to follow God today.
In the weeks leading up to Easter this year, we're taking a closer look at some of the events that take place during Holy Week--the week leading up to Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. As we explore these events that took place during one of the most difficult times in Jesus' life on earth, we'll learn how we can follow God when we face difficult times too.
The book of Joshua is filled with extraordinary stories - from the people of Israel reaching the edge of the Promised Land, to cross the Jordan River on dry ground, to seeing the walls of Jericho fall. But, in spite of all of these extraordinary events, Joshua ends with a challenge to follow God on ordinary days.
We've all had crazy ideas. Maybe you’ve been crazy enough to jump out of a plane, or go on a spur of the moment trip, or try some wild food concoctions…but you probably haven't come up with an idea as crazy as the one we're talking about in this episode’s sermon.
In this episode’s sermon, we're talking about some researchers who had the crazy idea to teach bees soccer. You heard that right. They decided to teach bees how to play soccer. And, believe it or not, that’s not even the craziest idea we're going to talk about in this sermon.
Faith does not mean that you'll never be scared...faith means that even when you're scared you still trust in God. The people of Israel trusted in God when they were on the verge of entering a land they had never seen. We can trust God when we're facing uncertain times too.
Happy Groundhog Day! Even though Groundhog Day isn’t a federal holiday or an important day in the life of the church, it did inspire a classic Bill Murray movie.
And that movie helps sets the backdrop for this episode’s sermon. And that’s because even though none of us have ever had to relive the exact same day over and over again, we’ve all been stuck in a rut and felt like we were living our own version of Groundhog Day.
So in this episode’s sermon, we’re going to talk about why that is and what we can learn to help get us out of our ruts.
Over the last few episodes, we’ve been talking about how we can make God the main thing in our lives this year. And we can do that by seeking God first and foremost, by letting God produce his fruit in our lives, and by chasing after people who are far from God.
But this episode is where the rubber meets the road. In this episode’s sermon, we’re talking about the choice that we all have to make—a choice between making God the main thing in our lives, or a choice to keep living like we have been.
Since we started the New Year at Melbourne Heights, we’ve been spending our time together talking about what we can do to make our lives matter in 2020.
And in the Gospel of Matthew—or Matthew’s biography of Jesus—Jesus tells us that for our lives to matter we have to seek God first and foremost. And in this episode’s sermon, we’re going to continue to talk about how we do that…how we seek God first.
And it has something to do with the way a shepherd treats his sheep.
When many of us make a New Year's Resolution, we dive in headfirst. We don't want to just eat healthy...we want to eat healthier than anyone ever has. We don't just want to exercise...we want to look like the greatest athlete ever.
This same attitude can carry over when we try to make God the main thing in our lives. We can be so consumed with what that looks like on the outside that God isn't able to change us on the inside.
As the New Year begins, many of us make resolutions that will make our lives better. But what will really make your life matter in 2020?
In this episode's sermon, we talk about the one thing each of us can do to make our lives matter this year.
The innkeeper missed out on the first Christmas because he was too busy. Herod missed out on the first Christmas because of his selfishness. But in this episode's sermon, we're going to explore the story of someone who had every reason to miss the first Christmas...but he didn't.
In this episode, we're exploring the story of Joseph. And we'll see what helped make Joseph's story different from the story of the innkeeper and Herod.
In this episode’s sermon, we’re going to be exploring the story of Herod the Great—the man that was king of the Jews when Jesus was born. We’re going to talk about his reaction to that good news and see how Herod’s selfishness caused him to miss out on the very first Christmas.
We’ll also be talking about how our selfishness can cause us to feel like we miss out on Christmas too, and we’ll see what we can do to change that this year.
Christmas can be a time when we can get caught up in a lot of different things...from buying presents, to decorating our homes, to getting ready for get-togethers. But Christmas is about more than any of these things.
So, in this episode's sermon, we're going to be exploring the story of someone who has not only forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, he's also given up on Christmas altogether. But in this story, he experiences something that will change the way he thinks about all the Christmases yet to come.
And as we explore the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, he might just help us stay focused on the most important part of Christmas too.
We’re into the Christmas season. But in our podcast, we’re actually going to be skipping ahead talking about how we have all felt at one time or another after Christmas has come and gone for another year. At one point or another, we've all felt a little let down or disappointed after Christmas—we’ve all felt like we missed out on something.
But none of us want to feel that way. So beginning next week, we’re going to be exploring a few stories about people who missed out on the very first Christmas. And we’re going to see what we can learn from them to make the most out of Christmas this year.
Being a part of the church isn't about perks and privileges, but it’s about what your church needs from you. In our last few episodes, we've talked about two things your church needs from you: love and service. In this episode, we're talking about one more thing that the church needs from you…but this one isn’t quite as obvious as the first two. But it’s every bit as important to helping your church be who God wants it to be.
My first car was a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am. I loved that car...but it had one major problem that forced me to get rid of it as soon as I could. One small part in the car kept failing and that caused the whole car not to work. In this episode's sermon, we're going to see that the church is a lot like my Grand Am. If every part isn't doing its job in church then the church can't do what God created it to do either.
What does it mean to be a part of the church? In our world today, being a member is usually about perks and privileges...but is that what it means to be part of the church? In this episode's sermon, we begin exploring these questions in a bit of an unusual place. We're going to start thinking about what it means to be a part of the church by exploring a passage of scripture you're more like to hear at weddings than anyplace else.
It may be a little earlier to start talking about Christmas, but in this episode's sermon, that's exactly what we're going to be doing. Because we want to tell you about our church's partnership with the Salvation Army's Angel Tree Program, and maybe inspire you to pick out an angel or find another to show the world God cares for those who are hurting.
And we want to hear how you've been inspired. So visit our podcasts' webpage at anchor.fm/melbourne-heights---sermons and let us know how you're showing God's love to the world.
In this episode's sermon, we are finishing up our Recalculating series, where we’ve been talking about what we can do when plans change. So, in the last couple of episodes, we’ve talked about the fact that having your plans change isn’t necessarily a bad thing…and it may mean that God has bigger things in store. And we’re talked about how we can face the uncertainty that comes with change, by reaching out to God instead of being afraid.
Fear is probably the most common way we respond when plans change and our future is uncertain. But time and time again throughout the Bible God tells us not to be afraid.
So in this week’s episode, we’re going to talk about how we can recalculate the problem of uncertainty. And find a better way to deal with change than being afraid.
In this episodes sermon, we are started into a brand new series of sermons where we’re going to be talking about what we can do when our plans change.
Now, usually when our plans change, we don’t like it. But in this episode’s sermon, I’m going to tell you why it isn’t always a bad thing to have your plans change, because sometimes when our plans change, God has something bigger and better in store for us.
In this episode, we are finishing up our journey through the book of Exodus where we've walked alongside the people of Israel as they made their way out of the darkness of their slavery, and along the way, we've learned how we can face the darkness in our lives today too.
In this final sermon, we're going to be exploring part of Exodus we usually skip over...the detailed description of the tabernacle at the end of the book. But, as you'll see, all of this information about the tabernacle teaches us a lot about who God is and what God wants for us.
Have you ever faced a problem that seemed impossible to solve? Of course you have, we all have, our world is filled with these types of problems. But just because something seems impossible to us that doesn't mean it really is impossible.
In this week's sermon podcast, we're going to be here from Joe Noland--the youth pastor at Melbourne Heights--and be reminded that God can make the impossible possible...and God wants to do that in your life.
Sometimes it feels like our world is filled with problems that are too big to solve. But just because these problems are too big for us, that doesn't mean they are too big for God.
In this episode, we're going to be reminded of just how big our God is.
Sometimes it feels like our world is filled with problems that are just too big to solve. So what can you and I do to face all of these problems? Well, God has told us one thing we can do from the beginning. God wants us to be different from the world we live in so we can make a difference in the world around us.
In this episode, we're going to talk about how we can be different.
This world is filled with darkness, and there are two ways we can respond to it. We can have our hearts hardened to it or we can have our hearts broken by it. In this episode, we talk about how we can keep our hearts from being hardened by the darkness around us.
There's a major myth that we believe when it comes to solving some of the biggest problems in our world: we believe that it takes extraordinary people to solve extraordinary problems.
But, in this episode's sermon, we'll explore how two people--Thomas Edison & Moses--who we think were extraordinary problems solvers really weren't. And we'll talk about why they were still able to overcome some extraordinary problems.
One of the hardest things for us--as followers of Jesus--to do is know where God wants us to go. In this episode of our sermon podcast, we're going to be exploring a story that takes place as the people of Israel are struggling with this same thing. And we're going to learn from their experience the right question to ask to make sure we're following God's directions for our lives.
There are times in life when it feels like this world is filled with problems that are too big to solve. So what are we supposed to do in the face of all of these problems?
That's exactly what we're going to be talking over the next few episodes of this sermon podcast. Together, we’re going to journey through one of , if not the, darkest time in Israel’s history—their time of slavery in Egypt. And we’re going to see how they faced this dark time. How they resisted the darkness. And how God lead them out of the darkness.
Have you ever had a moment where you found yourself ill-prepared for the circumstances you were in? Of course you have, we all have. Whether you've found yourself in over your head while cooking a meal, or unsure what to do when a button popped off your favorite shirt; we've all had moments that have left us asking, "So now what?"
In this episode, we're going to find the Jesus' closest followers, his disciples, in the midst of a "So now what?" moment. And we're going to learn from their experience what every follower of Jesus is called to do.
Have you ever had one of those days where you had someplace to be and you just wanted to get there as fast as you possibly could? Of course you have...we all have.
In this episode of our sermon podcast, we're going to explore the story of Jeremiah and the people of Israel. And we're going to see why we shouldn't always be in a hurry. And we're going to learn that we need to live where we are instead of racing ahead, because God is the God of right now.
In today’s podcast we’re continuing in our sermon series called In Transit. In this series we’re exploring Biblical stories about people in transitions and seeing what we can learn from their experiences to help us as we face transitions too.
In today’s podcast, we’re taking a closer look at the story of Abraham. And we’ll see what the story of Abraham has to teach us about being in the right place.
Life is filled with transitions--from leaving home and going off to college to changing jobs or moving into new homes. But how do we follow God through these transitions? That's what we'll be exploring throughout this four part sermon series.
In part 1 of our "In Transit" sermon series, we'll be exploring how Daniel committed himself to follow God no matter what happened while he was in transit.
It seems like whenever you hear someone talk about heaven they mention the streets of gold and the pearly gates. Now, you may not know, but this imagery comes from the book of Revelation...but it may not mean what you've been lead to believe.
In this week's episode, we make it to the happy ending of the book of Revelation. And we see what God promises to everyone who remains faithful to him.
What do you do when your back is against the wall, when there doesn't seem to be a way out, when it looks like you're going to lose? Well, there are plenty of people who get angry and just quit.
But, as a follower of Jesus, we need to remember that no matter how bad things may seem, God is always in control and God will always win...so we don't need to quit.
We're continuing our Revelation Simplified sermon series this week, and we're taking a look at three stories that involve a big, nasty, fiery, red dragon. But just because this dragon seems indestructible, that doesn't mean he is. The dragon will fall because God always wins.
The book of Revelation can feel overwhelming, confusing, and complicated but it doesn’t have to be that way. The heart of the book of Revelation is a timeless message that followers of Jesus have needed to hear throughout the centuries.
So in this week's sermon, we’re beginning a series of sermons that will help you hear and understand this message that Jesus has for you.
John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loves the world..." And since God loves the world, we should love the world too. But how do we actually do that? How do we love the world that God so loves?
Well, in John 13:34-35 Jesus tells us. He tells us to love each other the same way that Jesus loves us. So in this week's sermon we'll explore how Jesus loves us and learn from Jesus how we can love each other.
There may be no words that are more important to our faith than the words, "For God so loved the world..." But how do those words shape the way that we feel about and the way we treat the other people in this world that God so loves?
In this week's sermon, we explore Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman sitting beside a well. As we do, we'll see that this woman was on the lowest rung of the ladder in the social structure of ancient Israel...but that doesn't keep Jesus from loving her. And it shouldn't keep us from loving each other because we all deserve to be no less than loved.
John 3:16 may be one of the most well-known verses in the Bible...but most of the time we forget how world-changing it is. The idea that "For God so loved the world" didn't exist before Jesus uttered those words. People believed that God loved individuals, or a nation, or a religious group...but not the entire world.
In this sermon, we take the time to see just how world-changing these six words are...and how life-changing they can be for you too.
The first Sunday after is the time when churches traditionally talk about "Doubting" Thomas...but Thomas gets a bad rap. If any of us were in his sandals, we would've had the same doubts. The truth is, 2,000 years later we still want to see the nail-scarred hands of Jesus at work in our world to take away our doubts.
The good news for us is, that just like Jesus showed his hands to Thomas, if we're willing to look we can see Jesus' hands at work too.
The story of Easter begins early on a Sunday morning about 2,000 years ago. The world has changed a lot over the last 2,000 years...but the biggest change happened that morning when Jesus' tomb was found empty. Because the tomb was empty, we can be filled with hope.
While dying on the cross, Jesus experiences more pain than most of us could ever imagine. And that makes the first statement that Jesus makes on the cross so surprising. In the face of all of the pain and suffering he was experiencing, Jesus' initial reaction was to ask God to forgive everyone who put him there.
How was that even possible? How could Jesus ask God to forgive the same people that were executing him? That's what we'll explore in this week's sermon.
Everyone of us faces pain. From the pain of losing loved ones to the pain of stubbing a toe...we've all been there. And that means we all have to find ways to endure the pain we experience. In this week's sermon we talk about one important way to deal with our pain: being real with God about what we're feeling.
The church can have a language of its own...but we rarely stop to explain it. But in this week's throwback episode we take a closer look at what it looks like to be saved.
We've all experienced pain. From stubbing a toe or biting our tongues, to losing a family member or friend. But what if we hadn't ? What if we lived in a world without pain?
Than may sound like paradise...but is it really? Because, believe it or not, there is a purpose to pain.
What do you say to someone who is suffering? Unfortunately we have a long history of blaming someone's suffering on them or on God...but God tells us in the book of Job that neither of those answers are right.
So what do we say about pain and suffering in this world instead? Where do we find hope when it hurts? That's what this sermon is all about.
Some questions in life have easy answers. Like just about everyone knows 2+2=4, or if someone asks for your phone number you can rattle it off in no time flat. But other questions aren't so easy. But just because something isn't easy that doesn't mean it should be avoided.
As people of faith, we should be wrestling with questions that have no easy answers because the struggle will help our faith grow.
Do you remember the game "Guess Who?" It was a game where you asked "yes" or "no" questions to discover the identity of a mystery person. Sometimes we do the same thing when it comes to Jesus. We wonder if he had brown hair, or if he was tall. But we also wonder what it means for him to be "the Christ, the Son of the living God."
In this week's sermon we'll see that there's no need for us to guess about Jesus' identity. Jesus tells us who he is and he shows that he is all we need.
The kingdom of God is different than the ways of this world. This world can feel like it's filled with violence and hatred...but the kingdom of God is a kingdom of peace and love.
So how do followers of Jesus change the world we live in to make it more like the kingdom of God? We do it by following the ways of Jesus.
We all have an idea of who Jesus is. We have an idea of what he looks like, what he dresses like, how he behaves. But most of the time, when we think about Jesus, we think he is just like us.
But then we run into passages of scripture or stories that remind us that Jesus is not like us...but we are supposed to be becoming more like him. In this week's sermon we explore one of those passages of scripture, and see what the beatitudes have to teach us about who Jesus really is.
Who does God love? Depending on who you ask, you'll likely hear a lot of different answers. But in this week's sermon we are reminded by Jesus--who is God made human--that there is only one answer to this question.
God loves everyone...we're the ones that make exceptions.
There is a lot to worry about in life - from our health, to our families, to our jobs, and more. And because there is so much we can worry about, it's a little strange to hear Jesus tell us, "Do not worry."
In this week's sermon we'll see why Jesus tells us not to worry, and we'll be reminded that God is always in control.
Sometimes in life we find ourselves in situations beyond our control. But just because things are beyond our control that doesn't mean they are beyond God's control.
In this week's sermon we talk about how God has led Melbourne Heights through an uncertain time, and how Go has prepared us for a brighter future.
Is the moral of the story of the tortoise and the hare really that slow and steady win the race? Or is it a lesson that pride comes before the fall?
Just because you've heard a story a thousand times that doesn't mean you completely understand the story. That's definitely the case in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable has a lot to teach us about who our neighbors really are.
The story of Jesus' baptism can be one of the most confusing stories about Jesus life on earth. But, even though this story can leave us scratching our heads, it still has a lot to tell us about who God is and how we can better follow him.
We all have an image of what the first Christmas must have looked like. But whatever we picture it does not do justice to the magnitude of this moments, because no matter how we picture Jesus' arrival in this world it is nothing compared to what his arrival means to our world.
We treat all of Christmas like we treat our presents. We can't wait to get it, but as soon as we have it we tear into it and rush on to the next thing.
But it shouldn't be that way. So let's slow down and reflect on what the season of Christmas is all about.
Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, who lived just North of Who-ville, did not!
In this week's sermon, we’ll see that whether we like Christmas (like the Whos) or not (like the Grinch) this is a season that shows us the true meaning of love.
George Bailey’s life wasn’t always very merry...but there’s a difference between being merry and being joyful.
In this week's sermon, we talk about how our lives can always be filled with joy...even when they don’t seem so wonderful.
Do you ever feel like Charlie Brown this time of year? You may like giving and receiving gifts, and decorating your home...but you still feel like there’s something missing from your celebrations?
In this week's sermon, we talk about what’s really missing at Christmas.
Christmas is a season of waiting. And no one knows that better than Ralphie Parker--who had to wait to see if he'd get his Red Ryder BB Gun.
But what we're really waiting for at Christmas isn't presents...what we're really waiting for is Christ's presence in our lives and in our world.
Have you ever heard the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes? If you have, you've probably discovered it's easy to place yourself inside of the story. You can see the story unfold from the eyes of the disciples or even the crowd.
But there's at least one other way to see this story that may change the way you think about yourself. And that's through the perspective of the bread and the fish.
In a world that is filled with brokenness and pain, it can be easy to wonder if God is still active in our world today. In this week's sermon we're reminded that God is our refuge and our strength, a ever present help in times of struggle.
And that means that God is still working today.
Just about every kid looks forward to Christmas...but there are thousands of kids that may not have a single gift waiting for them on Christmas morning.
At Melbourne Heights, we have helped bring Christmas to over 150 kids in the last two years. In this sermon, we talk about how we do it...and why we do it too.
As we read the Bible, we are invited to be a part of God's story...but we don't always want other people to be involved in this story. So we write people off based on their covers.
In this episode, we'll see how one of the most important stories in the New Testament would not have happened if God judged us by our covers.
We live in a world that constantly tells us, "You can't!" You can't sing. You can't dance. You can't do that. You can't go there.
But how does Jesus respond when his disciples seem to be struggling with those "You can't" feelings? Jesus tells them "You can!"
When we read the Bible, we're not just reading stories...we are also being invited to be a part of God's story today.
But too often we think that God doesn't want us to be part of his story. We think that we're not good enough for God. But in this sermon you'll hear how God really feel about you.
The Bible doesn't look or feel like any other book we read, so it can feel a little intimidating. But these 3 tips can help anyone feel a little more comfortable and confident when you start reading the Bible.
We may use it every Sunday during our sermons and small groups, but we almost never talk about why we read the Bible. Do we read it because it's the best-selling book of all-time, or because it's an owner's manual for life, or because it's Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth?
Or maybe there's more to what the Bible is that helps us understand why we read it today.
Life is filled with change...but nobody really likes change. So what can we do to shift our perspective on the changes we face?
We can see the risk or we can see the opportunity.
Loneliness has a negative effect on our health, but what are the benefits of having close friendships?
Loneliness is a problem that half of all Americans struggle with, so what can we do to feel more connected? In this week's sermon, we discuss what our church is doing to address some of the reasons we don't do a better job of connecting.
Half of all Americans struggle with loneliness, and there are a million different reasons why. However, many of our reasons boil down to the same thing: we are self-centered.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Jesus shows us another way that will help us form the close relationships we need in our lives.
Half of all Americans struggle with loneliness, and we seem too busy to find the time to make real connections. But are we really that busy? In this week's sermon, we explore what's really imperative and not just important.
Everyone knows what it feels like to be rejected or burned, and once you've been burned it's hard to open yourself up to anyone else. So what can you do to help other people open up to you? Treat them like Jesus did.
A recent study conducted by the Cigna shows that almost half of all Americans sometimes or always feel alone. 27% feel like no one understands them, and 20% feel like they have no one to talk to.
So why do we feel alone?
In this week's podcast, we take a trip to our sermon archives to re-think Easter. We all know that Easter is a big deal...but what is Easter all about?
What does Popeye and his can of spinach have to do with the Bible and why it matters? Find out in our latest sermon.
You can't appreciate a story if you don't know something about the characters. In this sermon, we take a look at a few of the smaller characters in the Bible, and we're reminded that there are no small characters to God.
You can't understand a story if you don't know something about the main characters. In this week's sermon, we explore who some of the central figures in the Bible are, what makes them important, and why they matter to us today?
The New Testament is made of of 27 books covering everything from the life of Jesus to the spread of Christianity in the decades after Jesus’ resurrection. But what exactly happens in the New Testament? God shows us who he is and who we are, and God calls us to be who he made us to be.
Just about everyone knows at least a story or two from the Bible. But how can you possibly explain what happens in a book that contains so many people and stories? You take it one section at a time. And by exploring each section of the Bible you can learn what happens and how it shapes your journey of faith today.
The majority of the Bible takes place in Israel, but have you ever wonderwd why? God didin't chose Israel by accident, he had a purpose and a plan that help us understand who God is.
It's been said that every good story needs a villain...and there is no greater villain than Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus, and we could never imagine doing that.
But we do. We betray Jesus all the time. And we'll never grow closer to Jesus if we can't see ourselves as another Judas.
On the night of his last supper, Jesus gathered with his disciples to observe Passover. What is Passover about? How did Jesus and his disciples celebrate it? What does it mean for us today?
It means that God keeps his promises.
We pick up a lot of dirt in our day to day life. We pick up the dirt of anger, jealousy, pride, selfishness; and before we know it this dirt gets caked onto our souls.
And the only one who can clean our souls is Jesus.
Worship is what we do when we recognize that God is reaching out for us. But how good of a job do you do when it actually comes to worship? You can't just assume that you've got it covered...you have to examine yourself and make sure you are really worshiping God.
Worship must make our priorities line up with God's priorities. So what are God's priorities? God comes first, other people come second...and you come last.
What do you do if your priorities don't line up with God's? Commit to change.
Worship is what we do when we recognize that God is reaching out for us. We respond to this through praising God and wanting to be in God's presence. But how can we be in God's presence when we're constantly distracted?
Silence is your ticket to enter God's presence.