Journey RVA Podcast: Recent Episodes
Journey Christian Church
We don’t see ourselves the way God sees us. He sees our unrealized potential. He has used the potential of people since the beginning. We read stories throughout the Bible of God using people in ways they couldn’t see possible; heroic ways. All we have to do is be open to what he’s calling us to do.
We all have things that cause us, or have caused us, to stop moving forward. We call these obstacles “giants”. Sometimes we see the giant in front of us instead of God. Through our fears, we see what we think the outcome will be instead of the the outcome God has planned for us. However, when we look at the story of Joshua and Caleb we see that we can always trust in God’s presence and direction.
We all have things that cause us, or have caused us, to stop moving forward. We call these obstacles “giants”. Sometimes we see the giant in front of us instead of God. Through our fears, we see what we think the outcome will be instead of the the outcome God has planned for us. However, when we look at the story of Joshua and Caleb we see that we can always trust in God’s presence and direction.
When we have to make a critical life-decision, how can we know the direction God wants us to go? Does he communicate to us? If so, how can we know we’re hearing from him and it’s not just something we’re making up. This talk will address these questions and look at the specific ways God leads and how to know they are from him.
When we have to make a critical life-decision, how can we know the direction God wants us to go? Does he communicate to us? If so, how can we know we’re hearing from him and it’s not just something we’re making up. This talk will address these questions and look at the specific ways God leads and how to know they are from him.
There is a powerful lie at work in our culture, a lie that measures status and worth by one’s possessions and whispers to us, “You are what you have.” Let’s stop buying that lie. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Life is found in being the beloved children of God.
Our identity is found in being a beloved child of God and discovering the unique vision, calling, and mission God has given each of us. Anything else that we let define us does not tell us the truth about who we are.
Every person longs for meaningful friendships. We are wired for them. Yet far too many of us have grown to be adults with too little relational connection. What if we lived as a community of people who walked through our days with attentiveness to the opportunities we have to invest in the lives of others? What if, instead of just letting people pass us by, we actually took the time to invest in them.
Jesus extends an invitation to all people. So we want to be a community of people who are on mission together so that more and more people accept Jesus’ invitation and find their way back to God. An invitation starts with identifying people who we know who might be ready to receive Jesus’ invitation.
In the decisions that come our way, we are faced with many choices, but oftentimes we end up going from one thing to the next and are never able to discern the important from the urgent. This can cause us trouble. However, as we read in the Gospel of Luke, there is only one priority that we should focus on.
Fear is an emotion caused by belief of impending potential distress, misfortune, or loss. It’s based in the future. The source of our fears is usually something we’re going to lose or we’re afraid we won’t have in the future. Since we can never really know what’s the around the corner, is it even possible to live without fear and worry?
Do you remember the board game slogan, “You learn about life when you play The Game of Life”? It’s true. We do learn about life when we play games. But too often, the lessons we learn aren’t healthy ones . . . especially when we play The Mind Game. Relationships built on The Mind Game can’t survive.
We all love games, but playing games in relationships is dangerous. Approaching relationships as though someone has to win and someone has to lose is a bad idea. One game we tend to play in our relationships is The Change Game. There’s nothing more toxic to a relationship than secretly trying to change the other person. It feels awful. It doesn’t work. And it will eventually destroy the relationship. The good news is there’s a better way.
For thousands of years, the Bible has contained the best financial principles to help people achieve financial freedom. These principles worked thousands of years ago, and they’re just as effective today - they are timeless financial truths.
We make investments in life to provide for something in our future. But have you ever thought about how you can invest in your eternity? Is that even possible? You may be surprised!
By it’s very definition, eternity it timeless. And when we think about eternity, we think about Heaven. The popular misconceptions about what Heaven is like hinder our pursuit of a truly significant life. Why? Because we tend to tend to prioritize the temporal things of this life over what has eternal value. At the end of the day, we’re not convinced that eternity is going to be much different than the here and now. And yet, the opposite is true. When we understand what the Scriptures teach about Heaven, it not only gives us a greater and grander vision for eternity, it also gives us a greater and grander vision for the next seven days.
We’re all headed somewhere. Arriving at our new destinations requires change. For most of us, change creates stress. Sometimes you know what’s coming next—graduation, wedding, new baby, new job, retirement. But there’s no correlation between knowing what’s next and being prepared for what’s next. So, how do you prepare for the next season when you can see what’s coming?
We’re all headed somewhere. We’re all moving toward a new season. And none of us has been where we’re going. Yet it’s up to us to figure out what we need to pack in our bags so that we’re prepared for that coming season. But how can you know what you’ll need when the coming season is a mystery? How can you know what you don’t know?
We’re all headed somewhere. Arriving at our new destinations requires change. For most of us, change creates stress. Just like when we travel on a boat, plane, or in a car, traveling through life can give us motion sickness. We’re knocked off balance. The ground beneath our feet doesn’t feel solid. So how do you prepare for what’s next when the anxiety of transition has you fighting motion sickness?
Life is full of change. Transitions can be both exciting and stressful. That’s because we can’t see into the future. We can’t tell what comes next. But what if there was a way to prepare for the next season? What if you could do something now to influence where you end up then?
Eschatology (es·cha·tol·o·gy) is a Christian term that references the biblical teachings about the study of the “last things,” including the second coming of Jesus. While Christians hold to a wide variety of beliefs about the details surrounding the second coming of Christ, there is one central truth on which there is broad agreement: Jesus is coming again, and he will come in a literal and visible manner. The return of Jesus is necessary to bring redemptive history to its ultimate conclusion where God sets all things right and restores his created order.
When the church launched, it began to grow quickly. A quick survey of the first several chapters of Acts will show that they kept track of how many people were embracing the message of the Gospel. What was the focus of the early church? What led to its rapid growth?
After his resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days with his closest disciples pouring into them and teaching them from the Scriptures. At the end of that period of time, he gave them a mission: take the message of the Gospel to every nation on earth and make disciples for and of Jesus. But what is a disciple? What exactly was the message of the Gospel? How were they to accomplish this mission?
Everything in Jesus’ ministry led up to a singular crisis climax: his death and resurrection. Even though Jesus told his disciples that his death was coming, they couldn’t wrap their minds around it: the Messiah wasn’t supposed to die prematurely. Upon the first reports of his resurrection, it seemed to his closest followers as an unrealistic fantasy. Yet this dramatic event was the centerpiece of God’s plan and became the foundation of his plan to restore a broken and fallen world.
Though few people could put their finger on exactly who Jesus was, everyone had an opinion about the things he did. He came as a powerful teacher who gradually revealed his true identity and demonstrated the kingdom of God though his character, attitudes, words, and deeds.
It had been about four centuries since any prophet had spoken for God and any Scripture was written. The Jews had been scattered around the world while bing subject to various empires and only experienced occasional periods of freedom and independence. In the eyes of many, God seemed to have abandoned his people and his plan. During God’s “silence,” he was making preparations for the arrival of the Promised One, the Messiah. Messiah’s birth was a miracle foretold and announced by angels. As an infant, enemies sought to destroy him and foreign sages traveled for months to worship him. From the time of his birth to the beginning of his public ministry, God was faithfully preparing Jesus to fulfill his divine plan of redemption.
This message contains both a special video and an interview with two of our volunteers.
For centuries, God sent his prophets to warn his people that unless they repented and walked in obedience to him that he would judge them. Though they had seasons of revival, the southern Kingdom of Judah would continue to rebel against God. Therefore, God used pagan nations to deliver judgment against his people. They were conquered, Jerusalem leveled, and the majority of people exiled in a foreign land, many as slaves. Ahead of time, God sent prophets to say that their exile would be limited and they would ultimately return. These same prophets would also foretell of a coming Messiah and of a kingdom that would never end, where righteousness would dwell.
For a brief moment in time, the nation of Israel had shown signs of their potential glory. But like Adam and Eve in the garden, they fell. And fell again. And again and again. Like the rest of us, they sought sustenance, significance, and meaning in life. But also like many of us, they sought it in the wrong places, straying from God until he gets our attention.
The nation of Israel has inherited the land and territory that God had promised to Abraham. They are coming out of a dark period of time in their history where there was no king and where everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. Into this environment the nation comes together to receive their first earthly king. While it was a time of great accomplishment, it was also a challenging time for the leaders and the people. We can learn from their struggles and not have to experience their regrets.
Moses has brought the Israelites to the edge of the land of promise and passes the baton of leadership to Joshua. They set out to inherit what God had promised to Abraham, but it would require them to obey God and trust in his protection and power. After they defeated the enemies of God, they settled into the land. At the end of his life Joshua challenged the people to continue to follow God and walk in his ways. After Joshua and the elders who served with him died, the nation was thrown into a 350 year period where they would stray from God and experience God’s judgment on them to bring them to repentance.
After more than four hundred years of the Israelites being enslaved in Egypt, God heard their cries for help. In Exodus we see him delivering his people from slavery and rescuing them from their enemies. In Leviticus we see God giving explicit instructions on how to live and how to relate to him. In Numbers we witness God guiding, providing for, and disciplining his wayward people. In Deuteronomy we hear him patiently reminding the next generation of Israelites of how to live lives that honor him, bless the world, and bring personal fulfillment.
We tend to view the Bible as a bunch of fragmented bits of history, poetry, and moral tales, but in reality, the Bible tells a story. And it’s a true story. Ultimately, it’s a story about God and our part in the story he is writing. It’s a story that gives meaning to our existence, our daily lives, and to every other story on earth. As you read through the Bible, resist the tendency to get bogged down in the details and make sure you never loose sight of the magnificent story that is unfolding.
Many people feel intimidated by the Bible. When they've tried to read it they have been confused and found it hard to understand. In this message, you'll discover how to read the Bible, understand what you're reading, and how to apply what you're learning.
Everything Christians believe is based on the teachings found in the Bible. However, many people wonder if the Bible is a reliable source of information about God and his ways. After so many years of copying and recopying the ancient Biblical text, aren’t there many mistakes in the manuscripts? Aren't many of the events the Bible speaks of just made up fairy tales? How can you know if they really happened? Doesn’t science conflict with the Bible? In this message, James Brummett will tell you about his own crisis of faith and what he discovered about the reliability of the Bible that served to ground him in the Christian faith.
If you have ever been confused or frustrated when reading the Bible, then you will appreciate this first message which he explains how the Bible is structured, what the most readable and reliable versions are, which 13 books capture all of the stories and history in the Bible chronologically, and much more!
Most of us want this year to be better. But “better” requires a bit of honest and awkward evaluation. So what are you holding onto that’s holding you back? If you’re holding onto something that’s making a monkey out of you, maybe it’s time to let go of the banana and run away!
We all want to win. After all, winning is better than not winning. In a game a win is defined, but life is not a game. And winning in the most important areas of our lives isn’t always clear. So, how do we win?
The Christians in the first century were filled with joy, but their circumstances didn’t get any better as a result of following Jesus. In fact, their circumstances grew worse. Following Jesus and being identified with Jesus was costly for them. And yet … they had joy. They were optimistic. What was it that enabled them to have joy?
When life is chaotic and disruptive changes come your way, is it possible to have joy? When circumstances deflate you bringing frustrations and disappointments, how can you experience joy? Mary, the mother of Jesus, has a secret that can help anyone experience joy in spite of their circumstances.
Sometimes the power of the Christmas story is found in the strangest of places. Tucked away in the small letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia is a profound truth of the joy of what Jesus came to do.
At the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the angel described this event as one that would bring joy to all the people. When Jesus came, so did joy. Why would his birth bring joy to all the people? How is it possible to have joy that endures, even when the circumstances of life don't lend themselves to joy?
What goes around often comes around. The powerless often find themselves in a position of power and the people who hurt us may someday need us. In the moments when we’ve got those people right where we want ‘em, what we say will say as much about us as anything else. If our words are stones, will we choose to throw them, or use them to pave the way forward?
Our big mouths can be destructive, but they also have the power to build others up. What we say can impact the quality, and even the direction, of the lives of the people around us. How can we use this power for good?
Like a small spark that has the potential to scorch an entire green forest, our tongues are untamable, with the power to control our whole bodies. We have a tool that can be used to build up those around us or tear them down in just a few words. What do we do with that kind of power? We can’t lock it away. But we can, by God’s grace, learn to control it.
We all know what it’s like to be hurt by someone who just couldn’t listen long enough to understand us. Maybe in their attempt to be right, they damaged a relationship that could have been saved with a little patience and curiosity. You’ve probably been on the other side of that coin too. Taking the verbal offense may have won the argument, but you lost relationally. What if we didn’t settle for being right, but tried to make things right instead? The longer we listen, the more we learn, and the better chance we have of protecting ourselves from our own big mouths.
Sometimes church people get confused about what it is they are supposed to be doing. Jesus, however, was very clear about what he expected — commanded — his followers to do. Getting and maintaining clarity on Jesus’s mandate for his followers is essential if we desire to fulfill his mission for us in this world.
God wants us to pray. He wants us to present our needs and requests to him. God’s desire for our prayers, however, goes far beyond simply presenting our needs and requests to him. God also has a strategic purpose for our prayers.
Christians in the first century were not content with simply gathering in a holy huddle. From the beginning, they were on a mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus to anyone who would listen. Even though they were persecuted and martyred for spreading the Gospel, they would not stop. But why? What motivated them to a continue to call people to repentance and to surrender their lives to Jesus? What can we learn from their example?
Nero burned Rome in July of A.D. 64. Shortly thereafter, persecution broke out against Christians. The Apostle Peter wrote to a scattered group of Christians to encourage them and to instruct them on how to live in incredibly difficult times. What Peter wrote to these Christians is relevant to us today, more than 2,000 years later.
Christians in the first century were not only a minority group, practicing their faith was a challenge. Sometimes they grew discouraged and simply stopped engaging in the community of the Church. This is one of the issues the writer of the New Testament letter of Hebrews was addressing. What can we learn from their experience?
People who were not like Jesus liked Jesus, and he liked them back. Since the church is the body of Christ, people should be drawn to Jesus followers. Even if they don’t agree with the message of the church, they should like the church. So, why isn’t that true?
There is an assumption that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to sinners. But clinging to that myth will cause your faith to eventually be ground into dust.
We live in a world of conflict between nations, political parties, classes of people, friends, and even between family members. Jesus taught that those in his kingdom would be characterized as peacemakers. So what kind of peace was Jesus talking about, and how can we grow in this characteristic?
Of all the Beatitudes, the statement of Jesus about “the pure in heart” may be the most difficult. It isn’t hard to see ourselves as spiritually bankrupt, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting, merciful, peacemakers, or even being persecuted. But being “pure in heart”? Probably no one goes around thinking of themselves as being pure in heart. So what does Jesus mean and how can we pursue this “purity of heart”?
Jesus said that people in his Kingdom will be merciful. This characteristic of disciples of Jesus makes Christianity attractive, for at one point or another we all need (and want) mercy. So, what is mercy and how can we grow more merciful?
Solomon, the third king in Israel, was one of the wealthiest people in world history. He pursued happiness in every way imaginable: education, work, sex, power, wealth, influence, architecture, agriculture, gardening, just to name a few. Yet he wrote that it was all vanity, or emptiness. It didn’t bring him fulfillment. So, where do we find fulfillment? Jesus promised fulfillment to those who pursued righteousness.
We aspire to be a lot of things in life: productive, loyal, honest, hard working, and generous, just to name a few. But one characteristic that is not very high on anyone’s list is that of meekness. What is meekness and why did Jesus include it as one of the defining characteristics of those in his Kingdom?
We live in a fallen and broken world where we experience loss, pain, and suffering. We appropriately respond to brokenness with grief and mourning. We understand this dynamic. What is sometimes missing is a grief and sense of mourning over our own sin and brokenness. The promise of comfort from Jesus in the Beatitudes is more directly related to this experience: brokenness over personal sin.
When it rains, it pours. You’ve probably been through a day (or a season) where you felt like whatever could go wrong, went wrong. What do you do when you feel like all sides are crushing in on you? How do you navigate through the storm? The small New Testament letter of James offers some straight-forward instructions for this very question.
It can be easy to see someone else self-destruct and think to ourselves, I would never do that. But truth be told, we’re all capable of ending up where we don’t want to be. Even Solomon's son—the heir to the throne of Israel—blatantly ignored a principle that we should all pay close attention to.
We can talk ourselves into anything. Our internal narratives justify our beliefs as well as our actions. But when those narratives are not true, they lead to destructive thoughts and behaviors. We can choose to carry around false but comfortable narratives—or we can look to destroy them.
We all face dilemmas in which circumstances point us in one direction, but our consciences point us in a different direction. At times, we ignore the tug of our consciences and sell ourselves on a questionable decision. King David found himself in such a position, and his example can help us navigate our own dilemmas.
Perhaps nothing characterized the life of Jesus more than his pursuit of people whose lives and lifestyles did not look like his. If we fail to listen to people who don't experience the world the way we do, we will never bear their burden.
How is your stress level these days? Are you on edge? Frustrated? Worn down? Anxious? Is your soul burned with cares? We’ve all been there. Some of us have sought the help of a counselor, psychiatrist, or doctor and have found a measure of relief from anxiety as a result. But even then, there are still things only God can alleviate.
You may not be able to avoid anxious thoughts from time to time, but you don’t have to live in the prison of anxiety. In Philippians 4:8, the Apostle Paul gives us another powerful tool that, when used, will help us rid our hearts of perpetual anxiety.
To this point in our study of Philippians 4:4-9, Paul has been assuring us of God’s
character: his sovereignty, mercy, and presence. In Philippians 4:6, the conversation shifts
and now it is our turn to act on these realities.
Anxiety is nothing new. King David, Paul, and even Jesus experienced anxiety. While we live in a day when anxiety is on the rise, there are things we can do to lessen our anxiety. The Apostle Paul addressed this very issue and gave the church in Philippi instructions on how we can win.
We have hope that there is life beyond the grave. But it’s not just that there is life beyond the grave. The misery of this world is not the end … there is something way better!
When you are in the middle of a crisis that continues to worsen, a flood of emotions come over you. Uncertainty. Fear. Anxiety. Despair. How do you move forward when there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel?
When the world is chaotic, we wonder if God is still in control … if he really does have the whole world in his hands. But after a while, the burdens of a chaotic world are too much for us to carry and our thoughts quickly transition from the whole world to my world. Our burning question is, “Does he have me in his hands?”
When things aren’t going well, we tend to feel alone and anxious. When times are uncertain and it seems that things may get worse before they get better, what do you do? How can you maintain hope?
People are reeling from the COVID-19 health pandemic. Our nation is grinding to a halt. Schools closing. Sporting seasons cancelled. International travel bans implemented. Healthcare system strained. Healthcare providers bracing for the worst. The public paralyzed with fear. But why?
Falling in love is easy; staying in love is hard. What do you do when the intense emotions of the honeymoon are over? How do you navigate through the different seasons of challenge every marriage encounters? What do you do when you’ve “lost that loving feeling?”
Every marriage will end in one of two ways: through divorce or through the death of a spouse. The end of a marriage is always heartbreaking. What do you do when a marriage ends? How do you deal with the shock? How do you cope with the pain? How do you move forward?
People have a lot of different ideas about sex and human sexuality. Sex is a source of great pleasure, but it can also be a source of great pain. How can we avoid that pain and regret? Knowing and living according to the truth about sex will help you avoid pain and regret.
On the wedding day you blissfully pledge to be married “till death do us part.” But after a few months or years of marriage things aren’t so blissful any more and one or both partners begin to have “buyer’s remorse.” What do you do then?
All of us have received in-depth training in relationships. We constantly learn from our families, friends, and even strangers. Perhaps the most pervasive training we’ve received is from our culture: movies, magazines, YouTube, Netflix, books, reality TV, and advertisements. This week’s message identified our culture’s popular recipe and contrasted it with God’s recipe for lasting relationships. The good news is that you have a choice in establishing lasting, healthy relationships.
You’ve accomplished a lot and had a lot of wonderful experiences. Why, then, does life sometimes seem so difficult and frustrating, even unsatisfying? Could the reason be that the “more” we are chasing doesn't fully satisfy is because we’re striving in the wrong direction?
It may be the first truth we learned about Christianity—so simple it’s the theme of Sunday school songs. But really grasping this truth can transform your life. Understanding that God wants to give you immeasurably more starts right here. Immeasurably more is possible for you, but not until something happens in you.
When we’re kids, we dream big. Life’s possibilities seem limitless. As we grow older, setbacks and disappointments in our careers, marriages, and family life can wear us down and cause us to pursue contentment in all the wrong places. In this series, we’ll explore a passage in Ephesians that tells us how God’s plans for our lives are immeasurably greater than we can imagine. We only need to trust him.
An angel announced “peace on earth” at the birth of Jesus, and yet the season of Christmas can be anything but peaceful. So what was the “peace” that the Angel proclaimed? In what ways can we experience the peace that was promised?
During the Christmas season, some people find it easy to be happy while others struggle with loneliness and sorrow. Yet some who are in the midst of suffering still find joy. How is that possible? What if there was a way to find joy regardless of your situation? There is, and it’s found in God’s favor and grace.
Christmas may be the most loved and most dreaded season all at the same time. People look forward to seeing some family and friends, but dread seeing others. Each of us probably has someone we have bitterness towards, but part of God’s desire for us this Christmas involves trading in bitterness for something far better.
The Bible did not create Christianity. Christianity is the result of an event (the resurrection) that created a movement (the church) that produced sacred and reliable texts that were collected and bound into a book (the Bible). But how do we approach not being at peace with everything we read in the Bible? Paul—the apostle, Pharisee, author, preacher, and church planter—offers us clarity and confidence to move forward.
The Old Testament chronicles God’s redemptive, sequential activity in history. It’s a fabulous, gritty, epic history of the Hebrew people in which, over and over, Israel is reminded that they are a divine means to an end. So, maybe instead of seeing the Old Testament as a spiritual guidebook or a storyline that needs to be tidied up, we should see it as something even better: the history of God preparing the world for a Savior.
“In the beginning...” can be a loaded phrase - one that forces us into debate and doubt. But maybe we’re missing the point of Genesis 1:1a point Moses made to a world where the violence and injustice of the gods justified and legitimized the violence and injustice of human rulers. Moses introduced a radically different, unparalleled, and untested worldview.
Most of us know some Bible stories, but very few of us know the story of the Bible. And
you may be surprised to discover it’s a story that doesn’t actually begin in the beginning. It
begins with the accounts of a few men who sat down to record the death and resurrection
of Jesus. It begins with the words of his followers who were compelled to document the
events that had changed everything for them—because they knew it could change
everything for us.
Long before there were Christian Scriptures, there were Christians—men and women whose faith began with an empty tomb. These eyewitnesses to the resurrection experienced an event so extraordinary that it changed their lives, and what they gave their lives to, forever. But now a generation is walking away from their faith as their confidence in the Bible is dismantled. They assume that as the Bible goes, so goes Christianity. Maybe it’s time we learned from the faith of those early eyewitnesses—faith that’s undeniable and ultimately, irresistible.
Is the church still relevant today? Well, try to imagine a culture without the Church. What would that culture look like? Better yet, would that be a culture in which you would want to live? In this final message of the series, the case was made that Christianity, unlike any other religion or civilization, offers not just a different way of living, but a better way of living. We explored how Christians - and the Church - have been on the forefront for the most positive, liberating advances known to humankind. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not only a message that saves people for eternal life, but a message that restores a broken world. It’s a message that has shaped cultural values and national identities. With that in mind, it’s time for the Chruch to re-engage at every level because our message is a message of life.
People are willing to talk about spirituality, faith, and God. When Jesus is introduced into the conversation, however, the mood generally changes and people are less receptive. This isn’t new. So what are followers of Jesus to do? Just talk about love, peace, kindness, good deeds, and helping the poor? These are all good things, but they can’t bring salvation. This is why can’t keep quiet about the one name that brings salvation to everyone: Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Your body has many different parts, each with different and unique functions and yet they all work together for the purpose you choose. Did you know that Christians are a part of what the Apostle Paul called “the body of Christ”? As a follower of Jesus, you are a member of his body - the Church. Just as your body has different members with different functions, so the body of Jesus has different members with different functions. As a Christian and a member of his body, his agenda becomes your agenda. You are called to function in his body to accomplish his purposes. He has given you gifts and abilities to be used in building up his body, which includes you!
As Christians, we believe God is calling us to have a positive impact within our
community and around the world and we are committed to clearly communicating the love and grace of God to everyone we meet. There are a lot of things we could focus our efforts upon, but none as important as our ministry to the next generation.
We all believe exercise is good for us, but we don’t always head to the gym or go on a run. But to get in shape we have to exercise. We have to get off the couch and do it. And, isn’t it easier when we have someone to keep us accountable? The same is true of our faith; we can only get so far on our own.
Certain experiences in life mark us and set us on a new path. There are events that impact the world in a similar way. In this message, we will explore one event that stands out more than any other and how it can impact your life.
Life gets busy. Priorities compete. We loose focus on what is most important. About that time, we read the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and we are called into focus on what really matters. Jesus’ words cut through the noise and cause us to pause and take inventory.
Only one person can ensure that we end up somewhere on purpose. And that person isn’t in the House of Representatives or the White House. They’re in our house. In fact, we look at that person in the mirror every morning. The reality is that we face our greatest leadership challenge every morning when we face ourselves.
The first step to finding peace in a relationship is to repent if you’ve done wrong or to forgive if you’ve been wronged. But no matter how badly you want peace, there are some relationships that may never be fully restored. What do you do to find peace about a relationship when you can’t find peace in the relationship?
When there’s bad blood in a relationship, the easiest thing to do is to let resentment and bitterness grow without addressing the issue. That’s the path of least resistance. It doesn’t make the conflict go away, but it avoids the relational mess of having to deal with the other person.
Jesus calls his followers to a higher standard. He says that if we have a problem with another person, we should go and have a conversation with him or her. But why should you go, when should you go, and how should you go?
What do you do when you have bad blood with someone who owes you something? Bad blood is costly and complicated. It costs you peace and complicates your other relationships. If you don’t find peace in that “bad blood” relationship, your other relationships will suffer. The good news is that you can have peace about the relationship even without peace in the relationship.
Check out this secret to finding peace about a difficult relationship even when you can't find peace in the relationship.
If there's a gap between where you are and where you wish you were, this simple principle can close that gap.
There is something that prohibits many of us from getting to where we want to be, or to where God wants us to be. It is something we all struggle with and most of the time we don’t even realize it. It just happens. Unfortunately, we don’t think we have any control over it … but we do.
How do you get from where you are to where you wish you were... or even where God wishes you were? Even the thought of pursuing the life God wants for you can be scary. It can stir a fight-or-flight response in you. That’s because the greatest obstacle to getting to where God wishes you were is how you see you. You see the problems of your past. But God sees the potential for your future.
Whether blowing out candles or throwing a coin in a fountain, we’ve all made wishes. They seem like fantasies, but some small part of us holds out hope that they could come true. Some of our wishes are silly and frivolous. But some of them are huge. Sometimes we feel stuck in life. We know where we are, but wish we were somewhere else. How do you turn those big wishes into reality? How do you get from here to there?
God promised us that "we would face trials of many kinds", but he also promised us that, "He would be an ever present help in our time of trouble". We were not promised perfect circumstances, or a perfect world. We were promised an imperfect world with imperfect circumstances and a God who would remain perfect to us in those
circumstances. God is who he says he is. He isn’t less God when things are bad at home. He isn’t more God when we have joy and things are going well. You can trust him when it
doesn't make sense.
So you’ve been redeemed. Now what? To answer that question we have to explore the dual intent of Jesus’ grace: Redemption & Transformation. Jesus didn't come to harm us. He came to save us. God's grace is an extraordinary intervention to anyone's story. When we don't allow him to use our redeemed story for the potential benefit of someone else then there is a loss. So what role does God want to you play in someone else's story?
We are all born with dreams and endless potential. Then life happens and our stories become less simple, more dynamic. When it feels like not every day has purpose and not every year produces progress, it’s not uncommon to begin to wonder: does my life really matter, how many times can I fall and still get back up, does my story still have a chance to be a great one? In this message, you’ll be reminded that Jesus – who is full of grace – never backs away from the dynamic patterns in our lives.
When it comes to finances, it’s normal to go into debt so deep that you can’t see the way out. But there’s a better way. If you want to live with financial peace you have to flip the script to your financial story.
What is the wise thing to do? That simple question is very powerful in every aspect of life - even in the area of finances. When it comes to financial decisions, what if you were to simply ask, “Is this the wise thing to do financially?” And how would you know if it were? You might be surprised to know that the best financial wisdom comes from the Bible.
Our financial stress, worry, and obsession is less about our external experiences and more about what is going on inside of us. Is it possible that a shift in internal perspective would greatly reduce – or eliminate – our worry and stress?
Money strikes an emotional response in everyone and plays a significant role in our lives, in our nation, and in every government around the world. In fact, nations have gone to war over it. In our own lives we’ve stressed about it, fought about it, and obsessed over it. Imagine what it would be like to never worry about it again, never fight about it, and have a sense of peace in this area of your life. All of these things are possible with a mindset reset.
Jesus has been dividing people since the days of his ministry. His claim to be the Son of God and to be “the only way” to the Father was and still is startling. Interestingly enough, 42% of the Gospel of the John focuses on Jesus’ last week of his ministry; before the crucifiction. John provides vivid detail of Jesus’ last days. Why, because Jesus was predicting his own death and resurrection. And, anyone who can do this is someone we should pay attention too.
Jesus was a rabbi, but he was different than the rabbis of his day. During his ministry, Jesuswas available to people and was very approachable. The culture of his day avoided peoplethey deemed “unclean” - people who had diseases, despised tax collectors, sinners, andGentiles in general. Jesus broke down barriers and gave free access to all those who wouldcome to him.
Jesus talked a lot about love and forgiveness, but his message was more bold than what people think. He was an equal opportunity offender that challenged the actions of every group during his ministry. And we learn through the scriptures that anytime the Kingdom of God clashes with the kingdoms of this world it is dangerous and costly.
The best way to predict your future is to pay attention to where you’re headed. But sometimes it’s easy to get distracted by what’s on the path. The appeal of money, acceptance, or security can lower your defenses and lead you away from the path you want to be on. So is there a way back? How do we change course when we realize that we’ve chosen a path that leads us to what’s appealing instead of what’s ultimately satisfying?
We all start out life with great intentions. But our intentions aren’t good indicators of our destinations. In fact, our direction trumps our intention every time. That’s why we all need to follow someone we trust. Someone who can make our lives better and make us better at life. So we all have a decision to make. If not Jesus, then who? And if not Christianity, then what?
Nobody gets lost on purpose. But we often find ourselves in places we never intended. If there’s a disconnect between what you hope to be true in the future and the direction you’re headed now, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at your path. Our direction, not our intention, will determine our destination.
We’re all going to end up somewhere in life, but often there’s a disconnect between where we want to end up and the path we choose. So how can we avoid choosing a path that’s guaranteed to get us where we don’t want to be?
Many who have had a near death experience (NDE) calm to have had a “life review.” Although these “life reviews” aren’t the final judgment, they certainly foreshadow what we may experience on the Day of Judgment that comes to all. So, what do the Scriptures say about the final Day of Judgment. You may be surprised!
At the conclusion of this message across all of our services, 71 people placed their faith in Jesus and were baptized into Christ. Please let us know if you have made this decision to follow Jesus. We would love to help you take your next steps in your growing relationship with him.
The research back in the early 1970’s seemed to suggest that all NDEs were positive experiences. As a result, people began to think that everyone went to Heaven. As the research continued over the years, people began coming forward with negative, “hellish” NDE reports. As the plumb line for all of these matters, what do the the Scriptures say?
People from around the globe who have experienced an NDE talk about all the beauty, wonder, colors, mountains, valleys, loving reunions with family and friends … but those things aren’t their most profound experience. Consistently they say that the highlight of Heaven is a being of light and of love. Who is this being of light and love?
Perhaps the most common theme from NDEs is experiencing a beauty that fills the soul and is difficult to put into words. People who get a glimpse of the afterlife encounter a majesty that is beyond their ability to comprehend. Surprisingly, this “heavenly world” looks very much like the one the Scriptures have been describing for thousands of years.
When I die, will I still be myself? Will I have a body or will I be some kind of angel or spirit? Will I see the people I know and love and will we recognize each other? Will I get along with everyone in the afterlife? Many NDEs reveal a lot about relationships in the afterlife, and so does Scripture. You might be surprised how they compliment each other.
Most people want Heaven to be real but struggle to imagine what it will be like. And if Heaven is real, does it have a place for me? It’s a human question because there’s a human longing to know — what happens when I die? How you think about Heaven should affect everything in your life.
Now is a powerful moment. Think about it: you can only enjoy things now. You can only love people now. The past is gone and the future isn’t promised. All you have is this moment right now. If you want to experience the full life Jesus wants for you, you have to learn to be fully present in your life - fully present in this moment. So what keeps you from this moment and how can you maximize every moment?
One of the biggest obstacles of embracing the Wonderlifeis that we often feel a sense of embarrassment over what we like, love and care about. We start doing things that we are “supposed” to do rather than things we really like. Sure we fit in, but we totally lose out. But what are your passions, your interests? At what are you really good and not so good? God gives you your passions, gifts, talents, and skills. When you begin to understand how these things work together, you’ll get a sense of his calling in your life. Don’t settle for a lesser version of the youGod made you to be.
No matter how you feel about you, God delights in you! To say that out loud feels a bit awkward because we know how messed up our stories are. There are entire chapters of our lives that we would like to delete or pretend as if they never happened. But what if those are the very chapters that God wants to use most? God will heal and use whatever you surrender to him.
Life is hard and awesome and no one has it totally figured out. Why? Because life is made up of opposites. It is both sweet and sour; good days and disasters. Jesus said that he came to give us life to the full, and yet he also said that life would be filled with trials. Adequately answering the questions of identity and purpose will help us navigate the ups and downs we experience in life: Who am I? Why am I here?
When we face pain and loss, they change the story we had planned for our lives. They can end our dreams. But what do pain and loss look like when we try to see the world as God sees the world, and to do as God says?
Simple question: What affect does God’s grace have in your life? Or asked a different way, how is your life different as a result of experiencing the grace of God? In this message, we will look at one specific impact that God’s grace had on the early Christians and how this characteristic can and should be true of us, also.
When it comes to family, actions speak louder than words - they echo into the next generation. Your children and grandchildren may forget what you say, but they'll never forget what you do.
Raising children is one of the biggest challenges in life. It requires all of our strengths and talents. It makes us keenly aware of our weaknesses. In this message, Andy and Sandra Stanley tell you everything they know about parenting. This isn't everything there is to know, just what they know.
All children - that's you and me - long for the approval of their parents . . . especially their fathers. It's a longing that never goes away. It gets buried or transferred to other relationships, but it's there. And we underestimate its power. Every parent wants to be approved by his or her child - to be a hero, to hear, "when I grow up I want to be just like you." As that desire grows, so does a parent's insecurity.
Buried beneath the hurt, disappointment, distance, or silence is a desire to be connected to our children and our fathers. It lasts a lifetime.
When it comes to family, the only thing we all have in common is conflict. Family conflict is like no other because when you win an argument in your family, you don't really win anything. The conflict is never fully resolved.
What if there was a way to resolve family conflict by dealing with it at its source?
In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul drew from Jesus' use of power what is perhaps the most powerful relational teaching of all - an instruction that changes everything in family dynamics. It all comes down to asking a simple question:
What can I do to help?
When the ideal is hard to attain, it's tempting to just lower the bar and redefine the ideal. This can be especially true when it comes to Jesus' teachings about family, which many of us have already fallen short of. In this message, Andy Stanley explains why aiming for God's ideal is still worth it, even when our reality makes reaching it impossible.
For many people who grew up in church, being a Christian was all about following the rules. There were things you were not supposed to do, and there were things you were supposed to do. If you kept the rules, then God would be pleased with you and bless you. If you didn't keep the rules, then God would punish you and make your life miserable. Unfortunately, this is a distorted view of what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus. It isn't about rules at all. It is about something totally different - and not only is it life-giving, it is life-changing.
We like to showcase our successes in life and hide our failures. No one brags about their divorce, bankruptcy, incarceration, DUI, abortion, or addiction. These failures create shame and we begin to label ourselves by them. Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son is a powerful lesson in the new identity that God offers us by his love and grace. When we finally understand that God’s love and grace are real - really real - it will change us and lead us into a relationship with him.
Until we admit that we are powerless on our own to find fulfillment in this life, we will never truly find our way back to God. But once we recognize our need for help, we have already made the turn that leads us home to our heavenly Father. If you are like every other person, you will try to go it on your own many times in the years to come. You'll even try to pease and serve God on your own -- and that won't work either. We can't do it on our own, and that is very good to know. Let your awakening to your need for help continue to shape your choices in the years ahead. Help has a name, and that name is Jesus. Every time you turn away from self-centeredness and pride, he will be there to rescue, strengthen, and guide you on your journey with him.
Our attempts to find purpose, love, and meaning on our own lead to an endless cycle of longing and regret. You don’t have to waste the power of your sincere regret on more self-condemnation. You can let it move you confidently in God’s direction.
We all have a longing to love and be loved in return, to find purpose for our days, and to make sense out of life when life doesn’t seem to make any sense. Those longings are from God, and when you allow those strong desires for more to draw you nearer to him, he will fulfill your longings.
Why is it some people go through extraordinarily tough times and are broken, while others are not? Check out this secret to weathering the storms of life.
Our human relationships are not independent of our view and engagement with God the Father. They are also not immune to the effects of distortion and disconnectedness from Him. Last week we talked about how filters can distort how we view God. This week we explore the idea that a bad filter can also distort how we hear him.
One of the coolest things about digital photography is using filters! Providing everything from fun enhancements to strange distortions, the use of filters can have a dramatic affect on how we view a person. Additionally, how we view a person will largely determine how we will engage with that person. Especially if that person is God. This week at Journey we discuss how a clearer view of God can make the difference between a growing relationship with him or just another religious commitment.
Everyone experiences the highs and lows of life. At some point, we all wind up in a very low spot, sometimes at rock bottom. In those times, it is easy to lose hope and to throw in the towel on your dreams and the possibility of something positive for your future. It is easy to think that we have gone too far or sinned too great to ever recover. Samson’s utter failure led him to an unthinkable low … and yet God was still gracious to him in his darkest hour.
We all have places we want to end up in life. Yet the paths we choose often lead us away from our intended destinations. Poor decisions over time can send us down the wrong road leading us to a place we never wanted to go. In this message, we will discover the missteps Samson made, over time, that cost him dearly.
What drives your actions and behaviors can be, and often is, driven from feelings of low self-worth. But knowing who we are in God’s eyes is the key to living from a strong core.
Attitude is a powerful influence in the direction of your life. Positive attitudes can see us through difficult situations. If we aren’t careful, attitudes can also lead to our downfall.
Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. But that’s easier said than done. Which people qualify as neighbors . . . and which don’t? How far does our responsibility to others extend? If we make the effort to move toward the messes in other people’s lives, how inconvenient is too inconvenient? How unsafe is too unsafe? How dangerous is too dangerous? What are the limits to loving others as we love ourselves?
How should you respond when others face a bottom-of-the-9th moment? It's not about saying something or doing something. It's about being someone.
What happens when there is no bottom-of-the-ninthcomeback? What happens when you lose? Where can you find hope when hope disappears?
When you're facing a bottom-of-the-ninth moment, doing this one thing can bring light to the darkness.
Have you ever felt behind financially, relationally, or emotionally? What do you do when you feel like your life is trailing in the bottom of the ninth?
Life is full of surprises - some good, some not so good. But each unexpected event that comes our way is actually a divine opportunity. In this installment of Five Things God Uses To Grow Our Faith, we will discover the role that pivotal circumstances play in the development of our trust in God.
Have you ever attempted to do something for God you felt unqualified to do? Why would someone even attempt something they aren't qualified to do? Well, sometimes people see a need and believe that acting on that need is the right thing to do. Other times people feel "called" to do something, even though they don't feel qualified.
Have you ever considered why God may call people to do something outside of their comfort zone - outside of what they feel qualified to do? That's the question that we will wrestle with in this message.
If you are like most people, you can’t tell your life story without referencing people who played significant roles along the way. The same is true of your faith story. In this third message, James explains the role that providential relationships play in the development of our faith.
Discipline. Most people think of that word in a negative sense. To be disciplined means to be punished. Or "to be disciplined" could be something positive. For example, some people are self disciplined to exercise every day. Others are disciplined to eat healthy. These choices, when made consistently, yield positive results. In the same way, there are some spiritual disciplines that we can exercise to have positive results in our relationship with Jesus. That's what we'll unpack in this session as we draw (in part) from Jesus' teaching from the Sermon on the Mount.
When our acts of faith intersect with God’s faithfulness, our faith grows. From Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders, we find that hearing and learning are not enough. The value is in the application. Because in the end, it’s obedience that makes all the difference.
Your faith in God matters to him. In fact, God is most honored through your living, active, death-defying, out-of-the-box faith.That being the case, he's committed to growing it. BIG.
Imagine how different your outlook on life would be if you had absolute confidence that God was with you? Imagine how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that God was in all of it and was planning to leverage it for good. In other words, imagine what it would be like to have explicitfaith.
For generations, Fred Rogers has been a beloved television personality among children who have been mesmerized by his calm and inviting presence and his positive and encouraging message of friendship. Everyone loves and admires Mr. Rogers. Some people see Jesus as a version of Mr. Rogers. While Jesus was certainly a model for Mr. Rogers, who himself was a Presbyterian minister, it is a mistake to view Jesus as simply meek and mild. By combining the biblical text along with the geographical and political realities of Jesus’ day we learn that he was much more than meek and mild.
When you go through a difficult circumstance, there is one thing that keeps you going - the expectation that something better is in front of you. We call that expectation “hope.” At some point in life, each of us has our hopes dashed. However, because of the resurrection of Jesus, our hopes can be renewed day-by-day.
Happy couples decide they owe each other everything but are owed nothing in return. But that requires effort. Every married person makes a choice every day. That choice feels more like a reaction, so most people don’t think they have a choice at all. But they do. Happy couples make the happy choice.
As long as you think your spouse owes you, your marriage will be all about keeping score. That destroys intimacy. It destroys love. But what are we supposed to do about our hopes, dreams, and desires?
We all enter into marriage with hopes, dreams, and desires. They create expectations. But when you put those expectations onto your spouse, it turns your marriage into a debt/debtor relationship. Your relationship becomes marked by the belief that your spouse owes you something. So, how do you keep your hopes, dreams, and desires from becoming expectations?
A great marriage doesn’t happen by accident. It requires care and regular maintenance. But sometimes we don’t want to make the effort. As long as it’s not broken, do we really need to talk about it?
Christianity is sometimes rejected because it is explained poorly or applied improperly. In the Christmas story the message of Christianity is clearly seen: God loves us so much that He sent His Son into the world to save whomever chooses to trust in Christ.
We tend to believe that we can rescue ourselves from the trials we experience in life, but the Christmas story is clear: A Savior was born in the town of Bethlehem because we desperately need saving.
There is a disconnect between the story of Christmas and the message of Christmas. When an angel of the Lord appeared before the shepherds the night Jesus was born, the Bible says they were terrified. Paralyzed by fear, the shepherds assumed God had bad news, but the news He had to share was magnificent: ‘Fear not. For unto you a Savior is born.’
Why didn't God do something? Sometimes, despite our most fervent prayers, God doesn't show up the way we want him to. The cancer isn't cured. The company fails. The foreclosure goes through. In this message, Andy tells us what to look for when it feels like God forgot to show up.
We’ve all seen athletes point to heaven after touchdowns or home runs. And we’ve heard actors thank God during their acceptance speeches. We know God can be glorified in our moments of success. But what about moments of weakness? How do we keep going when our circumstances are crippling and God seems to be saying, “No”?