New Life Fellowship: Recent Episodes
Chris Mays
We should desire to prioritize the same things that Jesus says are important. We begin this series on the book of Matthew by exploring what Jesus declared to be important in His life.
Just like old wineskins, we can become rigid and inflexible. Jesus doesn't want to throw out the old wineskins - He wants to renew them! Listen to find out how to be renewed and stay flexible.
The Good News isn't just that Jesus died so we could be with Him in Heaven one day, but that He rose from the dead so that we could receive His life now.
We are often the reason we get stuck and have a hard time moving forward, but there are very real spiritual dynamics that can hold us back. The armor of God is a supernatural tool that God has given us to overcome the schemes of the enemy and advance!
How do you react when you hear the phrase "things are getting better"? The pattern found throughout Scripture should impart optimism and hope about what is happening in the world now and what we should expect in the future.
People often make choices to walk away from the things that are good for us. We can do this as individuals, but also can choose things corporately. We can invite Jesus to increase His activity or ask Him to stop.
New Life is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and we are using this time to Remember, Celebrate and Advance. Listen as we talk about significant 50s in the Bible.
There are principles that we can learn that release spiritual power into our lives. In this message we look at how our expectations and our ability to let God work on our lives first impact our spiritual lives.
The Bible is full of valuable wisdom for how to handle every area of our life. This message deals with practical wisdom from the book of Proverbs.
"Do not fear" could be another way of saying "Merry Christmas". The fear woven throughout the first nativity story gives us insight into how to process our own fears.
Jesus knows our name because He is our friend. He's not distant or uncaring, but personal and involved in our lives.
One of the steps to dealing with differing viewpoints and perspectives is to begin to see people the way that Jesus sees them.
There is a difference between planning and worrying. Healthy planning positions us to receive all that God has for us, while worrying keeps us from experiencing God's best.
Unexpected storms and trials come up in our lives and how we react reveals our character.
Christians should live differently than the world because we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus includes every one of us into His story and makes us lively stones used to build something eternal.
Some of the stones that come into our lives try to bury us and leave us for dead. Thankfully, we serve a God of resurrection life.
The circumstances and situations that we go through become stones that either weigh us down or build something beautiful. Every stone can become a place of worship to remind us that God works in our life.
Followers of Jesus don't get it right every time - sometimes we miss it in what we believe and how we behave. God knows who we are no matter what we do.
We can hang on tightly to God during difficult circumstances by cultivating an intimate relationship with the One who knows us.
In difficult circumstances, we need to hang on tightly to God and let go of the outcomes. One of the ways we do that is by being connected to God's family.
One of the reasons that Jesus came was to preach the good news that He came to release to humanity. We can all preach simply by sharing what God has done for us.
Jesus came to destroy the devil's work. Any time we come into agreement with Jesus and release kingdom realities, it continues to destroy the devil's work.
Jesus came to level the playing field by elevating the lowly and marginalized. He showed that the way to access the Kingdom was to become like a child.
What Jesus did on the cross made every other aspect of His mission a success. As we look at what Jesus came to do, this message focuses on Jesus coming to seek and to save that which was lost.
Life is full of winning & losing streaks that God will use to teach and shape us. This talk looks at a high and a low from King David's life that we can learn from.
When Samuel asked Jesse to show him all of his sons, David was left out. This look at David's call to be king shows us that there is still a process to go through to get where God wants us to be.
Part of King Saul's downfall was that he never was willing to change in the areas he needed to grow. As we look at Saul's story, we will see that change needs to start on the inside first.
There were good, bad & ugly kings of Israel, but their lives can all teach us something. In this message, we look at what we can learn from God's people asking the Prophet Samuel to give them a king.
The secret to seeing something increase in our life is to give it away. Being a good steward of what Jesus has given us means putting our gifts & talents to use.
Growth is a key part of our relationship with Jesus. There are things we can do - and help each other do - to see this happen.
Jesus really is the answer to all of life's issues. When we create space for people to encounter Him, it changes lives.
We need to look back at where we were so that we can see what God has done. His work in our lives is what helps us to move forward!
Do the sinful things that people do offend us so much that we exclude them from our lives? It's difficult to get to know people and love them if we are offended at them.
Sometimes the offenses that hurt most come from those closest to us. In choosing to be unoffendable, we need to start with guarding those close relationships.
As Christians we are called to live differently than those swept up in the epidemic of being offended at everything. The Holy Spirit living in us is powerful enough to help us choose to be unoffendable.
God wants to bring change into our lives to cause us to be like Jesus, but sometimes we don't know how to go about realizing the change He desires us to make. In this message we look at the concept of repentance and some practical steps to walk it out.
As Christians, we can develop the habit of praying and expect to see powerful results happen.
Developing a new habit brings discipline and self-control into our lives. As Christians, all habits help us deepen our relationship with Jesus, and one of the first ones we need to develop is reading the Bible.
Traditions help connect us to God and to other generations. They help us remember the things that God has done in our lives.
Christmas is ultimately about family and a place to belong. The gospel brought great joy and included everyone.
We are called to be a thankful people no matter what circumstances come our way. When we do this, it invites God's presence and changes us.
The most consequential election of our lives is not the one that we get to vote in as citizens of the United States. Our calling and election in Christ gives us influence that doesn't come from winning a vote.
Knowing that there are things that are eternally true help us to be unshakeable even in uncertain times. No matter who looks like they are in charge, we need to remember that Jesus is still Lord!
There really are people in the world that mean us harm, but we are called to love them so that we can truly experience being "Better Together".
Seasons come and go, but the end is never the end. We always need to look for what God has next for us.
As new people, we need to be open to doing new things and trying old things in new ways.
We need to share Truth with the world without watering it down with our opinions or personal beliefs. When the Truth comes, He sets us free!
We can be compassionate carriers of hope and peace in the midst of chaos because we belong to the unending Kingdom of an eternal God.
No matter what circumstances we go through in life, the Kingdom of God is the only thing that is truly unstoppable.
"Un-" changes things in our lives to produce the opposite of what was happening. When we realize that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, we begin to see the power of "un" released in our lives.
The supernatural power of money is activated by generosity. When we are generous, God releases grace and blessings into our lives.
Debt allows other people to tell us what to do with the resources God has blessed us with. We've all experienced being in debt, but we don't have to stay there.
Money is neither inherently good or bad - it should be valued and used in the same way as any other supernatural gift we receive from God.
In the 20 years since people fretted over Y2K, the circumstances have changed, but fear and worry remain the same. As Christians, we need to know Jesus more than the voice of fear.
The first mess that Jesus cleans up is the one inside of us. He then continues to walk with us to clean up the consequences of the messes we've made around us.
God doesn't avoid the messes of humaity - in fact, Jesus came precisely because of the mess we were in and our need for a savior.
Life doesn't always come in straight lines and neat packages. The good news is that God promises to be with us even in the middle of our mess.
Where you're headed doesn't look like where you've been. Go forward and walk in the abundant life that God has promised you.
We were created to think, look and act like Jesus, but sometimes things happen that cause us to get off track. When we are able to keep our eyes on Him, we can get re-oriented.
Has someone ever said something that you knew was good for you - what did you do? Even more, how do we respond when we know God said something to us?
God speaks to us in a variety of different ways, including the times when we are sleeping. Hear what God did in the Bible - and continues to do in our lives - through dreams.
Misunderstandings and lack of clarity can get us in trouble. There are things we can do to postion ourselves to hear God's voice more clearly.
It is vital to be able to recognize God's voice and clearly undestand what He is speaking to us. There are tangible benefits that His voice produces in our lives that we should be thankful for.
The word to our church this year was "Everyone". As a mid-year reminder, everyone can pray, grow and serve!
If not handled well, anger can destroy the things around us like an out of control fire. God wants us to handle our anger in a healthy, godly way.
Without Jesus, we were stumbling around in the dark, unable to see where we were going in life or who we were created to be.
As we have opportunities to grow and change in our lives, we need to know Jesus as our Wonderful Counselor.
Christ was a title for Jesus that reminds us that He was anointed to set people free and so are we.
The name of Jesus is more powerful than any other name and He has given it to us to use as God's dearly loved children.
What Jesus did thoroughly defeated every enemy that could ever hold us back from walking in the fullness of who He created us to be!
The hardest times to make the right decisions are often when things are going great in our lives. Jesus modeled how to make sure we do this.
God is for us and wants us to succeed more than you could imagine. Knowing this is one of the pivotal turning points in our lives.
We dislike seeing pride in the people around us, but often are blind to it in our own lives. Getting rid of pride in our own lives will help us succeed in life.
What is froward and why should we care? Watching our attitudes, words and interactions with others help us learn lessons that will give us wisdom for the future!
Purposing to grow and being genuinely invested in the success of others causes our own future to be bright and God's blessings to flow in our lives.
The sooner in life we learn the lessons God wants to teach us, the sooner we position ourselves to succeed. This week we discussed owning our issues, being faithful and living like we know God loves us!
The work of Jesus didn't stop with making wholeness available in our spirit and soul - He provided healing for our bodies as well. Healing is part of the message we carry to the world.
The cross was more than salvation for our spirit - it included the ability to be whole in our mind, will and emotions.
The death and resurrection of Jesus enabled us to live whole in every aspect of our being. The first step towards being whole is receiving His life in our spirit.
The world has tried to get people to believe that more is always better, but in God's economy, we find that less really is more and helps us keep our priorities right.
The word for our church this year is "everyone." We all have value and a part to play in making the church what it is.
We are called to yell FOR people, not AT people. When we love people, we are revealing Jesus to them.
We carry an atmosphere of peace with us that we can choose to release in any circumstance.
Too many times we preach the Gospel to prepare people to die when it is meant to help them live.
We can't earn our way into the kingdom, but there are things we can do to position ourselves to see it flow in our lives.
The message that Jesus proclaimed and commissioned His followers to declare to the world is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
More than the best app on your phone ever could, the church has the ability to provide answers to people's questions.
The Church has the ability to help people find direction for their life better than any map on your phone ever could.
Church should be better at helping people connect than any app or technology available.
Part of God's design for natural and spiritual families is for them to expand and grow.
We all need to find a place to connect with a church family. Whether or not we realize it, one of the main benefits to being connected to a church is the continual opportunity to deal with our stuff.
There is a deep longing for "home" inside of each person and a call from Jesus to invest in our relationships with them.
If we don't deal with it well, our past can be one of the main things that holds us back from being a hero.
Kingdom heroes all have a part to play that can affect more people than we could ever imagine.
God wants us to make plans for our lives. When we involve Him in the process, we will have success in the things we do!
God wants to take the relationship we all have as part of humanity and turn it into family.
Christians should be the friendliest people on the planet, always looking for ways to expand our circle of relationships.
The community that God wants to develop in our lives includes relationships with people who see and know who we really are.
The first relationship we need to make sure is healthy is "Me+God" because it is the foundation of all other relationships
God poured out His love into us so that we could turn around and give it away to the world!
Jesus brings joy into our lives that can be experienced no matter what circumstances are going on around us.
The peace that Jesus gives to us is more powerful that the circumstances going on around us.
Healing diseases was provided by Jesus through His suffering and is something He still does today.
Jesus reveals Himself to the world through His Body; we represent Him not just by what we do, but how we speak on His behalf.
When the church sees people in need, we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to bring relief to them.
Things are getting better worldwide because of the victory Jesus won, but there are some very practical things we can do to see things get better in our personal circumstances.
Jesus won everything that could ever be won at the cross and He is waiting for His victory to be enforced by His people.
The kingdom is growing and expanding all around us if we have eyes to see it. The gospel is prevailing throughout the earth and we are part of something great!
Our outlook about the future matters because our words and actions carry the power and authority of Jesus.
Christians should be the most optimistic people in the world because of what Jesus has done and His power to transform the world.
Prosperity gets a bad rap because of past abuses, but God truly desires to prosper His children and see His Kingdom expanded.
When money comes into our lives, what we chose to do with it can either be godly or ungodly.
God created us to love Him and people, not stuff. Keeping our lives free from the love of money goes hand-in-hand with being content with what we have.
Don't make a New Year's Resolution - simply come into agreement with what has already been made new.
We are called to honor in our thoughts, words and actions. Due to a technical issue, only a portion of this message got recorded. Listen to the first part and then come visit NLF for the rest of the story in person!
All personal growth contributes towards something bigger than ourselves. When I grow, we grow and Jesus is more fully seen by the world.
There are some simple choices we can all make to grow this year and they start with taking ownership of our need to grow.
There are intentional decisions we can make to position ourselves to grow and mature in our relationship with God and others.
The word God is speaking to our church this year is "growth" - find out about what growth means and the two types of growth we all experience in our lives.
Who decides how much we should give and where we should give it? God greatly desires to bless us in response to our generous giving.
From God's perspective there are only two types of gifts: acceptable or unacceptable. Acceptable gifts are ones that matter to us, move God's heart and deepen our relationship with Him.
From God's perspective there are only two types of gifts: acceptable or unacceptable. Acceptable gifts are ones that matter to us, move God's heart and deepen our relationship with Him.
Our money and how we handle it is important to God because it is so closely related to what is going on in our heart.
We all need to change and grow, but the way we make resolutions often determines if we will succeed or not.
One of the divisions that Jesus came to do away with was the distinction between Jew and Gentile. God's heart always has been for all nations to know Him!
There are several passages in Scripture that have been used over the years to silence women in the church and downplay the value of the gifts that God has placed in them. This message looks a little deeper at what was intended by those verses.
God's desire has always been for His image to be represented to the world through men and women serving together in unity.
Going through the waters of baptism makes us participants in the very death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. He frees us from the power of sin and gives his life.
When Jesus declared "it is finished", one of the things He did was completely destroy the power of sin in our lives.
When Jesus said, "It is finished", it changed things for eternity and continues to produce life in us today.
God cares more about our willingness than the value of what we do or don't have to give.
Generosity produces great things in our lives, but there is a special blessing associated with giving to our local church. What is the Biblical standard for giving and what does it produce in us?
Developing generosity produces godly benefits in our lives, both spiritual and material.
NLF recently sent a several people as part of a missions team to Tanzania - listen as they share stories of God's amazing power and love.
Repentance is not only about turning from sin - it is a discipline of mind-change that should be part of every person's life.
The goal of repentance is not to get us to think about sin; it is to make us more like Jesus.
The last enemy to be defeated is death, but even it's authority to operate in the earth was taken away by the Cross. Listen to find out if things really are getting better, even when it comes to death!
Sickness was an enemy defeated by Jesus and its effects have been diminishing as the Kingdom of God increases in the earth.
Sin was defeated at the cross and the effects of sin are decreasing as the Kingdom of God continues to be established in the earth.
If things are getting better, then the enemies of the kingdom must be losing. Poverty is an enemy that is actively being put under the feet of Jesus.
Full-time missionary to Tanzania, Peter Neuberger shares about what God is doing to release hope and establish the kingdom in the earth today.
We need to look past our own circumstances to see what God is doing in the earth and come into agreement with Him!
Christians are called to be carriers of good news and should be some of the most optimistic people on the planet.
In the Christian faith, Christmastime truly is a season of gifts; gifts received and given.
Looking at Mary's visitation from Gabriel, we see several lessons that we can learn about how to deal with the situations in life that make us anxious.
There are numerous methods for evangelism - in this message, Pastor Chris shares about some of the most effective ones.
We can all share good news with other people without being intimidated or feeling inadequate.
Prior to the start of the recording, Pastor Chris reminded us that we have all been given the ministry of reconciliation, regardless of our gift and abilities.
The stone was rolled away for our benefit so we can leave behind death and walk in new life.
Many people are needlessly living with a famine of hearing God's voice. We must choose to open our mouths and speak life to them.
Prophecy: what is it? who should do it? what does it accomplish? Prophecy needs to be practical so we can release it into peoples' lives.
How we say things can be just as important as what we say. We need to make sure the truth we impart is full of hope and optimism.
We are not optimists just for the sake of being positive. Instead we have hope based on real and true reasons.
We are called to be people of hope and bearers of good news. Pastor Chris begins this series on being Kingdom Optimists by sharing about the "bad, old days."
Many people have tried to use the passage in 1 Cor 11 to disqualify people and make them feel unworthy, when the intention of communion is to remember Christ and realize He has made us worthy.
Almost every denomination has their own view on what happens to the elements during the Lord's Supper, but what did Jesus actually say?
God is all about food - scripture is full of examples - but He also gave us "special food" that we partake in to receive the benefits of Christ's life.
During the Christmas season we always think of Jesus being born in Bethlemhem. Where did He come from? What realm was He in and what did He lay aside to be born on the earth as a man?