Poplar Springs Christian Church: Recent Episodes
Poplar Springs
Weekly messages from Poplar Springs Christian Church. For more information visit www.poplarsprings.org
What does God have in store through you?
Normally we ask what does God have in store for me. We go to Him for help, wisdom, provision, etc. As we should!
But, when we give our lives to Christ we commit ourselves to allowing God to take over our story. We commit ourselves to His will for our lives above anything else.
Listen and hear our final message in the "Whole Heart" series and how King David finally comes into the calling on his life to lead Israel. Although the journey was long and difficult he stayed faithful to the promise of God.
If we stay faithful we will soon discover the will He has laid out for us so we can see what He has in store through us.
We don't hear the word "honor" that much anymore.
We like to honor our veterans and maybe certain people for special occasions and achievements.
The questions for us is how do we honor the Lord with our lives?
In 1 Samuel 26 David is faced with a major decision and he can take matters into his own hands and potentially make his life much easier. But, he doesn't, because that decision wouldn't have honored God.
Listen and hear how we make decisions every single day that give us the opportunity to honor our Heavenly Father. These decisions, though they are often very difficult, allow us to live for an audience of one.
Every season is different.
We see it in God's creation. The difference in all four of the seasons God has made. They make us feel different, we don't do the same things in summer that we do in the winter. And as we know, the seasons keep changing.
It's the same in our lives. We have good seasons and bad ones. We enjoy some more than others. Sometimes we live in a season of blessing and flourishing. Other times we suffer through a season of emptiness or struggle. The question is how do we make the most of every season?
In David story where he faces off against Goliath we get an insight into a previous season of his life. God shows us that it was in a "wilderness" season that David found the faith and courage to walk onto the battlefield to face someone no one else would. It gives us hope that God can use every season of our lives if we walk through them with Him.
Worship is more powerful than we think.
1 Samuel 16 finds Saul in a bad place. Struggling with the consequences of his rebellion towards God and in need of relief. God uses David's musical skills to bring him to the palace to sooth Saul's issue with the evil around him.
This story opens us up to the power of worship. Worship is giving God His worth. We find relief when we take our minds and hearts from Earth to Heaven.
How do you respond to other people's success?
Our culture teaches us to make everything a competition. Where we are in life, our career, our family, homes, cars, etc. How do we compare to those around us? It's a constant challenge to avoid the comparison trap.
Griffin takes us through our last message on King Saul when he has to deal with this issue. Everyone is singing the praises of David and Saul's jealousy takes over.
Envy and jealousy create so many challenges for us in our journey of following Jesus. Listen and hear how God calls us beyond them to pursue unity and connection with one another.
The world provides us with many voices to listen to.
We are consistently battling the push and pull of what direction we should go and what decisions we should make. It's often hard to sift through all the noise to know how to move forward.
In the story of Saul from 1 Samuel we see how difficult this can be. Do we please God and follow Him or fall into the trap of trying to please people and following them. Oftentimes, those two options are in opposition to each other.
Listen and hear how to stay committed to the word of God and the ways of God so we don't fall into the trap of listening to the wrong voices.
The issue of pride is something that pops up in all of our lives.
Being preoccupied with ourselves is natural. We easily get caught up in our plans, needs and hopes and we can allow it to supersede anything else in our lives. Often times, if we aren't careful, pride in ourselves will take our focus off of what really matters: bringing glory to God through our lives.
In the next message of our Whole Heart series Griffin teaches from 1 Samuel 15 where Saul builds a monument to himself. He is seeking attention and recognition and missing the fact that he is disobeying God. His focus is in the wrong place.
Listen and hear the way to live humbly and avoid the downfalls of pride in our lives.
Do you ever feel that life is out of control?
We all struggle with our limitations. We wish we could control our future, our health, what other people do around us, politicians and so on. The messier things get in our lives the more we want to take control.
As believers we have to remember who God is and who we are. God is ultimately in control. And even when fear, anxiety and the messes come into our lives we have to remember to trust that He is on the throne and that we are better off with Him in control.
Listen and hear Griffin walk through 1 Samuel 13 which shows us the consequences of overstepping in our role with God. Usually, the greatest thing we can control is our faith in Him. We learn from King Saul that when we stop trusting God and try to take over control we get ourselves in more trouble than we realize.
How's your heart?
It's a question we should ask regularly. The Bible is clear that our heart is paramount to everything we do. We must protect it and guard it so we can be as healthy as possible.
In 1 Samuel 9 we are shown the beginning of King Saul's story. He is a man who never dreamed of becoming the King of Israel but as he walks through a humble circumstance he discovers that God has a greater calling on his life.
In week one of our Whole Heart series Griffin encourages us to lean into whatever season God currently has us in. It's often in the humble seasons of life where we get prepared for the calling and purpose He has in store for us.
It's good to know what to do. But it's better and even necessary to know why we do what we do.
the Bible gives us so much practical application to strive towards in our lives. Whether it is with our relationships, finances, dreams or responsibilities the word of God is beneficial to all of it.
But, if we don't understand why we follow Christ and why we live for Him then it won't be sustainable.
In our last message in the One Another series Thomas Kiger takes us through Romans chapter 12 and encourages us with five key words the Apostle Paul lays out for us to ensure we know the why behind our faith in Christ.
Christianity is a we thing.
We were not meant to take the journey alone. 59 times in the New Testament the scripture fives us a "one another" verse. It calls us to find and live in a community where we join together to pursue a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10 calls us to "spur one another on to love and good deeds." It's an encouragement to ensure that we don't let each other pull back or get stagnant in our pursuit of the Lord.
The tongue has the power of life and death.
It's a sobering truth God lays out for us. Our words carry weight and make a tremendous impact in people's lives around us.
In week two of our One Another series Griffin touches on Paul's call for us to encourage one another. With so many challenges we face in life we are called to build one another up through encouragement. And we all need some more encouragement.
The rock or the sand.
Jesus wraps up the most important message ever delivered in the Sermon on the Mount by giving everyone two simple options. Take what He taught and live it out or take what He taught and ignore it.
This message digs in to the concept of what the foundation of our lives is built on. It opens up the conversation about where each of us stands on truth and how much authority God's word has in our lives.
Yes or no?
We get invitation to events all the time. Maybe it's a wedding, a birthday party, a gender reveal, etc. And at some point we have to respond to the invite with a yes or a no.
The parable of The Great Feast is centered around the idea that God has sent us a very real invitation. We've been invited into an eternal relationship with Him through Christ. Our lives really come down to our response to this invitation.
In this message Griffin unpacks how God is constantly inviting us into a deeper connection with Him. He shares how we have a battle every day for where our time and attention is pulled. The goal? To continue to say yes to God.
The question most human beings eventually ask is how to we get to God or eternal life?
In other words, what do we have to do to make sure we are good forever? It's the right question and many different religions have answered it in different ways.
In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about a pharisee and a tax collector. Two people that couldn't be more opposite in how they are viewed and treated in that particular culture. And as He often did, Jesus flips the script on what everyone thought and believed by describing how you get to God by using these two characters.
Listen and hear how pride and self-righteousness keeps us from God but how humility and repentance draws us to Him.
Are you on the sidelines or are you in the game?
The Bible makes a few things abundantly clear about people. We have been created in His image. We have been created with specific gifts, personalities and skills. We are called to use all of those for His glory.
The problem? So many of us struggle to get in the game to join the mission of God because we are scared to fail or don't believe we bring anything to the table.
The parable of the bags of gold illustrates the calling every believer has when it comes to how we spend our time, talents and money. We have been given value and we are meant to produce something with it.
What are you fighting for?
Life presents many challenges and often times we are put in a position where we are fighting for someone or something. And when it comes to our faith in Christ we know that God promises that He is with us in the fight.
He offers us the ability to pray and seek Him and His presence in our struggles. The problem is that we fall into a place where we give up the fight. We lose hope, trust or faith in God and maybe even question if He is still with us or working in the fight for us.
Listen and hear the parable of the persistent widow and how Jesus makes clear to us that if we truly understand the heart and character of God we will use prayer as our first resource and not our last resort.
The culture has a strong view of what the good life really is. Chasing the "American Dream" is something so many buy into in the search for fulfillment and satisfaction.
Jesus had other ideas. He made a point in His ministry to flip the idea on its head. The good life has nothing to do with wealth, status and success. It has everything to do with our faith in Jesus.
Listen and hear the Parable of the Rich Fool and how Jesus encourages us to make sure our priorities are in the right place both for this life and eternity.
We have all experienced a time or a season where we have been separate from God.
Whether it was by our own choice or by life circumstance we've felt a distance between us in our relationship with Him.
The Prodigal story is one that illustrates that dynamic but also reveals God's heart towards us even when we have been distant from Him. Listen and hear Griffin walk through the powerful story of the Prodigal Son and how Jesus shows us no matter how far away we get, God is always ready and willing to welcome us back home.
What is the most powerful tool you posses?
Christians have many thoughts on how to change or impact the world positively. We have ideas and strong convictions about how things should be and how people should act.
Unfortunately, the world seems to be trending away from truth and faith more and more. So, how can we really be effective in drawing people to Christ?
Jesus taught an unforgettable truth through an unforgettable story called The Good Samaritan. In this parable he uncovers what our greatest tool is: love.
Listen and hear Griffin share how Jesus has called us to love any and all people around us to share the true love and message of Jesus.
Jesus made it clear. He will leave the 99 to find the lost one.
Jesus came for the lost. The problem was that the "religious" people of the day rejected those who were sinners.
The question for us is how will we treat those who are lost around us? Listen and hear an in depth look at the parable of the lost sheep and how Jesus teaches us the value of loving the lost.
Jesus was a dynamic preacher.
He used different methods to make sure his message was not only heard but remembered. A part of His strategy was to use stories and illustration to make sure His points were received. Those stories were called Parables.
This message begins a 10-week focus on different parables Jesus taught during His ministry. This week unpacks the reason Jesus used parables. It also focuses on two similar and concise ideas He shared to show His followers the value we should place on the Gospel and the eternal Kingdom He came to introduce to the world.
When you think about it, the odds weren't in your favor.
To be in a relationship with God, born again and living with the Holy Spirit is in some ways a miracle for any of us who can say those things are true.
The end of the story of Ruth is truly a celebration. A celebration of how God can work even in the most difficult situations. In the end we are reminded that God is all about redeeming His people.
Listen and hear what God can do in all of our lives when we live out our redemption through Him.
We all love a redemption story.
Unfortunately, we often feel like we are unredeemable. We wonder if the mistakes we've made or the challenges we've faced puts us in a position with God that removes His love or blessing.
Ruth chapter three is a picture of how God works to redeem us. Listen and hear Ruth's redemption story and how it mirrors what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
What are the rewards of faithfulness?
We all have responsibilities we carry. Motherhood, marriage, work, our faith. Staying faithful to all of it can be a challenge. In Ruth chapter two we see how God rewards those who are faithful. We see how He provides for those who stick with Him.
Listen and hear how God rewards the faithfulness of those who believe.
We all face famine seasons in life.
Whether we deal with loss, loneliness or emptiness of some form we struggle to know how to handle it. Where can we find the harvest in the midst of a famine?
The beginning of Ruth opens our eyes to how God can help us walk through these seasons and ultimately lead us to something greater.
We all know that Jesus was resurrected but what happens next?
The Bible tells us that He made specific post-resurrection appearances to various people. This message unpacks three of these appearances. It gives us a powerful glimpse into what the presence of God provides for His people.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything.
This Easter we focus on the incredible significance of Jesus coming out of the grave and what it means for us.
Palm Sunday ushers in the Easter story.
Jesus was often misunderstood. His mission. His overall purpose. Who He truly was. His entrance into the city was done in an unexpected way. The people were ready for a conquering King but they were getting a humble servant.
Listen and hear the Palm Sunday story and how we have been invited to continue to spread the word of the greatest truth the world has ever seen. The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was full of surprises.
And while we would love to know how our lives will go at any moments notice God often works in unexpected ways. The challenge is keeping our faith strong in the moments where we don't fully understand
The seventh miracle in the book of John is incredible in numerous ways. It is the prelude to what Jesus will do soon. It is a resurrection miracle.
It's never easy when we go through hard times.
It can feel like the spotlight is on us in the difficult moments and we don't always handle them the best. Jesus shows us in John 11 that God can use our challenges to bring Him glory. He shows us that sometimes our greatest influence comes in our hardest moments.
Listen and hear how Mary's interaction with Jesus as she grieves the loss of her brother creates an incredible ministry opportunity. It inspires us to know that God can utilize any and every situation for His glory.
How does Jesus respond when he is confronted?
We often wonder if God can take our honesty when we are confused or frustrated with life. Can I share my doubts? Can he take my questions and fears?
In the second week of our Easter series we take a look at Martha's interaction with Jesus when he arrives after her brother Lazarus has died. We see a woman respectfully come to Jesus with questions and concerns about what has happened in our life. It opens us up to desire a relationship with God where we can be fully open to bring all of ourselves to Him.
Have you ever struggled when you felt like God was delayed?
Patience is hard in any circumstance but especially when you want or need God to move. As we begin our Easter series we focus on the story of Lazarus and the difficult circumstances Mary and Martha faced as their brother becomes sick. They ask Jesus to come and heal him but Jesus waits. We have all felt like we are waiting on God.
How do we keep our faith strong in God when it feels like he is silent or stagnant?
We live in a culture that promotes thinking more about ourselves than others. To take care of ourselves first. However, God teaches us that one of the marks of a Christian is a hunger and a willingness to be generous. The generosity of a believer stems from the gratitude we have for what God has done for us.
In our final message of the Unlocked series Griffin encourages us to think about living with a heart of generosity. We are invited to seek opportunities to use our time, gifts and finances to make an impact.
How do you define greatness?
The world leads us to believe greatness is based on status, achievement, accolades, etc. It creates the need to be seen and celebrated. But what does God believe greatness looks like?
In todays message Griffin unpacks how Jesus taught his disciples about greatness. the Bible flips this concept completely and shows us that a life of service is a life of greatness.
One of our greatest challenges is finding forgiveness for someone who has hurt us.
We've all been wounded by someone's actions or words and have found it difficult to overcome the pain it caused. God is clear on the significance of forgiveness. If we hold on to anger and bitterness towards people it will impact us in a very negative way.
Most of us want to find forgiveness but the real question is how to we get there? In this message Griffin shares three misunderstandings and three truths about forgiveness. And in the end, he shares clear ways to pursue it in our own lives.
How does God deal with our failures?
We hate the feeling of failing people we love. We even hate the idea of failing in an important area of our life. The sobering reality for all of us, however, is that failure is inevitable. We all miss the mark as the Bible says.
The real questions to focus on are these: how does God react to our failures and how do we react to them as well? In this message Griffin explores Peter's denial of Jesus after He is arrested. You will hear about the impact of Peter's failure but also the incredible way in which Jesus responds to it. It's a clear indication of how God reacts to us when we fail with Him.
It's a message of encouragement as we grow in our relationship with God.
Faithfulness is essential to every relationship we have.
We want to depend on people, trust them and know that they won't let us down. Faithfulness is powerful.
When it comes to our faith we can struggle to stick with God. We deal with challenging seasons of life, disappointments and face many things that can impact our ability to stay close to our Heavenly Father.
In this message Griffin walks through the beginning of John 15 where Jesus calls His disciples to stick with Him no matter what they face. You will hear about why faithfulness is so key to our lives and how we stick with Christ in every season.
Giving full control to God is easier said than done. While we are willing to give God some things we rarely fully surrender our whole lives to Him because we like to stay in control of some of it.
This week Griffin unpacks the story of the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10. Jesus reveals that he has something in his life keeping Him from a true relationship with God. We learn the key to overcoming this challenge so we can make certain that nothing becomes more valuable to us than our commitment to Him.
What is your why?
It's very easy to turn what is meant to be a relationship with Jesus into more of a religious experience with Him. And while it is important to attend church, read the Bible, and pray to Him God desires that we have the right motivation for why we do what we do with Him.
In this message Griffin unpacks a story from John chapter six where Jesus confronts a group of His followers on what they are seeking in their pursuit of Him. He encourages us to to seek Him for eternal reasons instead of temporary ones. It's a powerful reminder what Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship.
We all understand that in some way or another prayer is important. We know God has invited us to pray and spend time with Him in prayer.
But so often our prayer life gets stagnant or even non-existent. For different reasons we fall into a pattern of not making time to be with our Heavenly Father.
As we continue our 21 Day Fast this message walks through the how and why we pray. It is an invitation to to experience God through prayer in the way He intended.
We all have cravings.
Dreams, goals, desires. We are hungry to see things happen and make progress in our lives. And oftentimes our conversations with God are about how we want Him to make that happen.
But what if our greatest craving wasn't wanting more from God? What if our greatest craving was more of God Himself in our lives.
Listen and hear Griffin's message on Psalm 37:4 and how it can change your whole perspective on what you are pursing with God.
We all want to start 2022 strong. As a church we will kick off the year by pursuing our Heavenly Father through fasting. The goal is to give up something physical to gain something spiritual and we can't wait to see what God has in store for each of us.
Most know about God but we want to know Him. Our guest speaker today, Brian Smith, welcomes us to close out the year with the desire to truly know God. Listen and hear why we must fight to block out the noise that's all around us filling our lives with distractions so we can hear from and know our Heavenly Father.
The birth of Jesus changed the world. As much as we remember the little baby born in a manger we can't miss the powerful details surrounding His birth. The journey was long, there was no room at the inn and nothing was simple about it. But, in the end, the blessing of Jesus came. Listen and hear pastor Griffin share four pieces of encouragement we find in the story of Jesus's birth.
Mary was chosen to do one of the most important things in the history of the world. She gave birth to the Messiah. God has an eternal purpose for all of us. As we follow Him He leads us to take part in building His Kingdom in our own way. In this message pastor Griffin walks through how we can pursue our own role in carrying out God's mission.
Jesus is the most polarizing figure the world has ever seen. He produces a response in one way or another from everyone. His birth was exactly the same. This Christmas we all get to think about how we respond to Jesus. In this message our student pastor, Thomas Kiger, walks through three ways we can respond to Jesus this Christmas.
As excited as the Christmas story is for us it was an overwhelming situation for the people involved. The build up to Jesus being born was anything but simple. A life following Jesus is not always simple for us either. In this message pastor Griffin walks through how we can keep our trust firmly in God even when He does the unexpected in our lives.
We all seek purpose and meaning for our lives. We want to know we can make a difference in the world around us. However, many things get in the way of us making that happen. The last words Jesus shares with His disciples give us a template for what kind of a lasting impact we can make. This message encourages all believers to pursue the invitation Jesus lays out for us and shows how we can start right now.
Why does life seem so hard sometimes? We all know the trials will come but we never seem ready for them. We often wonder why God would allow us to walk through such challenging times but what if there is a purpose behind them? In the message today you will be encouraged to walk into the battles you face with a faith that reminds you that God is fighting your battles with you.
We all love hearing that God has a great future ahead of us. The challenge is following the path to that future that God has laid out for us. We often miss out on where He is leading us because we don't want to fail or we struggle to believe that something better is ahead. In this message Pastor Griffin walks us through a story from the book of Numbers that helps us find the courage to continue moving where God is leading us.
What is the benefit of belonging to a church? There are many views on what church is and what it is meant to be but what does God teach us about it? Acts two shows us why the church is vital to our faith.
Do you ever struggle with where your life currently is? It's easy to dream about the future but how can we make the most of where God has us right now? Today's message focuses on a popular verse and shows how the Apostle Paul found contentment even in the worst moments of his life.
Our past isn't always a pretty sight. We have all been places and done things we aren't proud of. Paul teaches us in the book of Philippians how our past can propel us forward to a great future with God. With Jesus we are always headed towards something better no matter where we have been.
Do you see yourself the way God sees you? Our experiences, other people's words and our own mindset can often dictate the way we see ourselves. But what if we truly understood that God doesn't see you for who your are, He sees who He made you to be?
It seems to be harder and harder to find truth in the world we live in. Our faith and belief system is constantly challenged by the media, politics and our culture. God is not a God of confusion but of clarity. In this message pastor Griffin talks about the importance of being rooted in truth and seeking the clarity God provides through His word and His Spirit.
Shame is paralyzing. And we all have done things that we aren't necessarily proud of. But the real questions is how will Jesus handle our imperfections. In John chapter eight we find that despite the fact that Jesus has the authority to punish us He chooses to offer mercy and grace even when we feel we don't deserve it.
We all have come face to face with our limitations. We have dealt with setbacks, failures and disappointments. Rather than living in our limitations we find in John chapter five that Jesus wants to show us how limitless He is in the face of our own limitations. When we follow Jesus we discover that with Him we can do more than we ever imagined.
Where can you turn when it feels like you have lost all hope? In Mark chapter five we encounter a woman who has tried everything to fix a problem she has been facing for many years only to find that nothing worked. Today's message teaches us that in Jesus we always have hope.
The world we live in can often feel dark and overwhelming. We can feel surrounded by evil and don't always know how to handle it. In Mark chapter five we see how willing Jesus was to bring light to even the darkest places and learn how He wants to lead us in that way as well.
Where do you turn when life becomes overwhelming? In Mark chapter four Jesus shows us how we can trust him even in the hardest moments we face.