The Creek Church Audio Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Creek Church
The Creek Church is a place where people who don't like church love to attend—both online and at campuses across the state of Kentucky. We exist to love God, love people, and make disciples. Our weekend services feature dynamic, relevant, high energy music, coupled with practical, Biblical teaching you can understand. Follow this podcast to stay up-to-date on recent messages from our Sunday morning environments.
We all want it. We all need it. Few of us, if any, have it. Peace. The very thing Jesus offered to the disciples before his crucifixion is the very thing we all so desperately need.
Jesus said some things we all wish He hadn't. But what if those are the exact things we need to hear the most? Often we go to Jesus seeming to reinforce what we already think rather than conform to the message He gave. But what if we made what is most important to God most important to us? What if we loved like He modeled, like He taught, like He prayed we would?
Criticized, beaten, stoned, lied about, imprisoned. Paul was a hero because he didn’t quit. Our lives are better because he wouldn’t quit. Someone’s life will be better because you didn’t either.
Nehemiah became a hero for his people, for Jerusalem, and for future generations. He shows us that heroes choose to lead.
A hero can be anyone from anywhere. Being a hero and doing the heroic thing isn’t all that complex. It is incredibly simple.
The moment we live in is calling out for men and women to step up and be heroes. In this season we don’t need social media vigilantes or armchair quarterbacks, we need heroes to wade into the mess and forge a better future. There is one group of people who provide us with the opportunity to do just that: children.
Changing the course of history, pushing back evil, advancing good, and making a difference - that is what heroes do! In the face of seemingly impossible odds, what defined this hero was courageous endurance. He didn't simply run with men, he ran with the horses.
He's made it on few (if any) lists of heroes: Amos. He lived in broken times, and what he saw he couldn't remain silent about. His superpower: He was an advocate.
X-Ray vision, super speed, flight. As kids we imagined a world filled with heroes with supernatural powers that saved the day and made the world better. But superpowers and heroes aren't something to be relegated to childhood fantasy. Being a hero and changing the world is only a choice away.
Psalm 23 is the story of an ancient King, the nation of Israel, and it's also our story. From the lowlands to the valleys, the mountain tops, and the plateaus, we can all find ourselves in the story of the sheep and their Good Shepherd.
Fear has a way of fooling us into believing things that aren't true, making unwise decisions, and distrusting God. But faith and facts cause us to lean in a different direction. When you know that God is with you and that God is for you, fear has a way of fading away. You may be walking through something, but God is leading you somewhere.
There is no way to end up in the right place when you are heading in the wrong direction. That's why God offers to show us the right way to the best place.
The one who has the whole world in His hands has you in His hands. What if that one is using this season to make you still so you can take a step towards the better life He wants for you?
Who would you let guide you through life? Who do you know that you could trust with every decision, from the small everyday moments to the destiny shaping ones? The answer: no one. Maybe the better question is: who should you let guide you?
David would become known as Israel's greatest King. His rule and reign would inspire hope, and point God's people to a future king would bring about a true kingdom of God. But his life was plagued with war, disappointment, death, and crisis. On the other side of all that he was able to look back and point to a God who had brought him through it all. The inspiration behind Psalm 23.
After the crucifixion of Jesus on Friday, His followers went into hiding. They were isolated, afraid, and uncertain of what the future held. But, something happened that changed everything. What happened on that first Easter changed everything for them, and it changes everything for us.
Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. It is the evidence of faith and the expression of hope. In the midst of these moments, when so much seems uncertain, what does love require us to do?
Three things the world desperately needs: Faith, hope, and love. The Church, God’s people, are meant to be carriers of these three things to a broken planet filled with broken people who need them. Our faith, our belief in God, fuels a hope, a confidence, that the darkest circumstances can’t shake.
The world has changed. Fear, panic, and anxiety have become common in the midst of a crisis with no identifiable end. But times of great fear require the Church to be what Jesus calls us to be: a people of great faith.
Times of great fear require people of great faith. A culture of panic desperately needs voices of hope. Love is the legacy given to us by Jesus, the church fathers, and the many Christians who have come before us. This is our opportunity to be a people of compassion, examples of faith, and voices of hope.
When Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount, the people of His day were amazed. He challenged everything they thought they knew about being a good person. What they heard about was not an easier way to live, but it was a better way to live. And yet, Jesus promised that he would give rest to the weary and his way was an easy way, not a burden.
We all want better and easy. But in life and in most things that matter, better and easy seldom go together. Jesus came to give us better life, and while it may not be easy, it’s worth it.
No one likes being told what to do, whether the command is from a parent, coach, boss, spouse, or even God. Even though he had the same struggle with obedience, Peter was able to check his own propensity to disobey and follow Jesus. His story helps us learn that when we see Jesus as God and good, it helps us obey.
It’s unavoidable. Something that everyone has faced, is facing, and will face again. We’ve overcome it, and have been overcome by it. Our moments of greatest regret and some of the worst seasons of our lives are traced back to it. Temptation. It’s always there. Watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike and sabotage your destiny. Offering a trade: what’s most important, for what seems urgent.
Life is filled with questions, but the biggest question we will ever ask and wrestle with is, “Who is Jesus?” Everyone has an opinion, fueled by assumptions and experiences. And that opinion has likely changed depending on the phase and season of our life. But what if your version of Jesus is wrong? What if the real version of Jesus, though he won’t fit inside your boxes and preconceived ideas, is greater than the counterfeit most, if not all of us, have?
Jesus changed the world in three years, and He did it all walking. There are no scriptures about Jesus running. He always walked and he never missed an opportunity to prioritize people over tasks.
When you read the Gospels, one of the things that Jesus makes remarkably clear is His purpose. It was the north star of His life, guiding and leading everything He said and did. He would recast His purpose to His followers, and it would change everything: careers, families, hobbies, social calendars, and even our money all become a means to His end.
The greatest thing you can do with your life is to serve others, and the greatest way to serve others is through the local church.
Following Jesus isn’t something you can do halfway. If we’re all in, we have a purpose to fulfill: to invite others to follow Jesus.
Purpose is the reason that something exists. It’s the reason that you exist, and contrary to popular belief, we don’t get to select our purpose in life. God created you on purpose and for a purpose. For those who follow Jesus, we find our purpose in someone else, and we fulfill our purpose as a part of the Church.
Once upon a time, the birth of a baby changed the world. The birth of Jesus marked the turning point in the most epic story ever told. But the birth of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection is only the midpoint of the story. The message of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Church is that the best is yet to come.
Jesus’ arrival in the world forever changed the world. He has been the dominant figure in history for 20 centuries. Three years of His teaching and preaching has done more to transform mankind than all the philosophers, teachers, and rulers combined. He has impacted art, music, literature. There is no corner of our world today that you cannot look upon and see the influence of the carpenter from Nazareth. How could one man from so long ago, residing in an obscure corner of the globe, have impacted the world so greatly?
Have you ever been disappointed with God? Have your feelings, your circumstances, your experience of God ever contradicted what you knew, or thought you knew, about God? The Jewish people found themselves in that very place. It was in the midst of that hopelessness that God sent Jesus, His final word to a world wrestling with feelings that undermine faith and circumstances that turn convictions into questions.
The existence of God gives us hope. When the people of the Kingdom of Judah faced exile in Babylon, God promised them a reason to hope on the other side of their suffering.
The story of the Old Testament is the story of a people who rejected God and a God who fought to win them back. It’s the story of a people who were promised hope and a better future, and yet they chose their own way. It is the story of a people who rejected God as King, established their own kingdom, and in the end, watched their own kingdom fall. In the story of God and His people, there is only room for one kingdom. In this story, there is only room for one King.
Jesus made it clear throughout his ministry that what God had done in the past, the old covenant, has no compatibility with what God was launching, the new covenant. So what do we, New Testament followers of Jesus, do with what came before? What do we do with the Old Testament, the stories, prophecies, and more specifically the law that God gave to Moses?
The story of the Exodus, of the Passover, is the story of a people that chose their own way, had been enslaved in a foreign land, and left hopeless. It’s the story of a God who rescues His people, at any cost, even the price of His own life. The story of a sacrificial lamb and freedom. It’s our story.
It’s one of the best known, seemingly crazy, stories of the Old Testament: A group of people who build a tower to get to Heaven, to make their names great. But what if the story we were told is wrong? What if the story of God’s wrath on human ambition is really the story of God’s grace and love in the face of our own failings and shortcomings? At Babel we find a God who lets humanity choose our own way. Even when we don’t choose the God who made us, God pursues us and is working behind the scenes of our mess to write the greatest story ever told.
The story of the flood is a classic Bible story that many of us have heard over and over since childhood. But what if we were told an incorrect version of the story? What if Noah wasn’t the blameless person that Sunday School teachers made him out to be? What if Noah was just like us?
Humanity’s first story is the story of the God who made us, knows us, and loves us even after we chose rebellion against Him. With a tree we chose a rebellion, and with a tree He purchased our forgiveness. Before we ever sinned God had a plan to bring us back, because the One who knows us most loves us best.
Time, space, and matter all had a beginning. This story we are a part of had a beginning. In the beginning was God, He spoke into nothing, and out of nothing all things were made. In the beginning God made.
We all love a good story. But the greatest stories of all don’t just tell a single story; they weave multiple narratives and storylines throughout the overarching grand storyline. Great stories are complex, and at the same time simple. What’s true of our favorite stories, movies, and books is true of the story of Scripture.
The Bible is the most read, misunderstood, loved, and hated book ever. There is no other book like it. There is no other book that makes the claims that it makes. No other book has made the impact that it has or has contributed more to the human story. What is the Bible? Why does it matter, or should it matter? And what does that mean for me today?
If prayer mattered to Jesus, prayer should matter to us. His example and instruction teach three keys to build the habit of prayer into our daily lives.
The Church isn’t a building, it’s a people. It isn’t something we go to, it’s who we are. It’s what we do. Jesus came to create a movement that would change the world, a people that would become outposts of God’s kingdom on Earth, the family of God. Like every family, this one would have clear identifiers, family traits. And the greatest one of all was made clear by Jesus: our love. We wouldn’t be known by our beliefs; we would be known for what we gave, for thinking of ourselves less and others more. We would be known by a word that before Christ was an insult. We would be humble.
Few churches had the dynamic beginnings, excellent leadership, and influence to match Ephesus. Founded by Paul, led for a time by Timothy, and the church of John. Paul commended them for their excellence, and most importantly their love. 40 years later something had happened. Something shifted. They had all the makings of a great church but they lost the most important thing.
The church at Thessalonica was known throughout the world for a faith that never went off duty, actions founded in love, and a hope that persevered through persecution and trials. They trusted God, loved people, and refused to stop doing either.
Jesus prayed that His people would be unified, that we would be known by our love, a culture-defying example of unity in diversity. It’s the only prayer Jesus prayed that we have the power to answer because He knew that our credibility with those outside of the Church is directly linked to our unity inside the Church.
We’ve all encountered people that we look at and say to ourselves, “I want to be like them.” On the flip side, we’ve all met people and quickly came to the realization that we don’t want to be like them. The same is true of churches. There are good churches and bad churches. The question is: what kind of church do we want to be?
How we answer that is important because knowing the church we want to be and don’t want to be helps us to be the church the time requires us to be and God desires us to be.
Jesus took a group of teenage guys and entrusted them with the future of faith. We are here today because of what they did. Who in the generations coming after us will be “here” because of what you did?
Our life is bigger than our lifetime. The Scriptures are filled with examples of men and women who leveraged that fact to impact the future faith of the next generation. One of the greatest examples: Paul and Timothy.
When we study the present it positions us to be better stewards of the future. Today people live longer, information is more accessible, change is the norm, and faith is rapidly declining. The church in the United States is getting smaller and older. When we study the present it positions us to be better stewards of the future, and that is exactly what we must do as the church. If we are going to impact the generations coming after us and help them develop an authentic faith that is all their own, we have to be honest about where we are and allow that to inform what we do.
Jesus was crucified. That statement is a historical fact. Yet when you fast forward through 2,000 years of human history to today, you find a movement built not on the teachings of his enemies but on His own teachings. Caesar is dead, the empire he forged has fallen, and the priesthood that orchestrated it all has become a relic of a bygone faith, but the Church exists on every continent and is comprised of billions of people. Jesus launched something that has outlived the empires, kingdoms, and ideologies that sought to destroy it.
The reason? The Church is a movement with unstoppable power because Jesus is alive.
Kentucky, The Land of Tomorrow. It was once the starting point that sparked a faith movement and can be again. When we share Jesus, the Church can be the Light that shines in the darkness, the Help for the helpless, and the Hope for the hopeless.
Love God and love your neighbor. Jesus established this as the framework for His followers to interpret Scripture and solidified this as the epicenter of their faith. Jesus then issued a new command, to love as He loved. He removed religious loopholes and made it clear - our capacity to love is based on this - we can love because Jesus first loved us.
Jesus was hated and rejected by the most religious people because He loved and accepted the least religious people. Jesus demonstrated His love for His Father by loving people at their worst while the religious misinterpreted Scripture — which led to misrepresenting God and mistreating people.
When we misunderstand God we end up mistreating people and you cannot be right with God if you are not right with people.
God told Samuel in the Old Testament that people tend to look at outward appearances. We base our lives on things we can see and know. But God points us somewhere different. If we want to know why people are the way they are, why we do the things we do, and how to fix it, God directs us to look at our own hearts and then back to Him. If you find your heart broken, He is able to give a new one to any who asks.
God’s plan to change the world has always been people. He started with 11 men, and from that core group launched a movement that altered human history. We are His Plan A to reach and bring hope to the people around us and the world, and there is no Plan B. Our purpose, your purpose, is to love God, love people, and make disciples. God’s plan is to reach people with people. His plan to reach those around you IS you.
Jesus came to give us eternal life and a better life. But you can be the recipient of eternal life, and never experience the latter. Because of Jesus, forgiveness is free, but freedom, experiencing the life he died to bring us, comes with a cost. Will you pay it?
Jesus loved stories. He used them all the time to help people better understand who God was and how God saw them. Out of the many stories He told, few are as popular as the story of The Prodigal Son. A story of two brothers, more alike than they knew. Both lost, both seeing and using their father as a means to an end. A story we can all relate to. In this story, Jesus redefines who God is and redefines what it means to be far from God. A story of hope, forgiveness, and love. A story of coming home.
Jesus was incredibly tolerant of the “sinners” around him. The people who got it wrong, the rejects, the ones that you’d be hard pressed to find in a pew on Sunday morning. This is the type of person you’d find at a party with Jesus. But he consistently set himself at odds with the “good people,” the saints, i.e. the self-righteous. It’s a group we’ve all been a part of. Whenever we talk about, judge, or condemn anyone because they fall short of a standard, we join the very tribe that Jesus was so at odds with. We become unlike God, because the worst form of unrighteousness is self-righteousness.
Self-righteousness: a comparison that ends in arrogance. It allows us to hide our shortcomings in the shadow of someone else’s shortcomings. Self-righteousness grants us a free pass to deceive ourselves and those around us. It says “I’m better than you because I’m better at _____.” And it always undermines our relationships with God and people.
“Honesty is the best policy”—for life change. It enables us to peer into our hearts and see our nature as it truly is, deceitful and prone to distraction. Being honest with ourselves is the first step toward leading a focused life for Jesus.
Everyone has looked, or is connected to someone who looks at porn. It makes up a multi-billion dollar industry and it has the corner on the online market, and consequently, has a huge affect on our lives and families. Under the guise of “Adult Entertainment,” pornagraphy impacts children, teenagers, and adults. Altering our brains, affecting our relationships, and changing the culture of the world around us.
What do we do when we know better, but don’t do better?
Life isn’t easy and faith doesn’t make it easier. However, faith can make it better. Everyone has issues and struggles, some of us are just pros at hiding them. We make our outside life look issue-free while on the inside we are a mess. God desires for us to reconcile our mess with Him in order to receive healing from Him.
“Ready or not, here I come!” These words are readily associated with a childhood favorite, Hide-n-Seek. We love to hide. We long to be found. This game doesn’t end with childhood but can take a dangerous turn as we practice it as adults. Self-deception. Isolation. Denial. Rationalization. Self Righteousness. These are the ways we hide from God. However, God still seeks. God still loves. “Come out, come out, whenever you are!”
Relentless pursuit. Determination. Focused on the goal. These aren’t descriptions about a sporting event, but instead highlight four men who cared enough to lead their friend to the Savior.
Why are there so many miracles in the Bible and so few today? Does God still do miracles today? How can I receive a miracle from God?
Is there an unforgivable sin? If not, if God has forgiven me, why do I still feel guilty? How can I feel forgiven if I truly am?
Is there such a thing as hell? If so, what is it like and who goes there? In His teachings, Jesus gives insight on the reality of hell, what it is like, and who goes there.
Every new year we flirt with the idea of change. Sometimes we want it, sometimes we need it, sometimes we know it is wise to change. However, implementing and sustaining change towards the ideal, God-intended life is rarely easy.
Jesus didn’t claim to HAVE the best explanation of God, Jesus claimed to BE the best explanation of God. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus coming to reveal God to man. May this overwhelming truth never become commonplace.
John realized who his cousin Jesus really was based not on a blind faith, but on points of evidence that could be historically documented. These signs unquestionably tell us of Jesus’ power and perfection.
Our Christmas experiences are often based on what has happened to us and what is happening around us. The circumstances we face dictate whether Christmas brings joy or humbug. But Christmas can be full of wonder and full of meaning when our experience is based on what happened for us at the first Christmas.
Jesus said the greatest commandment was loving God and loving people. It’s easy to talk about loving God, but loving people, that’s something we struggle with. What if we started loving God and loving people right where we live by loving our neighbors?
A virtue everyone can agree upon, gratitude changes our quality of life positively. Being grateful is a central part of our faith. Choosing gratitude changes how we view our past, how we process the present, and how we anticipate the future. Gratitude is not tied to personality or circumstance. It is tied to choice.
Your words are powerful. You have the ability to speak death or life into the lives of the people around you with the things you say. Few words are as impactful as encouragement. It can reshape identity, give strength to persevere, and spur us on to be better and do better.
Death or life. The decision seems easy, right? But it’s not when it comes to the words we speak. Our words are powerful, they can give life or death, encouragement or discouragement, they can even alter chemicals in our brains and the manifestation of our genetic code. Our words are important. So, “what do you say?”
What does it mean to be Christian in our culture? It means to love one another — beyond those you like, connect with, or agree with — which is no small task! Love isn’t just refusing to harm others. Love is acting to help others. It requires us to be courageous.
Just as salt is necessary for physical life, providing balance, suppressing bitterness, and enhancing sweetness, truth also balances and enhances our spiritual lives. However, when we provide truth out of proportion to grace, the end result is unpleasant, ineffective, and damaging.
When Jesus came to Earth, He came to a story that was already being written. A story filled with characters and teams who had agendas, beliefs, and for the most part, despised each other. Teams, or parties, that would fight in the streets, commit murder, and slander one another to further their own belief system. Jesus invited them all to His table and taught them the most important thing of all: It’s not about your agenda; it’s about the person sitting across from you. It’s about love. Jesus invited them to the table and taught them table manners.
Jesus’ love and grace was scandalous and controversial. Jesus embraced people before people embraced Him. He understood a person’s value wasn’t connected to their culture, actions, past, or circumstances. People have value because we are created in the image and likeness of God.
It is becoming less and less likely for us to meet, talk to, and spend time with people who disagree with us. In the new normal the odds are high that we won’t associate with people who are different from us. Not only do we not associate with them, but we dislike them because they are different. We have lost the ability to have conversations and to love all because we disagree.
People have never been more connected to one another than they are now. Technology has made the world smaller than it has ever been. Human interaction is only a button away. Yet people have never felt more lonely then they do now. A recent study showed that 70% of people report feeling/being lonely. This is a terrifying fact when you consider that real relationships dictate so many things about our lives: how long we live, how happy we are, even our self-esteem and self-worth. In an increasingly connected world, we are increasingly less connected. How can we begin to experience real relationships and community?
The Tension: The push and pull of staying where you are and the desire to get where you want to be. If you stay where you are, you forfeit your future.
Jesus calls us to serve one another. The quality of our relationships with the people around us directly reflects the quality of our relationship with God. If we love God, we will love others. If we serve God, we will serve others. If we are at odds with someone else, we are at odds with God. He taught us that if we want to be great, we have to get off of our “thrones,” and put others first.
No one comes to faith alone. There is someone in your story of faith who reached you, impacted you, and invited you to follow Jesus. Now, our purpose as Jesus followers is to be that someone in someone else’s story of faith.
“It is better to give than receive.” Seven words inviting you into a faith journey with unimaginable benefits. Our best version of life is found in giving. Generosity is a willingness and eagerness to give liberally of who we are and what we have.
Jesus’ greatest passion and purpose was removing the barriers that kept people far from God and building bridges so that people could get to God. Everything He did flew in the face of the religious establishment of His time, a system built around keeping people out and letting only a select few in. He set an example for us to follow as a church and as individuals. He risked it all to make a way for the people to find The Way. He taught us that bridges are better.
“All the believers were one in heart and mind.” (Acts 4:32) The early church included a diverse group of individuals: Jews, Greeks, Barbarians, Scythians, slaves, and freemen. It was very similar to the polarized groups we encounter today. Jesus prayed that they would be unified, combating one of the greatest challenges to the Church: unity without commonality, unity in the face of stark differences, unity, not on the basis of truth, but of love. His prayer was not just for the early Christians, but for us as well.
In Nehemiah’s day, things in Jerusalem were bad. The walls were broken down and people were losing hope and losing faith. They had begun to wonder, “Is this all there is? Is this as good as it gets?” But something happened when Nehemiah named what was broken and decided to do something about it. Something happened when parents started fighting for their children. Something happened when the city realized that they could do more together: They inspired fresh faith and new hope and they changed how a generation saw God.
We’ve all heard the statement, “judge not.” It sounds right, even pious. But what if it isn’t as simple as that? What if it isn’t unchristian to judge, but a key part of what it means to follow Jesus?
God may give you more than you can handle. Your situation may hurt, seem hopeless, and be devastating. But in the midst of our worst moments God promises that in our weakness He is strong, becoming our source of strength against impossible odds and circumstances. Because of God, we can say it is well.
From Jiminy Cricket, to the ballads of the 1980’s, the idea that we should follow our hearts, our conscience, is common and even celebrated. While it makes for great music, it’s terrible life advice. Jesus offers a different way to live. A better way to live: Let love be your guide.
Everything happens for a reason. There is always a reason, but it isn’t always a good one. Regardless of what happens, or the reason why it happened, God is bigger than our circumstance. He has overcome the bad that happens, and the things that cause it, and works all things to good.
Have you ever worried about God’s will for your life — who you should marry, where you should go, what you should do? What if you make the wrong decision? Is it possible to be outside the will of God? God may not have a blueprint for your life, but He does have a game plan. If you walk in His ways, you’ll be in His will.
Forgiven doesn’t mean forgotten. It’s better than that. Forgiveness means the offending party doesn’t have to pay. It means loving richly those who have loved us poorly.
Faith isn’t magic. Faith is trust. Faith doesn’t ensure a happy ending. Faith changes our perspective. Faith may not change anything about what is going on around you, but it can change everything about you.
Jesus told a story about two men who built their homes on the coast. One man built his house on the sand believing that the foundations he built upon wouldn’t affect the life he was building. The other man built on a stone foundation believing that even though building on stone was more difficult it would protect the life he was building in the long run. One day a storm came and the man who built his house on the sand lost everything, but the man who built his house on a foundation of stone made it through with his home intact. The point Jesus was making is that what you believe matters. It will impact you today, tomorrow, and forever.
Discouragement! Have you ever felt it? Discouragement is a black fog, and it's universal — eventually everyone gets it. Often we open the door to discouragement when we outpace our life. Fatigue, unmet expectations, and personal disappointment can be the openings that allow discouragement to seep into our lives. But when all is quiet, we can hear the quiet whisper of God that re-centers us in reality. When we hear His whisper, we can refocus on Jesus. When He is not the center, discouragement is sure to follow.
In Genesis 4, things got bad. The first murder was committed. Adam and Eve lost a son. It seemed like the world was falling apart and things couldn’t get worse. That was the point when people began to call on the name of the Lord. There are countless verses in the Bible telling us to pray. God wants us to call on Him.
People are busier than they’ve ever been. Ask someone how they are doing and they will most likely respond by telling you about everything they’ve crammed into their calendar for that day. In our culture being busy is a virtue. But what if the pace at which we are living our lives is actually rendering us ineffective? What if the pace of our lives is detracting from our purpose? If we want to make our days count we have to stop filtering our lives through the parts and the crazy schedules, and begin filtering our days through our purpose.
Every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day is significant. Significant because it could be your last. When you live with that fact in mind it shapes how you live your life and how you see your days. Our goal everyday is to live well. But we spend so many days wallowing in pettiness, unforgiveness, and anger. Our goal is to live well, but we waste more days than we live. What if there were a way not only to begin living life, but even to redeem the past? What if the days you’ve wasted could become days you lived well?
- That’s the number of weeks that families and the local church have to influence the next generation. 936 weeks to model faith and lead well. 936 weeks to fight for their purity. 936 weeks to make generational faith personal faith. Whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, teacher, volunteer, or just a member of a small group, we all have a chance to influence kids and students. We have 936 weeks. Let’s make them count!
The message that most people hear and see from the church is about a better life after this life, often to the neglect of our life now. Many of us grew up hearing sermons that preached against fun: good times and good music with good friends. The only problem with that version of faith is Jesus. Jesus was known as a fun guy to be around. When he showed up to a party it was sure to be a memorable night. Jesus said He came to give us life. Real life. Better life. The first step to living the life Jesus died to give us is realizing how short this part of eternity is. If you want to make your days count, count your days.
Following Jesus is rarely easy. Rather, it’s often inconvenient and uncomfortable. Jesus would summarize following him with an invitation to “lose your life, pick up your cross, and follow me.” Following Jesus is hard. But we follow Him because it’s best. Not easiest, but best.
Life is hard, but we make it harder. With every choice we make we move down a path towards a future of our own making. More often than not those choices lead us to a life we never intended to live or to a place we never imagined ourselves. So, how do we flip the script and live the life God designed us for? The answer is closer than you think. But it will cost you.
The night after the crucifixion of Jesus there were no Christians. No Jesus followers. No disciples. If you had asked Peter, James, or John who Jesus was they would have responded, “a dead man.” The events of that Friday left those who had spent their last three years with Jesus feeling hopeless and defeated. But then something happened. The cross, the universal symbol of Roman oppression and cruelty, would become a symbol of hope, love, and life. The followers of Jesus who left the fold on that Friday would soon be preaching boldly in the streets. A situation that felt final, irreversible, and hopeless was transformed. Now, nothing is final. Because of Jesus, nothing is irreversible. Something happened that weekend and nothing seemed hopeless.
A third of the New Testament Gospels is dedicated to telling the story of Jesus’ last days on earth before the crucifixion. Two thirds of what they wrote told a story that unwrapped over 30 odd years. But when it came to the end, they pumped the brakes, and told the greatest story of redemption and sacrifice in dramatic fashion. The last week of Jesus’ life is filled with intrigue, politics, and power plays. It’s filled with characters like Caiaphas, Judas, Herod, and Pilate, all fighting for power, wealth, and their own kingdoms. But in the midst of all the drama was an all-powerful God with a life-changing message: “There is no sin that you are not capable of committing and there is no sin God isn’t capable of forgiving.”
We all have ideas of who God is and how He should act. Unfortunately, our picture of God is not always the most accurate and often He doesn’t swoop in exactly when we think He should. Sometimes He doesn’t meet our expectations — not because He isn’t able, but because He has another plan in mind. Jesus didn’t meet Judas’ expectations of who the Messiah should be and what the Messiah should do. Judas’ reaction to that disappointment ended up causing him deep regrets. What will you do when Jesus doesn’t meet your expectations?
From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he angered and frustrated the religious leaders. His disregard of their laws and traditions, his teachings and miracles, who he spent his time with, and who he claimed to be threatened everything they had worked so hard to build. He was going to change everything, they knew it, hated him for it, and they would kill him for it. The priests of God and the people of God would rather kill God than sacrifice what they loved most: their kingdom, their power, their lives. They tried to save their way of life and lost it.
Most people pray. Even people who would never claim faith find themselves saying a quick prayer before a big test or in the midst of a life crisis. But while most people pray, not many people understand prayer. Many of us pray for things that are going to happen anyway, rather than bringing impossible “asks” to an all-powerful God. But what if God’s people prayed for more than “traveling mercies?” What if you leveraged your connection with God to move the mountain in front of you and transform the people around you?
Throughout this series, we have been taking a look at questions Christians don't want to answer. We've talked about faith and science, the Old Testament, and asked how a good God can exist when the world is filled with pain and suffering. In the seventh and final installment of the series Pastor Trevor answered some of the questions you've been asking that Christians don't want to answer. Reading List
It’s one of those BIG questions. It may be one of the most important questions that people are asking. It may be the most pressing question that followers of Jesus need to be able to dialogue about. It is a question that you can’t avoid when you read through the Old Testament. It’s the proverbial elephant in the room. It serves as many people’s primary aversion and objection to faith. It is a question that has caused some to walk away from faith and others to stay away from faith. The question is: How do you explain the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the New Testament? Why does God seem angry, violent, nationalistic, and war hungry in the Old Testament, yet Jesus seems to be all about loving your enemies, blessing those that curse you, and turning the other cheek? Why are they so different?
It’s loved by some, hated by others. It’s frustrating because of its occasional lack of clarity, and yet at the same time infuriating because of the things it gives clarity to. It has been used to justify the greatest good from some, and the cruelest of evil from others. It is a reason for faith, and a reason for disbelief. The Bible has impacted so many in vastly different ways, and in today’s world, few things stir up more controversy, strong feelings, and violent reactions. In this culture there is a growing number of people who consider the Bible a dangerous, irrelevant, immoral book. The question of our day is this: Why should anyone take the Bible seriously?
There is an idea inside the Church and outside the Church that you cannot fully embrace both faith science. In fact, there are many who believe faith and science are actually in conflict with each other. But what our culture has taught us regarding faith and science couldn’t be further from the truth.
We've all found ourselves in situations that felt hopeless. Like the odds were stacked against us. At one time or another, we've found ourselves feeling inadequate and ill-equipped. You may even feel that way right now regarding certain areas of your life. Like what you have to offer is not good enough to get you through. But what if what you have to offer is more valuable than you think? What if what you have is exactly what you need and you don't even know it?
There’s one question about God that elicits the most emotion, but has no emotionally satisfying answer. If God is good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? If God were all-powerful, He could eliminate suffering. If God were loving, He would eliminate pain. So is He unable or unwilling?
There are a lot of different reasons why people believe the things that they do. Some of us adopt our beliefs because they are the beliefs of our culture, our family, and our time. Others may choose to base their beliefs upon what makes them feel good, or what best suits their preferences, or upon a “holy book” or religious teacher. Whatever the founding reasons may be, something is only worth believing if it is rational, supported by evidence, and if it best explains all the data. With that in mind this week, we take a look at one of the greatest questions that humanity faces. Does God exist? And if you say He does, why do you choose to believe that?
We’ve all been told “no” at some point in our life. But what’s worse than being told “no,” is being told “no” with no explanation. It’s happened to all of us. In fact, we’ve been told all kinds of things our entire lives without being offered explanations for them from our parents, teachers, bosses, and even the church. People we know and love taught us what to believe, often without giving a good reason as to why we should believe it. This has resulted in a borrowed faith and coached convictions. When we grew up it resulted in doubts and questions. The religious system wasn’t very welcoming for most of our questions. If you had the bravery to ask you may have heard, “because the Bible says so,” or “it’s just what we believe, and we don’t question it.” We were met with passionate stories, childish answers, and dire warnings against the dangers of doubt. The system told us to “have faith” and press on, even when the answers don’t make sense, aren’t there, and the facts seem against you. But faith isn’t the presence of blind certainty or the absence of doubt. Our doubts, when we are brave enough to ask the questions and driven enough to chase the truth, are not to be doubted.
The story of Christmas was never meant to stand alone. It’s a small chapter in a story that had been playing out for thousands of years and a story that continues to this day. It began in a garden when our first parents, Adam and Eve, decided that life would be better spent if they ruled over it. That singular decision began a war that wages to this day for the throne over our lives, our allegiance, and our world. Countless men and women have laid claim to the throne, but God promised that He would send a king, the hero that would right every wrong and establish God’s kingdom on Earth. God would repeat His promise throughout history through his messengers, the prophets. And though at times it looked like God had forgotten His promise, one day a baby came. That baby was the promised Savior who came to abolish the reign of sin and death. A baby who would grow up into a man who gave His life to establish a kingdom, and who will come again to sit upon the throne and reign over a world that will know now death, no sickness, and no evil. A baby that would be the King of Kings.
King Herod spent his life dedicated to one empire, one kingdom, one man: himself. His worship of himself led him to build impregnable fortresses, assassinate rivals, massacre children, and kill his own family. He worked hard to secure his place in history and build his kingdom, a kingdom that now lies in ruins and rubble. He worshipped himself, and in the end, he lost everything. He had a choice to be the king of his kingdom or welcome King Jesus and let His kingdom reign. We have the same choice, the same opportunity.
Christmas is a great story. A pregnant teenager, a reluctant fiance, an angelic visitation, and other aspects make it entertaining. But the most wonderful part is the fact that Christmas is not just a story. It is anchored in history and it has been playing out in the palaces of kings who shaped the stories of history and the story of Christmas.
This holiday season there will be people we can’t control, situations we can’t change, and unrealistic expectations we can’t compete with. Though chaos and anxiety during this season is unavoidable, we have the power to choose joy and create peace. All it takes is gratitude. When we focus on and express gratitude, we give ourselves margin to love God and love others.
When we are truly grateful we’ll show it, and we will show it with our generosity. Few people would ever disagree with being generous, but the majority of people don’t give. In fact, in most churches only 10-25% of the people give anything. But what would happen if the Church was overwhelmed by gratitude and characterized by generosity? What would the world look like? What would your life look like?
Small change can make a big difference. In week one of "This Change is Everything," we begin a conversation about one small change that can make a big difference in the way you experience life.
Jesus showed up in the first century and the world never recovered. He introduced something new, something better, and something certain. Luke would research and compile the stories of the disciples and the first Jesus followers, and he found a group of people transformed by the teachings, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. He found a group of people who were fearless of death, hopeful for the future, and faithful to the end. He found a group of people who God would use to change the world!
The book of Exodus tells the story of when the Hebrews were made to be the slaves of their Egyptian neighbors. For hundreds of years God’s people lived under the heel of Egyptian oppression and tyranny, and for hundreds of years they cried out to God for their freedom. God sent Moses, the exiled adopted royal prince of Egypt (who happened to be a Jew), and used him to deliver his people from their captivity. The Jews marked their liberation with a festival called Passover. For lack of a better term, it became their freedom festival, their Independence day. But when Jesus came He changed everything, including the meaning and scope of the Passover festival. It was no longer about the freedom of a nation but about a freedom offered to the whole world. It was about freedom, not from government oppression, but something bigger and better than that. Freedom for you and for me that was purchased at a high price. With His life, Jesus gave us something better. With His life, Jesus gave us freedom from sin and forgiveness of sin.
Jesus introduced something entirely new to the world. He fulfilled the Old Covenant based on law and introduced a New Covenant based on Grace. He retired the laws and rules of the Old Testament with the singular rule of the New: Love. He set people free from the enslaving power of sin and empowered us to walk according to the Spirit. Jesus changed everything, including the way we see people and sin.
Jesus came to give us better. A better life, a better hope, and a better covenant. He established a new agreement with the world that revolutionized our relationship with God and with one another. It was an agreement, a covenant, founded upon one word: Grace. Grace doesn’t lower the standards. Jesus established the New Covenant and its one law: “Love one another as I have loved you.” This law is far more demanding than any contained in the Old Testament. But grace didn’t stop there; it also provided the power to follow this new law.
Jesus never sacrificed grace for the sake of truth or truth for the sake of grace. He was a perfect and balanced blend of both. But when people heard and saw Jesus, that isn’t what they saw. That isn’t what they walked away believing. As far as the religious leaders were concerned, Jesus was all about grace, and they hated him for it. Jesus would do away with the religious system. He would fulfill the law and establish something better: a covenant, an agreement with the world, established by Jesus on the basis of grace. Jesus would create a new system which was free from the law, the rules, and the checklists of the Old Testament. Because of Jesus there are no laws to keep, only a love to give away.
For over 1400 years God’s people were defined by “the law” a rigid set of rules designed to set Israel apart as a holy nation and neatly sort people into categories of “clean” and “unclean.” When Jesus came on the scene, He established something new and something better. He came to fulfill the Old Covenant so He could establish a better covenant, an agreement between God and all mankind on the basis of Jesus’ obedience and sacrifice. This new, better covenant was a covenant defined by grace.
A little over fifty years ago, 97% of Americans professed a belief in God. Compare that to today, and you will find that we live in a vastly different world. Today: 48% of Americans are considered post-Christian.One out of every four adults raised in church will walk away from faith.For every person who makes the decision to follow Jesus, four professing christians will make the decision to leave the faith.A growing number of Millennials and Generation Z view the Bible as a hostile book used to oppress the innocent and marginalized.The fastest growing religious group in the country is “The Nones,” or the religiously unaffiliated, claiming no faith at all.It is estimated that by year 2020, over 50% of American’s will be post-Christian. We live in a culture that is increasingly apathetic towards God and matters of faith. More and more people are looking at Christianity and walking away, looking at the church and finding a resistible group of people peddling a resistible presentation of God. There is an increasing number of people who believe that their lives will be better without faith.
Love is hard at times to define, but we always know it when we see it. Nothing is more powerful or moving that when we see love played out in front of us. No example of love is greater than God’s when He gave His only son for us, and Jesus when He chose to die for our sins.
Jesus always made it a point to be with people who believed and behaved differently than Him. Those far from God always seemed to be the ones who were most comfortable around Him. In churches today, we often find the opposite to be true. But this should not be the case. If we want to reach people, we have to be welcoming to them. We have to not just talk about them but talk to them. Who are you most often around? Who are you making feel welcomed and loved? Who is your One that you are praying for and influencing toward faith? These are things that we as Jesus followers must keep in the forefront of our minds if we truly want to be the Church.
The church offers a place to be known and loved. It is a place where it's okay not to be okay. It's a place where it should be okay to struggle out loud. The church helps keep us from becoming distracted in our faith, from wandering and drifting away from faith. It is the power of the circle.
Life is busy, complicated and full of any number of things on most days. Sometimes those things can edge out the truly important things as it relates to our faith. We get distracted, and we get sidetracked. However, when we fix our eyes on Jesus, not only does it inspire us to live the life that we want to live and are called to live, it also helps us see as God sees and begin to align our lives with his values.
Every season of life brings with it potential distractions of faith that can cause our faith to drift. A drifting faith sooner or later becomes an unbelieving faith, because we rarely drift in a healthy direction. There are two questions we each must wrestle with to make sure that this is not the story of our faith. First, what is preventing you from being the best version of yourself? And the second, what sin have you been holding on to that’s now holding you back? Once we know these answers, we must realign and refocus on Jesus so that we can revive our faith and run with perseverance the race set before us.
The Old Testament is an important part of our faith. In fact, the only Scriptures the New Testament authors had was the Old Testament. What we need to understand in our New Testament faith is that the Old Testament contains the history of one nation and a promise made to all nations. It's not just part of the story. It's part of your story. And the point of the story? Jesus. Every sign, every sacrifice, every promise, every story in the Old Testament pointed toward Jesus. The Scriptures tell the story of how God, from the very beginning, decided to love us until the very end. You and I have been part of the story from the very start. He sent Jesus for me and for you because He loved us. And that is the greatest hit of all.
We love to think of faith as some type of vaccine against evil and suffering, but that just isn't true. Faith offers no exemptions from difficulties. Faith does however offer perspective and hope for those going through even the most trying of times. The story three Hebrew teenagers whose convictions and faith came under fire teaches us much about a faith that can weather the painful of experiences.
There are moments in our lives when God calls us to be steady and patient; at others, He calls us to take a major life-changing step. After the death of Moses, God appointed Joshua as the new leader of the Israelites and told him to step in and take hold of the Promised Land. It was a major turning point in Joshua’s journey. Like Joshua, our own faith journeys are full of formative moments. In these moments we have a choice between faith and fear. Even though Joshua could not choose his circumstances, he could choose his responses to them. Joshua’s step of faith not only changed the circumstances for the Israelites, but it changed the circumstances for all generations to come.
The story of Esther is an incredible story of influence, courage, and faith. Esther had a huge responsibility to save the lives of her people, but she was merely the wife of the king. She was not allowed to come before him without being invited. Just like Esther, regardless of how we feel about our circumstances, we all have the ability to influence those around us. It is up to us in how we use it and what we use it for. Despite the consequences, Esther went before the king to save God’s people, and the king had mercy on her and granted her request. In this same way, God has extended grace and mercy toward us and sent His only Son to be a sacrifice for our sin, so that we may come boldly to Him.
The story of Jonah The Prophet and The Big Fish was a Sunday School favorite in our childhood years. However this story speaks very pointedly to all of us even into adulthood with themes, truths, and insights that we were not presented as children. Jonah was a prophet with a book in the bible that bears his name, but is he the man of God we thought he was? And the bigger question is, in the end is he a person we would want to be like?
David and Goliath is one of the most known stories in all of scripture. It has become so well known that it has actually become a secular metaphor you often hear in sports, business, and life in general. However, it is still often misunderstood. What if one of the stories we have been told since childhood was actually told to us the wrong way, with the wrong point, and the wrong application?
The stories we love best are the ones we relate to the most. The reason? Our favorite stories are our own. The story of Abraham is the story of whom scripture refers to as, "The Father of Faith". His faith paved the way for those would come after him. His faith was so strong, he bet it all on God, and in the end he and the world was better off because of it. Though his story is epic, if we listen long enough, and lean in close enough we just might find our own story in Abraham's.
We all want to be the best versions of ourselves. We want to be great spouses, parents, employees, bosses, and followers of Jesus. The goal is not perfection, but progress. One of the reasons we often find it difficult to make progress is that we simply don't know how. What do we do when we don't know the right thing to do?
Have you ever wanted to have a closer, more intimate relationship in your life? God earnestly desires to have a close love relationship with all of us, and for us to experience His love in such a way that we are "all in," fully committed to Him.
In order to ensure that our lives do not end with regret, we must ask ourselves, "What would the heroic version of me do?" The prophets and other heroes of the Old Testament asked the same question and answered it by enduring countless hardships for a promise they never saw come to life: Jesus. Their perseverance was a result of their faith in Him, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. This is what made them heroes. We, too, can be heroes by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the hero inside each one of us.
Elijah made many great contributions with his life, but perhaps the greatest was the contribution he made to the next generation. Elijah realized he was a link between the faith of the past and the faith of the future. He lived his life in such a way that his faith attracted the next generation rather than repelling them. We regard Elijah as great today in part because he helped others be great. Elijah realized that he was a part of the story of God and that what God was up to in the world was bigger than any one generation. Consequently Elijah made sure faith was pushed into the next generation.
A hero is an ordinary person who finds themselves in extraordinarily difficult circumstances and responds in an extraordinarily noble way. However, being a hero does not mean being perfect. Elijah was a hero of faith, but he was far from perfect. We can see from his story that sometimes moments of great courage are followed by moments of great fear, that sometimes our current circumstances come from our past prayers, and that sometimes what we feel is not an indicator of what is reality. From his story, we can see that you may have to be the lone one standing, but you will never be the one who has to stand alone.
Generosity is not about giving. It's about living. Jesus taught us to not store up treasures for ourselves on earth but rather to store up treasures in heaven. For where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. There are many ways for us to be generous — through our time, our talents, and our treasure. But generosity is not based on an amount we give; you don't have to be rich to be generous. Generosity is an attitude.
The Church does not always talk about the subject of sex and sometimes give the wrong message concerning it. It’s important to know that sex isn’t God, sex isn’t gross, and sex is a gift. Married couples often face obstacles to great sex, such as busyness, children, and fatigue. However, healthy marriages prioritize sex and make time for it. When it comes to marriage, the two commandments for a happier one are to show love always and have sex often. If your marriage hasn’t been characterized by these things so far, it can from this day forward.
Relationships aren't easy. In fact, they take lots of work. Many people want to have a better marriage but don't want to put in the work to have a better marriage. Once we discover what our spouse's greatest need is, it takes work, effort, and perhaps a plan to see that their need is met.
What happened that first Easter morning is a question of both history and faith. Historians can all agree on the fact that Jesus lived, died, His tomb was empty, and His body nowhere to be found. You see, history can take us so far, but it is faith that takes us that one last step. It is by faith that we choose to believe in what so many saw that day — that Jesus rose from the grave. For the first followers of Jesus, the first Easter was about what they said they saw. For the rest of us, it’s a matter of what we believe they saw. Because of what happened on Easter, there is hope no matter what has happened, is happening, or will happen in this life.