Morning Star Church Messages: Recent Episodes
Morning Star Church
These weekly messages will encourage you throughout your week to live in the purposes God has for you!
Pastor Jonathan Hupp walks through five precursors necessary for quick & decisive action.
John continues the series in Mark, discussing chapter 8 and the significance of "Bread and Understanding".
Gregg Tipton speaks on tribulation and the trials we face in life. Gregg shows how the Bible reveals that perseverance through tribulation will strengthen our relationships with Jesus.
John continues the series in Mark chapter 6 and discusses how the disciples were meant to exist and be present in the world, but not find their identities in the traditions and culture of the world.
Pastor John McDermott continues his message on Mark about Jesus's authority over all things
Rick continues the series on the parable of the sower and dives into what it means to be choked out by the thorns vs. hearing the word, accepting it, and bearing fruit.
John continues his series in Mark. - Message cut short due to medical emergency, tune in next week to hear the rest.
Pastor Rick continues on the aggravation tour of Jesus. In these stories, the Pharisees are aggravated by the truth revealed by Jesus. Pastor Rick challenges us to choose to allow Jesus to become the center and Lord of our lives, or to resign to simply adding Him in where we see fit.
Pastor Rick Mullen guides us through two stories from Matthew 15, one of the Pharisees and one of a Canaanite woman. He breaks these stories down and discusses what we can learn and apply from each.
Pastor John McDermott stresses the importance of being aware of the times that God has placed us in, so that we can go forth and expand His Kingdom.
Why did Jesus need to leave the disciples after the Resurrection? John discusses how the story of the Kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit partnering with His purposes.
If you speak the Truth, God will move. People are being taken captive and seduced by the disobedient angels or elohim. But Jesus has rendered them powerless. As people of God, we must push back and engage in the spiritual warfare of the day by addressing the evils we see in our world today. Will you step out in faith and speak the truth, in true love, that might cost you something?
God wants to move in your life, that your life might be a display of His transformative power and His new and better way of life to the world. If you haven’t experienced God’s transformation, why not? If you’re not living out and speaking about what God has done in your life, why not? God is moving here and now. Will you engage in what He is doing?
While we should desire God’s power to be activated in our lives, we must not desire power for power’s sake. Power is a tool to accomplish God’s purpose, if viewed or used any other way, it brings harm and destruction. Do you desire to have God’s power work in and through your life? If it did, what would you do with it?
God wants to wake us up to what is happening in the time in which we live and empower us with solutions and answers for the problems we face. But first, we need to know what state our culture and world is in right now. Do you know what time it is? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to find out?
Jon, from Community Church, gave us a message about expanding our perspective on the abundant life that Jesus offers.
God’s people are to be DISTINCT from the culture. But how did we as a nation and culture get here? Because the church abdicated it’s responsibility to be distinct from the world. If want our society to be restored to Jesus, we as a church and individuals must choose to live distinctly from the culture by aligning ourselves and allowing ourselves to be changed by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit
Wayne Simien shares how Jesus was not just loving and gracious, He was disruptive. As the people of God, we are to be disruptive as well and elevate the status quo as individuals and a church body as a whole.
We are to be the light of the world. We have a divine opportunity to reach the nations. We cannot do it alone. Are we going to rise to it? Are you willing to relinquish some of your individual freedom, comfort, and preference to take part in what God is wanting to do in our church, our city, our state, our nation, and our world?
We are called to participate in God’s work on the earth. To do that we must live according to God’s design. And to do this, we must replace old presuppositions about how the world works or what is true, with those of God. Do you have the correct presuppositions? If no, how can you pursue those this week? If yes, are you living them out, in the world you are living in?
Happy Father’s Day! Listen as Rick tells about four lessons he has learned over the years of being an amateur carpenter dad and how it applies to the kingdom of God.
Jesus gives us a new perspective on persecution for truth by calling us blessed. According to Romans 8:28, we are to love God and are called into His Kingdom purposes. John outlines that this present time is the perfect opportunity: to know God is the only answer, to know Evil is the only description for today's occurrences, to know His Will and do our part, and to know that He wins.
What is a peacemaker? Jesus’ version of a peacemaker might look different than what we grew up believing. As the name implies: peacemakers MAKE PEACE, even when conflict is required for true peace. Are you a peacemaker or a conflict avoider?
When we act intentionally out of a burden on our hearts, God provides for us. When we go about our day to day, it's easy to get caught up on the cost of being obedient, that we never step out in faith. But when we truly have mercy and compassion on someone, we will act in faith, trusting that God will provide where we cannot.
The beatitude of meekness is to remind us that we are to allow God to teach us how to have controlled strength that will continue to advance the kingdom as we anticipate complete victory. But how do we view the world as it is right now? Is it a world that should be left to destroy itself as we wait for Jesus to come back? Or is it a world that we are partnering with God to take the land before us?
“Blessed are those who mourn” goes so much deeper than being comforted during loss. It is to mourn over our personal sin, and even more, to ache for the injustices and problems in the world. To be people God means to care about those outside of ourselves and our family and property. Do you see a problem in this world that causes your heart to break? If you do, what is God asking you to do about it? If you don’t, why not?
The first beatitude is "blessed are the poor in spirit for their's is the kingdom of God." Being poor in spirit means to have humility to recognize our need for God. Have you settled and become complacent in your relationship with God and with your calling as His image bearer, or are you have a genuine need and desire for God and for more?
Happy Easter! This morning we take a look at some of the moments that were pivotal for both Jesus and His disciples, and celebrate that His crucifixion was also His coronation. It is Easter: our King is alive!
Jesus isn’t in opposition to the temple itself. He wasn’t in opposition to people buying and selling animals. But He was against the corruption of using the temple to be the place of purchase, and the high priests using God’s house for their own gain. What are you living for? What is your faith in Jesus for? Is it for you? Or is it for Jesus and His kingdom?
Today is the call to action! Jesus has come and He is looking for the men and women who are unbroken by the world and its lies, who can and will partner with Him in bringing true peace in place of chaos.
Our first catalyst leading to Jesus’ crucifixion: the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus partners with the will of God to wait until his friend dies so that more people would come to believe that He was the Messiah and stir the religious leaders against Him. I’m order to bring Him closer to redeeming God’s people.
As we enter into this week, we ask God to help us understand the truth of His authority. It doesn’t matter where you are, or who you are, God can reveal Himself and redeem us from the darkest places. Jesus came to expose the false gods and powers of darkness so to set His people free. God invites you to meet with Him and His goodness through His Son Jesus – the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The kingdom of darkness wants to deceive us and inoculate us so that we will not go out and advance the kingdom of God, because they know that if we all preached God’s word and lived godly lives, they would not be able to stand against us.
We are called, as the church of God, to go into our respective homes and places of work and meet others’ needs by preaching God’s wisdom to them. To do this, we must train, at church and in our own time with the Lord. How are you approaching your daily time with God and your time on Sunday? Is it for you or to develop so we can advance the kingdom of God?
We cannot bring glory to God if we do not live in the fullness of who He created us to be. We cannot become the fullness of who He created us to be if we do not know Him so deeply that we can give Him our full trust and allegiance.
Have you experienced God in such a way that you can give Him you can give Him everything you have?
We’ve been settling with the scraps of immature communion with God when our God-given right is to have deep and mature communion personally with the Father. Pastor Dave Diefendorf reveals two different states of maturity in our relationship with God: Do you spend your time with Jesus asking Him for things, or getting to know Him and enjoy Him and learn to see the world the way He does?
What gospel are you believing?
Jesus came to save the world, not just you. You have been found and drawn into God’s kingdom to go find and draw others. But if we don’t believe this, we will not have the discernment or courage to stand against the threat that comes not just for us, but for our world.
Oftentimes, we equate doing certain things that we associate with being a “good Christian,” when really being a Christian is an art, it’s a way of life. Where are we putting our faith? Putting faith in actions or in certain views over putting faith in God and seeking to live in righteousness hinders us from growing and being the image bearers God desires us to be.
We are called to be heirs in God’s kingdom. We cannot become the heirs that we were created to be if we are not mature. An immature king or queen causes pain and suffering in and on the people they are trying to lead. We also must grow into mature heirs who can lead well. What are four ways to begin acting like an heir?
We are constantly surrounded by lies. While most of us would rather just sit by and not challenge things we know or believe to be untrue and wait for them to pass, we are called to hold to truth and to speak against the lies we hear. What lie or situation have you been remaining silent in that you should be standing for truth in, instead?
Oftentimes, we feel hopeless when we don't see the fruit or positive outcomes from when we serve and love God with all we have. We feel like God has forgotten us or abandoned us, but in reality, God is doing something that goes beyond our dreams or hopes. He comes through. This Christmas season, what negative perspectives about your situation is God asking you to exchange for hopeful ones?
Many of us have settled for religious traditions rather than experiencing a real relationship with Jesus Christ. We care more about our external appearance than our inward transformation. This leads to us living less than our purpose. Jesus wants to us to experience Him for ourselves. Because once we experience Him, truth becomes reality, and as truth becomes reality to us, we naturally live out truth. Where have you settled for tradition or passivity instead of experiencing Jesus for yourself?
Rich Lorenzo encourages us to continue to stand firm and fight for truth. It isn't enough to be right, we are called to defend our faith and pass it on to the next generation. Where are you feeling pressure to shrink back or be passive, that God is calling you to continue to press into in faith?
It is natural for us to fear God and to desire separation for God. But Jesus came so that we could see God as He truly is. When we choose to join Jesus and we enter His kingdom, we may have pieces of us shaken off and we may lose things, perspectives, old ways of thinking and living, but for everything we lose, we gain a deeper, unshakable foundation and a consuming passion that comes from God.
We are to be people who live consistent lives in every area of our lives! In the final part of his letter, James challenges us to represent God in how we view and use our money and possessions, in our perseverance, the integrity of our words, and the way we love the people in our community. What area do you feel God is calling you to live with more integrity this week?
Valuing the things of this world divides us from who God wants us to be. Quarrels, jealousy, and hard hearts are a direct result of how much we choose to be in allegiance with Christ. When we partner with God in humility He gives us the grace to overcome and obey His call for us.
Our words direct our lives. And likewise, what’s in our heart is manifested in what we say and don’t say. It doesn’t matter how we say it, or if we feel justified in our motives. If our hearts are selfish, bitter, competitive, or prideful, it will be displayed in what we say and don’t say. What are your words highlighting about what you truly believe in your heart?
If you have faith in a chair to hold you, you sit in the chair. Faith has to be accompanied by action. Real faith produces a change in your heart that causes you to love differently. What area in your life have you been saying you believe God about, but you have not allowed what you believe to change your heart or how you live?
It’s easy to feel pressured to defer to people who have power and fame, who are celebrated or who can give us something. But in the kingdom, we are called to show no partiality but to live in mercy. Mercy, real mercy is the act of acknowledging the law and holding people to it while also having faith that they can be transformed.
Is your faith in Jesus Christ growing or are you getting your needs met from other people? We don’t know how deeply Jesus can meet our deepest needs. So when we go to people instead of Jesus we are getting our needs met through that person instead of Jesus. When we do this we can not live completely in the truth. James needed God to redefine His relationship with Jesus, and we need to go to God to redefine our relationships and who we go to to get our needs for wisdom, love, and security met.
The church is not meant to make people comfortable, but bring wisdom to individual hearts that there would be individual inward transformation; so that there would be individual outward transformation which leads to the transformation of families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and local communities, until the whole world is transformed to reflect God’s character and bring human flourishing to everyone! Transformation does not come from comfort, but from wisdom, which is applying Truth to every aspect of our lives.
It is so easy to overthink or assume things about sharing the gospel with someone. Our job is not to say “no” for others or to change people’s hearts. It is Jesus’s job to draw people to Himself and change their hearts. Our job is to share our own experience with Jesus and invite people to encounter the Living God.
How much do we love the Truth; even when it asks us to change how we are living or thinking? God has revealed the Truth to every one of us, but when we reject God and His Truth for lesser things He gives lets us have our way and allow us to meet the destruction that comes when we choose to reject the Truth. The solution to the world’s problems are not to pendulum swing to the other side. The solution to the world’s problems is the Truth: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are we going to choose to love the truth and preach it?
The Church was created to be a team of people who join in on the adventure of following Jesus and advancing His kingdom together. Each one of us as something to give to our family or believers. As we serve and invest in our church family and community, we will grow more into the fullness of who we were created to be, and as we grow and change, our community will too!
The kingdom of God is the remedy to the thorns. Aligning our hearts to the kingdom of God allows us to leave the worries and anxieties we carry behind to focus on the life and opportunities God has for us, and we receive the great wealth of following Jesus and be a part of what He is doing in the world. Are you going to allow the values and priorities of the kingdom take root in your heart and choose to partner with what God is doing in our world today or allow the thorns choke you out?
The seeds that fell on the rocky ground didn’t have enough soil and had no roots and so it didn’t hold up for long. This is similar to when we focus more on how we are looking like a good Christian on the outside than about actually internally growing individually in our relationship with Jesus and knowing what’s true. We have to continually exchange the way we have viewed things and situations and God with what God says is true. That’s the only way to grow roots and hammer out the rocks.
Christians go to heaven. Disciples bring heaven to the earth. This parable describes different types of hearts that we can all experience at different points of our lives and journeys as followers of Jesus. But we have to decide do we want to settle for just going to eternity in heaven or do we want to take part in changing the world
Jesus warned his disciples to watch out for the teachings of the cultural leaders of the day. We are to do the same. By knowing the Truth and also how it is being attacked by the culture we are living in now. But it is not enough for us to just know what is true, but we need to be able to live it out in our lives and talk to others about it. The more we are able to practically live out the truth, the more confidence and authority we have to continue to speak the Truth no matter the circumstances.
Rich, Lindsey, and Cheh shared a few incredible stories about what happened when their team of people from all four churches that went to Poland to help with a Josiah Ventures camp where there were 110 young people, 30 of which are Ukrainian refugees in attendance.
Isaiah 59:19 says “when the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” We are in a flood today. Many of us have bought into the lie that it is noble to be neutrals and to withdraw God from the conversation to keep people comfortable. How do we stand for God’s laws without acknowledging God’s existence and participation in the world and humanity? What would it look like if we no longer bought into the idea that it is noble and good to be neutral but to trust God and believe God so much, that we would put Him back into the conversation?
In order to bring positive world change, we need to know who our enemy actually us and how to know what is true so that we do not get distracted by the smoke and mirrors. This week we dive into what it looks like practically to see the time others, ourselves, and the rest of the world and news clearly as God does. We need to be willing to lean in and be challenged and offended and grow in our understanding with God’s worldview.
Abraham was called by God to partner with the Most High God to build a new kingdom separate from the world. We are called to the same. Just as Abraham needed only to align himself with God and to choose to believe and live that what God says is true, that is all that we need to do. We are called to approach today’s problems with God’s Spirit and understanding. Have you fully brought your whole worldview and life under those of God’s?
It's easy to experience resistance in the response and reactions or lack thereof of the people around us and to want to give up living with faith. To stop praying for the thing or person we have been praying for for years to no avail. To stop teaching people about the Gospel when it has consistently been met with rejection. But we are called to hold course and keep pushing forward with faith regardless of the circumstances around us. What are you feeling discouraged about currently that God is asking you to continue you to pray or push for in faith?
Kris Kobach takes us through the historical context leading up to the Declaration of Independence, and the values that it was based on. He also unpacks for us how the authority the Declaration of Independence was written under was God’s Law, which was a revolutionary idea. How are we going to live in and defend the liberty that we have been given?
We continue the story of Gideon. God found the men who were awake to the reality of what was happening around them who were not afraid. These 300 men were selected to be used to cause the enemy to fall into confusion and defeat themselves. Even though the enemy seems like a giant, but God gives victory to the few that seek Him and His will, who are awake to the reality of the day, if only we would rise up in courage!
Hiding is NOT NORMAL! God is calling us to rise up with intense courage, stand on His side and fight for our destiny as individuals, as a church, and as a world.
Real faith requires change and action. Ignorance does not mean the problem goes away. Whether it's trapping the opossum eating out of your raised garden or it's fighting the evil of the day, only acknowledging the truth and acting in response to the truth can address and fix the problem. Knowing and believing the truth is tied to obedience. You don't really know truth until it impacts your choices. What are your choices conveying you about what you believe?
What’s the point of knowing God’s Word if we don’t live it out?
Rich Lorenzo speaks out of Romans 12:1-2 about how in order to make a difference and make our lives count for King Jesus and His kingdom, we need to sacrifice our old broken desires and ways of living and thinking and allow God and His Word to transform our minds and desires so that we can align our lives with Jesus and partner with him in going against the patterns of the world.
In honor of Mother’s Day, we have six biblical reasons that women are great. This is by no means a comprehensive list.
Our adequacy comes from God, not from ourselves. But the enemy and the world will attempt to shift your focus from the voice of God to the insecurities and flaws you have as a broken human being. Instead of responding to our insecurities with pride, fear, and disconnectedness, God wants us to respond with humility, faith, and connectedness to restore our innocence and freedom. You have not been called to be God; you have been called to be an image bearer of Him!
Blessed is the one who has not seen and still believes. Truth doesn’t need to be understood, natural, or experienced for it to be true. We must believe in our heart that Jesus is God and that He died and rose again, defeating sin and death. Believing Jesus rose from the dead in our heart brings hope, meaning, purpose, and the end of the reign of fear.
Palm Sunday isn't just a fun story about Jesus riding on a donkey we tell our kids, but another example of Jesus stirring the pot. Not only did Jesus ride into Jerusalem like as King, but He also challenged the hypocrisy, corruption, and greed that had become commonplace in the temple and Jewish religious leaders. He openly opposed and called out that while the religious leaders had all the trappings of righteousness, they never let the word and law of God change their hearts. Jesus also did not let the high priests exercise their authority over Him. Just as Jesus was not afraid to poke the bear and stand on His authority. We as His disciples are called to do the same: allow the truth to change our hearts and stand for it in order to see God's goodness come on earth by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Parables: Mustard Seed How unfortunate it would be if we thought that the gospel only applies to the issues of our hearts Parables are given to help reveal things that are mysteries, or not known before. Jesus’ parables preach that Jesus is King of all. The church’s job is to serve the Kingdom! Our job as individuals is to serve the King and his kingdom and bring His righteousness, peace, and joy over the whole earth.
Even though the mustard seed seems small and insignificant, it grows to become large and very significant. Just like proclaiming the gospel to a neighbor seems like small change in a world of problems. But a neighbor becomes a neighborhood. A neighborhood becomes a city. A city becomes a state. A state becomes a nation. And a nation impacted by and led by King Jesus, becomes the world.
If Jesus isn't Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all. Our call as disciples is to not only know what is true, but to APPLY it to the problems and brokenness we find in the world. God wants us to see and understand the patterns we observe in the world today. The Bible is a huge data source that upon analysis will show us those patterns that we can use start thinking critically about the problems we see in the world today. Which, when we partner with the creativity of the Holy Spirit, we find we can use to not only KNOW what's true but APPLY the truth and bring healing and hope to our world.
Shallow, cliché, and uninformed Christianity is not the gospel or the mystery of Christ. The gospel and mystery of Christ is that not only are we saved from our sins but now Jesus Christ is IN US! We have a new level of authority; now called to bear GOD’s IMAGE. We need to be aware of what is actually happening in the world and our community, and believe and thank God that He can our circumstances. We need to look for opportunities to apply and demonstrate the gospel through our lives, and declare the mystery of Christ with conviction, in grace and truth.
We are called to stand strong against the lies and false ideas in our culture today. God calls us to not be captivated by fine sounding arguments, philosophy, empty deceit, human tradition, or elemental spirits. Jesus disarmed the powers of darkness at the cross, and so only our confidence in Christ has true value. We have opportunities to be faithful and step out of our comfort to actively fight in the battle for human freedom and flourishing using God’s truth.
Hardship is going to come. It's not if, but when. The question is what are you believing about yourself and God that will determine your response? The reality is that Jesus is superior to all else and our lives are not about us, but about Him. In fact, it is not even us or our goodness or works that allow us to stand before Him, but it is His redemptive work for and in us that prepares us to do so.
The world’s “wisdom” tells us that life is divided, disconnected, and separated by different areas: body and spirit, God and politics, faith and science. God’s wisdom is for EVERY area of our lives. We are created to be integrated, and God is intimately and intentionally involved in all of His creation. Our maturity is revealed in our ability and willingness to let go of our own or the world’s wisdom, and to allow God to change our minds so that we live out of His wisdom.
If you are not angry enough to speak up against the injustice happening now, can you actually say you would be angry enough to speak up if you lived in any other time of injustice? Against slavery? Against concentration camps? We know we would have spoken up then if we speak up against injustice and fallacies now. The only thing that overcomes the fear of conflict or rejection, is a deep concern, love, and conviction that causes us to value another person above ourselves.
What are we going to do to stand against injustice and oppression today?
Every object in existence has a natural frequency, when struck the sound is amplified when it is at its natural frequency. Reality also has something of a natural frequency. The more our lives and worldview are built on Truth, the closer to the natural frequency we will be and the the more we can live life as it’s meant to be lived. Living outside of God’s will is to live out of the natural frequency of reality, but living according to that natural frequency which is aligned to God’s perfect law produces freedom! We don’t get to decide which of God’s laws we obey based on how we feel, our preferences, or our understanding. We obey Him out of love for Him. We find God's law and truth in His word. Are you willing to not only know but obey all of God’s commands even when it crosses your will?
Your worldview will determine what you believe is true, important, and right, and how you will live out of those beliefs and values. Dave Diefendorf breaks down two worldviews: first? the world’s worldview that’s built on deceitful ideas from the enemy and the selfish and sinful desires we already carry within us; second, the kingdom worldview based out of God’s truth. We as followers of Jesus need to have worldviews based out of reality that is found in God’s Word, motivated out or love for God and our neighbors. How can we do that? Through right thinking, right nourishment, and right relationships.
The Word of God is painful and uncomfortable because it reveals the intentions of our heart, and shows us where our hearts are not aligned with the Word of God, which is true regardless of whether or not we believe it. God is inviting each of us to be a part of the plans He’s fulfilling in the earth, TODAY! In order to live the way we were created to live we must be transformed by the Truth through the renewing of our minds and then applying that heart and mind transformation to our lives and actions.
Rick introduces off our new series, Built on the Rock, telling us that we need to not only know the Word of God, but to live it. How you respond to what happens to you reveals what you truly believe and what your worldview actually is. In order to live the Word of God we need to be daily digging deep into the Word of God. One way we can practically dig deep into Scripture is using the S.O.A.P. Method, which Rick explains how to use in today’s message.
Synchronize Your Values Matthew 21 says that Jesus is the cornerstone. His absolute truth will either break us and allow room for Him to realign us to Him, the cornerstone, or it will crush us. Our alignment to Jesus and His truth and values is demonstrated in our actions. Are our actions indicative of a life being aligned with the values and truths of Jesus? If we are not acting out of God’s values and allowing Him to align us more with His priorities, we are deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). And the greatest opponent to aligning our values with God’s is fear. Where in your life is there fear? They will indicate where your values and priorities are not aligned with God’s.
Our lives are short, and we are responsible for “seizing the day” and making the most of our time. (Ephesians 5:15-16) To do this we must choose to be heroic rather than victims, to be radical and embrace and return to the foundations of our faith, to be committed, to be wise, and to be courageous. Our lives are not accidents. You were not invited into the body of Christ by accident. You are here right now for such a time as this to seize the day for the kingdom of God!
Rick walks us through how God’s grace, His “unmerited favor” to send His Son to earth to save and change the world, is a gift we cannot earn and it is to all people. (As seen in the story of the shepherds, who were the first to receive the good news.) In reading the story from the shepherds is their response to hearing the good news: they listened and believed what they heard, they sought to find the truth out for themselves, and they declared what they learned and saw!
Are we going to allow ourselves to be interrupted by what God wants to tell us? And are we willing to seek out the truth even if it is not easily found? And are we willing to speak about the truth once we know what is true by what we have seen and heard?
In Luke 1, we see two different responses to messages from God. Zachariah is doubtful, even in the presence of an angel, he questions whether he can trust what God said to him. Mary trusts the word of the Lord and walks in faith. Which response will we have?
God chooses to use human agency to expand His kingdom. In Matthew 2, Joseph, a human being just like us was given responsibility to protect and care for Mary and Jesus, and he chose to believe what God said and acted in faith.? The goal of our Christian lives isn’t to just to experience God’s love, but to be changed by that love and becoming an agent of change for the Kingdom! The Kingdom of God is here, are we going to be faithful agents of it, even if it costs us? Does our faith and believing loyalty in King Jesus give us the confidence to hear and believe warnings that speak against popular opinion?
After making Jesus our Lord, we are called to live and walk in Jesus. To move. In order to keep moving, and growing in maturity in Jesus, Colossians 2 says we need to be rooted and built up, having a deep understanding and conviction of what is true and how we are called to live, and to live in gratitude which brings joy and growth. We walk through what being “established in the faith” and “abounding in gratitude” means and how it’s applies in our lives. And then we cover the traps that could prevent us from going where Jesus wants to take us.
John wraps up our series on Acts, speaking out of Acts 27 and 28. We see the difference between the motivations, actions, and impact of Paul (the new creation), and his presence, which brought freedom and life, in comparison with those of Jonah and Adam (the old creation), which brought chaos and death. We then connect the life-giving spirit Paul is the same life-giving spirit that we are given as new creations in Christ, and that we need to continue to grow into the life-giving image bearer we are created to be.
John takes us through Acts 25 and 26, and discusses how there are many narratives and not all are true. What matters more than narratives that sound good to us are narratives that are true. Because truth sets us free, even if it’s painful to process at first.
John walks us through Acts 24, and Paul’s interactions with Felix in Caesaria. We dive into how the main motivator for Paul’s decisions is the fear of the Lord which brings greater knowledge of reality, understanding, and wisdom. John also connects for us that when we value the things of God, we will hate evil, and show our love for God in our obedience to speak truth and reality to our world.
John and Rick talk about taking responsibility for your growth, connection, and neighbor during this unique season of social distancing.
Brent & Marianne Hoffman share how God was present and pursuing them when they weren't looking for Him. Together, they weave the story of God's redemption and restoration in their lives.