Venture Church: Recent Episodes
Venture Church
This is the teaching podcast of Venture Church. Venture is focused on sharing the life shaping love of Jesus with people in Wilmington NC; helping them become God chasing, grace shaped, love agents.
There was a technical issue during our livestream that caused the beginning of the sermon to be cut. We apologize.
This past Sunday was our first time meeting in our new building. After 10 years of being a mobile church, and 17 months of renovation on the space, wee finally moved in! The atmosphere was electric and the place was packed. Praise God. Before we did anything else, Chris shared a moment of scripture reading, recollection, and prayer. This is not the sermon for this week (look at the next episode for that) but rather the opening moments of the service. God is good, and His love endures!
This Week, Patrick Harrison brings part 2 of a 2 part Christmas series.
Christmas can be a mixed bag of "joy to the world" and "fake it til we make it." In this series we're taking a look at the pivotal people in the story of Jesus' coming to earth to see what we can learn from them about what a "better" Christmas really is.
This Week, Patrick Harrison brings part 1 of a 2 part Christmas series.
Christmas can be a mixed bag of "joy to the world" and "fake it til we make it." In this series we're taking a look at the pivotal people in the story of Jesus' coming to earth to see what we can learn from them about what a "better" Christmas really is.
If you could increase your faith... would you want to? What is faith and why is it important? Let's talk about that.
This week we have the special treat of hearing from Jason Woolard (brother of Chris and Minister at Sonrise Church of Christ in Kill Devil Hills, NC). What impacts our perception of truth? How can we go about filtering through all the noise to hear what it is that God wants us to know the most.
If someone is a part of our community; the ingredients, the process, and the experiences we pursue together will guide us towards being: God Chasing, Grace Shaped, Love Agents. Today we look at the story of Hezekiah from 2 Kings to see what it takes to pursue God in a world where it's not popular. Together we are, God Chasers!
This week, we welcome Brian Harris as a guest speaker. Brian has worked as a Missionary and Pastor for many years and is currently a chaplain in the US Air Force. From all of his years of travel, life, and ministry he attempts to answer the question... what is the most important goal for a Christian?
Who is God? And why does that matter? This week we kick off a three week study about the God of the Bible, what he things about us, and what it means to live a life that honors Him.
How much "stuff" do you HAVE? How much "stuff" do you NEED? Is it possible that your "stuff" is getting in the way of your ability to follow Jesus? It turns out, Jesus has a lot to say about our "stuff." This week we discuss the practice of Simplicity.
Our first practice for ruthlessly eliminating hurry is also the oldest spiritual discipline there is. It's so simple in concept yet so difficult to implement. It's the one of the 10 commandments that we're totally ok with ignoring. It's... Sabbath. Stop. Rest. Worship.
To kick off 2022 we'll be taking on one of the most powerful enemies in our world... HURRY. Based on the Biblical ideas from John Mark Comer's book by the same title, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" will teach us to be better apprentices of Jesus by slowing down and learning to walk in HIS footsteps at HIS pace. In this first week we're setting up the problem of Hurry and addressing the core solution.
Today was our annual New Year's brunch. This is the devotional message that Chris shared before we ate together as an encouragement for how we can go into this new year with a fresh mindset.
This week is our annual Christmas celebration. We take a look at John 1:1-5 and remember that Jesus wasn't just a cute little baby, He was the creator of the world! Christmas is the reminder that he continues to bring light into the darkness of that world.
Most of us have gotten pretty comfortable with the "away in a manger, no crib for a bed" version of the Christmas story. And it's a beautiful picture of God coming to earth to show us His love. But it's only the beginning of the story of Jesus! This week we take a look at the upside-down kingdom Jesus came to establish to see Christmas as "A Political Story."
Most of us have gotten pretty comfortable with the "away in a manger, no crib for a bed" version of the Christmas story. And it's a beautiful picture of God coming to earth to show us His love. But it's only the beginning of the story of Jesus! This week we peek behind the scenes to the spiritual realm...to see Christmas as "A War Story."
Today we are wrapping up this teaching series about family by taking a look at the relationship that may be the most important pillar in the conversation of building stronger families. Marriage.
Our kids don't come with instructions but we have been given some great guidance from scripture about what we can do to help them grow up to honor God with their lives. Kids matter to God so they should matter to us. This week we talk about what it means to invest in the lives of children.
Family is the place where lives intersect and when lives intersect there will be conflict. Jesus gives some pretty challenging teaching about dealing with conflict in Matthew 5. Let's talk about that.
Identity. What is it, where does it comes from, and what does God have to say about it? As we kick off this series about our family life it's important to begin with a look at the individuals who make up our families. There are many factors that shape our identity but today we do a dive into Ephesians chapter 1 and work of rewriting our Identity in Christ.
Our lives are so full and our attentions so divided. Consequently, being faithful to God can be a constant struggle. We find ourselves dropping the ball over and over. But God's word gives us many tools for keeping our lives in focus. Let's talk about that.
What is baptism? Why do the do it? Is it important? This week we take a look at how baptism is a physical representation of our spiritual reality in Christ by seeing how it paints 4 pictures for us to look at.
What is repentance? It's a word we see pop up all over the Bible and in Christian circles. but what does it mean for my life? This week we discuss the powerful and vital necessity of pointing our lives to God through repentance.
Jesus' claim to be "the way, the truth, and the life" may be the boldest claim of Christianity. What does that mean to us today? Is Jesus the true road? if so, what does it look like to merge on to that road? Let's talk about that.
Today, as we celebrate our 8th Birthday, we ask the question, "Why do we do this? What's the point of church?" It turns out we have a mission straight from the mouth of Jesus. And we are so much better to accomplish the mission of the church when we do it TOGETHER. Happy Birthday Venture Church!
This is week one of a series focused discovering the power of community. God created us to function best in a community. We are better together! This week we look at the earl church in Acts to see how they modeled this togetherness and the difference it made.
We've all made mistakes, experienced failure, and dealt with sin. And the result is Guilt. How do we worship God from a place of being guilty? Let's take a look at how King David worked through a major sin and guilt in HIs life through the prayer he penned in Psalm 51.
Happiness can be hard to hold onto. Someone once said "happiness is slippery." But God offers something better, Joy. Today we explore Psalm 126 and the question of finding joy even when life is hard.
We spend a lot of time celebrating things that we thing are great. It comes very naturally to us. And no one deserves or desires as much celebration as our God. We call that celebration of greatness worship. Let's take a look at Psalm 103 and what it can teach us about worshiping God.
Few things can move a group of people like a song. It's no surprise that the Bible has a book completely devoted to songs of worship. Songs to God and about God. This week we dive into our first of the series, Psalm 42. What does it mean to quench the spiritual thirst of our soul? Let's talk about that.
In this final week of our Study through 1 Timothy, we take a look at a battle strategy for taking on greed and other sins that place material things on the throne of our hearts. This final chapter is rich with teaching on overcoming the pitfalls of this world.
This week, Joe Cartwright brings a lesson about the dangers of comparison and the joys of leaning in to who God created you to be.
This week we move on through our study in 1 Timothy to chapter 5. As this letter to Timothy progresses, Paul addresses a group of overlooked people in need of special love. He also gives some advice on how to discern who is is in the most need. This message is brought to you by the one and only, Patrick Harrison. Enjoy!
This week we hear from our Summer Ministry Inter Perry Garza! Perry is a rising Sr. at Mid-Atlantic Christian University and studying to be a youth minister. Today he's unpacking chapter 4 of 1st Timothy.
One again, Timothy is dealing with some difficult people in the church at Ephesus. This time it's a group of ladies. 1 Timothy chapter 2 has been a difficult passage for the church to fully understand for generations. Thankfully chapter 3 helps us find some resolution. Let's talk about that!
Today, In Christian circles, if someone comes to faith in a local church family and then goes out as a missionary or preacher we call that person, “A Timothy." Let's meet the original Timothy in a letter written to Him in our Bible.
As we wrap up this teaching series, let's take a look at one of the most vulnerable areas of our life... our personal weakness. The Apostle Paul wrestled through a weakness that he couldn't shake. Let's talk about that.
People have been wearing masks since long before the pandemic. It's called hypocrisy and it's so easy to fall in to. But Jesus can help us as we take on the mask. Let's talk about that.
One of the hardest things for us to wrap our minds around is suffering. Why does it exist? What does God have to say about it? Today we look at the ancient story of Job to learn more.
What do you do when you are absolutely broken? Where do you turn? And what can you do in this world if you turn to Him? Let's take a look at the life of a lady who found out. Let's talk about Hannah.
In this series we'll be looking Biblical figures who wrestled through life with God. Today we kick off with the man who set the standard for what that means..
What can we learn from a towel and a bowl of water? Let's learn from Jesus about what it means to serve.
Our job is so much more than to just "get stuff done." We have a role in shaping the world in which we live. Let's talk about that.
Believe it or not, work was something God gave us as a gift. If that's true, why does it so often feel like a curse? And is there anything we can do to fix that? Let's talk about that.
In this final installment of "Lost Arts" Patrick Harrison discusses the art of hospitality and what it means to let someone crash on your couch.
Justice: We LOVE when people, "get what they deserve." But God teaches us to love MERCY. Which isn't as easy. Let's talk about forgiveness.
We're pretty faithful when it comes to our favorite sports team or our best friends. But being faithful to God can be a challenge. How can we grow our faith to a point where we stick with God through anything that life throws at us? Let's talk about that.
Purity. There might not be any Godly virtue that our world despises as much as purity! Let's talk abut that.
There are many old school skills and talents that we miss as time and technology march on. You might call these, "Lost Arts." There are also many character traits that were once valued much more than they are today. In this series we'll be taking a look at some of God's most valued traits that, it we're not intentional, may also become lost arts. Today we talk about Patience!
This week, as we wrap up our Rhythms of a Disciple, we welcome Kevin McNeil. Kevin is planting a new church in Goldsboro NC called "Canvas Church." Check out their ministry at mycanvaschurch.org/ or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/canvaschurchnc)
Kevin's message about putting others first addresses one of God's biggest goals for our lives.
We love stories because they move us, they challenge us, they teach us, they inspire us. God's story is all that AND more because Jesus' story is eternally significant. Today we talk about what it means for US to tell that story.
Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Let's talk about that.
Most Christians would say that Bible reading is really important. Those same people might also be willing to admit that we often don't have as good a habit as we would like when it comes to being in God's word. Let's talk about why it matters and some ways we can work on that.
Jesus says Remain in me, as I also remain in you. What does that look like? Let's talk about that.
With or Without knowing it, you have a rhythm to your life. The things that you do routinely that shape the kind of person you are. And when it comes to living a Christian life, there should be a rhythm to it too. Let's learn the Rhythms of a Disciple!
2020 was a mess. But... maybe it wasn't all that bad after all. Let's celebrate all that God has done!
Using "The Grinch" as his springboard, Aaron Collins brings a message about humility and making the good news of Christmas the good news for others.
Let's unpack the story of the birth of John the Baptist and see how we can find hope through Jesus.
This week we welcome Joe Cartwright as out speaker as he uses the Christmas favorite "The Elf" to teach a lesson from God's word about Joy.
In part one of this two part series we take a look at one of the most prominent themes in the Bible, Repentance. It can be such a cleansing process! Let's talk about that.
This week, we're glad to welcome Glenn Crocker as a guest speaker. Glenn is a long-time friend of Venture Church and currently serving as a deacon at First Church of Christ in Washington NC. You'll want to hear this message about keeping God in first place.
In this, our final week of Pandemic Hope... we see how much simple acts of generosity will help us honor God and bring hope!
There is plenty to be afraid of in this world. But you don't have to be afraid. Today we learn about the gift of COURAGE.
Gratitude is such a simple thing.... but how in the world would it help to bring people Hope?
This week, Patrick Harrison tells us how to spike the curve of Hope by bringing Encouragement.
We are so excited to celebrate Venture Church's 7th Birthday. As we do, we kick off a new teaching series. Is anyone else TIRED of bad news and negativity. While we're fighting through this worldwide pandemic. Let's start spreading something else contagious... HOPE! Every act will help to spike the curve.
We're excited to continue telling the story of Canvas Church, a new church plant that is just now beginning in Goldsboro, NC. Today, we hear from Kevin McNeil, the church planter and pastor of Canvas Church about what it looks like to put our faith into action.
Never underestimate the power of your personal story. This week, we wrap up the book of Acts with an encouragement to keep the sparks flying as the movement continues to spread.
Too many people end up shut off from God's simple message because they've never been given easy access. This week we learn a lesson from the Apostle Paul as he teaches to a group of people who were far from him by meeting them where they were.
This week's message is an encouragement for those of us who are feeling like COVID-19 has made us lose sight of our priorities as believers and as the Church. It's a call to refocus and take action. Stop making excuses and start making plans. Be encouraged friends!
Everyone knows the joy of being invited to take part in something exciting. We've also experienced the disappointment of being left out. Let's talk about the moment when God included us ALL in His greatest gift.
Transformation is one of God's biggest gifts to and goals for us. Let's look at one of the all time great transformations.
How seriously do you take your faith in Jesus? This week we meet Stephen, the first Christian to give his life for his faith in Jesus. He taught us that "if Jesus is worth following, he's worth following no matter what."
Peter and John are riding high after their most recent experiences with the Holy Spirit and they're going to need His help to have the boldness it takes to face some fierce opposition.
The wait us over! God has sent his gift. The Helper shows up in a MAJOR way to spark the movement.
The book of Acts is the story of the first church and the movement that those early believers began. It's been nearly 5 years since we studied through this book... since the world has kind of turned upside since then we decided it was time to revisit the lessons from this book... which have not changed! This week... we "wait."
As the majority of our church family met together for our tailgate church at the YMCA we also had an online service for those who couldn't make it. This week Patrick unpacks the story of Nehemiah from the Old Testament to teach some great lessons for today.
In this last installment of the series, Jesus hits home with a reminder of just how big a deal it is to be His disciple.
Jesus teaches a tripple-parable in Luke 15 on things that are lost and then found. It must have been pretty important to Him. Let's talk about that.
In this parable Jesus continues to explain why "the kingdom of heaven is like" a treasure and a pearl.
In week two we take a look at how a crazy, unconventional farmer makes the kingdom of heaven crystal clear.
Jesus often taught in parables. In this series we will go through many of Jesus' greatest teachings by looking at some of the parables he taught. To kick it off, we'll hear a story about a farmer sowing seed and learn the encouraging truth that each of us can bear fruit in our lives by preparing our soill.
This week we're celebrating our annual Compassion Sunday with a special online service!
Order of operations is pretty vital in many areas of our lives. When it comes to God this couldn't be more true. Today we dive into Colossians 1:15-23 to see just how amazing Jesus is.
This week we kick off a study through the book of Colossians. Through Jesus, we can learn a NEW MENTALITY about ourselves and about God that will teach us about the heart of God and lead us to live the type of life that honors him!
It's Easter. And this final installment of our series is the best of the 3 because we're talking about why the resurrection is a BIG DEAL
This is Easter Sunday, the quarantine edition. :) This includes worship, special moments, communion, and the message. If you'd like to see the video version, check out our youtube page. www.youtube.com/jointheventure
Waiting... who likes to wait? It's the worst, right? But it's vital as we build our faith and see God at work. This week we continue our examination of the power of the resurrection and seek to understand why it is Of First Importance.
It's hard to prioritize. Especially when life is crazy. But God has really simplified it for us in His word. Let's spend some time talking about what is "of first importance!"
This, our final week of the "Sacred" series, we look at what it takes to stand up against the forces that are vying for our souls. You can watch the video stream on our youtube channel!
As we continue the teaching series we have been in for several weeks, this is also week 1 of our live-stream online church service (brought to you by COVID-19). For updates about how our church is gathering visit www.jointheventure.com
This week, we hear Aaron Collins share about the real-life-struggle of what happens when the rubber meets the road with Holy living.
A life lived for God should be different. Throughout the Bible, we see places, habits, thoughts, ideas, and especially PEOPLE being set apart for His glory. This week we kick off a series focused on what it means to live that kind of life.
In our final week of Jumpstart, we look at some basic habits that are very important as we seek to learn what it means to trust God.
This is where the rubber meets the road. If we want our faith to grow, sometimes the best thing for us to do is jump in and see how we can serve others in God's name. This week we see Jesus as he teaches His power to multiply our smallest efforts and turn them into amazing results. AND BONUS: we'll wrap it all up with the testimony of a missionary from the Dominican Republic named Ed Zogg to see how God can use ANYBODY to do amazing things for Him if they're willing to bring Him whatever they've got.
God has allowed PEOPLE to play a major role in shaping our faith. But what does it look like to be intentional about having those pivotal people in your life? Let's talk about that.
Practice makes perfect... but what should we practice? This week we look at the faith growing catalyst of "Practical Teaching" and see what it takes to trust God as we weather life's storms.
You know what's true? God really values our faith. Over and over, we're told how important faith is when it comes to our relationship with Him. You know what's also true? Faith can be really hard! What does it even mean to "have faith?" Let's spend some time exploring a few SOLID practices that will Jumpstart your faith and help it grow.
In this conclusion to our series about the ways Jesus is uniquely special in our lives, we are also celebrating Christmas. This short devotional message was part of a larger program that involved narration, acting, and singing. Merry Christmas!
Lots of things "live." But Jesus is ALIVE like nothing else. Let's find out how this week as we unpack more about "Unique Jesus"
As we celebrate the Christmas season, we're going to take some time to look at the ways that Jesus is Uniquely able to do what only he can do. This week, lay the foundation and talk about Jesus as the unique way.
Time to clock out... and rest. What does God say about our time off? Well, let's talk about "Sabbath!"
This third week of our Good Work series asks the question, what does God have to say about the money and tackle some of the "heart conditions" that can lead to mismanaging the gifts God has given us.
If you are serving God, when it comes to your 9-5, you don’t have to settle for having a career. In fact, you shouldn’t.. Instead, your career can become your calling.
According to some estimates, the average person will work something like 90,000 hours in their life! And sadly, MANY PEOPLE hate their jobs. But what if we could find PURPOSE in our work. Something bigger than making a dollar or selling a product? What if we could make sense of our work that is MORE than the dollars and cents? This is week one of a series dedicated to JUST THAT. You don't want to miss it.
As we wrap the story of Joseph's life we find him with the chance to finally get some payback for all the hurt he's been caused. What he chooses to do will set the bar for forgiveness and honoring God.
Joseph has been through more than one person should have to go through yet somehow maintains both his faith in God and the desire to honor him. This week we're seeing his journey through time in prison, a gift for interpreting dreams, and the wild promotion he gets from prisoner to dignitary. How? Let's talk about that.
When you really want something, it's hard to resist it. What if the thing you want goes against what God wants for your life? THIS is the struggle of temptation and sin. Let's look at the life of Joseph as he overcomes an extremely tempting opportunity to sin and learn how we can overcome temptation too.
Life throws us a mystery basket of ingredients... some are good... some, we would never want. Either way, we've gotta make the best of it. What do we do when life is in the pits? Let's talk about that.
Joseph was a man in the Old Testament that truly left a legacy. In his life, he became one of the most powerful men in the whole world, save thousands and thousands from a famine, restructured the way a powerful nation did their agriculture, and would be an important bridge in the story of how God built up the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. His life is the story of a God Chaser.
But before he did ANY of that. He was raised in a crazy, messed up, disoriented, circus, of a DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY.
The WWII Battle of Dunkirk was one of the most daring rescue missions in history. It was also a pretty epic movie. Today we use the story of Dunkirk as a springboard to dive into another rescue mission as Jesus meets a demon-possessed man in Mark 5. Learn what it means to get in the boat with a message of hope.
Gladiator is a story of revenge. It's Epic. But it's not the only way to deal with people who hurt us. Jesus has a lot to say about Forgiveness. It's not easy but it's a powerful path to healing and knowing the love of God.
This week, Patrick Harrison hitches up his kilt to reminisce about the movie Braveheart as a springboard to ask "what is your divine cause?"
This year's "At The Movies" is themed around fight movies. Wars, battles, fights, and fighters. This week zooms in on a classic; Rocky! Life can feel like a fight and at the center of that struggle is a spiritual battle that we're warned about in scripture. This week we study the "Armor God" as we prepare to come out victorious.
Jesus set the example for what it means to live a life of putting others first. Living this way will change the world! (Apologies, the first several minutes of this week's message was not recorded. However, if you've seen the movie Finding Nemo, and understand how annoying seagulls can me... MINE, MINE, MINE... you'll be fine.) You can get the idea here.
This conclusion to our Romans series is a great wrap up to the broader theme of UNITY found throughout the book. What happens when two believers don't agree on something they each find important? We dig through the final 3 chapters of Romans and even have a surprise ending from friends who still think of Venture Church as family.
Faith. What is it? Why do we need it? How can we get it? This week we dig into Romans chapters 3, 4, and 5 to learn more about this majorly important component of the gospel.
The book of Romans is the most complete explanation of the gospel that we have in the Bible. It's like an instruction manual for why it works, how it works, and who it's for. This is week one of a series exploring the gears of the gospel as seen through the book of Romans. In this first week, we'll be in chapters 1 and 2 and learn the answer to question zero, "Why?"
As we conclude this 5 week teaching through the whole Bible, we spend time in one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. The book of Revelation. When studying the book of Revelation, it's easy to get lost or confused. So, it's our goal to see the big picture of what God was teaching when he shared this vision with the Apostle John. It's a super encouraging message about the power of God and the role of Jesus in it all!
In Week four of our series, we look at the letters written to the church. What does it mean for YOU to find your place in the mission? Let's open the Bible and find out!
This week, Patrick Harrison shares part four of our series "Let's Open The Bible." We've crossed over into the New Testament and are looking at the foundational message of the church... the Gospel. It's more than just good news. It's the kingdom of God!
This week we take a look at the ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT in one message. It's truly the story of a journey that began with a promise and showed God's unchanging faithfulness through generations and generations.
In this final week of the Grass is Greener series we look at one of the hardest times to find contentment... when we're beaten, loose, and experience pain and suffering. What then? Let's talk about that!
Each year we set aside a Sunday to partner with Compassion International by raising awareness of the need for child sponsorships and of children living in extreme poverty and to give our people an opportunity to sponsor a child. Compassion is one of God's greatest attributes and should be the mark of a Jesus follower. Today we study Colossians chapter 3 and dive into what it looks like to have the compassion of Jesus transform your life.
It seems like we can just never have enough....STUFF! Today we dive into what it takes to find contentment with our money as we look at teaching the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6. A strategy for freeing ourselves from the trap of money.
Who are you? Even more importantly, who are you to God? So much of our own happiness is tied up in how you see yourself. Unfortunately, we often end up with a distorted view of our identity. Which leads to a distorted view of the world around us, and a distorted view of God. Finding your "identity" can be a complicated process. With so many elements of our lives that tend to define us, what does it mean to truly find contentment in who you are?
It's Easter! This week's teaching is from Philippians chapter 4, where the Apostle Paul claims to have discovered the secret to finding contentment. This lesson is packed with several practical and immediately applicable principles you can put into practice right away. But more than that, it's a message about the power of the resurrected Christ to bring us true peace. Happy Easter!
This final week of "When Jesus Prayed" is brought to you by Patrick Harrison. He wraps up John 17 by diving into the thoughts that Jesus had on His mind for me and you... that's right, Jesus prayed for me and you that night. You'll definitely want to hear this one.
As we continue in our series through John 17, this week Jesus turns his focus to the disciples. He knows their mission will be harder than they could ever imagine. He prays for their protection and teaches us A LOT along the way.
In this second look at Jesus' prayer in John chapter 17, we see the KEY role that Jesus plays God's plan for humanity through his work on the cross.
In John 17, as Jesus was mere hours away from facing the cross, he stops to pray. This series is an in-depth look at what has been called "the greatest prayer ever prayed." In this first week, we unpack the very first sentence to see the true weight of this moment and how amazing God's love or us is. The hour has come.
In this conclusion to our series on loving people the Jesus way, we address what many find to be the greatest obstacle to neighboring well; the fear of actually doing it! Fear can be an unfortunate motivator (or de-motivator in this case) and in this lesson, we'll look at an instance where Jesus set the pace for what it looks like to cross that line and love someone regardless of whatever is keeping you from doing so.
We'd all better at loving people if we just had more time! Right? In this second week, Patrick Harrison steps in to talk about the "Time Factor" of good neighboring.
What does it mean to "Love your neighbor?" It's one of the core concepts of Christianity, it's something that most people want to do well. But what does it mean? This week we kick off a series to address the question, "How do we love our neighbor the Jesus way?" Week one is a look at Luke 10 and the story Jesus told about a man who kept his eyes up, looking for a need to meet.
Additional Resource:
Check out this book "The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationship Right Outside Your Door."
This final installment of “Building Bridges” is all about what it looks like to walk on the bridge of grace that God built. What does it look like to actually FOLLOW Jesus? This week is a lesson on being a disciple.
Building bridges with people who have not yet made the choice to follow Jesus can be hard. But it is a privilege and a responsibility! This week we check out what it looks like to build bridges with people so they can know the love of God.
Bridges are everywhere! Crossing difficult terrain, spanning massive bodies of water, and making life simpler. A bridge is a solution to a difficult problem. It’s also the pathway of connection between two places. In a deeper sense, “a bridge” is the coming together of two parties. This intro to “Building Bridges” is about the problem in our lives that God built a bridge to solve.
Love. It's complicated. It hurts. Yet we all seek it! In this conclusion to "With God" we explore what it means to know the love of God and how a life lived in love is a life lived with God.
In this third installment of "With God," we explore the question of hope. What does it mean to have life "With God" while we're in the hardest parts of life?
Living life "With" God sounds like a great goal right? But what does it mean? This week we're looking at replacing fear with faith and learning to sail through the hardest moments by trusting God.
This series kicks off with a look at 4 postures we take when relating to God. Each posture comes with a caution. In the end, we discover the true treasure of life WITH God.
This series is inspired by the book "With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God by Skye Jethani
https://smile.amazon.com/Reimagining-Way-You-Relate-God/dp/1595553797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547744487&sr=8-1&keywords=With
Patrick steps in this week to bring an amazing behind the scenes story to the song O Come All Ye Faithful. He brings edifying knowledge about the wise men and the importance of faith.
Christmas is full of many traditions. None may be as lasting as the songs we sing! Songs are also one of the best tools we have for learning and remembering important things. Everything from from a preschooler’s “ABC’s” to Biggie’s “Mo Money, Mo Problems” can teach us in a way that sticks and stays. Join us this December as we take a look at some of the greatest Christmas songs that teach about the greatest story of God’s Love. Carols: The Story Behind the Songs We Sing.
This final installment of "Enemies of heart" wrestles with one of the most sneaky and corrosive emotions... Jealousy.
As we continue this series we touch on an enemy of the heart that has corrupted many to the core. We may not even know it but the American culture is full of greed. It has become normal to be greedy and the Bible teaches the opposite. If you struggle with greed or you want to be more like Christ, this episode is for you.
This is the big one. Anger is corruptive, and for most people, we don't recognize the symptoms until it is too late. It is truly an enemy of the heart and this week we tackle anger put it under a spotlight and give practical biblical teaching to eradicate it from your life.
With this new series, we take a week to discuss one of four enemies of the heart. Guilt is one that will stick with you and eat you alive if you don't address it and release it in a timely manner. The Bible is clear about what keeps our spiritual lives healthy and when we don't take care of our spiritual heart it will lead us to poor decision making and a life of regret. Jesus wants us to live life to the full and this week we talk about the first enemy and how to combat it.
As we wrap up this series we end with the most important character trait needed for being the hands and feet of Jesus. Humility is one that many people struggle with because it goes against our human nature, but we are taught all throughout God's word that it is essential for being like Jesus.
When the cell phone was first invented, it was a game changer! Instant communication across the city without having a landline. That's just one example of the many game changers we have experienced in our lifetime. This week we dive into the game changer that is the Gospel. It's such a game changer that you should be changed by it and live it out as Jesus explains to us. It's different and better than you think.
It took several weeks to get back from Florence, but here we are, our first week back at AMC theater. With everything that has happened, we decided to start a new series that is all about being the hands and feet of Jesus. The Church is the answer to the mess Florence left behind and to kick this week off we are reminded of an incredible life-changing story.
This week we have our youth leader, Patrick, share with us during our teaching time. He shares about one of the biggest obstacles we have in life, fear. Fear can be debilitating especially when we don't have a reason why to push on past it. Tune in this week as we dive into God's word and learn how we should approach fear.
This week we take a look at another iconic movie of the 90's "The Trueman Show." This movie launches us into God's word for learning about our identity. All of us struggle to some degree of finding our identity in the wrong things. Tune in this week to learn from the Bible to who God says you are and how to finally feel at peace with your identity.
This year for our "At The Movies" series we are going through 90's movies to use as a launch pad into God's word. Men in Black is a classic movie to start our series off with. It has a great mixture of action, sci-fi, and comedy with fantastic actors. The underlying theme of this film is one to glean some principals from. Tune in this week to learn how Christians are supposed to live in an opposing world.
We took all of our equipment and had our morning service at Hugh Macrae Park, and it was a perfect ending to this series. We strive to be God Chasing, Grace Shaped, Love Agents. There is a reason we have hope in Jesus and we need to share that with others. You don't want to miss out on this empowering ending to Manifesto.
Many things in life have shaped us into who we are today. "Grace Shaped" is one of our values at Venture and it simply means instead of being defined by our past, we are defined by God's grace. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us to have life to the full and it comes with a sense of peace that says you are not who you were anymore, but who you are in Christ.
It's always good to have a reminder of vision. A time set aside to recalculate and remember why we are doing what we are doing. Through this series "Manifesto" we are doing just that. We are taking three weeks to look at our core values and share the vision of why does Venture Church exist among many other churches in Wilmington.
In our last week of "Walk The Walk," we talk about the last of the nine fruit of the Spirit, self-control. It is a part of life in general that is challenging especially for the culture we live in where we can get what we want as fast as we want. Jesus' example and teaching pose a much better way to live with self-control and walking in His Spirit. It's simple, but it's not easy. It is worth every bit of self-control needed.
This week we have one of our elders, Brandon, speak for our teaching time. He is passionate about sharing the gospel in the workplace and shining light in dark places. He continues in our series walk the walk with the topic of faithfulness.
Jesus calls himself the vine and the Church his branches. This theme coincides with Walk the Walk because as we need to keep in step with the Spirit of God, likewise we need to stay in the vine. If you are feeling burnt out or lost in direction tune in this week to hear some practical wisdom on finding strength in Jesus, the vine.
As you continue to "Walk the Walk" or find your footing too, here is a teaching that is pertinent to your faith and foundation of who God is to His people. The Holy Spirit is the lifeblood of Christians in our day to day lives. You don't want to miss this week as we learn who the Holy Spirit is and why this is the essential teaching of this whole series.
As we continue in the fruit of the Spirit, we talk about the fourth part of the fruit which is patience. We all have experienced patience or a lack of it in stressful times. Being a fruit of God's Spirit, patience is something we need the Lord's help with. If you need patience or a boost of faith, tune in this week to discover patience through faith in Christ.
This week we have a fantastic guest speaker teach this morning. Patrick has spoken many times at Venture and his placement for this Sunday couldn't have been more perfect. He brings a fresh perspective on peace and reveals truths about what God's word says about what it is and how to achieve it through Jesus. If you are one that needs to feel rest and relief from stress then you need to tune in to this talk.
What makes you happy? Think about that for a second. In this series "Walk The Walk" we are going through the fruit of the Spirit and what it means to walk with the Spirit. As we talk about joy this week, the biggest misconception is the difference between joy and happiness biblically. If you feel that something is missing in life, tune in to this episode to find how you can find everlasting joy.
If you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk. Paul in the book of Galatians writes to the church in Galatia about walking in the Spirit. Over the next nine weeks, we will be walking through the fruit of the Holy Spirit and how important that is in our daily lives.
Jesus is the ultimate wilderness man. Today we dive into one of The hardest moments in His life when He was led into the wilderness for 40 days by the Holy Spirit. It is a powerful story that you don't want to miss.
The part of Elijah's story that we dive into today is breathtaking. God flexes His muscles by showing up in power through Elijah's obedience to God. There is an incredible lesson to learn from Elijah's story and how dangerous God can be about His truth.
Today we dive into the story of a man with superhuman strength. Seriously. This story even has a movie made after it that was released earlier this year. Though Samson's life is not a clear representation of how we should live, we can still glean spiritual truth's from his testimony and experiences that the Holy Spirit wants us to learn.
In this new series "Wilderness Men" we dive into the life of a wilderness man of the Bible each week to learn the lessons from their experiences. This week learn from Esau and how if we are not careful our appetites will define our legacy.
We often ask the question "Why?" It's common enough that we can get in a loophole of trying to answer this question for many things in life and Christianity is definitely one of them. This week we dive into some questions that can get us stuck and give the truthful answers that Jesus gives us.
Often times we get stuck in our circumstances. Something happened to you or you happen to something and you get stuck in the wake. Throughout the Bible, we see truths that stick out on this subject and this week we read about one in particular of Jesus healing a man who was physically stuck.
Each week in this series we will walk through a story of someone that is stuck in their circumstances and see how Jesus pulls them out of their situation. These stories are life bringing in the truth that is found when we encounter Jesus and the life He has for us.
Have you ever felt stuck? Whether in a relationship, in school, in your job, or whatever else there's times where we just hit the end of the day and just feel... stuck. Throughout Jesus' ministry we have stories like ours of people who are stuck in a situation and Jesus does what he always does. He meets them where they are at, loves them without borders, and paves the way out. If you feel stuck or need encouragement in your spiritual journey, this week is for you.
Can you think back to a day when everything seemed like it was falling out of place? It just ended up being one pitiful day. Jesus can relate to us in our bad days because He too had bad days. This week we dive into why Hope is rising and the hope that Jesus brings because of the outcome of this foretold very bad day.
As we are following the life of Jesus leading up to his foretold death and ressurection by His own power, we find ourselves this week diving into a party that Jesus is a part of. There is a moment within this party that shows the graceful character of Jesus and also the way our hearts should look like in devotion with Him.
In this new series "Hope Is Rising" we are following the life of Jesus and looking at specific moments leading up to His death and ressurection. We start with a very unique moment where Jesus rides into town on a donkey of all things; but there is also a spiritual significance that confirms even further that Jesus is truly the Messiah because of this donkey.
This week we have a guest speaker, Dave McCants, from Two Rivers Church in New Bern, NC. He has been the pastor of that Church from the start and has wisdom to share from his experiences and the growth they have seen in their church. This is directly following the ordaining of our first elders and this sermon is a great cap to the series Chain Reaction.
Today marks a very special moment in the history of Venture Church. In the New Testament there are several passages of scripture that elaborate on what the leadership of the Church should look like. Elders are a part of that process. It takes time and commitment to take on the role of being an elder of a church. So, as a church we have been praying for men to rise up and take this role on and four have accepted the calling. This is the recording of their ordination.
Living the great commission is what this series is all about. As a church we strive to be on mission for Jesus by being God Chasing Grace Shaped, Love Agents. We say this often to remind us of the purpose that Jesus gives everyone who follows Him. Wherever you are in your journey of faith, tune in this week to hear clearly the purpose and power in Jesus and why it is important that you give your life to Him.
We have a guest speaker sharing with us this week for our teaching time. His name is Glen Crocker. He is a middle school teacher from Washington, NC and with a heart wanting everyone to give their lives to Jesus he comes ready to challenge us to be bold in our faith.
For a chain reaction to occur there has to be a spark, starting point, or what we are calling the "Lead Domino." This piece is pinnacle to the rest of the chain because without it the other parts wouldn't do what they were placed there to do. You could probably name some lead dominoes that have led you to your job, significant other, school, etc. Jesus is calling all Christians to be the lead domino to others by discipling and sharing The Gospel with them.
Jesus offers the real thing. Not a fake substitute that will just get you by but truly what you have been looking for. Each of us are seeking for purpose or comfort in something. It's different for every person but Jesus came to earth, died, and rose from the grave by His own power to show us just how much He loves us. Not only that, but He wants you to know that to find the real meaning of life you have to learn the truth from Him.
Jesus gives us all an invitation to follow Him. That invitation is to a life of joy and purpose in His will. It's not easy but it is simple and every bit of guidance we need is found in Him and the Bible.
There are many things in life that leave a mark on us whether we want them to or not. Jesus calls everyone of us into a life with Him that will change us for eternity. He gives us the option to follow Him and be a part of His mission or to live life according to what we want and desire. Living life the way Jesus desires is how we were created to live. Tune in this week to help course correct your life to follow Jesus and to find joy and purpose in Him.
Whether you use New Year's resolutions as a spark or not, we all have goals that we want to accomplish. With 2018 taking off we hit the ground running as a church with a goal driving us that is, creating space in our lives for God to move. It's easy to fill our lives with filler that will never bring the hope and joy that Jesus brings. If you have a hard time following Jesus or are unsure where to start, this week is just for you.
This Christmas we decided to do something different with our service and have several pre recorded teaching moments flow throughout the service. This podcast is the cap to the videos which is spoken live. Head to https://youtu.be/ZG1zk6OvKh0 to start the first of three videos that set up this live podcast. This talk is one to dig in and remember the reason why Jesus came and why our lives should be devoted to Him.
To cap off this series, we take a look at some of the unsung heroes of the Christmas story. We learn quite a bit from their perspective and see a bigger picture of the heart of God through them.
Many of us are still asking the age old question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" With our priorities and goals constantly changing there is no wonder why many people aren'y content with their current job. There are many people with their dream job and still are feeling like they have no purpose. The truth is that contentment comes from Jesus and finding our purpose in Him. This week we ask those questions and find our how we can find purpose in Jesus.
In this new series Christmas for Misfits we introduce the Christmas Story as told by Luke. Whether you have heard this story many times or it is your first you don't want to miss the powerful truth we find in Luke chapter 2.
We tend to lean heavily on being busy as a good thing and being tired as meaning we've been productive. Production is huge in the society we live in today and what God teaches about rest is pivotal in how we live our lives according to what He wants for us. Believe it or not production is not the main goal He has for us. If you're tired and weary and need rest for your souls tune in this week to hear this amazing truth about resting in God's promises.
Money is such a huge part of our lives. So, it makes sense that Bible talks about it a lot. This week, we'll be looking at what it means God to put God first when it comes to our money; specifically what does the Bible have to say about "tithing?" Take a listen to this healthy approach to giving God your best.
What does it mean for us to give God “the best of me?” Well, this week we dive deeply into that question as we stand in front of a proverbial closet and chose what we will put on. This teaching is pivotal in knowing what it means to live a life that is focused on God.
Aaron, our worship minister at Venture, shares with us this morning about why we should find purpose in the Lord. If you're at a place in life where you wake up without much drive and are just going through the motions of life, tune in this week in how to find your purpose in Jesus and feel contentment like you've never felt before.
This week Patrick, our Youth group Leader and volunteer, brings the message in our series through the book of 1 Peter. Many times in our faith we get blide sided by testing situations, but Peter gives us forewarning of these moments. We learn this week that trials will come so have a different perspective throughout them.
The Gospel does not align with American culture in many ways. As Christians we are called to be holy, set apart, for God's purpose. Sometimes it can be a struggle to live for the Lord, but most of the time we just lose sight or don't know why it is even important to. Tune in this week as our very own, Logan, brings the message this Sunday on how to have different values in an unholy culture and why it is imperitive.
This week we kick off a new series through the book of 1st Peter. With recent events that have happened in the world it is easy to allow thoughts that disprove God's faithfulness arise. Throughout scripture there are even worse events than we've seen in our time in the world but God is always good and forever faithful. If you struggle with faith and trusting God or you just need to hear the good news of Jesus, you don't want to miss out this week as we kick off the series, Different.
Capping off this "At The Movies" series we end with an epic movie filled with courage. Fear has the potential to rule us if we let it. Most of the time we don't even realize that it has influence in our lives. This is a series ender you don't want to miss.
Whether you've seen the couple of movies or had the pleasure to read the books, The Chronicles Of Narnia is one epic series! This Sunday we use just the first movie, The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, as a launching point to get into the Bible. The writer, C.S. Lewis, purposefully wrote this story to correlate with Christianity. The parallels found in this series are a great way to teach about the sacrifice that Jesus gave to all mankind.
This week we have a special guest from Papua New Guinea, Brian Paris. He serves with Pioneer Bible Translators, an organization that strives to translate the Bible into languages that don't have readable versions yet. He shares several breathtaking stories and challenges with our Church that we would love for you to be challenged and encouraged by. Tune in this week to hear about the amazing things God is doing in Papua New Guinea.
Harry Potter is nothing without his friends. Yes he's very natural when it comes to learning spells and enchantments, but his friends are part of the victory at the end of the series along with Harry. There are similarities between the community found in this series and also the community found in the Bible. Tune in this week to learn some very important principles about community and why we need each other.
Every week during this series we use an epic movie as a launching pad to dive into the Bible. We kick off the series with one of the most epic movie series ever, "Star Wars." Through today's message we learn more about the Spirit of God and the war inside each and every one of us.
A lot has happened since Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai. Moses is continuing his life living for the glory of the Lord. There are years of wandering and years of battle, but yet Moses remains faithful to the Lord. Moses' character shines brightly through the mess they are in in these final chapters we have of his life. If you need encouragement and to know more about God through the Bible this message is for you.
The 10 Commandments are there for a reason and the reason is love. God loves us too much for us to live life in a degrading way to our souls and our bodies. He gave us Jesus and the 10 commandments to help with that and bring Him glory. You don't want to miss out on the truth behind the last 6 and how vital it is to understand their power in our lives.
Ever wondered why rules exist throughout the Bible? Why does God have commandments for people to follow? The main point is that God loves us more than we realize because He knows what's best for us. If the Ten Commandments have been something hard to swallow at times, tune in this week to see the truth behind it's purpose.
We tend to be a people that are very happy in the mountain tops but then flip to extremely sad in the vallys. We forget who is really in control through both the highs and the lows. The people in in the Bible are the exact same. We see just how faitfhul God is to His people and how He will never fail us even when we fail Him.
Here we are at the part of Moses' story that brings us the title of this book, Exodus. We arrive at the most famous part of the story when God is performing nation wide miracles. Amazing things that even Pixar in all their video production glory couldn't even begin to recreate on screen. Finally by the end of the story Pharoh relents and a huge change happens when the people of Israel are set free.
We continue on with week two of this series through the book of Exodus. Last week we read about Moses hearing the voice of God and witnessing His power through a burning bush. We pick up to when God performs some even more incredible miracles before Moses heads out to Egypt. There is an applicable point that we learn from this story that you don't want to miss. Tune in this week for week two through the life of Moses.
Over the next several weeks we will be following the life of Moses through the book of Exodus. This week we start with a bit of back story on where we are in history in the Bible. We also cover the first three chapters of Exodus and share a powerful truth about God and His power. This series is filled with miracles and moments that will blow your mind in how incredible the God of Abraham is. Tune in this week as we share the first big challenge Moses has had to face and how God uses him through it.
Do you ever have the feeling that you just want to do better in life? That you want to make a difference? That you want to be a better parent, friend or spouse? Jesus shares in John 15 a powerful truth that will bring light to that yearning. Jesus calls Himself the vine and then calls us the branches. That if we remain in Him we will bear much fruit. The thought is a bit abstract but extremely foundational for Christianity. Tune in this week as we ellaborate on this solid truth to grow our faith to bear much fruit in this life.
This week we are at Hugh Macrae Park! Every year we have Church at the park and it is a wonderful time to sing to God and hear His word in His creation. We continue the series "I Am" by staying in John chapter 10 for another "I Am" statement from Jesus. Tune in this week and hear how Jesus is the good shepherd.
Throughout this series we are reading through every "I Am" statement Jesus says about himself. This week we land in John chapter 10 and read through a very famous parable that Jesus teaches on. We learn about several qualities about Jesus that are vital to the christian walk. Continue on this journey with us through the book of John to learn more about the character of Jesus.
Jesus has several statements in the book of John that begin with "I am." After these, each time Jesus begins to describe himself to everyone listening in a way that is extremely eye opening. He is handing over the keys to The Kingdom of God. He's handing over truth to us that is life changing. This series we go through all of those statements to learn from the words of Jesus himself.
We are kicking off a new teaching series this week called "I Am." We will be going through the 7 statements Jesus claims about himself. Statements like, "I am the bread of life" can be confusing to hear out of the mouth of Jesus. It was even confusing at times for His followers. But thankfully Jesus explains himself and throughout the series we will be diving in to the truth that He is who He says He is and why that is vital to our day to day lives.
True redemption is hard to find at times. When we make mistakes or have regrets of any kind it is tough to turn them fuel for a better future. As we wrap up the final week of Starting Over, Patrick shares a wonderful story from the book of Ruth about redemption. The truth is that through Jesus and the promises of God he truly wants to redeem every bit of pain and sorrow in your life into something more beautiful than we could ever do with it ourselves. You don't want to miss out on this final week of Starting Over and hearing about the life you can have beyond your regrets.
Once we have recognized the regrets we have encountered the next step is to forgive. Forgive yourself and ultimately forgive the other parties involved in your regrets. Forgiveness is at the center of God's heart and this week we learn the ins and outs of what forgiveness is and more importantly what it is not. Through the words of Jesus we find his never ending promises and his never ending forgiveness.
A huge part of the healing process through our many regrets are first recognizing the wrong that has happened. Whether we committed it, it happened to us, or it is something that we have ignored it is vital that we recognize that it is there so that we can take the next steps to truly giving it all to God for healing to happen. It is possible to start over, but only through the path that Jesus sets before us can we feel really clean from it all.
It's Easter Sunday this week and we start with a new series that is all about sharing what Jesus has done for us. We all have regrets, but Jesus gives us life beyond each and every one of them. There is nothing that you have or haven't done that He can't give you grace for. He is faithful to the end and on this Sunday we celebrate more than ever the most important thing Jesus brought for all of humanity, a chance to start over. Listen in this week about the true grace of Jesus and how massively life changing this is for you.
On our last week of "Lamplighters" we learn about the most important part that light brings. It is the moment when we find what we are looking for! Say we have illumnation and we have the navigation to get us there but if you never find it then what's the point? The creator of the universe celebrates with all the heavens when we turn away from life in darkness and give it to Him the maker of the light. Join us this week as we celebrate what Jesus has done for us and learn about the true loving and forgiving heart of God.
As we continue with this three part series "Lamplighters" we go over the second property that light brings us, navigation. Once the light illuminates our surroundings it shows us the ins and outs of the path ahead. Jesus provides navigation for us as we seek for truth in our lives. When we look to the Bible we find out purpose and truth beyond what this world can give us. Tune in this week as we learn about the truth in the light of Jesus.
Back in the day when we did not have electric lighting in cities there was a very important role, the lamp lighter. He or she would light lamps throughout the city streets to provide guidance and safety for the citizens. Jesus claimed to be the light of the world to all mankind. A different light than just a bright room or street but the brightest light in our soul to provide hope and rescue beyond all other. He proved this in many ways, but now if you are a follower of Jesus we have an opportunity and responsibility, to shine that same light of Jesus into the world. Tune in this week as we start a brand new teaching series, Lamp Lighters.
Finalizing this series through Galatians could not end on a better note. We land in a passage that is so challenging but yet so freeing if we put it into practice. The truths that we learn through the ending of Galatians and the principles of the Bible are what truly set us free from our chains that hold us back from the life that God designed us to live. Tune in this week as we hear Patrick close this series out with the life changing truths at the end of Galatians.
Jesus sets us free by offering grace and mercy, but also adoption into His Kingdom. The reason we end up chained in life alot of times is because we allow things of the world to take higher value than God in our hearts. Jesus offers redemption from all of our wrongs and invites us into His family. By making Him the highest of value in your heart and calling on his name for strength in life it sets us free from all guilt and shame. Turn to Galatians 3 and 4 for this great truth we find from the writer Paul.
As we continue to go through the book of Galatians we wrap up chapter two with one compelling story that the writer Paul gives us. One that we believe could dramatically change your heart to be more of a Christ follower and live how God designed us to live. Learning about the grace of God and seeing how He loves His creation is powerful. Join us in continuing to learn about how to be unchained from all the things that hold us back from a better life with Christ.
In this series "Unchained" we are going through the whole book of Galatians. One of the smaller letters Paul writes in the New Testament but filled with wisdom and truth that we should abide by. Tune in this week to hear the good news of Jesus and the freedom His sacrifice brings if we choose to accept it!
Have you ever had the question, "why Sunday morning services"? Through this series we have been diving in to the elements of Sunday morning but this morning we dissect why we should be a part of Sunday morning regularly. We talk about the importance of community and the reason that the Church as a whole exists. This week is one of the most applicable talks of the series and we hope this brings you truth and life through the gospel of Jesus.
As we continue in this series of diving into why Sunday morning looks like it does, we talk about a topic that is close to the heart of God and that is generosity with our money. In the teaching time this morning we talk about why we have an offering, where the "tithe" comes from, and most importantly why our God wants us to give. We understand that the thought of talking about money on stage from a church might be a red flag in your mind, but I hope you give us 37 minutes to show you the heart of God when it comes to generoisty. It's not about giving to Venture, it's about trusting God with everything you have.
Is it just bread and juice? Why is it important at Venture Church to share in communion every Sunday? What is communion really even for? Our hope through this "Dissecting Sunday" series is that we all see the value in why we do what we do in Sunday morning services. Communion was a core value for the early church in the Bible, so we do the same because it was valuble to them. There are more answered questions and great truths from the Bible about communion in this talk. Tune in this week to see what the purpose is in communion.
Through this Dissecting Sunday series we have learned quite a bit about Sunday services and the value of the different elements. This week we dive into a topic that is very dear to God's heart, singing to Him. Praising and worshipping God is very important in our walk of faith. This week we take the time to see the value in singing and praising God and how we should take high value in it as well.
Church services are different than most gatherings in around the world. There are elements that you only find in organized religion and some that aren't. With everything we do at Venture we want to have purpose and value behind it. So, with this series we dissect and explain why as a church we do what we do. Why as Christians are these principles important in not only church but in our week to week living. Tune in this week to learn why we preach!
You ever wonder why church is even a thing? Why people congregate together on a Sunday? Why there are songs, teaching, and offering? Well, in this seven week series we are going to dissect Sunday. We are going to go through all the asspects of our church service and show how they all point back to the Bible and how the early church glorified God. Tune in this week to learn about Worship.
Every year at Venture we celebrate the birth of Jesus with a unique service to glorify Him and teach. This year we had an interactive service that was a narrative of the story fo Jesus and how important His light is in our lives. Chris shares a snippet on how valuable light is in our lives and that Jesus is the only true light in this world.
As we wrap up this series we can't help but see that God had a plan to send Jesus to the world long before He came. We see a plethora of prophecies of Jesus coming to earth that are so detailed it will blow your mind. This week we look at a handful of those prophecies and see just how good God is with his plans, plans, plans.
We cover one classic story from the life of Daniel today. Daniel in the lion's den is a famous story and for many reasons. We can find a heaping amount of wisdom from Daniel's reactions to trials in life. This week especially we have three applicable life traits that we can learn from Daniel's story. Tune in this weke to learn those and find strength in the Lord when all hope is lost.
The story of Daniel take a slight turn as we learn about the outcome of not holding fast to God. Learning that He is in control is tough but passages like the one we read today will help see that God has a different perspective to work all things out for the good of those who love Him.
The beauty of Jesus is that forgiveness is near. Closer than you think. It doesn't come at a price other than surrender to God and His way of living. Confronting sin can be a scary thing, because we know how hard those troubles are and we may think that God doesn't want that. Truly, God wants every bit of us. He wants to take that darkness and turn it into wonderful light that can change lives. Tune in this week as we continue to learn through Daniel and his experiences with confronting sin.
What do you do when you reach the end of you? This week we dive into the second chapter of the book of Daniel and we find that there is a moment that it very well could've been the end of Daniel's life, but his response is one that we should mimic in times of despair. Tune in this week for what our response should be when we reach the end of ourselves.
This whole series we will go through the life of Daniel. Daniel was known for many things and one the one thing we learn from this week is how he stood out from everyone else. He always stayed faithful to what God wanted no matter how bad the consequences. Following the Lord is worth it all and we learn how to do that through Daniel this week.
We do Compassion Sunday at Venture every year. We say at Venture that "kids matter." They matter to us as we want to teach them to be God chasers but also, God our father loves them. Compassion International is an organization that thrives to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. So this Sunday we talk about Compassion International and how YOU can release a child from poverty and change their life forever.
Stand firm. Through your trials, through your past and future, through the lack of finances, and through your anxiety; stand firm! Paul encourages us through Philippians as we wrap up the series with a great tagline to remember. If Jesus is on our side and we are seeking Him for life, then standing firm is all we need to do to get through every trial. Learn this week how you too can stand firm and let the peace of God bring you hope.
There is a choice in every path in life. Many times we don't think through them we just react. God has a plan for our lives that includes everything we ever need. Instead of reacting through life he wants us to choose him and His ways. This week is all about getting a game plan together to get your life in tune with what goodness God has for your life.
With the new rise in production of super hero movies every viewer loves to see the Hulk destroy everything in his path. Unfortunately for him he wishes he didn't have to keep his anger at bay every single moment of the day. Many of us have an inner hulk. Whether it is anger or another struggle we hulk out on when it gets triggered. Jesus combats our darkness with light. A well that will never run dry. Learn this week about the promises of Jesus and how He never fails at bringing hope to a hopeless world.
One of the most famous line of super hero movies has got to be the Batman movies. From the late 60's to today there have been consistent desire for batman movies and shows. This week we dive into Bruce Wayne's life story, aka. Batman, as a launching point to get into the Bible. Bruce had a lot of pain to deal with including the death of His family, loneliness, a corrupt city, and many more. Bruce handled his pain the wrong way, this morning we teach about how Jesus wants us to handle our pain and the peace that He brings through life with Him.
Every year Venture Church does a past year recap and state of where we are as a church body. This Sunday is just that plus more. Instead of just looking back to see what God has done through our church, we want to look towards the future of what we hope to accomplish for the Kingdom of God. At Venture we want to make shining light in dark places our heartbeat as a church. Will you join us? Tune in this week for where we've been but more importantly where we hope to go through the lens of Christ.
Fear drives most of us to do what we do. The fear of losing your job, letting down your spouse, not being enough. The list goes on and on. The Bible talks about fearing the Lord and to put our faith in Him. By trusting God and choosing faith above fear is how He wants us to live and ultimately is the best way to live in this life. In this series, we use super hero movies as launching pads to dive into spiritual truths throughout the bible. So, tune in this week to hear how to overcome great fear with a super hero twist!
In this series, we will be using super hero movies as launching pads to get into deeper spiritual truth in the Bible. This week we are using Captain America, who was once a nobody but became a "Super Soldier." Through Christ we are given a fresh start in life but also the gift of the Holy Spirit, the power of Christ in us and around us. God brings us back to life in so many ways and you do not want to miss out this week as we learn about how awesome the Holy Spirit is.
This Sunday we left the walls behind and went to Hugh Macrae park for our Sunday morning service. You may hear crickets and some wind but we finish up the book of Jonah with a great ending. If you've been following this series or this is your first time tuning it, it is a great encouragement to not give up and continue pressing on in life towards Jesus.
Jonah has been through a lot in the past two chapters. Running away from God did not do what He hoped, but instead brought him to the inevitable, still having the same call that God began with. Many of us see or hear signs from God but we don't know what they are. Sometimes we even just completely deny those signs. We hope you listen in to the second chance that Jesus has to offer. No matter what you've done or how far you've run God wants you to know that He loves you and He wants to redeem you and give you unspeakable joy.
This week we continue on in Chapter two through the book of Jonah. This story has ups and downs like no other and there are many life lessons we can learn throughout. Whether you've heard this story or just jumping in, take a dive into week 2 of "Jonah, A Man On The Run."
The book of Jonah is a small book in the bible with incredible power. The story of Jonah is relatable on many levels and is great story to read about the power of God, the providence He brings, and the safety that arrives when we seek and follow Him. Tune in this week as we go through chapter one of four through "Jonah, Man On The Run."
This week at Venture we have a guest speaker wrapping this sermon series up! His name is Roger Burns and he is going to plant a church in Jacksonville come this spring. Check out "Restore Church" at restorejax.church and tune in to this week's sermon to hear a bit about it along with The final chapter of our sermon series "Beautiful Contrast."
The word judge has many different meanings to it that we tend to throw around. Some negative and some positive but none the less we tend to judge everyone or everything we come in contact with. Jesus teaches us the right way to view life and at Venture we want to do just that. Tune in this week to learn about Jesus' view on judgement.
Worrying is a common response to situations in life but Jesus makes a point to say that there is a better way to live. By our own strength we are still human but by seeking Jesus first in life He promises that all of our needs will be met. Trusting God and not worrying about life is tough but Jesus brings peace and joy through seeking Him first.
Thinking of how quick our lives come and go there are many things we seek after that in the end are meaningless. Jesus talks about storing up treasures in heaven and how important it is to follow Him versus living for ourselves.
Christianity is all about following Christ with our lives by loving God and loving others like Jesus did. In order to love God back we need to have constant relationship Him even more so than our best friends and spouses. That leads to the often thought of how do we approach God? How do I talk to him? How to I follow Him? By diving into the words of Jesus Himself, we answer these questions.
Jesus is the beautiful contrast to the world. He contrasts the world by always responding with love and grace instead of hate and revenge. He calls us to do the very same thing. Every week in this series we are breaking down pieces of Jesus' most famous sermon, "The Sermon on The Mount." This week we learn about humility and forgiveness through the powerful words of Jesus.
Lying affects the world we live in every day. It is extremely easy to tell a fib to cover our backs or more often cover our friend's back. This week we learn about the truth that Jesus tells in "The Sermon On The Mount" that have to deal with lying and backing out of commitments. Though the truth is harder to tell sometimes and some commitments are even harder to maintain, building a strong Christ like character and telling the truth always like Jesus is the greatest way to live our lives.
Throughout this sermon series we are teaching through a famous passage of the Bible called "The Sermon On The Mount." Throughout this whole passage Jesus preaches the truth about different topics and questions we all have sometime or another. This specific week we come to a portion where Jesus talks about adultery, divorce, and sex. We want to warn you that some of the portions of this may be PG-13. But, we promise to try our absolute best to speak only the truths that are in the Bible. No matter what your marital status is you don't want to miss out on this week's message.
Jesus was topical often when teaching to His disciples or in crowds. Anger is definitely one of those topics. With statements that grind against what the norm is for our culture Jesus states the truth and nothing but to bring us close to Him and learn how to deal with anger. Anger can consume us. So, tune in this week to hear how Jesus is the answer.
This week at Venture we welcome home Maria Hall. Maria left about a year ago to go on the World Race which takes you to 11 countries in 11 months as a missionary to each country. We are excited to hear from her journey, what God has shown her, and what God has taught her. You don't want to miss this podcast. You'll hear about mind blowing stories and full of the power of God. Tune in this week to hear about how amazing God is.
Leaving a legacy seems to be something important across the board for mankind. If you died today, what do you think people would remember you for? There should be only one reason to live, to make Jesus known. With that as your purpose in life God will show you a much better way to live than for ourselves.
Jesus' teaching throughout the Bible seems farfetched at times. Backwards from what our western society teaches, Jesus teaches the last will be first and the first will be last... As different as His teachings are, they are true and by following them they bring life to the full. Tune in this week as we dissect the beginning of "The Sermon On The Mount" and how we can live a life to the full.
Feeling worthless is a common struggle in our society. The truth is that Jesus still died for you in love so that you could be with Him forever. God wants to bring value to your life and show you that He is worth being confident in. Give God control of your life. It's worth it!
We've talked about the "Rest Of Us," now it is time to talk about God. Who He is, and what that means for us. Why does it even matter that a God is for mankind? Tune in this week to learn about the character of God.
God is for you. No matter what you are going through God is for you. He wants you to win. He wants you to be filled with unending joy. Sometimes the masks of our lives just get in the way of that. Let's let the love of Jesus, who loves us for who we are under the mask, shine through.
You may think your family is the craziest family out there and you just may be right about that but, God can work through the dysfunction. Jesus had a dysfunctional family himself. He can relate to us in the same way and He also brings life throughout it all.
Do you have doubts? Do you have a hard time believing and diving in to what the Bible has to say? It can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes to read verses from the Bible and take it all in. Every week at Venture we like to tear down the walls that have kept people away from Church. This week I hope you can find some confidence to know that God truly loves you and He offers rest and grace beyond what we can even imagine. The good news that God's son Jesus has come, died, and resurrected to life, "The Gospel," can be challenging at times to believe but we have evidence in the Bible and even outside of it to prove that God is real and He has done everything He said He did and wants to have a loving relationship with you.
It's Easter Sunday and what a great time to start a new series that truly depicts the love of God. There is sometimes this stereotype Christianity gets that God only loves the people who "have it all together" or the people who are "super spiritual," but the truth is God's love in unconditional, God is for the rest of us. We can't earn God's love or can we lose it. He loves us relentlessly and that's what the Easter story is about. He loved us so much He sent His son to die for us so that we could spend eternity with God. What a loving God. Tune in this week to hear the truth that God is for you and wants to bring you rest.
This week we invite a guest speaker, Roger Burns, to bring a message that suits the end of the book of Acts very well. Acts ends with "The Church" multiplying by planting more and more local churches. Roger Burns has accepted the calling to plant a church in a local city of Jacksonville, NC. He is an excellent communicator and one who you can't help but notice he loves Jesus and wants to serve Him. Tune in this week to a powerful message where Roger shares his story and how impactful it can be for yours.
Ending this series with a bang! "Acts: When God Sparks A Movement" has been a great time of learning and exploring the book of Acts for Venture Church. Learning about the early church and all the things they had to go through at the beginning, seeing the power of the Holy Spirit and reading the acts of the apostles has been very building for our faith. As you listen to this week we hope that you are left empowered to know that it just takes a spark to start a fire. Share God's story by sharing your story. The power of the words comes from His Spirit and He will change lives, just be obedient. We hope you enjoy this week in capping this 8 week series.
When you don't have access to the one thing you want it can be frustrating at times. We find in the Bible many times where God promises that when we call He will answer. That He is by our side all the time in life. Accessibility is one of God's specialties. Being faithful in all His ways, He sent down His spirit when Jesus ascended and provides instant access to Him. This week diving in the book of Acts, we follow Paul to the city of Athens and hear about His great journey. Tune in this week to see the story of Paul and hear the truths about the accessibility of God.
Bacon Sunday! This morning at Venture for a creative element we passed out freshly cooked bacon. Not just because we thought it would be awesome, although c'mon it really is, but mainly because where the book of acts leads us today is a very important day for the whole world at the time of this chapter. Everyone is included. Our word this week is inclusion for one purpose, God extends his love to everyone in this chapter. We go into the history of what God was doing up until this moment to leave us with a wonderful thing that God has invited us to be a part of His kingdom. All of us.
We apologize for a a delay in the recoding process occurred. The audio recording starts about 5 minutes in right where Chris, our pastor, is talking about who Saul is. He gives his history and his background of how he got to where we pick up in chapter 9. Transformation is one of the best words to help describe the story that encompasses the book of Acts. Transformation is what Jesus brings and why the Gospel is preached still to this day. Jesus didn't die for some small reason or thing. He died so that we could be transformed from our dead way of life in darkness walk in a fresh and newness of life. Seriously life changing. I hope you enjoying learning about the transformation God brings through Jesus.
As the story progresses in the book of Acts, the conflict starts to build. Where we ended last week in a miracle and Peter and John being bold, we pick up in the next couple of chapters with Stephen standing up for what's right. If Jesus is worth following, then He is worth following no matter what. Stephen encounters the same opposers to Christianity that we learned about last week except they are more persistent in their "law." Through Stephens bold actions and threat to the church the remaining christians scatter. You don't want to miss this week's vital part of the story of Acts!
It's happening. The truth about Jesus resurrecting from the grave is spreading. In just two chapters we see the number of Jesus followers going from about four thousand to fifteen thousand! We see, by the power of Jesus, a crippled man healed of his physical limitations to being able to run around. We see most importantly, the BOLDNESS of what happens when we listen to Jesus and let His spirit speak for us in times of need. We see when we are bold for the sake of Christ He always has our back and our best interest in mind. After all, he did die for us, in our place so that we can spend eternity with no suffering or pain. Listen in this week about the boldness of the apostles of Jesus.
God is definitely sparking a movement and this is just the beginning. Acts chapter 2 is one of the biggest moments in the new testament because Jesus' promise before He ascended heaven became true! The Holy Spirit came down, A.K.A. the Helper, and changed things on that day and still is rocking people's worlds to this day. The Holy Spirit is Jesus' promise that He said is His spirit moving around and living inside of us. That may sound a bit sketchy but the truths behind it are filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That's the fruit of God's spirit. Tune in this week to learn about God's spirit and how vital it is for us to know him and to be baptized for this wonderful gift he has given us!
There are many books of the bible that we can find life lessons from, learn about history, and also see the character of God throughout it all. Acts is one of the books of the bible that is filled to the brim with stories and adventures of the early church exponentially growing because God is real, He is alive and has an infinite amount of love for the people on this earth. That's why we are taking eight straight weeks to cover the whole book of acts and learn from the stories and many life changing truths that are found in this book. Tune in this week to part one of this series, "Wait."
This week we are capping off this series with more than just some pointers on how to pray. Prayer builds our faith more than we know. It is a vital piece of our relationship with God. The past two weeks we've covered a multitude of truths about prayer, but we end this series with one that sums up what God really wants from us. God doesn't just want some time with us, He wants our lives. Much like a couple just getting married, going from just spending time together to spending their lives together, we see that God wants us to spend our lives with Him. Tune in this week for a challenging message about prayer.
Prayer can be a tough thing at times especially when we are used to conversations always being two ways. When we look at the bible we see Jesus praying to His father often. This week at Venture we want to share the humbling truths about prayer and the help Jesus gives us on this topic. First thing is first... We need to know who we are praying to. God is always there and always listening. Let's listen in and follow Jesus' example of prayer.
Sometimes prayer can be a hard thing to swallow. Looking at prayer and what encompasses it, we can easily feel like there is no power behind it or just coincidence. At Venture, we look to the Bible for the answers to life's most important questions and questions about prayers are extremely important. Prayer is a vital part of our relationship with God and that's why we want to kick this year off with the truth about prayer. There is absolutely power in prayer. Not only is there power in prayer but we can have bold faith that through prayer God hears us, answers us, and always provides for our needs. Tune in this week to an excellent faith building talk on why we should pray.
Jesus had a good amount of irregular responses to statements that were made about him. Throughout the first four books of the New Testament, commonly called "The Gospels," we have a great amount of accounts with a group of people called the Pharisees, teachers of the law. They questioned Jesus' authority, thought he was blaspheming, and straight up didn't like him because he was paving a new way that they couldn't comprehend. Today we dive into three wonderful responses that shows the heart of Jesus and how he celebrates when the lost are found. He loves sinners. So much that He doesn't care what people think about the perfect Messiah sharing life with the lowest of the low in society. He just wants to show compassion to the people in need. Tune in this week to hear Jesus' mission to seek and save the lost.
This week we cover a topic that may have tainted a lot of views of the church. Either by miscommunication or unbiblical teachings talking about money in church will be the point of when people stop coming to church or hate the church for that matter. At Venture Church we want to teach the truth that Jesus taught. The living record of the New Testament in the Bible is all truth that we share on Sunday mornings and this week we do talk about money and how to bring God glory through it. We talk about misconceptions of money and how God doesn't hate money or the rich, but He does have specific principles that deal with money that are extremely valuable that we can't look pass. This week is a great week no matter where you are in your faith towards Jesus to hopefully help us understand that God wants what's absolutely best for us.
Compassion International's missions is "Releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name." They do such a great job that we as a church have what is called a "Compassion Sunday" where we share the heart of God for His people, especially children, and give a practical way through compassion to meet the needs of kids who live in poverty. Through Compassion you can sponsor a child for just 38 dollars a month and that pays for their food, education, medical needs, and most importantly gets them plugged in to a local church body. It is a wonderful organization. This Sunday we talk about God's heart for the people on this earth and how we can make a difference in those same lives for His glory.
We are ending this battleground series with a battle we are all up against. The writer of Ephesians closes out his letter with a powerful message that all should know. We are up against more than flesh and blood. There is a spiritual battle going on that surrounds this world and we need to know that God has given us tools for our protection and for our fight. Join in this week as we go through the last chapter of Ephesians and learn about the armor of God.
In our day and age it is easy to sway with what looks, feels, and seems good at the time. There's normally a "better" option or even seems to be the best option until we realize that there is something greater coming and we switch. This week we go through the last couple of chapters in Ephesians and see what it truly means to stand firm and realize that Christianity is not about convenience. It isn't convenient to be a Christian, but, it is absolutely worth every second. God in all of His glory provides beyond means we can imagine. Listen in to this week as we continue in to the truth and confidence we have in Jesus.
Somewhere in our lives we have cracks on the surface that lead to something more at our core. Depending on the situation, it is easy for us to paint over the cracks or take those problems and brush them under the rug. This week we hear from Venture's Worship Minister, Aaron, to continue through the book of Ephesians. Is there a crisis at our core that we are ignoring? Is there a better way in life to address these situations and let God show us the way he designed us to live? Listen in to this week as we continue this series battleground.
Every week during "Battleground" we have been going through the book of Ephesians. Ephesians is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. This week we dive into the second chapter of this powerful book learning about an important history on Ephesus and also important meaning of this whole letter. Chapter 2 has a heaping amount of biblical truth in it that is a wonderful message to listen to. We hope you enjoy hearing about the grace of God and how freely He gives.
Identity theft is not a pretty sight. If you've ever been a victim or know someone who has been through reclaiming their "identity" it's a strenuous process. During this series we talk about a "battleground" or this constant daily walk of life and there are moments that we don't know who we are. This Sunday we learn about our Identity in God and how it is not achieved but received. God loved us before we even had a chance to offer him anything in return. He created us in His image and this week we learn about our true Identity in God.
You want the truth about the church? You want to know why Christianity is exponentially growing? It's been 2000 years since the first gatherings of "Christians" spreading the good news that God has come down in love to bring us eternal life. This news is commonly called "The Gospel." This week we dive into the beginning principles of "The Church." All about where the church came from, why it matters, and how it can completely change our life. What a great ending to Rethink Social.
Work can be dominating at times. While we are growing up our lives are focused to mold us into workers. Sometimes life takes us a different route but either way work can be dominating. This week Chris speaks truth about the realities of work and how God truly wants us to rethink what "work" is. What is our job? What is our purpose and why? This week there are some excellent questions asked and answered through the Bible that are excellent spiritual fuel for your mind. Check it out. We apologize about the crackling sound for the first half. It will clear up about thirteen minutes in.
In this series we are looking at important topics to return to the principles and foundation of how God designed them. As we continue in life different personalities, societies, and events shape our way of thinking. Growing up in this world we live in it is easy to see we don't have it all together. Even though we don't have life figured out we can rethink some major topics that impact everyone around us. Today we talk about our marriages. Whether you're married or not this Sunday is still filled with vital truth of how we should love one another and how important it is to abide by what God says. Tune in as Chris talks about the tough topic of marriage.
Rethink it. Absolutely serious. As life continues on when we hear social we think that media is soon to come right after it. That's not the case with this series. Although, some talk will be had about social media because of its grip on society, we will mostly be focusing on the plan that God has for our lives socially outside of the media world and into the deep roots of the clockwork. This includes this first week in which we dive into the foundation of interpersonal relationships. Why do we need to know God's plan for our social life? We were created to be in community. This Sunday, Chris elaborates on healthy ways to grow towards God and towards others.
"Wax on, wax off." That phrase, coined from the 80's movie "Karate Kid," is a constant classic even in society today. Every week in this series "Throwback" we have used classic 80's movies as a launching pad into the Bible. This week at Venture we talk about the "wax on, wax offs" of Christianity, spiritual disciplines. Like any time in life discipline is tough. Whether giving it, receiving it, or disciplining yourself it takes time, effort and a truck load of patience. Good thing we have a God who loves unconditionally and is full of grace. Tune in to this week's message for a great approach to starting or keeping the gears turning towards Jesus Christ.
During this week of Throwback, we use "The Goonies" as a platform to talk about our goals on our adventure in life. There are all kinds of different obstacles in life and at times we may get discouraged if we aren't able to cross them with flying colors but the goal of Christianity is not to be the best. It's not to be first. It's not to win. The bible talks about how trials will come but to remember that we are all a part of the BODY of Christ and we are in this together. The goal is to love. Listen in to this week to be encouraged by the biblical truths Patrick shares with us today.
In this series "Throwback," we use classic movies from the 80's as a launching pad for learning about Jesus. The list of movies was massive because truly... The list of classic 80's movies goes on longer than the amount of girls crushing Justin Bieber's selfies. None the less our first movie we chose to launch into the bible through "Back To The Future." Taking it back... really. The plot for this message today is mainly the story of how omnipotent but yet so compassionate God is. Jesus is real and the truth about His 33 years of living will bring new life into your bones. Check it out!
This Sunday we left the walls behind and had a service outside at the wonderful Hugh Macrae park! A great Sunday morning to be had with a scene change for Venture Church. This morning was a statement to say that the church is not a building and it's not even the place. Church is a body of believers. At Venture Chris brought a very practical message to remind us the simple principal of "what you pour in is ALWAYS what you pour out." There is truly no such thing at magic. God has promises and he keeps them. I encourage you to listen to the promises of His son Jesus that Chris shares this morning.
To finalize this sermon series up we end with a bang on "Love Agents." We go through a passage this week that talks about how God IS love. It's his very being, his very essence is love. At Venture Church we strive to be God Chasing, Grace Shaped, Love Agents. Love Agents being an important part of the Christian walk. It's not only a commandment from Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves but also the very way we show Jesus love. Jesus, the son of God, said that when we serve the least of these it is like we are serving Him. So by loving our neighbors, friends, family, and strangers we are showing Jesus love. This week encapsulates why we should love and why the love for God is essential to life.
Many things shape us in this world (money, relationships, tragedy, freedom...) and at Venture Church, part of our Manifesto is to be "Grace Shaped." Shaped by the grace of God. We walk into a room full of people with a ball of clay (our life) shaped by the pain or joys of life. Instead of allowing those things to define us we strive to be shaped by the grace of God. God's son Jesus came down and paid the price for our sins so that we are no longer slaves. Listen in today to hear about the hope we have in Jesus Christ!
A manifesto is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer. So throughout this three week series we focus on why Venture Church strives to be God Chasing, Grace Shaped, Love Agents. We look to The Bible as always and see the clear principles on which Jesus taught and apply those to our church vision. This week as we kick it off we dive to an unordinary story of two kings and how their story unfolds of chasing God and not chasing God.
Venture had a guest speaker, Neal Alligood, come in and share a conversation we find in John chapter 6. A powerful conversation to say the least because Jesus feeds over 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread, 2 fish and his miraculous power. He takes what was given and multiplies it to feed 5000 people! Wow. This week Neal brings a hard driving question that we truly need to ask ourselves, "Are we chasing what really matters?" Jesus truly has the power and many times the things we seek lie about the power they have. Take time to listen up to the ending of Conversations with Jesus.
99 percent of you listeners probably don't have sheep... and that's okay. As for the 1 percent, you rock. Now certainly the passage Chris is talking about this week is not referring to literal sheep. They need to be fed as well but this conversation we look at today will show some of Jesus' true character and great responses to questions. Check it out!
There are many conversations that we find with Jesus in the Bible, but this week we went over the thought of, how did those conversations get started? Not even how but why? Why did people even want to talk to Jesus? Patrick Harrison, our Youth Minister, talks about the importance of the content of the conversations had but also how they were started. We hope you enjoy!
Conversations with Jesus didn't always happen when He was walking this earth. He indeed speak to people after he died, used His own power to rise from the grave, and then ascend into heaven. Yes, your eyes didn't deceive you. He did all those things. Not only was his death and resurrection important but one conversation he had with a bitter hearted man changed the history of the Church. We have record of that conversation and the revolution that sprouted from it. This week our very own Dylan Owney, a missionary through "Surfing The Nations," shares this conversation and the importance of the dialogue. You can see more of the mission of STN while also supporting him in sharing the light of Jesus here... https://surfingthenations.dntly.com/fundraiser/3684#/donate We hope you enjoy.
Real talk. Jesus was a real man but also a real God at the same time. He came to this earth to live life among His creation and we have reliable record of His conversations with people. During this series we are going to take six weeks to look at six conversations during the life of Jesus. This week we get a birds eye view of a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus. With an answer to the question "What does it mean to be 'born again'?" you don't want to miss out on why this conversation is important!
Our mouths have more power than we give them credit. Generally we accept the fact that we can't unsay our words, but why do we continue to be okay with slander, gossip, and lying? Why do we allow our words to come out the way they do? Well, out of the heart, the mouth speaks. This week we learn about why Solomon wrote 1/6th of the book of proverbs all about watching what we say. So join in with us to become a generation that seeks wise words from a pure heart than easy words from a burdened heart.
When learning about what true wisdom is and how to apply wisdom we also have to talk about how to gain wisdom. This week's title nails it on the head, "It Doesn't Just Happen." When it comes to wisdom there needs to be action not only to apply what we've learned but to seek wisdom in the right places. This week our youth minister, Patrick Harrison, shares not only his take on how to seek wisdom but we also see in the book of Proverbs how.
When talking about wisdom, there are areas of life that cannot be brushed under the rug. Oh wait, that's what our society has done for years now on the topic of sex. Yes you heard it right. The only truthful place to learn about this topic is from the wisdom of the bible. This week we learn about how to overcome temptations. Not only sexual temptations but this message can be painted with broader strokes towards your own struggles. Join in listening this week to why our whole population on this earth needs to know what is really going on behind the scenes when we give into temptation. Jesus is greater.
wisdom #ateachingseriesonthebookofproverbs For this series we dive into a book of the bible called Proverbs. Proverbs contains bullet point phrases of straight wisdom that if you applied to your life you'd want to post that phrase with #wisdom. This week we learn about Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, and His wise words on where knowledge begins.
To complete this four week series on the 4 vital parts of God's plan to build you, we finalize on a topic that can be mistaken if not communicated clearly. Baptism. Throughout the New Testament of the Bible we can see that baptism is a vital part of God's plan to build you. Baptism is an action of a believer in Christ submerging a person who wants to accept Jesus, accept the life that He brings, and lifts them out of the water a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17, a book, chapter and verse in the New Testament, is great evidence for that. Tune in to the podcast for this week to get the truth about baptism and why it is so important to accepting Christianity.
When you're cleaning your house, your car, or even your hard drive on your computer one could argue the trash is the most valuable tool in the whole process. Yes cleaning supplies and different techniques help the shine but if you have no where to put the garbage then you're stuck with the mess you cleaned up for. This week Chris talks about the meaning of repentance and how vital it is to the cleaning up process of our lives. Jesus is the only answer to cleaning up life. Tune in to find out why.
Tier 2. A place where once the foundation is laid you start to see the character of what is to come. A place where bystanders can see what's being built. A place that's "Under Construction." This week Chris talks about confession, confession of faith. Last week we learned about faith from a enlightening story of Abraham and how God challenged Abraham's faith but God was always faithful to His promises. This week we hear about the promises of God and learn that confession of our faith is vital to who we are, to say that we are saying that God is the one true God, and that His promises are true to the ones who are loyal to Him. Tune in to the second week of "Under Construction" to hear God's promise to His people who confess that He is Lord.
Much like construction to any building comes phases that are vital to the next. Have to have foundation before the walls, walls before rafters, rafters before the roof. In this series we will take four weeks to see the "4 vital parts of God's plan to build you." This first week is laying the foundation, Faith. This week we will talk about Abram and how God continues to show him that God is who He says He is. Also, that He will do the things that He says He will do. Listen in to the powerful story of Abram and how His life changes from little foundation to a wonderful masterpiece.
10... 9... 8... Because of the fall of man and sin entering the world, God put a plan in motion. 7... 6... 5... a plan that involved His own son Jesus coming to this earth, living a pure sinless life, and teaching the truth about His father, God. 4... 3... Jesus was then put on trial and crucified for our sake like the prophecy proclaimed and payed a permanent price for our sins 2... but the grave couldn't hold him back 1... Victory over death. Jesus rose from the grave and is alive. Our faith is futile without the resurrection of Jesus. This Sunday is all about that. Check it out
The third part of Love that we seem to be more timid about than we should be is, speaking up! We need to open our stinkin' mouth and speak with truth and love. To love like Jesus loved the church means to speak up when needed and build each other up in love and that requires conversation between one another. This week we get to hear from two people. The first bit is Venture Church's pastor, Chris Woolard. The second bit is from a missionary Sean Cooper that is traveling to Southeast Asia to communicate the Gospel to people who have never heard anything like it. His family's story is eye opening and worth the listen! Check it out.
The second color of the primary color wheel... Community. This series we are learning about the three "primary colors" of love. Last week we learned about the first color, character. That we speak from the heart and to love we have to have a character like Jesus. This week we learn about the second primary color of the art of love and that is community. Sharing life and investing time. This day and age we are able to remove ourselves from society quickly. We are also able to engage into society easily. We learn how by having the character of Jesus while being in community and sharing life is closer to the masterpiece God painted love to be.
With only three primary colors in art there have been some magnificent paintings we have seen in life. Artist have an breathtaking gift of taking those colors combining them to create masterpieces that are historical to this world. From looking in the Bible we can find that there is an art to love. There are primary components to love that if you only have one component you aren't loving to the full potential as if a painter only had one primary color to paint with. Be sure to check out this series "Art of Love" and the principles that Jesus teaches on in His life about love.
There's only one way to end a series that is about cultivating a vibrant life in God. That way is talking about the only way to true life. Listen up to this series wrap up as our pastor talks about the life that Jesus promises. Jesus doesn't promise better life circumstances, He promises a better life. Sometimes we try to fit God in a box and make Him work for us but we have to be transformed in that thinking to the way God created us to be. Join in on this week's message by finding out what life Jesus truly promises.
Part of thriving and not just surviving comes down to the source of life. Comes back to where our nourishment comes from. One would say to be healthy you need to start eating healthy. Get a good diet and lay off the potato chips and sweets. Where does your nourishment for your mind and soul come from? C.S. Lewis once said “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” If we were made for another world, if God truly did create us then, we should be connected to Him and His source. This week Patrick talks about getting back to that connection or maybe making the first connection if it has never been made.
Do you feel like you're just squeezing by? In every avenue you feel like when you climb one mountain as your scaling down peacefully another mountain arrises sooner than before. "I want to thrive, not just survive." - Switchfoot. Switchfoot has a great take on living life in their song "Thrive" that we can pull from. Join us in listening this series in how Jesus calls us back to him so that our lives become joyful no matter the trials.
What happens when you get to the YMCA and find out that it caught fire the night before? You send out mass messages and move to Empie Park! The YMCA had a tragic accident happen to their facilities. No one was hurt in the situation. If you want more information check out the Wilmington News article about it. As soon as we get word of a way we can "be The Church" to the YMCA we will send it out. With the sudden change of plans we went with the flow and still met with beautiful weather at Empie Park. Chris brought three points that were much needed reminders and eye openers. Check it out!
Anxiety controls 18 percent of The United States' population. This week we confront that statistic with the fact that God's peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts from that anxiety. Check out the ending of this series with the thought of losing our worry by finding peace in God.
We apologize for the technical difficulties in audio. The next week should have the kinks worked out. Thank you for understanding.
Yup. You read it right. The question is for you. Do you think that is true? "Mo' Money Mo' Problems?" When it comes to breathing room, it is found often that people are trying to find the surface to come up for air in their finances. No wonder. The average household holds $15,000 of debt! Money becomes less of what it was designed for and more of a means to fill a void in our heart. Find out three principles on how to have breathing room in your finances God's way.
When someone you haven't seen in a while asks you this questions, "How've you been?", what's your initial response? Busy? Tired? "Life's good but..." or "I'm doing great but...". Throughout life we assume the right and normal thing to do is to be busy. With a packed schedule we forget to leave space. To plan breathing room. To have space for a breath of fresh air. God designed us to need rest. Why do we sleep? Why do we eat? To replenish our energy and let our bodies recuperate. Our schedules need the same action. If your response to the first question is the same as above, the kick off to this series will help open up your mind to what God has planned for your schedule so you can finally have "Breathing Room."
To finalize this "Soul Food" series, we end with a pressing topic of community. More importantly Christian community with the Church. Chris talks about how the church is not at all the building, but the community of people inside and out. We looked back at the beginning. Back before loudspeakers and electrical lights existed to the beginning of the Church in the second chapter of Acts. If you're longing for something more than your day to day, listen to how community in Jesus is the life changer.
This week is Compassion Sunday. Through this topic of Soul Food we've gone over several topics of what is the best food for our souls according to Jesus. This Sunday Chris talks about Compassion. How Jesus walked this earth with a compassionate heart. We also learn about an organization called Compassion that their goal is to fight world hunger. Be sure to check this week out!
Each week in the "I Want A Movie Life" series, we have looked at movies from the past couple of years and found some principles that we could apply to ourselves that are parallel to what the bible teaches. This Sunday we brought up "The Lego Movie." Learning about Emit and his rotation of following the current, we see that maybe going with the flow isn't always the best or even the easiest decision...
Each week during this series we will look at a life principle from a movie that the world frequents. This causes for some controversy from normal teachings to what God teaches. By looking into the Bible each week as well it creates a great parallel to what is true and what is not. Stay tuned for some future movies and life principles from the silver screen and the Bible.
As we look into a mirror every day there is never a time where we walk away and forget what we look like. Our culture is centered around appearance and style no matter if you enjoy a shiny clean watch or the newest jean color we know what our own body looks like. The passage out of the book of James tackles what it looks like when we walk away from what we hear through the bible. I'll give you a hint... It's in the passage Chris goes over this week. James 1. Take a listen
This week we had a guest speaker come in and bring a message about his plan to move to Cameroon to be a missionary. We are excited to be involved with people who are serving Jesus around the world. We hope you enjoy Brian sharing his heart and God's heart for Cameroon.
Please excuse some minor technical difficulties with the audio
We continue the series "Totally Wasted" with a recap of the story of The Prodigal Son. Chris dissects this story that arrises curiosity of why the ending the way it is. The reveal is real when the closing comes for this story. Stay tuned for the last sermon of this series in the following week.
It's not what you think. This new sermon series is about a story Jesus told that Luke recorded in The Bible. There's a son that asks for the inheritance of his father before the father dies. You ever had anyone tell you "You're dead to me." Well that's what the son told his dad. Further down the story there is an un-forecasted ending for this son. Be sure to stay tuned for the next two weeks.
We end this series on Scene 3 of the story about the life of Esther. Chris elaborates on how God steps out of the shadows and flips the scenario on the life of Mordecai and Esther. Stay tuned for next week's start of "Totally Wasted: A Story Jesus Told"
"In The Shadows" is a three week series on the book of Esther from the Bible. Chris dives in head first to the beginning of Esther's story about God using the unlikely and how God himself works in the shadows...
We are in a constant battle. Sometimes we don't know we are. Sometimes we do know and aren't sure how to fight. This week at Venture we wrap up the series Seuss-A-Palooza by talking about this battle and how to win. Join us next week for a new series "In The Shadows: A Teaching Series On Esther."
We had some technical difficulties Sunday morning in the recording. So this is a re-recording in a car. Sorry ahead of time for the background noise. Still the same message and still truth. We hope you enjoy as Chris unravels why there are some mirrored truths from the bible to Green Eggs and Ham.
Chris wraps up "Foreheads And Door Posts" with some key verses on what God has to say about parenting and raising your kids through God's word. Even though this sermon is based on parenting there are still key points made that can be applied even if you don't have kids.
This week Chris asked the question what does the bible say about marriage... and he answered it through the bible.
This week in our new series "Foreheads And Door Posts", Chris elaborates on how to build strong family through rallying. Not just rallying behind whatever our heart desires but to rally around what our family needs. Jesus. Rally around a passage from the bible that could strengthen your family to the core.
Does God answer prayer? Does prayer really work? This week Chris explains the power of prayer and the power in the name of Jesus! Tune in next week for a new series called "Foreheads and Doorposts"
How do we find rest? True rest. The rest that actually brings us peace and recuperation. Avenues that we think will bring us rest don't and when those fail how do we find peace? This week Chris talks about the true rest that God promises throughout the bible. Listen in on what prayer has to do with rest.
This week for our podcast we encountered some technical difficulties with recording the first 5 minutes or so of the audio. I just wanted to let you know the podcast jumps into a story that Chris Woolard (our lead pastor) was talking about his wife Lindsey and he talking on the phone all the time back when they first started dating. Spending a lot of money on long-distance phone calls because after all, that was before you could even bump up your phone plan to able to send more text messages a month. He loved talking to her. He loved spending time with her. Why is it so hard to spend time with God? Why is it so hard to talk to God sometimes? How do you even talk to God? Chris goes in to detail on the matter in this podcast. Take a listen.
We are glad to welcome back our guest speaker Glen Crocker to wrap up our series "A Life Worth Watching Abraham." This week Glen teaches about letting go of your trash in life and holding on to Jesus.