First Things First
You Are What You eat
Last Words, Top Priority
A Kingdom of Misfit Toys
Trusting through doubt
A carrot, not a stick
Annoying Grace
Cheap Grace
Where's the Kingdom?
Prayer Is No Thing
A Mountaintop Experience Like No Other
You are the Light of the World
Built to Last
How do we know whether a building will last or not? Most of it has to do with the building’s foundation. A home’s foundation won’t draw “oohs” and “aahs" on HGTV, but when a foundation crumbles, the building will crumble.
How can we ensure that our church is built to last? This morning Rev. Ryan Tankersley shows that only one foundation will truly support the church.
How Not to Build a Kingdom
When you examine how Jesus begins to build his kingdom after he is raised from the dead, you quickly notice that he does not follow the expected paths or best practices. In fact, he seems to stack the deck against himself. Why would he assign himself such a competitive disadvantage? As we celebrate the resurrection, we see just how unexpectedly perfect God’s plans are.
Rejoice—with joy! Very large! Very much!
The story of the magi (wise men) is often told as part of the Christmas story, although it probably occurs at least a year after Jesus was born. Far from being distant and irrelevant, we see in their story our own story—of people far from God, who almost unintentionally find God and can’t help but worship.
Gratitude: the Antidote to Worry
This year has caused many of us to worry about many things. As our minds this year are drawn to themes of sickness and antidotes, can we find an antidote not to a virus, but to the worry so many of us feel? Terry Shanahan shares how gratitude can transform our attitude and our lives.
Appetites and Cravings
Spiritual practices are gifts God gives us that help us to know him better and become more like him. This morning we think about fasting, a practice many of us may prefer to avoid. It is helpful to think about fasting positively, rather than negatively. That is, fasting is not about what we give up, but about how we are filled up.
Afraid Yet Filled With Joy
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb. After suffering the disorientation and fear of watching their Lord and friend killed, they were further confronted by an earthquake and an angel “whose appearance was like lightning.” What was their response?
They went where God called them, “afraid yet filled with joy.” Fear and joy are not binary opposites. They coexist, but because of the empty tomb, our joy outweighs our fear.
Shifting Sand
Most everybody understands the importance of having a firm foundation under their house. And most would agree that we should build our lives on a firm foundation. But what is that foundation?
This morning we think about what it means to build our lives on a solid foundation—a foundation of stone, and not of sand, in Jesus’ words. Jesus says the firm foundation is not moralism or behaviorism, but knowing him. Which begs the question, how do we know Jesus?