Messages

We do not have endless time and energy. Building our lives around the world’s constant demands will… read more

There are times in life when we just “hit a wall.” It could be the loss… read more

In our desire to move ahead in life we sometimes ignore, suppress or minimize the… read more

What defines your identity: your performance, your possessions, your popularity… your passions? Instead of letting these… read more

Our friendships can help us move toward God or away from God. As we finish our series on Friendship Essentials, will explore the topic of alignment. The closer our friends, the more they should help us move toward God’s great mission of love and forgiveness.

Every friendship will eventually face tension. Sometimes that tension will be the beginning of the end, as friendships fizzle and fade. But what if there was another option? This week we’ll look at Jesus‘ example of using the power of forgiveness to reinvigorate even the most challenging friendships.

Friendships should be fun and easy! At least, that is what many of us are prone to believe. But, this belief will limit our friendships when other emotions are necessary. This week we’ll look at the friendship essential of emotional connection. Learning from the Book of Proverbs and seeing examples from Jesus’ own friendships, we will discover how a deeper understanding of our own emotions can help us find better connections and more meaningful relationships with our friends.

Many of our friendships center around shared interests; we have the same hobbies and interests or spend time together doing activities that we both enjoy. But what if our friendships had the shared value of helping each other be and become better versions of ourselves? This week, we’ll look at the friendship essential of mutual growth. Coming from the great wisdom of the Book of Proverbs, Jesus shows us how we can embrace God’s good plan for personal growth and invite our friends to speak into our lives!

Recent studies have revealed a growing epidemic in the realm of friendships: people are reporting having fewer friends or even no friends and feeling less satisfied with the friendships they do have. Is there anything we can do to reverse this trend? A great place to start would be to realize that Jesus called his followers his “friends” and lived a life defined by great friendships. As a Jewish man in first century Palestine, we know he would have read the Bible book of Proverbs, a collection of time-tested wisdom, which includes powerful insights on friendship. During this five-week series, we’ll see how the Proverbs Jesus loved can help us improve our ability to give and receive friendship, and how we can be counted among Jesus’ friends.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring some of the beautiful and powerful names for God used in the Bible. But if we asked God directly, what would he say his name is? This week we’ll explore a story from the Old Testament in which a famous hero of faith asks God that very question and gets a surprising answer. We’ll learn how, by understanding God’s name, we can have a whole new connection to him.

One of the most personal ways Jesus referred to God is as Father. He even recommended prayer our prayers to begin with “Our Father.” The word “father” can bring to mind so many different thoughts and feelings. Pastor Jason looks at some of what it means to call God our Father and how in our times of hurt, we can experience the parental compassion of God.

Pastor Jason kicks off the AKA God series as he shares how we can experience God as Elohim—the Creator of all things good and beautiful.

New Year’s 2023 Message

What should we do when life doesn’t as planned? We can believe that God is directing us to divine detours! Christmas reminds us that God’s love directs our lives. Pastor Jason looks at a prophecy about the infant Jesus becoming a refugee in Egypt, and we’ll explore how God is still in the business of guiding us to safety and peace.

We always wait for that next big thing—that job, that relationship, healing, and event that will move us up in life. But God is at work in the small things. Christmas reminds us that God’s greatest work comes from a place of humility. Pastor Jason looks at one of the great Bible prophecies about Jesus’ birth: that the King of Kings would be born in a poor, defenseless village. We’ll explore how we can be more aware of God’s power in our lives, especially when we feel weak and vulnerable.

What can we do when life doesn’t make sense? We can trust that God is with us! Rather than praying and waiting for God to “show up” and do something, Christmas reminds us that God is already here! As we start our new message Series The Wait Is Over, Pastor Alex Grahmann will look at one of the great Bible prophecies fulfilled by Jesus birth, the promise of “God with us.” We’ll explore how we can be more aware of God’s presence in our lives, especially when life doesn’t seem to make sense.

THANKS+GIVING. It’s more than a holiday food-fest. God has designed within us a powerful connection between gratitude and generosity. Join us this weekend for worship, communion, and an invitation to “let our thanks lead to giving to God and others!”

During the Get Ready series we’ve learned that preparing for Jesus’ return isn’t about just sitting around and waiting; we have important things to do while we wait! This weekend Pastor Jill Lewolt takes a look at three areas that Paul thinks are important to pay attention to while we live in the waiting: our time, our mind, and one another.

God wants us to be encouraged about the future! This weekend we explore how the early Christians living in Thessalonica were anxious about the end of the world but learned to find hope and take steps to be ready for Jesus’ return—and how we can do the same.

God has a beautiful plan for human intimacy. In this message, we explore how the early Christians living in Thessalonica honored God with their sexuality and how we can do the same. We’ll learn why we should honor our bodies as a part of a larger plan God has for our lives and how our sexual self-control is a way to love others.