Search Results for: son

Posted: 28 Aug, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

Dove uncovers in his own life and others’ how our perception of what others think of us can be so crippling.  This has created a tendency to hide our shortcoming and emphasize our strengths.  Failure can become debilitating.  But with the unconditional love of God as our solid foundation we can walk through failure and […]

Posted: 22 Aug, 2016 | Author: Joe Ortiz

Joe Ortiz tells the story of his son, Joey, who at ten months of age was diagnosed as having a seizure disorder. The ensuing months and years brought a lot of pain and hardship, but in the end, God met one of Joe’s deepest needs: to know God truly existed and cared. Download

Posted: 14 Aug, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

When the people asked God, “Do you want us to keep fasting as we’ve done for 70 years,” God responded with, “You were doing that for ME?” It’s as if he was completely unaware of or indifferent toward all their spiritual activity. It makes you wonder about the spiritual things we do. Are they really […]

Posted: 07 Aug, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

The thing that matters more than anything else in the world is faith. The biblical David is a great example of someone who trusted God and God’s timing when his circumstances seemed to point to an easier course of action. In the long run, David’s faith was rewarded. We can follow God with that same […]

Posted: 31 Jul, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

God has always loved people. People are the pinnacle of creation! We might think that we are too messed up for God to love us, but there are countless examples of God loving really messed up people. Throughout all of scripture, we see God trying to win the hearts of broken people. And we see […]

Posted: 24 Jul, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

God loves us passionately and wants a special place in our lives. He wants your heart given to Him and not to anyone or anything else. In this message Dove shares a powerful illustration that will help you understand the place God wants in your heart. Download Handout

Posted: 17 Jul, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

To have a meaningful relationship with God, we must not see Him as an emotionless robot—always the same: passionless, uncaring, and unaffected by what He sees and experiences. We must see Him as a being who experiences joy and grief, pleasure and displeasure, intense love and extreme jealousy. Download Handout

Posted: 30 Jun, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

The Bible is full of amazing teachings about God’s love for people and His relentless pursuit of their hearts. In the culmination of His plan, He gave His special son to die on the cross so that our sins could be paid for. It’s an amazing story, but only if it is true. There are […]

Posted: 26 Jun, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

God’s not just after our obedience; he’s after our hearts! Do you ever feel guilty, dirty, and like you have nothing to offer to God? And then, to feel better, do you start doing things like going to church, reading the Bible, or giving money at church? An amazing illustration from Haggai helps us see […]

Posted: 19 Jun, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

Is your spiritual life a religious practice or a relationship with God? In this message pastor Dove helps us reflect on our past and look ahead into our futures so that we can experience the full life in Christ that our souls long for. Download Handout

Posted: 12 Jun, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

We know that following God pays off in the next life, but does it pay off in this life? Can we expect a blessing in following God, or is that some sort of prosperity-gospel teaching? We need to be careful to avoid both extremes in this matter. We shouldn’t expect wealth and health from following God, […]

Posted: 05 Jun, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

“Behind the scenes is where the work is done.” How can we experience growth and the presence of God apart from our own effort? Me must learn to be connected to the vine by surrender instead of strength. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,  by the mercies of God, to present your […]

Posted: 29 May, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

It’s one thing to follow God when God asks something easy of us, but it is another thing to follow God when we have a completely different plan that we think is easier or better. To help us make good choices in these situations it is helpful to understand how we think. We need to […]

Posted: 14 May, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

If you had to play a game of high-stakes chess, would you accept the advice of a grandmaster? Would you even go so far as to taking the advice of the grandmaster even when it seemed like it was going to cost you dearly? This is similar to our wrestle of faith. There are times […]

Posted: 08 May, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

In this message, Dove talks about coming together as a church—not only as the local church, but as a community of followers of Christ within this city, country, and world. We were made to thrive in unity and togetherness. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when […]

Posted: 01 May, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this message, Steve talks about how being involved in the church is a strategic part of our mission to advance God’s Kingdom. Church was never intended to be an event, but the church is Christ’s body, in a brotherhood expressed practically in deep and meaningful local relationships, and on mission like a spiritual army. Serving in […]

Posted: 24 Apr, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this second installment in the There Is series, Steve talks about the mission of the church. Why do we do what we do? What are we as a church doing to accomplish our mission? From small groups to lunch after church, everything we do is designed to accomplish our mission to be disciples and make […]

Posted: 17 Apr, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

This is the first of a four-part series called “There is.” Our “There is” campaign is a rallying call, to not just be a group of people who meet together on Sunday mornings, but, to be one body with one faith, following one God. It is based on this verse: There is one body and one […]

Posted: 09 Apr, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

In this Easter sermon, Dove talks about the beautiful story of the resurrection of Jesus. But beyond that, we explore the hope of the resurrection and what it means for us. With the resurrection, we have hope. With the resurrection, we carry the truth. With the resurrection, we have purpose.   Download

Posted: 02 Apr, 2016 | Author: Blaise Nelson

Sometimes we want to set our own course in life, but God has a different plan. In this message, Blaise tells the story of finishing college and wrestling with giving 100% of his life to whatever God wanted for him.   Download

Posted: 26 Mar, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

As the completion of the Disciple trilogy (Don’t Miss the Duh Moment and Follow were the first two), Steve talks about the thrill of following Jesus. Life with God is an adventure, not a chore!   Download

Posted: 13 Mar, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

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Posted: 28 Feb, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

“‘Come follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” – Matthew 4:19 NIV84 When God calls us to something, sometimes there isn’t any debate about whether or not it’s the best thing to do. It’s a duh moment! In this message, Steve talks […]

Posted: 20 Feb, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

In this message, Dove takes a look at Jesus’ parable of the sower from Luke 8 and how it relates to our lives today. “While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed…”   Download Handout

Posted: 13 Feb, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

If God treated us with grace before we were saved, how much more will he show grace to us now that we are his Children? “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8   Download Handout  

Posted: 06 Feb, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – Ephesians 6:12   Download Handout

Posted: 30 Jan, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

Now that we’ve wrapped our Disciple the Heart series, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of effort it takes to live a life devoted to Jesus. In this message, Steve talks about how God thinks of us. Does our performance dictate whether or not God approves of us? Can he be […]

Posted: 17 Jan, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

As we wrap up our series on the commitments that help Christians live all out for Christ, Steve addresses a very important topic. As Steve addresses the issue of controlling your thought life—specifically when it comes to sexual purity—he reminds us that this is an issue that is very important to God that we should pay […]

Posted: 03 Jan, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

Each of us has our own unique path in life, but suffering is not unknown to any of us. Not only do we have past hurts, but we have a span of life looming in front of us which is undoubtedly seasoned with unknown types and intensities of grief. In this message, Steve shares some […]

Posted: 26 Dec, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making […]