Search Results for: good

Posted: 03 Mar, 2019 | Author: Steve Nelson

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that […]

Posted: 16 Dec, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

Life is hard.  It is not what it was intended to be.  Because of the brokenness in this world, we all experience pain, loss, and suffering.  Grief is a path we must all walk through in this broken life.  It is a product of the broken world we live in.  When we are aware of […]

Posted: 25 Nov, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

Hebrews 5:12-14 …Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the […]

Posted: 28 Oct, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

The church is a beautiful thing, precious to God, and a source of good to the world.  The Biblical word “church” does not describe a building where people meet, or an event, but a group of people.  We are the church. Being the church has many wonderful dynamics and is a rich experience I would […]

Posted: 30 Sep, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

Genesis 3:8-9  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Jesus invites us […]

Posted: 26 Aug, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. NIV11 Sometimes suffering is […]

Posted: 12 Aug, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

God doesn’t want to keep us in the dark. He is a loving father who wants to guide us down His good path. In this message we explore some of the ways he directs us and confirms His will. Download Handout: With blanks / Without blanks

Posted: 24 Jun, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

The words that come out of our mouths have the potential to bring good to someone else’s life or the potential to bring harm.  Sometimes things are hard to say but we should say them.  In those situations, how can we speak the truth with love? Download Handout

Posted: 10 Jun, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

Our world is full of beautiful, good things.  It is also full of dark, broken, hurtful things.  Instead of leaving us to our own misery or destroying us, Jesus came and entered into our dark world, taking the brokenness upon himself.  In this message on listening we are taught to listen to the comfort of […]

Posted: 11 Mar, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! NIV Romans 5 talks about how we used to be and how we are, and it addresses the kind of treatment we can expect from God. We used to be ungodly. We […]

Posted: 28 Jan, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

Jesus’ heart is that all the world would hear His message of hope and grace. Our call is to spread this message. We don’t need to feel guilty about how we’ve failed at this in the past, but it would be good to think about how we can take steps down this path so that […]

Posted: 14 Jan, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

We are all good about praying when we are desperate. Can we bring that desperation back into everyday life? When we don’t know what to do, God is there for us! Download Handout: With blanks / Without blanks For further study: Prayer reference sheet  

Posted: 10 Dec, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

Jesus gave instructions to be generous, promised blessings for our giving, and implied that giving impacts our hearts! Luke 6:38 [Jesus said, ] “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will […]

Posted: 07 Oct, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

Wouldn’t it be sad to have something really good and never share it with others?  Having a relationship with God through Jesus is something worth sharing!  Yet those conversations about our faith, although exciting, can at times be intimidating to initiate. This message shares a couple simple tools that can be used to begin conversations […]

Posted: 24 Sep, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

As followers of Christ, we have been given a mission to bring the good news of Jesus to all of El Paso and beyond.  This message addresses why anyone would want to be a part of that mission and how they could be. Download Handout

Posted: 17 Sep, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

“Common people become uncommon standing on the promises of God.” (Dawson Trotman) Do you have the sense that you were created for uncommon purposes? Or perhaps that you have some unfulfilled potential? In reality, God has designed you with certain purposes in mind (Ephesians 2:10). What are these things? What are we supposed to be […]

Posted: 13 Aug, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

This message continues on the theme from two weeks ago that life, perfection, righteousness is found in Christ’s life in us.  A full life, perfection, and righteousness are not achieved from our own power to change ourselves, or even from good circumstances, but from the gift of God.  Today we look at how giving thanks […]

Posted: 30 Jul, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

The good life that really counts for something is not just found in a brief interaction with Jesus, but in a journey of trusting Him and following His lead! Download Handout: No blanks/Blanks

Posted: 16 Jul, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

We are all busy people. We want our lives to count and so we fill them up with all sorts of activities. One of the most fulfilling things we can dedicate ourselves to is loving others, but we need to be careful that the busyness of life doesn’t choke out the things we really want […]

Posted: 28 May, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

There is something in us that makes us want to share with others the good things we have found.  Whether it is a great movie, a sunset, a revolutionary product, a new love, or something else we find exciting, we have a desire to pass it on.  How much more, despite hesitation or cultural opposition, […]

Posted: 05 Mar, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

In this message Dove attempts to help us love bad people.  This is not so that we would embrace the bad things that bring pain, suffering, and destruction into this world, but that we would love bad people even as God does.  Dove explains five reasons we can love bad people, from those far away […]

Posted: 19 Feb, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

Dove shares about the opportunity to develop an ongoing, growing relationship with the living God.  He unpacks Jesus’ call in the beginning of Matthew chapter 6, to pray, give, and fast in secret—not for the approval of others but for God only.  When done with a desire to discover the heart of God, not just […]

Posted: 05 Feb, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

From Super Bowl losses, to the loss of loved ones, we will all have disappointments in our lives.  In this message Dove wrestles through some of the disappointments in his own life, explaining some of the anchors he has found and continues to cling to along the way.  It is the journey to find God […]

Posted: 29 Jan, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

The church in Corinth had serious issues that Paul addressed throughout 1 Corinthians. He spoke so strongly on at times that you might think his letter to them would have ended their relationship. Yet as he concluded his letter in chapter 16, instead of writing an it-was-nice-knowing-you ending to their relationship, he penned a very ordinary […]

Posted: 22 Jan, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

As we near the end of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul reminds his audience what is of first importance: the gospel.  The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ came and died for our sins, taking our place, and providing a way for us to have a relationship with God and to be with […]

Posted: 11 Dec, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

We can love people who are hard for us, but to do so we must see God’s good in ourselves, in others, and in His overarching plan for His people. In this message we look at spiritual gifts and how God has shaped each of us ways in various ways so that we can each […]

Posted: 20 Nov, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

As we continue to look at the Higher Calling we have in Jesus, we see the example of Paul to work with extreme effort to bring the good news of Jesus to others, breaking down barriers and enduring difficulties in the process.  What is the source of his dedication and sacrifice?  Is he trying to […]

Posted: 06 Nov, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

Each of us lives in a situation that is not always easy.  In fact life is often extremely challenging, and it is easy to think that if we were only in a different situation then we would be happy and fulfilled.  If only I had a spouse, or if I didn’t have one but could […]

Posted: 16 Oct, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

How can the church be a hospital for broken and sinful people and also hope to have a standard of behavior that reflects our higher calling? Is it possible to be loving and compassionate and yet draw a line in the sand and say that certain behaviors are not acceptable among God’s people? In this […]

Posted: 04 Sep, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

The people in the days of Hosea were so mesmerized by their sins of drunkenness and prostitution, that God said they were being robbed of their brains. They weren’t thinking clearly, and because of that they chose their vices over God. We should ask ourselves if we have any similar destructive behaviors, and we should think […]