Search Results for: relationship with god

Posted: 22 Apr, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

Just as El Paso brings blinding dust storms, we all walk through trials and “spiritual storms” in our lives.  How can we stay anchored to God through those times? Download Handout

Posted: 08 Apr, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

Psalms 16:5-6 Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. NIV84 It is important for us, as a church, to be thankful for the special things God has given us, and […]

Posted: 01 Apr, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

1 Corinthians 5:7b For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. NIV The Passover is a celebration commemorating the last of the Egyptian plagues, when the judgement of God “passed over” the homes that had lamb’s blood on the door frames. In a similar way, Jesus, the Lamb of God, shed his blood so that […]

Posted: 25 Mar, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ESV Sometimes in the midst of difficulty we can feel like something must be wrong. We aren’t naive. We know life is hard; but we don’t expect it to be this hard. When we try to make […]

Posted: 25 Feb, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ESV In human relationships, when we assess someone’s love, we don’t just take their word for it. It is not enough. We consider a wide variety of factors. How have they treated us? How have […]

Posted: 11 Feb, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

It is important to keep our mission ever before us. As a church, we want to help people connect to the source, God, experience life, and to have that life flow through us and into the world. In this message, Steve explains how the prophet’s vision in Ezekiel 47 relates to our church name and […]

Posted: 04 Feb, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

There is a lot of information in this message.  First, Dove introduces a new series and explains why our hearts are so important in our lives and what God’s plan is for them.  He then explains the goals that we will be focusing on for the next 4 months, including instructions for a journaling exercise […]

Posted: 21 Jan, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

We are called to stand, to persevere in our faith, to finish this race, even through the troubles that come.  This work is something God is able to do for us as we trust Him.  He began the work in us and He will complete it.  We are called to trust Him, even through the […]

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: 26 Nov, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

What does it look like to follow Jesus? In this message, Steve uses the story of Ruth to illustrate the devotion of a follower of Jesus. Ruth's heart was to follow Naomi into a completely new life. When we become Christians, we do the same. Baptism is simply our first step at following Jesus lead […]

Posted: 19 Nov, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

At some point, we realize we cannot be the person we should be, could be, or want to be.  So, how can we truly change? How can we go down a different path? How can become fit for Heaven or a life with God?  The answer is to repent and believe.  This message looks at […]

Posted: 12 Nov, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

To embrace God’s call to love others, we must commit ourselves to loving those who are difficult, inconvenient, and uncomfortable for us. God is not simply calling us to love those who give us the warm fuzzies, but to love the unfuzzy. Mark 12:29-31 “The most important [command],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, […]

Posted: 05 Nov, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

Jesus said his followers should teach other followers of Jesus to obey everything he commanded.  So what did Jesus command?  What are we supposed to obey and teach others to obey?  This talk looks at what Jesus said was the first and greatest commandment: to love God.  How can we love the infinite God of […]

Posted: 29 Oct, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

God has given each of us amazing stories of how He has worked in our lives. Fear can keep us from telling people about these incredible events, and as a result, they miss out on learning from us and being encourage by what God has done in our lives. However, through him, we can be […]

Posted: 22 Oct, 2017 | Author: John Houser

The gospel is the most important message in the history of the world. We are privileged to be a part of following Jesus and spreading hope to a world in desperate need. This is God’s call on our lives: the Great Commission. Download Handout

Posted: 15 Oct, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

Christians are not just messengers of God’s plan of mercy and forgiveness, but we are witnesses of how He has worked in our lives! Each of us has a story of how God saved, healed, or met us in some critical life event. In fact, if we stop to think about it, we likely have […]

Posted: 01 Oct, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

We may not normally see things this way, but God clearly communicates that there are two types of people in the world. One group of people is cursed. The other is blessed. The great news is that God doesn’t want people to be in the cursed group. He wants us all to be in the […]

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: 10 Sep, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

Because of the amazing love of God shown in Jesus, we can experience victory over rejection. Download Handout

Posted: 03 Sep, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

We all find plenty to complain about, whether it is genuine hardships like sickness, suffering, and death, or it is the little stuff like having to eat the same thing for dinner that we had for lunch. As we see in the example of the Israelites (Numbers 11:1-6), complaining leads to misery, even in times […]

Posted: 27 Aug, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

Dove shares about how he has felt a tendency in his own life to isolate himself or become isolated from others.  Yet, the hope of Christ is that his family (his church) will relentlessly fight these tendencies and pursue unity.  We each have a role in building up the family of God and staying united […]

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: 13 Aug, 2017 | Author: Tom Schwieger

In a broken world full of sin, strife, and suffering, we need to continually trust that God is good, is in control and cares for us. Download Handout

Posted: 23 Jul, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

As we saw with the Pharisees (message 2 weeks ago), we cannot be made righteous by cleaning ourselves up but instead by humbly receiving Christ and His life in us.  With Christ in our lives we are new, we are no longer sinners but blameless, pure children of God.  This change is what Jesus did […]

Posted: 09 Jul, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

When Jesus walked this Earth he consistently showed love and grace and acceptance.  Yet His love is much deeper than just trying to make people feel good.  In fact, He spoke surprisingly harsh words to a certain group of people, the Pharisees.  Why?  At least in part it was because the Pharisees thought they could […]

Posted: 25 Jun, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

In today’s episode we see that when a broken Sinner comes to Jesus, she is accepted and forgiven; and her heart of stone is changed into a heart of love.  Could we ourselves dare to be so vulnerable with God?  And could we be people who accept other people? Download

Posted: 04 Jun, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

The faith of the crumbs lady (Syrophoenician woman) teaches us some critical lessons on how to respond when it seems that God is completely ignoring our prayers. Download Handout (Blanks,No blanks)

Posted: 23 Apr, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

In the account of the paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus, we learn that Jesus wants us to come to Him for forgiveness—spiritual healing! This is one of the amazing ways we experience life from God. When we ask for and receive forgiveness, we are no longer defined by our loserness! We are freed […]

Posted: 09 Apr, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

Have you ever thought about the Day of Judgement—when Jesus addresses the masses of people who have lived since the beginning of the world? Will He be angry and condemning? Loving and compassionate? In this imagined account of Judgment Day, Jesus pours out his heart to those he loves—a jilted lover to those who rejected […]

Posted: 02 Apr, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson

This message is from a morning dedicated to the upcoming mission trip to China.  Jason, who is leading the trip, explains his passion for China, his family’s experience there, and the upcoming trip.  Using the book of 2 Thessalonians as a model, Dove then leads the group in prayer as we ask God for help […]