Posted: 06 Jan, 2019 | Author: Steve Nelson
1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. When we put our faith in Christ, we become God’s people and citizens of his kingdom. We no longer pledge our allegiance to this world, but to God. As the verse says, […]
Read More...Posted: 02 Dec, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson
We live in a world where we admire the things that are better, bigger, faster. There is often an unspoken expectation to not have weaknesses but to always be strong and capable. But the reality is we all have weaknesses. We all fall short in one way or another. If we are excelling in one […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 07 Oct, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness.” We are constantly and unconditionally loved by God. But, the things we do are not always pleasing to God. What pleases God? He is not withholding his pleasure until we reach perfection. […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 23 Sep, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson
Proverbs 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path. NIV11 Once, when I was a kid, my family went to church at a drive-in theater. My dad pulled up, put the speaker on his partially rolled-down window, and we quietly sat through the service. We were on vacation […]
Read More...Posted: 09 Sep, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be […]
Read More...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
Read More...Posted: 15 Jul, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson
One of the difficulties in discerning God’s will is that our own will causes interference that makes it challenging to be impartial in decision making. By identifying some of the ways we misidentify God’s will, we can avoid making bad decision that favors our will instead of His. Download Handout: With blanks / Without blanks
Read More...Posted: 01 Apr, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson
Jesus came into this world to restore our connection to God: A connection one day in a restored world and a connection now through His life in us. Christ died and was resurrected, to overcome death that we might live forever, and that we might experience his life now. There is more beyond just this […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 07 Jan, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson
The foundation of our relationship with God is His grace, not our merit. Therefore, we can learn to be honest with what is going on in our lives. As we are honest we find more love and acceptance and God changes us from the inside. Download Handout
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 20 Aug, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson
Not only does God love you, but he likes you. He enjoys you. He is glad that you are His. In this study of Ephesians 1, we find many reasons to find joy and peace in our relationship with God, even though relationships are complicated, and we are fully aware of our shortcomings. Download Handout: Blanks / No […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 11 Jun, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson
A rich young man came to Jesus asking how to find eternal life. He came confident in himself and in his own goodness. The answer Jesus gave him left him walking away sad. Despite his own accomplishments, possessions, and reputation he was lacking. But he couldn’t bring himself to give up control and follow the […]
Read More...Posted: 14 May, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson
What would it be like to host Jesus and some of his friends for dinner? What preparations would you make? During dinner would you be busy doing things or would you just sit there and listen to Jesus? This is the situation of Martha and Mary who hosted Jesus many years ago. Mary “sat at […]
Read More...Posted: 16 Apr, 2017 | Author: Dove Cranson
A man named Nicodemus came to Jesus in the secret of night only to get far more than he bargained for. As we look at this interaction with the Life Giver we find how to be born again into a new life. We do not get life by trying to be a better person, but […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 12 Feb, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson
If those who speak are supposed to speak as if speaking the very words of God, how are those who listen supposed to listen? In faith, can we believe that God will speak to us through His Word, through worship, through others, and even through the sermons we hear? 1 Peter 4:11a If anyone speaks, […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...Posted: 04 Dec, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson
What comes to mind when you think of authority and the submission to authority? Our own experience and cultural context have inevitably shaped that view. We probably all know examples of the abuse of authority and realize the potential to be taken advantage of. As we look deeper, we see that a loving authority is […]
Read More...