Search Results for: pleasing others

Posted: 15 Oct, 2023 | Author: Dove Cranson

Loving others encapsulates much of what God wants from us. How can do all that we do in love? What does it look like to please others in a healthy way?

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 […]

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.  […]

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: 03 Jun, 2018 | Author: Dove Cranson

In our nature it is extremely easy to make assumption and accusations about others.  However, when we withhold judgment and believe the best about others, we are able to truly get to know them and develop a deep relationship.  This message looks at how to stay out of judgment and respect others even when they […]

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: 12 May, 2019 | Author: Steve Nelson

Colossians 1:10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way… NIV I recently started teaching ESL to Chinese kids online. When the students do a good job, I give them five stars. When I do a good job, the parents […]

Posted: 05 Jan, 2020 | Author: Steve Nelson

How can we trust God when we aren’t sure that doing so will work to our benefit?

Posted: 01 Dec, 2019 | Author: Dove Cranson

Seeking to grow in love, this message discusses how expectations can be transformed into healthy agreements.

Posted: 09 Oct, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

Are you chasing after an elusive pursuit to be somebody? What do you think others think about you? What do you think about yourself? It’s easy to think our worth is wrapped up in our own accomplishments and the praise of others, but what really counts is that you belong to Christ. In 1 Corinthians […]

Posted: 30 Dec, 2018 | Author: JM

How can you live your life with impact and multiply your efforts into the lives of others? Download

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: 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: 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: 22 Apr, 2018 | Author: Steve Nelson

What you do makes a difference to God. You profoundly impact others. And the effect of your life has a rippling impact into the world. Download Handout: With blanks / Without blanks

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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, […]

Posted: 01 Jan, 2017 | Author: Steve Nelson

The greatest disciples throughout history, from Jesus’ Twelve all the way to modern-day martyrs, have something in common. They don’t care. They don’t care about what others think, about their own personal gain, or even about their own lives. This one commonly held attribute allows them to live with abandon and care about the things […]

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: 23 Oct, 2016 | Author: Dove Cranson

It is the reality of life that each person gets to enjoy pleasures and happiness.   Also each human being experiences loss and sadness.   Through this adventure of learning to trust God we are called to a bigger perspective.   We can learn to be content with what we have been given and trust […]

Posted: 10 Jul, 2016 | Author: Bruce Bradford

Some people drain the life out of a room just by walking in. Others bring life and elevate the room. You can be a life giver! We all have our own struggles, but who we are in our faith must be independent of who we have been or what we have experienced. Greatness is never […]

Posted: 22 May, 2016 | Author: Tom Schwieger

God values relationships! One of the greatest themes throughout the New Testament is the command to love others. In this message, Tom Schwieger talks about the importance of having meaningful relationships with five different groups of people: Lifers, Laborers, Leaders, Learners, and the Lost. God uses each of these types of relationships to impact us, […]

Posted: 07 Dec, 2014 | Author: Dove Cranson

All that we do tends to be influence by what others think of us. How can we shift our paradigm so that what really matters is what God thinks?   Download