Have you ever bought a product that you thought was genuine and then later you found out it was fake or a counterfeit? That feeling never sits well in our stomachs because no one likes to be deceived or tricked when it comes to authenticity. The same goes for our walks with Christ - God wants us to be sincere and completely devoted to Him and to produce fruits that display His glory. When talking about authentic conversion, there are certain unmistakable characteristics and attributes that we should pursue and rejoice in.

Over the past few weeks, we have seen how all of humanity is exceedingly wicked and yet God remains exceedingly merciful. We've seen what Jesus did to rescue us (dying and rising again) and now we will look at HOW we can be justified before a holy God. All throughout history, God's MEANS of salvation has always been faith - beginning with Abraham. In the Old Testament, the OBJECT of that faith was God Himself. The people trusted God that the sacrifices they made would cover their sins (although only temporary). But now that God has instituted a New Covenant (or “Testament”), the object of faith is Jesus Christ. And now anyone who trusts in Him can have their sins FOREVER covered and erased. It is by faith in Him ALONE that can redeem and justify.

When observing a diamond, it is customary for a jeweler to place it on a black felt surface for the customer to see all of its beauty and intricacies. That is exactly what Paul does in the first three chapters of Romans. Chapters 1 & 2 are very grim and dark - everyone has sinned, the world is progressively evil, and our situation is seemingly incurable. But then in chapter 3 he places a "diamond" called "the Gospel" on that black backdrop and we see a blinding light of hope and future. Jesus steps into the courtroom and offers to take our place and punishment before the Judge of the Universe. We see now that the only thing we can do to be saved is simply trust that Jesus' sacrifice is enough to forgive our sins.

 "Well at least I've never done THAT before." Statements like these can often be heard when someone is thinking about how "good" or "bad" they are. Many times we base our "righteousness" off of comparing ourselves with how bad others are around us. However, the problem with that is when it comes to "good" and "evil," "holiness" and "sinfulness," the scales for righteousness are not "man's" standard - they are God's standard. And God's standard says to enter Heaven you must be perfect - in other words, you've never done anything wrong ever. Last time I checked, no one is perfect. We all mess up. The Bible says "there is none who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:3). So if that's the case, who then can be saved? The better question is can we even be saved in the first place? And if so, how? THAT is the situation mankind finds itself in. What's worse is all our sins and crimes have a punishment coming: God's wrath. Despite how bad this situation seems, the good news is Jesus is the way out - HE can provide an escape from the impending doom and can save us from our sins.

God has many different attributes and characteristics. Some of them we tend to focus on more than others. For example, we love talking about His love, grace, mercy, peace, and joy. But God is also a God of justice, holiness, wrath, and righteousness. This can make people uncomfortable because they don't like to think that God would actually punish them for the wrong things that they do. However, the Bible is clear that God has given humanity laws to obey and if we disobey, there are repercussions. Just as a criminal must face a judge for the crimes they have committed, so we all must appear before God's face someday: either guilty or forgiven. And the Gospel reveals that God's love and justice are both satisfied with Him sending His own Son to die on our behalf and rise again. Now ANYONE who decides to trust in Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection for their sins can be forgiven.

The book of Romans is one of the most theologically dense books of the entire Bible. There are so many amazing doctrines and divine truths found within its verses. There is also no clearer explanation and application of the Gospel than that which is found in its 16 chapters. Today we begin a BRAND NEW verse-by-verse study of Romans and we will find out not only just how sinful we are but also how gracious our God is.

Many people tend to look at the success of a church by how big or small it is - both physically and numerically. However, there is a lot more to the a "successful" church than just how large it is. According to the Bible, there are certain key characteristics of a local body of believers that should be present to indicate the overall health of a church. These principles must also be applied to our own personal lives, seeing as how WE ourselves make up Jesus' body.

There's a familiar saying that goes something like this: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." And there is a lot of truth to that - we can talk and say the "right" things all day long, but if our actions don't match up to our words, something is off. The Bible says our lives will produce either good "fruit" or bad "fruit." It's up to us to decide which kind we want to bear.

What we believe is extremely important - it shapes us as a person and determines how we see other people and the world around us. It is also vital to realize what we believe influences our actions and behaviors - especially in our walks with Jesus.

God has richly blessed our church and cultivated in us an obsession with Jesus and a desire to see Him glorified in everything we say and do. It is our prayer that He would continue this "flow" and with that, we would "grow" not only numerically but deeper in every area of our relationship with Him.

A new year is filled with so many possibilities and opportunities to grow in our faith and relationships. It is vital that we forget the past and fix our eyes on what lies ahead: a beautiful future filled with Jesus.

When bad things happen in this world so many people begin to ask the question, “where is God?” How could God allow this to happen? Many people that go through hardships and loss can very easily blame God because we frame Him in our minds that He is the provider of all things Good and therefore nothing bad should happen under His careful watch! So where is God?

In this final sermon of our “Genesis” series, Pastor Chad looks at the profound experiences that Joseph faces in his life. From being sold into slavery by his brothers to being promoted to second-in-command of Egypt, there is one word that summarizes the life of Joseph: “redemption.” There is no one and nothing too far gone that our God cannot redeem and turn it around for His glory and our good.

Forgiveness and reconciliation can be very difficult to do sometimes. However, God still calls us to be willing and able to forgive those who wrong us. It is a convicting truth that if the King of the universe could forgive traitors and criminals like us & adopt us as His own children, then CERTAINLY we should be able to forgive our fellow human beings, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Today's story of Jacob and Esau is a perfect example of what reconciliation looks like when God steps in.

Do you know Abraham Lincoln? Most of us would say we know OF him and many might say we know a lot ABOUT him. But none of us can say we PERSONALLY know him. Why? Because he died over 150 years ago! So we see then that the word "know" can hold many different meanings. Do you know Jesus? We're not talking about if you know ABOUT Jesus, if you read the Bible, or if you even go to church every Sunday - that is all "head" knowledge of Jesus. We're talking about a "heart" knowledge - where you have personally asked Jesus to save you from your sins and put all your trust in His death & resurrection. Once that happens, you will be able to see with new, spiritual eyes what God is doing in your life, other's lives, and in the church's life!

There is a lot to be learned from the life of Jacob - he made many mistakes and he oftentimes took the hard road instead of the easy one. Sometimes we can make decisions like Jacob in our own lives. We may feel God leading us to go a certain way but we run from it. The Bible is clear that our actions have consequences and we will "reap" whatever we "sow." But the beauty of it all is that God is relentless in His patience, grace, and love towards us. He sent His Son Jesus to make a way to bring us back to Himself. Take heart in knowing that no matter how many times you have messed up, Jesus still offers His forgiveness to you and wants you to be more like Him.

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show about an "amazing" family and wished you could have that? Whether it was "The Incredibles" or "The Brady Bunch," I'm sure we've all been there at some point! Our world is broken and messed up. That harsh reality is that same brokenness creeps into every area of our life - including our families. This is why we must FIGHT to love & remain unified with our parents, our children, and our brothers & sisters. It takes work but it will be SO worth it in the end. But we must FIRST start by identifying the toxic, dysfunctional traits that we may not even realize occur on a daily basis. It is only by destroying the roots we can begin to see real change and healing happen.

We make hundreds - if not thousands - of little decisions each day. Most of them are so trivial we may not even realize we do them! However, there are other actions & decisions we make that carry massive impact. These are the most important ones that others will observe and remember. This is especially true when it comes to our friends and families. We have tremendous influence on who we spend time with and vice versa. If you are a Christ follower, then the goal is to live out behaviors that are "like Christ" - things that He would do. And the prayerful goal is others will see those actions and desire to tap into what life can be like when God is involved.

Today is our annual "Fall Family Fun Fest" and we are SO thankful for the beautiful weather we are having! We are gathered with our families, friends, neighbors, and new people we haven’t even met yet! Moments like these are when the local church comes together in thriving unity and experiences the deepest of joys. But on a wonderful day like today, the sad truth is many people all over the world are not experiencing what we have. Our world is struggling greatly to find peace. Wars and rumors of wars are on the rise. We can try and look the other way but the reality is that darkness is all around. Today we will focus on some encouraging & hopeful truths from God's Word. The challenge is we would take this message with us and spread it like it's contagious to those sitting in the dark!

A dictionary definition of the word "legacy" is "the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past or of a person’s life." The actions and decisions we make TODAY have the potential to affect our lives and others' lives for YEARS to come. Many of us don't want to think about death or dying. However, it is VITAL that we often think about our last day on Earth because that will affect the decisions we make in the here & now. It is especially important when it comes to the life after this one, namely where we will spend eternity and who we are trying to bring with us.