How would someone describe your attitude when it comes to giving? Not just money but also your time, abilities, attention, and skills? Would "generous" come to their mind? Or do they see you as being selfish, stingy, and close-fisted? When it comes to our heart and mindset towards giving anything away, we should seek to have the same approach that Jesus did - complete surrender and willingness to sacrifice. God wants us to not only be generous with our wealth but how we spend our time and resources He has given to us. Let us ask God to give us "generous" lives.

Worship comes in many different forms, styles, and appearances. Even though music and instruments may instantly come to mind, biblical worship goes so much deeper than that. Music can certainly be a PART of worship, but God cares more about the "posture" of our hearts than anything else. He wants us to praise Him no matter what our current circumstance. He wants us to rejoice and worship Him even when the night is darkest - even when our prayers aren't answered. Why? Because we trust Him no matter what. We must refuse to allow our situation and our trials to dictate how we see and feel about our Father.

When the topic of money and giving are brought up in a crowd, a whole range of emotions usually can follow. Some people may get excited and enjoy giving of their time and resources, others might squirm a little and feel uncomfortable. No matter how you feel about it, the fact is God loves a giving heart and wants us to naturally desire to be generous. Often times the question that comes up is, "How much do I HAVE to give?" when Jesus wants us to ask, "How much CAN I give?"

Sometimes when it comes to revival, we like to imagine how WE think God should do it and end up expecting that He’ll do it that exact way. But just like all throughout the Bible, God knows best and is more concerned about our hearts than anything else. He always calls His people to a humbled attitude and to present themselves fully surrendered to Him. Jesus wants us to lay down anything that is pulling us away from Him on the altar of "dying to self." THAT is when revival begins - when all we truly want is Jesus.

Have you ever read the stories in the Old Testament and desperately wished you could have physically seen the miracles that God did? Well the amazing reality is the God of the Old Testament is STILL the same God today and continues to do miracles for us, among us, and through us. They may not necessarily "look" the same but we can rest assured He still does great and wondrous things. Never give up hope or faith. God ultimately does miracles for His glory but we also profit from them because they are ALWAYS for our good.

Peer pressure can be a very difficult thing to not only encounter but overcome. One of the clearest examples of this can be found with Daniel's three friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. From the beginning, they knew life in Babylon was going to be hard but they probably never thought they'd be faced with life or death for choosing to follow Yahweh. But even in the face of losing their lives, they trusted in their God until the end, even if He chose not to save them. And it's through their story that we can draw out principles to help us in our current culture.

Have you ever wondered if there is more to your walk with Jesus than just reading a chapter of the Bible every day, telling God what you want Him to do, going to church every Sunday, and living a "moral" life until you die? Well the good news is there is ABSOLUTELY so much more! When you first believed the Gospel and started following Jesus, that wasn't the end - that was JUST the beginning. Similar to how your wedding day wasn't the “end” but the first day of your "happily ever after," so it is with Jesus. He has SO much more in store for us, not only in Heaven but also here, right now, on this Earth. The only question that remains is do you want it?

 We all have that friend or have met that person who always has an “excuse” for everything. We ask them to hang out or do us a favor and they never fail to have a reason as to why they can't do something. Typically our emotional response is one of annoyance, frustration, confusion, and distrust. The sad reality is that this is often the case when it comes to us and Jesus. He has clearly laid out His desires and commands for us in His Word and yet we will come up with all the excuses in the world to not do them - especially sharing the Gospel. We must decide this day if we are going to just "say" we are a disciple of Jesus or if we are going to bury our excuses and actually "live" like a disciple.

Last week we talked a lot about the problems facing us in the Church today. But this morning we will look at the ONLY solution that can turn the tide and change EVERYTHING: Jesus Christ. The more we know about Jesus and just how powerful & mighty He is, the less power our trials and struggles will have over our lives. It is so important that we spend time with the One who gave His life for us.

The fascinating thing about human nature is we would all admit we "know" one day we are going to die but it doesn't really "feel" like that day will come. Life just seems like it will keep going on forever. However, if we don't realize NOW how short life truly is, we will waste the valuable time God has given us. In light of eternity - forever - 100 years on this Earth is not a lot of time at all. NOW is the time to change our way of thinking & living and we need to focus on what truly matters: to live each day growing closer to Jesus and telling others about Him before it's too late.

 We all have that friend or have met that person who always has an “excuse” for everything. We ask them to hang out or do us a favor and they never fail to have a reason as to why they can't do something. Typically our emotional response is one of annoyance, frustration, confusion, and distrust. The sad reality is that this is often the case when it comes to us and Jesus. He has clearly laid out His desires and commands for us in His Word and yet we will come up with all the excuses in the world to not do them - especially sharing the Gospel. We must decide this day if we are going to just "say" we are a disciple of Jesus or if we are going to bury our excuses and actually "live" like a disciple.

A lot of times when we pray to God and ask Him to do something, we already have it planned out in our minds how we think God should do it. And then when He doesn't or it doesn't go exactly how we thought, we become frustrated and even angry at Him. As we will see in today's message, we must remember that God's ways are higher than ours and He knows best. It is up to us if we are going to trust Him by faith or try to figure things out on our own. It is only by fully surrendering to Him we will experience the answer or "healing" to our situation that we are looking for.

In today's culture, if you don't have a degree, don't have a career job, aren't making a lot of money, don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse, then you simply aren't successful and living the "American Dream." This is pushed upon us everyday from everywhere - from friends and family to social media and coworkers. The sad reality is this mindset of the "American Dream" has crept into the church and disguised itself in the form of the "abundant life." Because of this, a lot of our thoughts, motives, and directions in life are driven by our pursuit for these achievements. But is that what it truly means to follow Jesus? To be a "disciple”? What if we lived each day or each week as if it was our last? What if we treated this Earth and our possessions as things given to us to lead others to Christ? Today we are going to dive deep into what it would look like if we were to abandon a "comfortable" faith and instead embrace a biblical faith.

The Bible truly is the most amazing book to ever exist - not just because of the life changing truths contained within it but because it was written by God Himself! Over thousands of years and across numerous continents, He inspired writers to use their personalities and talents to convey the exact message He wanted to be said. As believers, Jesus calls us to walk worthy of the calling He has given us and because of this, we should seek to become more like Him, study His Words each day, and share them with everyone we meet.

We have finally arrived at the end of the book of Romans! This has been a very amazing and even convicting series as we have seen from beginning to end the whole scope of God's justice, mercy, and love. Today we take a look into the POWER of the Gospel and how Jesus truly can change everything. When we allow Him to work in our hearts, we will begin to become more LIKE Him in our thoughts, actions, and words. We will start to see people as God does and be moved with compassion to tell them how THEIR lives can be changed JUST like ours was.

A lot of times, we love messages and sermons that talk about the love of God and everything He has done for us. While this is good, sometimes we tend to struggle with messages that challenge our thinking or way of living and when a call is given to change. At the root of this struggle is how we view "authority." When it comes to the Christian life, there is one ultimate authority: the Lord Jesus Christ. But there is a huge difference between simply "knowing" that to be true and actually "living" like it is true. We must humble ourselves to not only obey God's authority but also the authorities that He Himself has put into place on this Earth.

Today is all about celebrating the fathers in our lives! Some of us have had good relationships with our fathers while others may have a rocky (or even non-existent) relationship with their father. Whichever category you find yourself in this morning, one thing is for certain: for those who have given their lives to Jesus, you have a PERFECT Father in Heaven who smiles down at you and is pleased with you. He rejoices over you, leads you, guides you, teaches you, corrects you, and LOVES you. Let's spend some time today with our Father who has promised to NEVER leave us and ONLY wants the best for us.

If you have watched the news at any point in the past several months, no doubt you would have seen Israel mentioned quite often. It can be scary and yet exciting at the same time when we hear Israel mentioned in current world events. After all, Israel will play a massive role in the fulfillment of many end time prophecies. Because of this, it is good to reflect on how thankful we should be that God chose to open salvation up to us Gentiles (non-Jewish people). Jesus Christ is still Israel's Messiah and while they reject Him now, how marvelous it is that someday soon the nation of Israel will finally see and believe that He truly is the Lord and Savior they have been waiting for. Let us continually pray for Israel.

 The Gospel is the most beautiful message anyone could ever hear. Not only is it beautiful, but it is also so simple that even a child can believe. To be forgiven of your sins and begin a relationship with Jesus, all you must do is repent of your sins and believe Jesus died in your place and rose again. There is NOTHING we can do to earn God's forgiveness or love. It is ONLY by trusting in what HE has already done! It is a free gift and ANYONE can receive it. Have you?

The Bible says that God's ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts. This can be a difficult truth to process. Especially when things happen in our lives that we don't understand or don't go the way we expected. It is during these times, however, when we must CLING to what we know about God's character. The Devil would love for us to doubt and question God and His ways but we must remember He is loving, wise, holy, sovereign, and just - ALL of the time. And while God is in control and allows things to happen, that does not exclude our responsibility to make decisions and be obedient to Him. It is a beautiful picture and profound dance of sovereignty and free will.