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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

“What is the will of God for my life?" Perhaps that is a question you have heard or even asked yourself before. Or a similar question: "How would you describe God's will?" Many times we think there must be a long, complex answer when in reality, it's not as confusing as one might think. Today, on this exciting "Graduation Sunday," we will look at the life of one individual from the Bible and discover the amazing truths we can actually KNOW about God's will and even apply them to our own lives!

Happy Mother's Day!!! What a beautiful joy it is that we can set aside a complete day to celebrate mothers and thank God for the impact and influence they have had in our lives. Today is part 2 of our deep-dive into Romans 8 - where we see the AMAZING truth and reality that in Christ, we have an unfathomable, invincible freedom that is ours to discover!