"There are different ways of saying “again” in Greek. The one here is kind of odd. If you were to check it out in your Bible you’d probably see a little note next to the word “again.” If you go to the margin it will explain the note. It will tell you that the word “again” can also mean “from above.” “You must be born again.” Or, “You must be born from above.” One words, two definitions. And both work. Every one us was birthed once … physically. But you are not just a physical creature. We’re kind of like “hybrids” – both physical and spiritual. And for us to be what we were meant to be, a spiritual birth … a “born again,” a “born from above,” is required, too. Our Creator must re-create, Jesus says. … So … have you been “born again … from above”?" Stephen Pattison, Lead Minister

"This is the big idea. Jesus invited. He didn't force. He didn't power people into following Him. He didn't beg people to believe in Him. He didn't perform people into accepting Him. It’s true that he taught with authority. It’s true that Jesus wowed with His miracles and His signs. And it’s true that there were times when Jesus attracted large crowds.

But … for the person — for the individual who would come face-to-face with Jesus – they were offered an invitation.

Jesus offers us an invitation to participate, to experience, to learn, and to follow. He offers us an invitation into a relationship with Him, and it matches the pattern that God had set from the very beginning." Ben Webb, Associate Minister

"So... till death do us part: perseverance, endurance, faithfulness. That’s what I preached 25 years ago. And it was solid stuff, I think. But we need to go deeper. Because it’s missing, I think, maybe the most important part. Because... what if perseverance isn’t measured just by time? What if endurance and faithfulness aren’t measured just by time?" Stephen "Doc" Pattison, Lead Minister

"James says the proud are in competition with God. Have you ever felt like God is against you? Do you ever feel like your marriage isn’t getting any better? Maybe, just maybe, you have an issue. Maybe you need to be broken of your pride.

James says the humble are on God’s team. Do you want God to come back into your marriage? Do you want God to bring healing? Invite Him back... with humility. Don’t try to manipulate Him into giving you what you want. Just approach Him with humility." Ben Webb, Associate Minister

"If you step into the Bible, you’ll find the word gentle in several places. If you look at the Greek language, something more robust reveals itself. The Greek word for gentleness is pra - ooh - tayce. Historically, this word originally described the space existing between having a hot temper … and having no temper at all. I think this definition gets at something our usual understanding of gentleness misses. Gentleness only exists when there’s an opportunity not to be gentle — when harshness is an equally available option. To be kind or tender or mild-mannered is gentleness … IF you have the ability to NOT be kind or NOT be tender or NOT be mild-mannered.

So, what I’m saying is this: the foundation of gentleness is actually power. It’s authority. It’s the ability to use force — but choosing to restrain … to be gentle.

A gentleman is someone with strength – someone who could do harm – but instead treats people with gentleness and kindness. Let me show you how this plays out in our lives." Ben Webb, Associate Minister

"We are calling this little series, “First comes love, then comes …” And it’s all about the kind of love we’re talking about. If we’re talking about agape, first comes love, then comes … sacrifice. First comes agape, then comes … gentleness. Of course, it does! First comes agape, then comes … humility. First comes agape, then comes faithfulness. And if you’re talking about an agape kind of love … no kidding. Eros? No way. Agape? A God kind of love? Absolutely! The fact is, you can do sacrifice without agape. You can do gentleness, humility, and faithfulness without agape … at least for a while. But if you are practicing an agape kind of love, you cannot not sacrifice and serve. You can not be gentle and humble with your partner. You can not be faithful to your partner … till death do you part. I’ll show you." Stephen "Doc" Pattison, Lead Minister

"Guys, we have a God who is not a God of less than the best. He is not one to give us the minimum expectation. We have a God who is a God of excellence. And when He became man, it was nowhere near the least that God could do; it was His best. I said this last week, but God becoming man was accomplishing excellence in the same way He made mountains, beaches, and sunsets.

So, can we see why this is such a big deal to Him? Can you see why He’s so disappointed when our lives don’t worship Him? Can you see why He would not be pleased with something that we offer Him on a Sunday morning, but that we don’t even think about until the next Sunday morning?

We want to worship with excellence. We’re going to start this year by setting this as a goal: that we would be a people who take this opportunity to worship with excellence. But it isn’t something that can only happen for a few minutes on a Sunday morning. It’s not something that we can program. It’s not something that Steve can simply create.

As a church, we’ve got to take seriously our call to worship God with our lives — that we would worship God with excellence on Monday through Saturday, knowing and believing that if we would live with excellence, if we would worship with excellence, we think it’ll actually make your life better. We think it’ll give you a purpose, something to live for, something with meaning, something bigger than your life, something that you could be a part of that’s bigger than your small individual life.

If you worship Monday through Saturday, it would make your life better and you better at life." Ben Webb, Associate Minister

"In the first two weeks of this sermon series starting out the year, we’ve talked about reading the Bible and setting new patterns for growth within us. For the next two weeks — today and next week — we will discuss pursuing excellence in our worship.

Because there are real implications when we give less than our best. If we give less than our best in our marriage, our work, or our extra responsibilities, we could lose our jobs, you could lose our wives, our kids, or our friends, right? But we don't feel the same impending consequences when we don’t give God our best. But we should. There’s something on the line here.

Colossians 3:17 is a foundational verse we’ll look at more next week, but let’s introduce it briefly here: "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Whatever you do. That includes … everything — every place you go, every person you talk to, every task you take on. And it’s not a call to do your best. Paul, who writes this, actually takes it a step further. He says, do it in the name of Jesus. This means that the places we go, the people we talk to, and the tasks we take on are all opportunities to represent Jesus … to give effort for Jesus … and to bring honor to Jesus. They’re opportunities for us to … worship Jesus."

"So, there are all these different “Bibles” out there, and all these spiritual gurus, motivational “life coaches,” all telling you how to live. And you pile on top of these the advice you are getting every day from TV and the internet, from TV stars and athletes who think that because they are talented and rich, you need to listen to them as they tell you what to think and how to live; and politicians who think they can tell you what to think and how to live. And all of you are probably deluged with advice from your moms and dads, and your brothers and sisters, and your friends as they tell you what to think and how to live. And, every once in a while, they give you some good advice. But, as Jesus' followers, we believe that if their advice contradicts what the Bible tells us … the Bible wins every single time. Right? And to so many, that sounds narrow, quaint, and stupidly arrogant. And … if the Bible was one of many options, they’d be right.

But we think the Bible is … infinitely superior because we think the Bible is … fundamentally different. It’s unique, one of a kind. I’ll show you. We don’t treat our physical Bibles with the same kind of reverence as some of theirs. We are not “bibliolaters.” We don’t worship the book – it’s just paper and ink. We do worship the God who speaks to us through it. We’ll get back to that. But … I want to try to explain this morning why we think our Bible is so special, which will explain why we want you to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, and pray it; so, here goes…" Stephen "Doc" Pattison, Lead Minister

Listen, guys: If you have tried reading your Bible before and failed, try again. We have an incredibly gracious God, and I think he loves it when we try again. If you miss a day, a week, a month … try again. Start again … that’s so cool! It’ll make a difference, guys. It’ll make a difference in your life with God. It’ll make a difference in how you see yourself, the people around you, and your work … Guys, you’ll be opening yourself to the transforming work of God’s Holy Spirit, which is so cool to be transformed by God!" Stephen "Doc" Pattison, New Year, New You Series