Pastor Micah started our new 'Back to Church Series' called "Hope is Here!" Throughout this series we will focus on the Hope that we have because of Jesus Christ's presence in our lives! Throughout this four week series we will talk about how Jesus has given us hope for the weary, the broken, the underdog, and the doubter.

We were created by God to live with a healthy cadence in life. However, far too many of us are living without margin in every area of our lives. We fill our calendars. We can’t say no. We live with a harmful drive to achieve. We have lost hope that it will slow down anytime soon. Jesus offers us such a gift in saying that he has come to give us rest.

Think: I don’t have to live each day so exhausted by simply trying to keep up. I can allow others to help me.

Feel: I am a 'human being' and not a 'human doing.' I am loved by God and that is enough.

Do: Practice saying “no” and receive the grace of God while investing in relationships to make you healthy.

Bottom Line: We can always have hope because Jesus is present; and when Jesus is present, hope is present!

Pastor Micah concluded our current series "Mirrored." Through this series we have taken time to look at the attributes of God that are mirrored in us. God made us in His image which means He has placed some of his attributes in us. We will take a take a deeper look at these attributes to guide us into having a stronger connection with our Savior. Here is the key point from week 3: God has given us each an irreplaceable role to be a part of one united body.

We all have gifts that are given to us by God and we need to use them to expand His Kingdom.

“You see, our true places as people in God’s Story are as diverse and unique as wildflowers in a field. No two look quite the same.” (Staci Eldridge, "Captivating")

Bottom Line: As a part of the body of Christ, we each have an irreplaceable role.

Pastor Micah continued on with part 2 of our current series "Mirrored." Through this series we will take some time to look at the attributes of God that are mirrored in us. God made us in His image which means He has placed some of his attributes in us. We will take a take a deeper look at these attributes to guide us into having a stronger connection with our Savior. Here is the key point from week 2: As followers of Jesus, we are called to different battles to fight for justice and compassion. 

What do we fight for?

• We fight for justice and peace

Who do we fight against?

1. We fight against the enemy
2. We fight against ourselves

When we embrace justice and compassion, we become the warriors God has called each one of us to be and fight to bring His Kingdom here on Earth.

Missionary Rachel Nimlos who is going to serve for a year in Thailand came to share with us on Sunday, August 15th. She will be working with a ministry that focuses on rescuing and restoring victims of human trafficking throughout Thailand. We're excited to partner with Rachel as she follows the Lord's prompting in her life to minister to the people of Thailand. 

Pastor Micah started a new series this week called "Mirrored." Through this series we will take some time to look at the attributes of God that are mirrored in us. God made us in His image which means He has placed some of his attributes in us. We will take a take a deeper look at these attributes to guide us into having a stronger connection with our Savior. In week one we are looking at how we are called to be holy just as Christ is Holy.

How do we live holy lives that show God's glory?

1. Prepare our minds for action and self-control. (Ephesians 6-Armor of God, James 2:26)
2. We need to look forward to what's ahead.
3. Lastly, we need to be different.

“How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible.” (C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady)

This week Pastor Micah continued on in our current series "New Mind New Thoughts" with part 2 'Set Your Sights on Things Above.' This week's focus was found by looking at Jesus's example of what it means to "live resurrected." Pastor Micah shared 4 ways in which we can live a life today that is actively "living resurrected."

1. Leave the Tomb (Philippians 3:12-14)
2. Serve Others (Jesus calls us to live our lives to love and serve one another)
3. Let the Holy Spirit Enable You (Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead. direct, and empower you to do the work He's calling you to do)
4. Look Forward to Heaven (Revelation 21:1-7; Psalm 119:11)

Bottom Line: Setting our sights on things above draws us near to Jesus and brings us a willingness to live a resurrected life.

Pastor Micah started a new series this week called "New Mind New Thoughts." The first part of this series is entitled 'Fix Your Thoughts.' We hope that this series will help us create a filter for how we think and how we can have minds that point to Jesus. The way you think impacts how you view what’s going on around you. What our hope is for this series is that our mindset would be focused on Jesus. 

This week we looked in particular at what it means to fix your thoughts on Jesus. The main portion of scripture we looked at was Philippians 4:6-9. The 3 main points we pulled from this passage that help us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus are:

1. Prayer (v.6-7)
2. Think (v.8) "How can we have thoughts if we don't think, right?"
3. Do (v.9) "Our thoughts lead to our actions, and vice versa."

Bottom line: Prayer helps us find peace and helps us focus our thoughts on Jesus. Thinking about Jesus helps guide us to doing what Jesus calls us to do in Scripture. And our actions give us thoughts we can remember as we fix our thoughts on Jesus.

Pastor Micah continues our current series "Contagious Christianity" with part 2 'How?' This week Pastor Micah discusses how we can strive to become the most contagious christians possible! Here are 3 simple things keys to help us make a lasting impact on those around us:

1. Know What You Believe (1 Peter 3:15; Matthew 7:24-27)
2. Live What You Believe (James 1:22-25; Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:14-16)
3. Share What You Believe (Romans 10:14-15)

One Big Take Away: Christianity that’s really contagious takes courage!

One Big Question: When it comes to your faith, are you trying to look good, or are you truly looking to impact those around you?

Pastor Micah started a new series called "Contagious Christianity" this week. This week Pastor Micah talks about what it means to have a contagious faith. But what if Christianity ought to be contagious? What if our love for Jesus Christ became so contagious that it couldn’t help but be spread wherever we went? Today's message had 3 main takeaways for each of us to consider:

1. Every Soul Matters to God (Luke 19:10)
2. Create a Daily Awareness (Let our world's collide, no more compartmentalizing our faith from the rest of our lives. 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22-24)
3. Am I a Christian that we want being Contagious? (Matt. 23:15)

Our relationship with God is all about becoming more like Jesus in all things, at all places, and with all people!

Here is an excerpt from Pastor Micah's closing portion of the message. "We have the potential to be a contagious body of believers that spread the love of Jesus everywhere we go, but I believe we all need to get back to the simple truth that every soul matters to God. Then we need to allow our worlds to collide each day and be the kind of Christian that Jesus wants to be contagious. When this happens, lives will be changed, and heaven will rejoice that the ones Jesus came to seek will be saved."

Pastor Micah shared a message entitled "Hide & Seek" this week to help remind each of us why the Bible and scripture are truly so important to us today. He pulled out a few key words from 2 Timothy 3:16-17; profitable, complete, equipped that help us understand the importance of God's Word! Only through spending time in God's Word can we truly grow into the man or woman of God that He is calling us to be. Spending time in His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives is how we become most fully equipped in our lives, and effectively reaching those around us. 

Pastor Micah shared four things the sufficient Word of God is used for to make us complete believers and to equip us in every good work:

1. Teaching
2. Rebuking
3. Correcting
4. Training

Check out this original game of "Hide & Seek" as King David shares his heart in Psalm 119:10-11. “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (NIV). King David was continually seeking God with his whole heart, and the way he was doing that was by hiding (or storing) God's Word in His heart. That is Pastor Micah's prayer for each and every person.