Some of the weight exhausting us isn't just what happened to us. It's what we've continued carrying because of what happened.

Over time, rejection, shame, betrayal, insecurity, painful relationships, and experiences we never chose can become like bricks we carry everywhere we go. Eventually, we can become so accustomed to the weight that we don't even realize how much it is affecting the way we live.

In Part 2 of STILL STANDING, we look at what it means to release unnecessary weight and Jesus' encounter with a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years.

Jesus asks him a powerful question: “Do you want to be made well?”

Then He tells him to stand up, take his mat, and walk.

You cannot change what happened yesterday. But you can change your relationship with your past and the direction you walk tomorrow.

STILL STANDING

Forest Park Church

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What happens when life takes a turn you never expected?

We make plans, try to make wise decisions, and hope life will unfold a certain way. But circumstances change. People make choices. Loss happens. Sometimes we find ourselves living a story we never would have chosen.

In Part 1 of Still Standing: How to Endure What You Never Expected, we talk about what it means to develop real resilience. Not pretending the pain didn’t hurt. Not covering it with spiritual clichés. Not trying to become exactly who you were before.

Biblical resilience means learning to absorb what happened, adapt to what has changed, and keep moving faithfully toward life.

You may not be able to change what happened yesterday, but how you respond today will help shape who you become tomorrow.

Through Hebrews 12, James 1, and the life of Paul, we see that endurance isn’t something that suddenly appears when we need it. It is formed as we continue taking the next faithful step, even when life looks nothing like we expected.

The goal isn’t to finish life untouched or without scars.

The goal is to finish faithful.

Still standing.

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We’re good at drawing circles around who belongs and who doesn’t. But in the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenges those boundaries and turns an outsider into the example of what it means to love our neighbor.

What if the person we’ve placed outside our circle is precisely where God is waiting to meet us?

Join us for Part 5 of Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies Christians Believe) as we explore Luke 10:25–37 and Jesus’ call to “go and do likewise.”

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Is prayer really all you need?

Prayer is powerful. Scripture matters. Spiritual disciplines can shape and strengthen us. But sometimes, “just pray about it” becomes a way of avoiding the practical steps God may be inviting us to take.

We are spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, and psychological beings, and each part of our lives affects the others. Faith doesn’t require us to choose between prayer and counseling, trusting God and medicine, or spiritual growth and asking for help.

In Part 4 of Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies Christians Believe, we explore what Scripture says about a faith that doesn’t just pray, but acts.

Sometimes the next step in healing is to pray. And sometimes prayer gives us the courage to make the appointment, establish the boundary, tell the truth, change the pattern, or ask for help.

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“Just forgive and forget.” It sounds biblical, but is that actually what Jesus asks of us?

Forgiveness is one of the most beautiful ideas in the Christian faith, but it has also been misunderstood and even used to pressure wounded people into staying in abusive, unhealthy, or destructive relationships.

In Part 3 of Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies Christians Believe, we look at what biblical forgiveness actually means, and what it doesn’t.

Forgiveness does not mean removing boundaries.

You can forgive someone and still keep your distance. You can extend mercy while telling the truth about what happened. You can let go of personal vengeance while still allowing someone to experience the consequences of their choices.

Ultimately, forgiveness isn’t about pretending the hurt didn’t happen. It’s about deciding what kind of person we want to become in response to it.

You cannot control what another person does or who they become. But you can control what you do and who you become.

📖 Scripture: Matthew 18:21–35, Luke 17:1–4, Romans 16:17–18, Luke 23:34, 1 Corinthians 6:9–11

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What happens when you believe in God but still have questions?

For many Christians, doubt has been treated like the enemy of faith, something to suppress, hide, or overcome. But Scripture tells a more complicated and hopeful story.

In Part 2 of this series, Pastor Scott explores the difference between doubt, certainty, and trust. From Job’s painful honesty to John the Baptist questioning from prison, Peter sinking beneath the waves, and three men standing before a fiery furnace, we see people who trusted God without knowing what He would do next.

Faith isn’t having every answer.

If you’re following Jesus while carrying questions, disappointment, pain, or uncertainty, this message is for you.

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When tragedy strikes, one of the most common responses is, "Everything happens for a reason."

In the first part of our series, Pastor Scott explores one of life's hardest questions and challenges a belief that has shaped the way many Christians understand suffering, prayer, and God's will. Instead of offering easy answers, we discover how Jesus responded to pain, what prayer is actually for, and why our hope isn't found in having every answer, but in the God who walks with us through every season.

If you've ever wrestled with loss, disappointment, unanswered prayers, or wondered where God is in the middle of your pain, this message is for you.

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What if you've spent your whole life trying to earn something God has already given you?

In Part 4 of our Better Than You Think series, Pastor Scott explores why so many of us live for approval, performance, and acceptance from others, and how the gospel sets us free from that exhausting cycle. Through Scripture and practical examples, you'll discover that God's acceptance isn't something you achieve. It's something you receive through Jesus.

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Have you ever believed God forgives people... but secretly wondered if He could really forgive you?

In Part 3 of Better Than You Think, Pastor Scott Neal explores one of the most freeing truths in Scripture: forgiveness isn't something God is waiting to give you. Through Jesus, it has already been accomplished. The question is whether you're living like it's true.

If you've struggled with guilt, shame, regret, or feeling like you have to earn God's acceptance, this message will help you discover the freedom Jesus came to give.

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Can you really lose God's love? Is it something you have to earn, maintain, or prove?

In Part 2 of our Better Than You Think series, Pastor Scott explores one of the most freeing truths of the gospel: God's love comes with no strings attached. So many of us live as though God is keeping score, loving us more when we succeed and less when we fail. But Scripture tells a different story.

Discover how God's unwavering love transforms our hearts, why grace is often misunderstood, and what it means to live from acceptance instead of striving for it.

📖 Key Scriptures:

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