Generations Community Church

What do you do where there is a great barrier between you and where you think you are going? Because you're going to face them. And sometimes you'll break through the barrier. And sometimes you won't. So what do you do? In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches from Joshua 3 and how Jesus is a better Joshua - and how God can and will help us safely across. At the end of the day, it's not WHAT God says that's the issue. It's that we're not sure we can TRUST Him. Of course, it's not like anyone else who's life is recorded in the pages of the Bible hasn't struggled with the SAME thing!

All of us know someone we might consider to be "beyond God's reach." It's the family member who obstinately REFUSES to have anything to do with "organized religion" and who claims to be more "enlightened" than the rest of the family. It's the co-worker who grew up in church but is the first one to name the hypocrisy and politicization of church as a reason to "stay clear." Is it possible to be too far gone for God's compassion and mercy? Can any of us get to a point where it's no longer possible to hear God's voice? In this message, Max Vanderpool walks us through Joshua 2 - and the story of Rahab and how faith and fear are common reactions to when God is at work.

All of us know someone we might consider to be "beyond God's reach." It's the family member who obstinately REFUSES to have anything to do with "organized religion" and who claims to be more "enlightened" than the rest of the family. It's the co-worker who grew up in church but is the first one to name the hypocrisy and politicization of church as a reason to "stay clear." Is it possible to be too far gone for God's compassion and mercy? Can any of us get to a point where it's no longer possible to hear God's voice? In this message, Max Vanderpool walks us through Joshua 2 - and the story of Rahab and how faith and fear are common reactions to when God is at work.

How do you handle it when you're about to DO something you've NEVER done before? Is there a part of you that's anxious or afraid or uncertain? And how do you handle it when you're about to GO somewhere you've never been before? What questions run through YOUR mind? Will I succeed? Or will I fail? Will things work out? Or will I get crushed? Will these people like me? Will I fit it? Can I figure things out? It's a LOT to shoulder. But here's the thing about God and faith. If you follow God for any length of time, God will take you places you've never been before. Count on it. Expect it. (Perhaps even dread it a little.) In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches from Joshua 1 - and what's it like to find yourself in a place you've never been before.

How do you handle it when you're about to DO something you've NEVER done before? Is there a part of you that's anxious or afraid or uncertain? And how do you handle it when you're about to GO somewhere you've never been before? What questions run through YOUR mind? Will I succeed? Or will I fail? Will things work out? Or will I get crushed? Will these people like me? Will I fit it? Can I figure things out? It's a LOT to shoulder. But here's the thing about God and faith. If you follow God for any length of time, God will take you places you've never been before. Count on it. Expect it. (Perhaps even dread it a little.) In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches from Joshua 1 - and what's it like to find yourself in a place you've never been before.

Think back to a time when someone made time for you. Maybe that looked like caring for you when you were sick, or teaching you how to tie your shoe, making food for you, or teaching you how to read or learn a new skill. No matter what it is, when people make time for us, it can bring us joy. It’s like a light shining on a dark day. Caring for one another isn’t always the easy thing to do, but it certainly is what Jesus asks of us. When Jesus gave the command in Matthew 5 to let our light shine, it wasn’t just to bring joy into each other’s lives, but also to bring glory to God. We are reflections of Who God is, and as we “Live Bright” this month, we’ll discover exactly how we can shine God’s light.

Think back to a time when someone made time for you. Maybe that looked like caring for you when you were sick, or teaching you how to tie your shoe, making food for you, or teaching you how to read or learn a new skill. No matter what it is, when people make time for us, it can bring us joy. It’s like a light shining on a dark day. Caring for one another isn’t always the easy thing to do, but it certainly is what Jesus asks of us. When Jesus gave the command in Matthew 5 to let our light shine, it wasn’t just to bring joy into each other’s lives, but also to bring glory to God. We are reflections of Who God is, and as we “Live Bright” this month, we’ll discover exactly how we can shine God’s light.

Jesus assumed that his followers would pray and fast. But Jesus doesn't want them to fast like "the hypocrites" do. So what it that? What makes a person a hypocrite when they are fasting? And what are the reasons (or benefits) to fast? Is it to control our appetite? Is it to hear ourselves and the voice of God more clearly? In this message, Matthew Maresco draws out the "Daniel Fast" and what Jesus was concerned about when he warned against "fasting like the hypocrites."

Jesus assumed that his followers would pray and fast. But Jesus doesn't want them to fast like "the hypocrites" do. So what it that? What makes a person a hypocrite when they are fasting? And what are the reasons (or benefits) to fast? Is it to control our appetite? Is it to hear ourselves and the voice of God more clearly? In this message, Matthew Maresco draws out the "Daniel Fast" and what Jesus was concerned about when he warned against "fasting like the hypocrites."

On any given Sunday, you bring your body to worship - but your attention could be elsewhere. And this is what gets God's shorts in a bunch in the Old Testament - God's people were OBEYING him (coming to worship, etc.), but their attention - their hearts - were elsewhere. In this message, Matthew Maresco and Dawn Tippey unpack what lies at the heart of worship and why we use music.