"The one you try and impress is the one that will reward you." Think about that for a second. With all the social platforms that focus on building ourselves up and promoting ourselves, who are we really doing it for? It's so easy to get lost on the lie that a pixelated thumbs up means that we are accepted and loved and affirmed. But Jesus offers a better way. He offers an audience of One. An audience that only includes God our Father, the one who made and created us and whose opinion is the only one that matters. He's actually enjoys those 'food selfies' we all post, because He enjoys being in relationship with us and is interested in the things that we are interested in. He delights in you. We don't need to humble brag about the people we give money to or post pictures of our coffee and bible to announce our intentional quiet times, secretly hoping we'll get more followers. God knows what we do, He knows our hearts and it's His work we are doing, not our own. Tune in this week to Pastor Paul's sermon, titled "Secret Christians", from Matthew 6:1-8; 16-18.

~KT

This week we welcomed Dr John Span to speak on the last words of Joshua. Joshua choses his words with intentional care as he is giving clear instructions to the leaders of the next generation of Israelites. In these passages we are reminded of how important it is that we stick to the word of God and that we do not look to the right or to the left. Far from a directive that is only applicable to the leaders during this time in history, we are still engaged in the same temptations that the Israelites faced back then. We can feel the slight turning of our heads to one side when we are tempted to withhold grace from someone or speak ill of others. We can feel the wrenching of our necks to the other when we face societal pressure to make God into our own image by adopting the ideals of the cultural moment of our time. We must stay to Gods design for our lives, in every single part of our lives. We must cling to the promise keeper, the Lord our God. We must stand firm in our faith.

~KT

This week, we hear from Phil Tadros as he unpacks what was going on in Acts Acts 11:19-31 / 13:1-3. In these chapters, we see the spreading of the Gospel accelerated with the passion and dedicated faith of new believers. Despite all their flaws, the members of these fledgling churches were united in their mission to spread the Good News.

If you are interested in finding more about Phil's Mission To Stoney Creek, find them on Facebook @MissionToStoneyCreek.

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Every time we are wronged, it is an opportunity to show our offenders grace and Christ's love. It can be the hardest thing in the world to do, but as followers of Christ, that is what we are called towards. Listen in as Pastor Paul unpacks Matthew 5:38-42.

~KT

Have you ever sworn on the life of a beloved pet or relative? "I swear on Mr. Fluffybutt's life!" The history of how 'swearing on' something is actually pretty interesting and once you learn about it, its really clear as to why Jesus says that Christian's should not swear on anything. As Christian's, our "yes" should be "yes" and our "no" should be "no". Despite this, we human beings have an incredible capacity to lie - most of the time innocently but sometimes intentionally. We must repent of our default to deception. Listen in this week as Mark unpacks Matthew 5:38-42 and what Jesus says about swearing an oath and how telling the truth fosters deeper and better relationships.

~KT

God has designed the male and female body to be complementary to each other on both the physical and emotional level. Why did He design us that way? What are some of the implications if we don't stick to God's good plan for us? Pastor Paul addresses this topic as well as the topic of divorce in this Sunday's sermon based on Matthew 5:31-32 and Matthew 19:1-12.

At first glance, this passage seems to be a little dramatic. Why is Jesus talking about tossing body parts into hell? Doesn't that seem like a little much, especially when He's referring to something like lust, which is something that almost everyone experiences? But Jesus is talking about the misuse of our God given sexuality. When we make a commodity of it, when we advertise it, when we consume it as in the form of pornography, it degrades our very souls. It objectifies and degrades us into becoming just a body. A body who has no other value but what others physically see in us or use us for. Jesus is so concerned with protecting our bodies that He warns us that against even thinking lustfully is a sin because Jesus loves us as God's precious, created and adored people. Listen in to this weeks sermon as Pastor Paul unpacks Matthew 5:27-30 and stay tuned for part two, next week.

~KT

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