Christians are NOT immune to difficulty. Far from it; in fact. We’re actually promised that life will become more difficult when we try to live for Christ. In today’s message, Pastor Mike explains that God demonstrates and tests the faith of his followers this way. It’s not easy to believe in a just God if one of his followers has trouble, while the other doesn’t, right? Well, which of the two does God love more? Neither, right? God never gives anyone a struggle they can’t handle, so don’t lose your trust in him!

Have you ever felt like God wasn’t there during a difficult time in your life? In today’s message, Pastor Mike speaks about how even in times of difficulty, God’s word spread amongst the people in Egypt. Over the course of only a few hundred years, they had increased in number from only a hundred to at least 2 million. Even when difficulties arose within Egypt, God’s people never dwindled! They kept faith in God, even if he wasn’t always apparent. We need to do the same, because that’s what faith is!

In today’s message, Pastor Mike reads God’s word; saying that we need to seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. I’m pretty sure God doesn’t mean we should go try and catch clouds or stars. What he means is to seek things that are glorifying to the Kingdom of God, not things that are only glorifying to you, or your friends, or the people of the world. We need to seek things that bring glory to the name of God. As Christians, we represent God to other people, let’s make him look good!

The world around us is pretty impressive, isn’t it? But you should never let it distract you from what’s really important; the world that comes afterwards! There isn’t a single thing on our Earth that will out-do God’s Kingdom. So, why should we let earthly things distract us when we have so much more coming our way? In today’s message, Pastor Mike says that we need to let nothing distract us from sharing that wonderful Kingdom with everyone. No matter how “important” we think they are!

Have you ever heard a message from God? Sometimes they don’t always make the most sense, right? But that doesn’t mean we should ignore them by any means! In today’s message, Pastor Mike references when the Pharaoh was blessed by Joseph. Even if it was hard to understand at first, it all worked out in the end to the benefit of the Egyptian people! We need to do the same. Sometimes it might feel like God’s plan for us involves getting moved around a lot, but that still is His design.

Often, people will “try out” Christianity; and give it up quickly because they don’t hear God’s voice. But what if you thought about it like a conversation? Would you keep talking to someone who didn’t talk back? It would be better described as talking at someone rather than talking with them. Pastor Mike asks the same question about your relationship with God in today's message. Do you let God speak with you? Or are you expecting Him to talk at you while you don’t talk back?

Do you ever feel like you’ve been left behind? Do the people around you move on to other things without caring about you? Do you ever feel like God does that? In today’s message, Pastor Mike speaks about why people don’t often hear God’s voice, and that’s because they’re not listening to it! Not just in attention but in location or even in action! Hearing God’s voice means you need to seek it! So, that means putting aside distractions and excuses. God’s already found you, so find Him!

Do you like to exercise? Why would you? It’s strenuous, exhausting, and very sweaty! The reason we do it, though, is to become stronger! Nobody gets into shape from just sitting around! And the same can be said for our faith! In today’s message, Pastor Mike explains that most of our growth as Christians comes from discomfort! Think of it like a sort of workout for your spirit! After all, what good are we to the Kingdom of God if we fall apart at the first signs of difficulty?

Nobody likes being alone. Now I don’t mean having time to yourself or being able to get your own space; I mean having absolutely nobody to turn to when they need it. In today’s message, Pastor Mike speaks about how we, as Christians, always have someone to turn to when the going gets tough, right? Jesus. No matter how big those struggles become or how far away from everyone else may feel, especially after a pandemic; Jesus is always there when you need Him; just ask!

Have you ever forgotten God? I don’t necessarily mean that you outright forget He exists, but have you ever been so caught up in the small details of things that you forget God’s plan with the big picture? Pastor Mike uses Jacob’s story in today's message to demonstrate someone “forgetting” about God. It was because Jacob let himself get so distracted by his own self-doubt and pity that he stopped remembering who exactly it was he was continuously putting his life on the line for in the first place!