Are you busy serving God yet feel spiritually dry or distant from Jesus? In this message from Mark 3, Pastor Randall unpacks a powerful question: “When did doing for Jesus replace being with Jesus?” Discover why nearness to Christ—not activity—is the starting point of the Christian life. Learn how Jesus models withdrawing from busyness to be with the Father, why He “appointed” the disciples first to be with Him and then to be sent, and how you can reorder your life around His presence. This sermon will help you breathe again spiritually and return to the way of Jesus.

In this message, Pastor Randall launches a new series on “The Way of Jesus.” Preaching from Matthew 4, he shows how Jesus’ first call, “Come, follow me,” required the disciples to literally leave their nets, boats, and even family. Christianity isn’t sprinkling Jesus onto our preferred life; it’s rearranging our entire life around Him. We explore the difference between emotional moments and real obedience, how we’re all being formed by something, and what our modern “nets” are—comforts, relationships, careers, or dreams. You’ll be challenged to ask: If Jesus said “Follow Me” today, what would I struggle to lay down?

The critical issue of spiritual drift is not outright rebellion against God, but the gradual inattention to His voice that leads believers to live on spiritual autopilot. God's ultimate goal isn't just restoration after we've drifted, but ongoing closeness and intimacy with His people. The message emphasizes that through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised in Joel and fulfilled at Pentecost, every believer now has direct access to God's voice and guidance. We're called to cultivate a daily relationship with Christ through Scripture and attentiveness to the Spirit's leading in every moment of life.

God responds to genuine repentance not with rejection but with complete restoration. Joel reveals six key aspects of God's heart: He is jealous for us, compassionate toward us, eager to secure our position as His people, determined to restore us completely, committed to redeeming our past, and longing to be present with us. The cross is the ultimate demonstration of God's lengths to draw us back to Himself. Jesus didn't die just to get us to heaven someday, but to do life with us now.

Genuine repentance is vital in the life of believers. It is not self-punishment but rather turning back to God with an honest heart. Drawing from the book of Joel, this message confronts the reality of spiritual drift and calls believers to move beyond shallow, apathetic responses to sin. Repentance is not merely feeling bad about sin or confessing wrongdoing, but involves a complete change of mind and direction—a transformation from the inside out. God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. It is God's kindness, not fear of judgment, that leads us to repentance. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, believers can approach God's throne boldly and confidently, seeking freedom from the bondage of sin and experiencing genuine transformation rather than just conviction.

Spiritual drift is the subtle, unintentional movement of believers away from God without ever consciously deciding to leave Him. In this message, we discuss how God sends warnings and "alarms" in our lives not to punish us, but because He loves us too much to let us continue drifting toward destruction. God's interruptions, whether through guilt, restlessness, or life circumstances, are acts of love designed to wake us up and draw us back to intimacy with Him.

Spiritual drift often happens quietly—not through rebellion, but through inattention. Drawing from the book of Joel and the imagery of a drifting boat, this message explores how hearts can move away from God while life remains full of good and busy things. The locusts in Joel reveal how God uses disruption as a loving wake-up call, not punishment. Before restoration comes awareness. God’s warnings are invitations to pause, notice what’s been neglected, and respond to His gracious call back to Him.

As we approach a new year, we explore the tension between human planning and God’s sovereignty. While planning is good, true wisdom comes from humility, surrender, and trusting God with our future—living with open hands rather than self-reliance.

Jesus's birth was not merely a sentimental story but the beginning of a cosmic war—the clash of kingdoms where the King of Kings invaded enemy territory to confront and defeat darkness. Christmas and Easter are intrinsically connected, as Christ's birth had the ultimate purpose of His death on the cross. Jesus, as the victorious King, entered into our darkness by becoming human, absorbed all our sin and shame on the cross, and rose above the darkness through His resurrection.

Where does our true allegiance lie? Drawing from Philippians 3:20, we're reminded that our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. In a world where we're constantly pressured to conform we should live as citizens of a different kingdom. This isn't about escaping reality or being so heavenly-minded that we're no earthly good. Rather, it's about recognizing that this life is a vapor, and our decisions today echo into eternity. The question becomes deeply personal: when people watch our lives, whose kingdom do they think we belong to? Do we blend in so seamlessly with the world that there's no distinguishable difference? Or does our allegiance to King Jesus shine through in how we treat others, make decisions, and navigate daily life? This message invites us to stop living with divided loyalty and to fully embrace our identity as kingdom people.