Jesus came to show everyone what life was initially designed to be like & how we are able to live the fullest life imaginable. He led the way for us to follow and then, by emulating HOW He lived, we will be able to live life as we were created to live.

Jesus calls us to renew our hearts and our minds. What does that even mean and why do we need to do that?

God has given us the incredible gift of our imagination. And, with such a great gift is an incredible responsibility because what exists in the reality of our lives begins within our imagination. God has given us a power to create in our minds and, therefore, create in reality. Jesus calls us to transform our hearts and our minds because our transformed hearts and minds will create a transformed reality in us, around us, and through us.

If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."

The Sermon on the Mount...Message #6

Jesus came to show everyone what life was initially designed to be like & how we are able to live the fullest life imaginable. He led the way for us to follow and then, by emulating HOW He lived, we will be able to live life as we were created to live.

The life of Christ is a genuine life. It is not a life of worrying about what things look like. It is a life of authenticity. Of owning what is ours to own, both failures & successes, and surrendering them all to Him. We alone cannot make this life all that it is meant to be. Jesus came to show us that life with Him &  in unity with the Father is the only way to live the fullest life imaginable..

If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."

The Sermon on the Mount...Message #5

What did Jesus mean by this metaphor of salt & light?

Christian character as described in the beatitudes and a Christian influence as defined by Jesus' salt & light metaphor are directly related to each other.

Jesus is inviting us to have great influence in shaping our families, communities, culture, & world for His great purpose & to His great outcome. In order to live out that great calling, there are a few things we need to take more seriously...and some things we need to accept responsibility for...

If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."

The Sermon on the Mount...Message #4

Do you want a life that is whole, genuine, satisfying, full?

When Jesus says, "I have come that you may have life to the full" (John 10:10), He meant it. And...it is possible!

At the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares the "beatitudes." This list of characteristics/attitudes are not a legalistic formula or a list of ethical "duties" that we all need to accomplish. The beatitudes are a series of fundamental emotional attitudes toward God and others that will change our lives & change the lives of everyone we come in contact with. These are the emotional attitudes that are both the cause & the effect of the "full life" that Jesus invites us to live with Him.

If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."

The Sermon on the Mount...Message #3

Today we ask the question, Was Jesus Serious?

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is "probably the best known part of Jesus' teaching...Though arguably the least understood and certainly the least obeyed" (John Stott).

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' Manifesto. He lays out His expectations of who His followers are to BE in this world. Jesus gives clear expectations of how we are supposed to be different...set apart for His purpose...Holy.

If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."

The Sermon on the Mount...Message #2

Have you ever felt "stuck"? As if there is a level of life waiting for you but you just can't get there?

If you've ever felt that way, you have some choices to make...

You can simply concede that you've reached a point that you cannot exceed. You can run away and start over. Or, you can do something different than you've done before to try and reach a level you've never achieved before.

Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, challenges His followers to choose what's behind door #3...to do something different in our life with Him to rise to a level of life that He is showing us is possible.

If you want to grow beyond a point in your life where you feel stuck, like you've plateau'd...to grow beyond what you even realize you are capable of...Join us as we begin a new series on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."

The Sermon on the Mount...Message #1

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables.

Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives.

After Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He shared with them a story about the attitude with which we are to approach prayer to God. In this parable, Jesus teaches us that prayer is not about "niceness." We are praying to the Creator of the universe, so we are to "approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16). Jesus tells us to approach God with a "not-to-be-deterred" attitude or, as I like to call it, with Shameless Audacity! Pray continuously and pray expecting God to move...pray with faith & trust.

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables.

Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives.

Jesus was often confronted about traditions because He & the disciples didn't always follow all the old traditions (Because Jesus came to usher in the New - listen to last week!) In this week's parable, Jesus confronts the old way of "doing religion" that consisted of outward appearances. Jesus wanted to see people transformed & hearts renewed. Transformation & renewal is something that happens from the inside out...it begins with our hearts and is expressed in our actions as the goodness of God pours out of our hearts through our words, actions, intentions, & motivations. There is no such thing as "fake it 'till you make it" because that is all about outward appearances...It's all about surrendering to God and abiding in His presence.

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables.

Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives.

Jesus came to ring in something completely new. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26) Jesus came so that we may have that new heart and new nature so we can become a new creation. In this week's parable, Jesus reminds us that we cannot bring our old self, our old nature with us as we are transformed into His image. We must open our hands to let go of the old before we are able to receive the new life Jesus brings.

Jesus often used stories & analogies to drive home a point, moral, or lesson. These stories often included unscrupulous characters that actually display some positive virtue or ethic that the listeners could learn from. These stories/analogies Jesus told are called parables.

Listen in as we work through some of Jesus' parables...We will work through 7 parables and learn the lessons Jesus taught working our way from large & important concepts down to the details of our lives.

This week, we begin with a HUGE & CRITICAL realization...a critical first step (& an "always" step we need to continually remember!) God's Kingdom is greater than anything and everything else we could even imagine. God's Kingdom is the "Pearl of Great Price" or the "Priceless Treasure". If we truly realized the value of God's Kingdom, we would surrender everything for it because it is worth more than anything & everything.