With just a word, we can bring destruction, or we can breathe life. What a kindness and gift to receive a word of encouragement, especially in times of true adversity. All of us can recall times when we've been affected by the words of another person, and we'll see how the power of grace and kind words propelled Paul through all types of trouble.

In order to receive Christ as one's Savior, a person needs not only to cede control of their own life to Him, but also relinquish the worship of all other gods. While we may not fall on our face in front of carved images, we need to rid ourselves of anything that takes God's rightful place on the throne of our hearts. This will not be a popular message in an increasingly hostile society toward God's word, but God is worthy of our trust and worship.

CONTENT NOTE: This week's sermon will touch on evil spirits and demonic presence.

We live in a physical world, but there is also a spiritual realm. God warns us against entering into the spiritual realm in ways that He has not designed for us. This is a choice we have, and we'll discuss how we can avoid opening ourselves up to demonic influence, as well as the power and protection we have by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing wrong with seeking knowledge, especially Biblically. But as we'll see on Sunday, knowledge will carry you only so far. We're not meant to live by sight, but by the Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit, when we are under His influence, provides power and wisdom where our knowledge is deficient. But what does it take from us to experience this power?

Paul encounters obstacles both politically and culturally in his second missionary journey. We too as Christians will experience opposition to our faith, but how do we overcome it? What's the difference between compromising and conforming to culture at the expense of the gospel, and becoming all things to all people for the sake of the gospel?

Sometimes our obedience doesn't yield immediate results. There may be times when you know you have followed clear instruction from the Lord, you have sacrificed, been faithful, and God seems to suddenly go silent. This Sunday, we'll see how Paul handled this exact situation, how he reacted, and what God did.

With our final Sunday in our Core Values Series, we will discuss Sharing Jesus Together with a look at Colossians 4:2-6. Does the life we live, the conversations we have, and the heart posture we maintain reflect the salvation by faith we have in Jesus Christ?

As individual followers of Christ, God has given us gifts, talents and callings that he intends for us to put to work to serve the body of Christ. What are these gifts? How can we build up the Church and make disciples of Christ with them? Join us Sunday and see how important your individual gifting and calling truly is!

Continuing our Core Values Series, we look at why God created for us to live in community together. God envisioned that the church would be "devoted to one another." We will look at how a church community can accomplish that, and why it's so critical for believers to forge relationships with each other.

We begin our Core Values Series, charting the course through scripture to reveal why we do what we do at Wellspring, as well as discover the purpose in why God created this unique community of believers. We'll look at how He accomplishes His will in and through the Church and the compelling significance of His unique presence among us when we gather.