Sunday Sermons

How did Jesus confront pain and suffering?

Let's recall when Jesus was on the cross and he asked for his persecutor's forgiveness. He also forgave his best friends for betraying him.

It is really important that we can experience the emotions Jesus felt when he was preparing to die.  His best friends denied that they ever knew him and another sold him for money.

How did Jesus feel?

During this time Jesus must have felt depression and deep suffering.  His apostles record the details of his suffering with sadness, feeling very bad for what they had done.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - Turns us into people that can understand loss and grief.  Pastor Cyril challenges us to mourn like David did and confront this pain as Jesus would.

Jesus said " Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.

3 Phases of Biblical Giving:

1. Pay Attention

2. Wait in the confusing in-between

3. Let the Old Birth the New

Is pain good for our soul?

It is a good thing to experience hardship and pain. When we experience this, even if it's our children pray for it to help them grow.

Pain and losing battles are expected when we choose to follow Jesus.  This grief and loss will show you that prayer needs to be at the center of your life.

John12:24- Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

For many of the prophets and disciples; Luke, John, Joseph, David, and many others when they broke or hurt Jesus used their pain and suffering to become stronger than ever.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly, With your God.

This week Darin Martin preaches while engaging musical worship throughout his message.

The Holy Spirit wants to be with us to guide us wherever the right-back may take us.  When we are in step with the Holy Spirit our life feels different.

When the spirit of God is living within us nothing that is said to us can bring us down. We are all broken people but brought together to serve Jesus.  When we walk with Jesus we become whole.

Let's practice acting justly, loving mercy, walking with Jesus loving others wherever we go this week.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

The primary issue of the Wall - My Will vs. Gods

Today we return to the Lord's prayer to examine if we are actually allowing God to give us direction in our lives.  Imagine how fearful Abraham must have felt when God asked him to follow him without knowing where God was taking him.

God also told him he would have a son when he was far too old.

Matthew6:10- Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Hebrews 11:17-19- Abraham had no idea how sacrificing his son would work out but he trusted God more than anyone. Abraham believed that God could raise his son from the dead and trusted him.

The 6 stages of faith

During this process, you'll likely hit the wall that God calls us to push through between the serving stage and the inward journey stage.

Jesus teaches us what faith is: trusting God even when we do not feel him.  For example, some people feel like the size of their church is in competition with other churches.  In reality, the size of your church is in competition against the darkness.

During the journey of the Christian life, God wants to come inside of you and replace what is broken with what is good for you.  He seeks to confront our desire to control our personal lives.

What kinds of things are removed from us?

1. Pride and Approval (Greed)

2. Comparing ourselves to others

3. Taking pleasure in blessing then God himself

Perseverance is an act of faith.  God knows that the emotional toll of life can be a lot, but he wants us to come to him for rest and rely on him when we are overwhelmed.

Spending time with God is important.  We need to make time to invest in our relationship with God.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

The Spirituality of Emotional Wellbeing - Heart Health

In this week's sermon, Pastor Cyril Guerette continues the current sermon called heart health.  This week focused on the hard realities that we face and how we can find joy in the midst of a tough journey.

 

How can the family of God help keep your heart healthy?

 

A part of the family of God is your church family (your brothers and sisters) who can help you, especially when confronting spiritual battles that can hurt your heart.  God has mercy and understands that although you are responsible for yourself, he won't hold you accountable for what your family does.

 

The soul who sins shall Die - Heart Health!

 

Pastor Cyril speaks from the Gospel of Mark on how we have a chance to break the cycle of sin throughout the generations of your family.  If you love the Lord a thousand generations are blessed from it.  

 

We each have an opportunity to break the cycle of sin that has been present in the history of our family, which may be very clear especially if they've turned your family away from God.

 

Exodus 20:3-6:  “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 

Sample Scripts that can overcome us from our Family's history:

 

1. I am irresponsible 

2. I don't matter

3. I am unappreciated

4. I am empty

5. I can't be saved

6. You'll never amount to anything

7. I need to be perfect

8. You will never prove that you are worth others' attention

 

God allowed us to be born into our family of origin for a reason.  That reason is to overcome our challenges and let God's love be shown through the way we live and witness to others.

 

God's New Script given to us by Jesus:

 

1. It is good that you exist

2. You are a joy 

3. You are loved

4. You are good enough

5. You have nothing left to prove

6. Your needs are a delight

7. You are allowed to make mistakes

 

Why is discipleship important?

 

Working through these scripts is a really important part of discipleship that we encourage each of you to seek out.  Joseph became a slave and prisoner for over 10 years and he worked through every challenge.  He dealt with his grief and suffering with the help of God who saved him and his family.

 

How will God give you hope and help you break through your challenges today?

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

Introduction (Heart Health Sermon Series):

Pastor Cyril started a new sermon series on Heart Health by saying goodbye to our Associate Pastor Darin Martin who is transitioning into a new role.

Psalm37: 3-6 4: Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

Why God Made Us:

God made us emotional for a reason. God has also made us social, spiritual, and physical people.

Emotionally healthy spirituality is about going under the surface and transforming your life.

The heart of the problem with achieving this transformation is our hearts. We need to be able to achieve true joy by sharing and being honest with what is in our hearts.

Emotional Immaturity:

Sometimes we rationalize our emotional immaturity in crazy ways much like the Pharisees in the time of Jesus. We adopt scripture to fit our needs and serve our worldly desires.

If you think of an iceberg it gives a great illustration of the part of our hearts we show others. The section above water that looks nice and put together we let others see.

But under the water, the majority of it is a different story. As this pattern continues like the icebergs our hearts will continue to be more hidden.

Resources:

If you enjoyed this sermon you'll love the book: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Seazzero which contains themes in this sermon series.

Which of the 10 symptoms of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality apply to you in any? Our leadership so often has seen these symptoms in the church today.

God wants to know our heart's health and heal what's hurting so we will live with more joy.

Some causes of these spiritual heart symptoms:

1. Delighting in other things (sports, work, etc)

2. I am what I am (love of possessions)

3. I am what others think I am (popularity)

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

God is always watching and knows what your doing that may destroy you if you don't discipline your heart.  God is calling us to create a habit of being that is loving to everyone around us. He wants us to address the cancerous habits that we have gossiping, screaming, being unloving towards other people, etc.

We should be seeking to have a heart that is formed through habits of loving one another. We need to have a discipline of constantly asking God to discipline our hearts through habits of love.

So when we are face to face with people that are difficult to love we can still love one another. The Holy Spirit can give us conviction but we also need others around us to support and motivate us to be the best versions of ourselves.

What are our defaults when we are stressed?  Don't allow your lack of discipline in loving others to hurt your ability to love others.

Listen to our sermon as we strategize different ways that you can discipline your heart.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

How do we go about our day-to-day life showing the light of Jesus naturally in conversation?

Jesus is saying do not fall victim to what society says because we are all called to be engaged with others and let others see Jesus by the ways we show love.

 

Pastor Guerette emphasized safety but encouraged us to speak and love strangers. Every stranger processes a unique story, an opportunity, a potential new friendship, and putting a smile on their face opens a door for Jesus to enter their lives.

 

If you are able to connect with someone and identify a similarity it's a lot easier to build a relationship. Some things that are easy to connect over are; family, food, dance, music, school, work, and your experiences.

 

Be sure to take a genuine approach. Don't listen to them looking for an opportunity to throw Jesus at them. Genuinely, take an interest in what they are saying and who they are. We all need love and showing them God's unconditional love is a great first step in helping them to love Jesus in a deeper, more intimate way.

 

When you invest in their well-being and show them your own light (blessing others) we also feel more like disciples of Jesus. You never know where a random conversation may go or how it could change someone's life forever. In fact, sometimes a random stranger's opinion is more comfortable and people are willing to have heavy conversations with you because they'll likely never see you again.

 

Feel free to take this past talking and consider how you can bless others by the tips you see, hosting an event for someone, bringing someone a meal, etc. As we let our light loose the Holy Spirit is also let loose.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

Jesus sends us to represent God in heaven and our spiritual family.  During our week we are sent to represent God's kingdom at work, out in our communities, and at social gatherings.

John20:20-  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The reason that the holy spirit stays within us is to help us as we are sent to serve the kingdom of God.  My favorite quote about this is "We are all zealous goers or zealous senders" which a global missions mentor once told me.  In terms of missions in general we are all called to go and serve God's kingdom from the moment that the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us.

As we go we are called to be people of forgiveness and peacemaking. We are also supposed to be a people of justice by looking around and striving to be fair.  Look around and strive to fix things that aren't right like; poverty, bullying, racism, exclusion, etc seek to correct this issue.

Another attribute of God is beauty, and we are called to reclaim beauty in what it means to God.  Remember, Jesus sends us on a mission to love and serve others.

God also represents wholeness (to be one with others) which could look like being there for others.  God calls us to be in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

What does shadowing Jesus and learning to be like Christ look like?

-Training and shadowing Jesus by having Jesus present in your minds.

-Hanging out with people different from ourselves because we love them (Jesus would eat with prostitutes, drunk people, and tax collectors and helped anyone who could (I.e. the lady who touched his robe that was healed).

-Spend time with Jesus through prayer, reading, and setting time aside to be with him (audiobooks).

-Focus on the Gospels which are the central point in the history of Jesus loving others on earth.

-Like a new worker would shadow an expert in the workforce so should we shadow Jesus so we can live like him as well.

D.A. McBride said to look for Jesus in others and they will see him in you.

What does it look like to live for Christ?

To do this we allow Jesus to overpower every aspect of our lives and actions so that we can begin to live more like him.

This is done over time as we build momentum and learn to be more like Jesus.

Ultimately the more time we spend with Jesus the more ways he will transform us.

If you are struggling, Jesus doesn't want you to dislike yourselves but instead bring yourself to him so he can work on your heart.

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.

To listen to God's voice and Eliminate distractions in our lives can be weird and will take a lifetime of practice to effectively listen to God's voice even if you can eliminate all your distractions.

This is done by listening to the Holy Spirit (Aka Listen to God's voice) and knowing how to discern if what you're hearing is from God by filtering it through scripture. Be sure to talk less and listen more.

Theresa, a saint from the middle ages said if you can bare the process of looking at the unpleasant side of yourself, you open up a place for Jesus to come into your life.

We need to represent Jesus by not judging anyone and not being strict with the rules like the Pharisees. Instead, follow in the actions that Jesus would choose for any situation that you find yourself in. Essentially we want to be living our lives as a representation of the Holy Spirit within us (essentially an Anti-Pharisee).

If you are an active extrovert you may struggle with this tip which is to engage in active listening prayer. That doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit won't guide you at specific moments though. While on a mission trip in Peru I would feel God lead me to talk to specific people that were open to learning about God at different points in the trip.

For many of us, we'll feel like we need a clear answer to God's prayer instantly, and will forget the importance of listening to the spirit.

Also, please remember to test the spirit because we can often be directed by what we truly want for our lives. This means to listen and ask otherwise Christians in your life and get an unbiased opinion of if what your feeling aligns with what scripture tells us to do.

At the end of every service, we have community time where we talk about personal experiences in our lives that relate to the sermon. This is an amazing community time where we inspire one another with our stories.

You can listen to an audiobook to learn to listen to God's voice here:

Connect With Us:

If you have not been out to Groundswell Church before we want to meet you.  Let’s meet for coffee.  Contact us Here:

At Groundswell, we know that personal connection is vital in connecting with a spiritual community. Our pastors love people and would be excited to meet you for a coffee, phone call, or meal to answer any questions you might have and get to know you better.

If you would like to meet one of our pastors, please send a quick note to [email protected] and we will try to arrange a meeting asap.

If you would like to join our church family today we'd love to have you.