1 Peter 5:1-5 - What does God's plan for leadership in the church look like?

Exodus 34:6-7 - How God wants to be known.

Acts 2:42-47 - What does a healthy local church look like up close and personal? In a word: beautiful. In this message we'll look at one of the clearest passages in Scripture showing us what it looks like to "be the church."

Acts 2:36-41; John 17:3; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-5; 1 Corinthians 1:17; Acts 3:19; Acts 20:18-21; Acts 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:2; Hebrews 13:17; Galatians 6:2 - The Church of Jesus Christ is both global and local. In one sense, the church is made up of all people everywhere who have received Christ as Savior and Lord. However, Jesus doesn't just call His followers to be a part of that big family; He also calls us to b a part of smaller local families. In this message we'll talk about who makes up a local church, how we "get in," and why baptism and church membership are important.

1 Peter 1:1; 2:9-12 - Two of the most important questions a church can ask itself are "who are we" and "what are we here for?" How we answer these questions will set the course for everything else we do.

Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 11:23-24; Numbers 32:6-9; Acts 4:36-37; Acts 9:27; 2 Timothy 2:1-2; Acts 2:42-47 - Barnabas sold his land and was all in. He was an encourager of the highest order. No doubt much of Paul's ministry was marked by the one the Apostles nicknamed, the "son of encouragement." What a testimony! What a legacy! We will either have a ministry of encouragement or a ministry of discouragement. Jesus said there is no neutral ground.

Exodus 3:3-6; John 13:1-8; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6 - The Bible teaches us two basic truths about holiness and us: we need it and we don't have it. However, God's plan for our lives is that we become holy people. This raises a couple of really important questions: how do we get it and what does it look like when we have it?

Exodus 20:1-21; 24:3; 31:18; 32:1; 34:1-9 - The book of Exodus tells the story of how God rescued His people and then set out to make them into a holy nation. This is still God's plan for His people today: rescue and then holiness. What happens when the people God rescues fall back into old, sinful ways of life?

Exodus 25:1-9; Numbers 2:1-2; Exodus 33:7-11, 17-23; Exodus 40:34-38; John 1:14-18 - What can a tent from the book of Exodus teach us about God and how we relate to Him? Quite a bit, actually!

Leviticus 11:45; Matthew 6:9; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Hebrews 12:14; Exodus 3:1-12 - There are a few concepts in the bible that are so foundational, none of the rest of it makes sense without them. The Holiness of God is one of them. What is God's holiness and what does it mean for us?