Tulip Street Christian Church

What do you truly want, and are you actually willing to let God change it? In this message, we dig into Steps 6 and 7 of the 12 Steps, focusing on willingness and humility. Through the contrast of two very different men who encountered Jesus, we explore what it means to be entirely ready for change, not just mostly ready, and why willpower alone will never be enough to get us there. We also unpack the difference between humility and humiliation, why the coping mechanisms that once protected us can become the very things that hold us back, and what it practically looks like to ask God to remove our shortcomings. If you've been carrying a rock that's been weighing you down, this one's for you.

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Each year the leadership of TSCC gives an address to the church about the vision, mission, goals, and budget from the year prior and the year ahead. We offer this in full transparency to our members. This is a look behind the curtain at what it means to be a church.

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In this message, we explore Step 5 of the 12 Steps: admitting to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Through the story of the woman at the well in John 4, we discover what it means to be fully known and fully loved by Jesus, who never came to condemn but to set us free. This step is all about trust, asking the hard questions: Do you trust God with your mess? Do you trust yourself to be honest? Do you trust someone else enough to share your deepest struggles? We'll learn how confession transforms us from self-delusion to self-awareness, from shame to compassion, from isolation to intimacy, and from fear of judgment to receiving grace. As the ancient saying goes, "the slaying is in the telling." Our secrets keep us sick, but there is profound freedom waiting when we bring our darkness into the light. If you're working through recovery or simply longing to be known and loved for who you really are, this message offers hope and a path forward.

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Step Four is where the 12 Steps get brutally honest. After three steps of surrender, now comes the hard part: taking a fearless moral inventory of yourself. Research shows that while 95% of people think they're self-aware, only 10-15% actually are. Through the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who climbed a tree just to see Jesus, we discover that transformation doesn't come from cleaning up our act first, but from being willing to let God reveal what's really inside us. This sermon tackles the uncomfortable work of "hugging the cactus," examining everything from resentments and fears to sexual conduct and character flaws. Using 1 Corinthians 13's description of love as a self-examination tool, you'll be challenged to ask hard questions: Am I patient or impatient? Kind or mean? Self-seeking or others-focused? The truth is painful to face, but healing awaits on the other side. Because you're only as sick as your secrets, and if you're not willing to shine light into those dark corners, you'll never find the freedom you're looking for.

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Exploring one of the Bible's most underrated books, this message tells the story of Onesimus, a runaway slave who stole from his master Philemon but encountered Paul in Rome and became a Christian. Paul sends him back with a radical offer: "If he owes you anything, charge it to me." This mirrors our own story, we are Onesimus, running from the debt of our sin. Just as Paul paid a debt he didn't owe, Jesus paid the debt we couldn't pay with His life. We all serve something, social media, relationships, money, or politics. The question is: who's your master? Your debt has already been paid. Will you accept it?

Walking Free: The Gospel in 12 Steps

Make 5:25-34

I can't. He can. I think I'll let him. This is the nutshell-version of the first three steps. Step three is all about faith - putting our trust in God, as we understand him - and making a decision to turn our will and lives over to him. All it takes is for you to stretch out your hand and trust the man on the middle cross.

Walking Free: The Gospel in 12 Steps

Matthew 14:22-32

The second step in the process is coming to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. What does that mean? It's the belief that there is hope beyond what we are capable of within ourselves. I can't, but God can. That's step two.

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WALKING FREE: The Gospel in 12 Steps

In this series we will take an in depth look at the 12 Steps of AA which have transformed countless lives over the past 90 years. We are applying these steps of recovery to our journey of discipleship because they go hand in hand. The first step is to admit powerlessness and face the illusion of control. In order to win, we must first surrender.

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This week Lucas closes out the year 2025 with a reminder of our God-Given, Christ-honoring, Spirit-driven mission for the church. We aren't here to e spectators or consumers. We are made to be the light and salt of the world, spreading God's love to all as we make disciples. Are you ready to live out this mission in the coming year?

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Series: Miracle Babies

Text: Luke 1-2

For our special Christmas Candlelight Service, we spent some time in the nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, and their newborn baby, the King of the World, the True Light, the Word of God made flesh. We talk about the meaning packed into the simple nativity scene, the fulfillment of God's covenant promises to his people, the culmination of thousands of years of history. But over the manger lies the shadow of the cross.

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