Pastor Phil walks us through how when the world seems dark and chaotic, we must remember that OVERWHELMING victory is ours in Christ who loves us. Are we focusing on fear and the things of this world, or are we taking the hill, being light to the darkness, and fixing our eyes on the One who brings us hope? The battle has already been won, and there is victory coming in Jesus. We can live in victory today! Why be overwhelmed by the things the enemy is trying to accomplish, when we can be beautifully overwhelmed with VICTORY?

We are called to be a light on a hill for all to see the work God is doing in our life so that people will praise our Father in Heaven. So let's take the hill! In this message, Pastor Phil walks us through that process. There are ways to show and tell the world about the love of Christ, and that means that we can't look like the world. Check out the ways in which the following steps are important in taking the hill and being the light to a world of darkness.- Confess our sin to Jesus- Ask for His grace and mercy to guide and lead us- Remove places of darkness in our life- Find others who will take the hill with us.(Matthew 5 tells us, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.")

It can be easy to start to fall into the trap of thinking that God is who we project him to be. Our lives, and our circumstances can get us confused that He is something opposite of His character. Maybe you think he is absent, or even authoritarian. But the truth is that God is a GOOD FATHER. When we see God this way we are secure in our walk with God. Even when we mess up we know we rest in His grace and love and not in our own strength, talent, or failure. It isn’t based on us but based on God. In this sermon, Pastor Phil walks us through how bringing our perspective back to God as a good father can help us to lead better lives as believers.

It's easy to trust God when everything is going well, but do we trust Him when life gets chaotic? This week's guest speaker Pastor Darryl Bellar brought such a good word that reminded us that if we don't invite God into the chaos of our lives, we will be controlled by fear. Have you found yourself in a series of events that don't make sense and, quite frankly, stress you out? It's so important that we trust God in the space between "I sought the Lord" and "He answered me." What if what you're praying for is found in the process of stretching out your hands in faith? Whatever it takes (running, walking, limping), keep going. The Lord's presence will surround you.

Fear of missing out was born in Genesis 3. "FOMO" has been around since the birth of sin. Ever since then, humanity has been seeking to find the answer to the question, “what am I ALLOWED to do?” The enemy will always try to convince you that you do not have enough with what God gave you.But we shouldn't spend our days asking what we are allowed to do. We should always ask what is beneficial to our walk with Jesus. The love of self asks what is allowed. The love of God is what is beneficial. Our freedom in Jesus is much larger than we think. Because the space God gives us to move isall healthy land.

The love of God has an invitation out to every person. An invitation to experience the love of God. But we often stand in our own way of that. What is it that you love so much that you are holding onto? Because God loved His creation to not hold on to the life of Jesus, who laid down His life for us to experience relationship with Him.What do you want? The love of self… or the love of God? To experience fully the love of God, we must give up ourselves.

GOD SEES YOU. Because God sees you, you always have hope. You are not left alone. You are not abandoned. There is such a pain that can exist from feeling unseen, unappreciated, or even unloved. We may have to wait for things to change. We may have to be patient. But we never have to wait to be seen by God. He ALWAYS SEES US. I invite you today to talk to the God who sees you. Maybe you are grateful, maybe you are hopeful, maybe you are angry, maybe you are hurt. I encourage you to take it all to the God who sees you today. He wants to hear from you and help you wherever you are in life.Psalm 27: 14 says "Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."

This week, David Cho brought the Word at Vertical's Blairsville/Morganton Campus! He spoke about what real love is, using the Biblical story of Hosea as the example. Hosea was instructed by God to marry and love a prostitute woman named Gomer. They married, but Gomer struggled with returning to her former life of sin. BUT! Hosea continued to pursue her, showing her love and grace in the middle of her mess. He loved in a selfless way. This story foreshadowed what was to come through the love of Jesus exemplified in His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus tells us that no one is excluded from His family- not even society’s "irredeemable," and the story of Hosea and Gomer is a beautiful example given by God to help us to somewhat fathom the immeasurably selfless love God has for us and has shown for us through His Son, Jesus.