In the five chapters of 1 Peter, one thing is talked about 17 times. What is this one defining theme of this short book? Suffering. While human suffering was never God's original intent, when people chose a path of sin, suffering followed, and it now marks all of our lives. But because God will use anything and everything in our stories to work toward his good purpose, Peter tells us how suffering plays a role in our lives. It's the fiery test that proves our faith is genuine. Today we're looking at four things Peter says should mark a genuine faith that's in the middle of the fire.

There's a showdown in Bethany: Mary VS Judas. Mary has anointed Jesus in an extravagantly generous act of worship, and Judas is having none of it. That's when Jesus steps in declares that what Mary has done is a beautiful thing. What we see is that Mary and Judas had very different beliefs; which led to different choices; which led to entirely different outcomes — which is always the same pattern in our own lives. How can we live our lives in such a way that Jesus declares them beautiful? It all starts with what we believe.

Often times, we think we know what is best for our life and we want Jesus to give us what we want when we want it. However, Pastor Gary shares with us how the disciples had a similar experience; they had a question that caused great conflict between them and we learn that Jesus had a lesson to teach the disciples and you and me.

As believers when we are walking through our journey of life, we will constantly find ourselves in the middle of something. It can be something as simple as the middle of a work week or it can be something as difficult as being in the middle of a storm. Today, Pastor Lisa shares how we should battle in the middle of what we are in when it takes longer than we would like.

In Matthew 9, Jesus told his followers that the "harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Why aren't there enough workers — those engaged with Jesus on his mission of redemption? What's stopping his followers from partnering with him in his work? Those are the topics we explore in today's message.

Based on the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we learn that everyone has to choose to walk down one of two roads – the wide, broad road that leads to hell or the narrow, difficult road that leads to heaven. We all have the choice to make, but our decision will have consequences.

We're about to enter a year-long election cycle — sure to be filled with angry rhetoric, accusations, and divisions. Unfortunately, many good people get drawn into this "death spiral" of hostility. Could there be another way? Today we're looking at Scripture that speaks directly into our cultural moment. It answers: how can our political engagement reflect the transforming work of Jesus in our lives?

There is something inseparable about God and his word — because the Bible is the primary place where we discover who God is, what he's promised, and how he invites us in to his story. Reflecting on this, Pastor Tim states: "I am not convinced we can grow in relationship Jesus if we’re not growing in his word." But how can we grow in our understanding of God's word? Paul talks with Timothy about this and says two things we're reflecting on today: the power of REMINDERS and REFLECTION. We not only need consistent reminders of what God has said, but we need to also consider these things deeply. These two practices are at the heart of our 260 Bible reading plan which you can learn more about here: sm4.org/260

The world pressures us to create the "perfect" image of ourselves. But the stress we feel often comes from focusing on the wrong things — trying to perfect things that matter very little. In this message we discover what the Bible says actually matters when it comes to how others perceive us. The Apostle Paul gives us five things to focus on as followers of Jesus — areas of life that help share the story of what God is doing in our lives.

What do we do when a Scripture seems to be in conflict with other truth in the Bible? Do we just ignore it? Pick what works best for us personally? Or do the harder work of deep study? Taking this more challenging path is what Jennifer Thigpenn encourages us to do in this message as she unpacks the Apostle Paul's words to Timothy about women staying quiet and not teaching men. Was this a blanket statement providing direction to the church for all time — or was something else going on in Timothy's ministry that Paul was addressing? Let's see what we can discover in this important conversation.