Join us as we talk about global poverty and the Church's response with author, Bec Isaacson.

This morning, Bec Isaacson led us in the first of a two-part sermon series titled “how to live with the rich” that talks about the Christian, Biblical response to the global poor. This week was all about who is rich and who is poor, and what the Bible has to say.

Bec broke the message down into three sections:

1. We are very rich.

It is more than likely that by global standards, we are very rich in a world where so many people are poor. As followers of Jesus, we have a choice to be either paralyzed or propelled by this information.

Jesus calls His followers not to lives of ease and comfort, but instead to lives of obedience, selflessness, and restoration – part of which is caring for the poor.

2. We can not serve both God and money.

The Bible makes it clear that we can not serve both God and money. This is very difficult within our culture, as the love of money is both taught to us and celebrated.

Instead of serving money, we are entrusted to be God’s good and generous stewards who use their money wisely. This includes caring for those in need both locally and globally. Having a “heart for the poor” is useless without the accompanying actions that do something about it.

3. We are called to live as sacrificial stewards by caring for those in need.

The Bible makes it clear that we are to be cheerful and humble givers who trust the Lord wholeheartedly. It is possible to live in a world without extreme global poverty, and we have an invitation to be a part of global change and restoration.

We need to be invited not only into an abundant life in Jesus, but also into this hurting and broken world. We are to be known by our love for one another, and love for our neighbor – which in a world as globally connected as ours includes the global poor.

Amanda Anderson speaks on what it means to bring life to self, home, and your workplace.

This morning, Amanda Anderson shared a message on the topic of “life.” Because God brings life to every situation, we should strive to do the same.

The very presence of God is connected to life, and when we disconnect ourselves from Him – it ultimately ends in destruction for ourselves and those around us. Therefore, we need to look to God to determine what is best, choosing to do life God’s way.

Three ways to bring life:

1. Bring life in yourSELF

We need to see ourselves as God sees us, and be kind to the person who God has made us to be. We can experience great life when we understand that we are made in the image of God, and that He has made us good. We need to regularly connect with God in order to grow in this understanding.

2. Bring life at home

We need to be people who bring life within our homes. We can do this by being people who choose kindness over being right, honesty over stuffing our feelings, and service without the expectation of it being returned.

3. Bring life at work

No matter where we work, inside or outside the home, we can be people who bring life within our spheres of influence.

Sit down with Pastor Alex (as a guest, not host!) and discuss what it means to give God legal license in your life.

This week, Pastor Alex led us in a message titled “Search me. Know me” out of Psalm 139.

License is permission to do something; especially formal permission from a government or authority. If we are committing to God, we give Him a legal authority into our lives. This means asking the Lord to search us, lead us, and know us at the deepest levels.

Inside all of us there is a desire for control and to be the center of our own worlds, and our own lives. But giving our lives to God means turning both of those things over to Him.

Pastor Alex led us in three primary points:

1. God wants license into your lives.

We need to give God permission to speak into our lives, to search us and to know us. Within this Psalm, David asks the Lord to know his thoughts and doubts, and to test him. We see more of who God is through times of doubt and testing.

2. God wants your submission.

Our lives produce lasting change when we fully submit to Him – giving Him control. Jesus needs to be the Lord of our lives, which is a position of full authority.

Submitting to God therefore is what gives Him license to access our hearts, and it is this that produces lasting change within us.

3.God wants to give us His vision.

God sees redemption – and He wants to align us to that vision, and to Him. We need to give God license into our hearts so that we can see this world with His eyes and not our own.

Until we are willing to submit, He can not use us. We must give up control, and give God full license into our hearts.

Special episode where Alex and Hunter interview Josh Ballard and Andrew Bisson who were part of a Waypoint team that went overseas to help at the Ukrainian border.

We end our Get and Up Walk series with Pastor Jermaine's message on Easter Sunday about Lazarus. How do we respond in times of delays and trials? What do we do with the sin in our lives that stinks?

This week was Easter Sunday, and Pastor Jermaine led us in the last message of our “Get up and walk” series with a sermon out of John 11: 1-44

This passage details the story of Lazarus. When Jesus received the news that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two more days. This did not make sense to those around Him, because during this time Lazarus died. What they didn’t know was that Jesus was designing an extraordinary miracle for them; a miracle that took them to new dimensions of faith.

When Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. His sisters were confused as to why He had not come sooner, but they still had some semblance of faith; knowing that even now God would grant Jesus whatever He asked. Jesus asked them to remove the stone, and when they did so Lazarus came up and out of the grave – growing their faith.

One of the lessons we can learn from the story of Lazarus is to trust in the timing of the Lord. Our current trials and delays may simply be the early grumblings of promotion in our lives, and in that way man’s extremity is often God’s opportunity. The question then becomes, what is our response in the delay?

God has purpose in delays. Delay grows and increases our faith; a process that often involves pain and challenges. Delays can also provide the greater growth necessary to bring the Father glory.

In the same way that Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, He too calls us to roll the stone away and come to Him. Jesus is calling us up and out of the grave.