Judges: Broken Saviors
Even by today’s standards, the book of Judges is a rated R text – full of raucous violence, flagrant sexual immorality, and hard-hearted, lawless people. It’s a book we don’t often talk about in church, but it’s one that merits attention. In Judges, we see a cycle of depravity – of imperfect human beings in recurrent disobedience to a perfect God. We also see a loving, compassionate, merciful God willing to forgive and rescue repeat offenders. And how does God achieve this? By using broken saviors – men and women struggling with anger, lust, greed, insecurity, and more – to bring the people back to him.
Sometimes these broken saviors – better known as judges – lead a decent season of peace and obedience. Other times, the duration of their moral victories runs short. Still, these broken saviors of the past have tremendous teaching power for our present that informs our future. Join us this summer as we look explore how our perfect God uses imperfect people to accomplish his kingdom purpose.
Undeserved Compassion
The people of Israel were caught in a cycle of ignorance and rebellion against God. It's easy for us to see their patterns of disobedience and sin - but can we see our own? God can - and, despite our complete unworthiness, he extends compassion to us.
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- Jun 6, 2021Undeserved Compassion
Undeserved CompassionThe people of Israel were caught in a cycle of ignorance and rebellion against God. It's easy for us to see their patterns of disobedience and sin - but can we see our own? God can - and, despite our complete unworthiness, he extends compassion to us.
Engage
There is a dramatic difference between being disengaged and engaged. When a transmission is disengaged, the car isn’t moving. When it’s engaged, you are going somewhere. When an athlete is disengaged, they are not in the game. When they are engaged, their whole body active. When a warship is disengaged it isn’t in the fight. When it is engaged, it is. The same is true in our walk with God. When we are disengaged, nothing is happening. In fact, we are sliding backwards. But when we are engaged, we are actively fighting to put off the old and put on the new, to grow in His will and way. Engagement is everything!
How to Be Used by God
The world says we should live to glorify ourselves. Everything is bent toward that. But Jesus says those that belong to Him, live to glorify God. That is radically different. We all must choose.
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- May 30, 2021How to Be Used by God
How to Be Used by GodThe world says we should live to glorify ourselves. Everything is bent toward that. But Jesus says those that belong to Him, live to glorify God. That is radically different. We all must choose.
- May 23, 2021How to Be Filled with God’s Word
How to Be Filled with God’s WordYou will either be absorbed in the LIES of our world or the TRUTH of God's Word.
- May 16, 2021The Point of Prayer
The Point of PrayerSome of us have missed the point of prayer because we think the goal of prayer is to get things from God and if we use the magic words or the right combination then our prayers will be answered. But that’s not the goal of prayer. The goal of prayer is not to get stuff from God but to know God.
Running on Empty
Ruth is a story about being at the end of the tether! Loss, bitterness, anxiety and impatience are all throughout this powerful story. But it’s also a story of realizing that God is at the other end! We can be people of hope because He is always working behind the scenes for our deliverance and redemption.
Running on Redemption
Redemption is beautiful and necessary for us all, but it isn't free. Nor is it cheap. Redeemers always pay the price.
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- May 9, 2021Running on Redemption
Running on RedemptionRedemption is beautiful and necessary for us all, but it isn't free. Nor is it cheap. Redeemers always pay the price.
- May 2, 2021Running on Empty – Impatience
Running on Empty – ImpatienceWaiting is hard. No one likes it. But waiting for God’s kindness to bear fruit in your life is some of the most important work we will ever do.
- Apr 25, 2021Running on Empty – Anxiety
Running on Empty – AnxietyAs we continue through the book of Ruth, this Sunday we will be looking at Ruth’s life circumstances at the start of chapter 2. How could someone who is widowed in a foreign land have dealt with the stress and anxiety that came along with such dire circumstances? How does God call us to handle our lives when we are burdened by anxiety?
- Apr 18, 2021Running on Empty – Bitterness
Running on Empty – BitternessBitterness warps your heart. It warps the hearts of others. And it warps how you see and relate to God. The only way not to be consumed by bitterness is to place your life in the hands of God, the All-Sufficient.
- Apr 11, 2021Running on Empty – Loss
Running on Empty – LossLosses come in all shapes and sizes. They all matter. And no one can escape experiencing loss in this life. The good news of Jesus is that even when we are at the end of the tether, God is at the other end!
Flip the Script
Good stories capture our attention. They stretch our imagination. They make us think in ways we haven’t thought before. They shape the way we see the world. They teach us important lessons that we would have otherwise missed or ignored. They even cause us to live in radically different ways. Jesus was a tremendous storyteller! One of the most effective ways that He taught us was through telling stories that turned the lives of people upside down, making clear who God was, what His Kingdom was like and what kind of people we were to be as we followed Him. His stories will still turn our world upside down today too.
The Resurrection is Everything or it’s Nothing
No respected, mainstream historian would deny that Jesus was a remarkable historical figure. Our world celebrates some of Jesus' teachings and is offended by others. But whether you celebrate or are offended by His teachings isn’t the issue. The issue is whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. If He didn’t, ignore Him. If He did, then the only option is to surrender to Him in worship and obedience. Jesus’ resurrection is everything or it’s nothing.
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- Apr 4, 2021The Resurrection is Everything or it’s Nothing
The Resurrection is Everything or it’s NothingNo respected, mainstream historian would deny that Jesus was a remarkable historical figure. Our world celebrates some of Jesus' teachings and is offended by others. But whether you celebrate or are offended by His teachings isn’t the issue. The issue is whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. If He didn’t, ignore Him. If He did, then the only option is to surrender to Him in worship and obedience. Jesus’ resurrection is everything or it’s nothing.
- Mar 28, 2021Parable of the Two Sons
Parable of the Two SonsIt's pretty easy to have a godly image, but that is not the same as having the reality of a right relationship with God. Jesus makes clear how to go from image to reality
- Mar 21, 2021Parable of the Prodigal Son
Parable of the Prodigal SonIf you’re running today: Your sin, no matter how bad it is, won’t lock you out. Your Father is looking for you, longing for you to come home. Your good works, no matter how good they are, won’t get you in. Your Father is pleading with you, come home.
- Mar 14, 2021Parable of the Good Samaritan
Parable of the Good SamaritanThe world we live in acts as if loving our neighbor is undesirable and maybe even impossible. They may give it lip service, but they act as if love is a nice idea that doesn't really work. But Jesus says loving our neighbors as ourselves is the only way to truly live and its possible only through Him. The power of Jesus' love has literally transforms lives and situations big and small.
- Mar 7, 2021Parable of the Rich Fool
- Feb 28, 2021Parable of the Talents
Parable of the TalentsOne of the fundamental marks of a growing Christian life is that we live more and more for God's Kingdom and less and less for our own. How we handle our wealth, our abilities, our relationships, and the time we have every day reflects what our true beliefs about God are and which Kingdom we are living for.
- Feb 21, 2021Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
- Feb 14, 2021Parable of the Sower
Parable of the SowerWhat is the soil of your heart like? Is your heart HARD? Is it SUPERFICIAL? Is it DIVIDED? Or, is it FRUITFUL?
Sore Subject
We live in a world filled with controversy and outrage. That may not be anything new, but it should raise our awareness of how we need to walk as Christians today. We are going to deal with several sore subjects that everyone knows about, but we often find easy to ignore the teachings of Jesus on. Subjects like living and dealing fear, living peaceably with Christians we disagree with, the controlling power of money, the dangerous web of sexual sin, being people of justice for the poor and oppressed, and helping to create a culture of life in a world of death.
Christianity and the Rules
Are there limits to what Christians should or shouldn't do other than what is legal? How can we be sure to follow God's will and way first? How can we live peaceably with someone we disagree with?
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- Feb 7, 2021Christianity and the Rules
Christianity and the RulesAre there limits to what Christians should or shouldn't do other than what is legal? How can we be sure to follow God's will and way first? How can we live peaceably with someone we disagree with?
- Jan 10, 2021Our Keeper When We Are Afraid
- Jan 4, 2021God is Bigger than Your Storm
The Rest of the Week
All in All the Time
Your heart is your compass for living. If it’s set in the wrong direction, it will lead you to destruction. If it’s set in the right direction, it will lead you to life. You will spend your life trying to satisfy what your heart wants. That one decision will effect thousands of other decisions you make every day, consciously and unconsciously, forming or deforming your character and soul along the way. And you won’t be part time either. You will be ALL IN. ALL THE TIME.
Love Now
We all live in a right now season whether it is good or bad. Whether we like it or not, God calls us to honor him in the right now we are living in. That means being driven by the urgency of Jesus' love.
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- Jan 31, 2021Love Now
Love NowWe all live in a right now season whether it is good or bad. Whether we like it or not, God calls us to honor him in the right now we are living in. That means being driven by the urgency of Jesus' love.
- Jan 24, 2021Love People
Love PeopleAbiding means being formed and reformed in Jesus' love. Out of that, we hunger to love by praying for all kinds of people (even our enemies), loving our spiritual family and sacrificially serving others in Jesus name.
- Jan 17, 2021Love God
Love GodYour heart is your compass, your guidance system for living. If it’s set in the wrong direction, it will lead you to destruction. If it’s set in the right direction, it will lead you to life.
