Nov 25, 2018
2018-11-25 The Answer of Faith
(Hebrews 11:1)
God did not leave us in ignorance about what faith is - He gave us the answer in Hebrews 11:1.  Since faith is absolutely essential to living the Christian life, in this message, Pastor Matt begins this series on Faith by exploring how the Bible defines faith - not as a Force or Power to be tapped into, but as a Persuasion to be believed and lived.
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  • Nov 25, 20182018-11-25 The Answer of Faith
    Nov 25, 2018
    2018-11-25 The Answer of Faith
    (Hebrews 11:1)
    God did not leave us in ignorance about what faith is - He gave us the answer in Hebrews 11:1.  Since faith is absolutely essential to living the Christian life, in this message, Pastor Matt begins this series on Faith by exploring how the Bible defines faith - not as a Force or Power to be tapped into, but as a Persuasion to be believed and lived.
  • Nov 11, 20182018-11-11 A Challenging Word About Prayer
    Nov 11, 2018
    2018-11-11 A Challenging Word About Prayer
    (Ephesians 6:18-20)
    In this passage there are a total of FOUR encouragements to prayer.  THREE of them are about praying for others (intercessory prayer) instead of praying for ourselves all the time.  Prayer is the greatest tool Christians have for effecting change because God involves Himself in our prayers.  Through intercessory prayer, we're able to challenge and defeat the hindrances, oppositions, and weaknesses that work against the Good News of Jesus Christ.
  • Nov 4, 20182018-11-04 A Comforting Word About Prayer
    Nov 4, 2018
    2018-11-04 A Comforting Word About Prayer
    (Psalm 34)
    This Psalm celebrating God's faithfulness in answering prayer was written about a very embarrassing situation in King David's life.  The good news is that God doesn't look at the glory of our performance - God looks at the sincerity of our hearts when we pray!  All of us have made mistakes and poor choices that we're ashamed of - but we can't let those mistakes and poor choices negatively impact our prayer-relationship with God.
  • Oct 28, 20182018-10-28 A Motivating Word About Prayer
    Oct 28, 2018
    2018-10-28 A Motivating Word About Prayer
    Too often, prayer is regarded as a "spiritual discipline" - something that "good Christians" must do.  Instead, prayer shouldn't be thought of as a discipline, but as a lifeline.  Our human weaknesses combined with the temptations to sin we face everyday make the practice of prayer a necessity - as Christians, we can survive without prayer, but we will never thrive without prayer.
  • Oct 21, 20182018-10-21 An Encouraging Word About Prayer
    Oct 21, 2018
    2018-10-21 An Encouraging Word About Prayer
    Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."
    Nowhere does the Bible ever tell us to "Have faith in prayer," yet, we often approach prayer with that belief in our hearts.  We think that if we can learn to pray a certain way, then we'll be guaranteed the answer we want when we want it.  Jesus told us to "Have faith in God."  Prayer isn't about getting an answer - Prayer is about experiencing a relationship with the one true God who loves you more than you can possibly imagine!
  • Oct 14, 20182018-10-14 Graduated, But Not Educated
    Oct 14, 2018
    2018-10-14 Graduated, But Not Educated
    The real tests come not when you're in school, but after you graduate.  Nevertheless, just as there are many people who have graduated various schools but are unable to apply the lessons they learned to real life, there are many Christians who have graduated from years of Sunday School and Sermons but who are unable to live and teach the lessons they have learned from the Bible.
  • Sep 23, 20182018-09-23 More Important Matters
    Sep 23, 2018
    2018-09-23 More Important Matters
    In (Matthew 23:23) Jesus identifies what he calls the "More Important Matters" - Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness.  In a Christianity often afflicted by cause/effect legalistic teachings Christians need to understand the necessity of living lives of Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness in order to adequately reflect Jesus.
  • Sep 16, 20182018.09.16 Transformational Tithing
    Sep 16, 2018
    2018.09.16 Transformational Tithing
    The practice of tithing has been subjected to a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation.  In this message; Pastor Matt explains what tithing is, answers the key objections to tithing, and shows that when tithing is practiced (out of love for God by faith) it is transformational to both the local church and yourself.
  • Sep 16, 20182018.09.16 Transformational Tithing
    Sep 16, 2018
    2018.09.16 Transformational Tithing
    "Transformational Tithing"
    The practice of tithing has been subjected to a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresentation.  In this message, Pastor Matt explains what tithing is, answers the major objections to tithing, and shows that tithing (when practiced out of love for God by faith) is transformational to both the local church and to you!
  • Sep 2, 20182018-09-02 Encouraging Church
    Sep 2, 2018
    2018-09-02 Encouraging Church
    The best way to encourage Christians and non-Christians to come to church is to be an Encouraging Church!  Not a church that relies on platitudes, clichés, catch-phrases, and gimmicks - but a church, an assembly of people who sincerely believe and live out their faith in Jesus Christ together.
    That is Christianity!
  • Aug 26, 20182018-08-26 Decide!
    Aug 26, 2018
    2018-08-26 Decide!
    Whenever we Christians try to live our lives apart from Jesus (or treating Jesus as an accessory to our lives) eventually we spiritually stagnate.  Instead, we need to decide to live the Jesus-Life of devotion and action to keep ourselves from stagnating spiritually.
  • Aug 19, 20182018-08-19 Our Core Relationships
    Aug 19, 2018
    2018-08-19 Our Core Relationships
    A primary source of discouragement in people's lives are their "core relationships" - marriage, family, and work.  This sermon looks at a controversial selection of the Bible and discovers that it really isn't controversial at all as it tells us how to approach whatever relationship we're in in a way that is personally empowering and ultimately glorifying to Jesus Christ!
  • Aug 5, 20182018.08.05 Be Free & Be Filled
    Aug 5, 2018
    2018.08.05 Be Free & Be Filled
    One of the heaviest discouragements Christians sometimes impose on themselves and on others is the burden of man-made rules and expectations which are used as tools for measuring a person's spiritual maturity as a Christian.  This is nothing more than legalism!  In this message, Pastor Matt shares God's desire for us to Be Free from legalism and Be Filled with the freedom of experiencing the presence and power of Jesus.
  • Jul 22, 20182018-07-22 Resiliency and Christ-Centered Christianity
    Jul 22, 2018
    2018-07-22 Resiliency and Christ-Centered Christianity
     In practice, Christians tend to build a performance-centered, personality-centered, product-centered, or problem-centered faith rather than a faith that is completely centered on Jesus Christ.  Because we're naturally not resilient when it comes to the tragedies, difficulties, and crises of life any faith that isn't centered on Jesus Christ will lead to discouragement.  Only Christ-centered Christianity is resilient Christianity.
  • Jul 15, 20182018-07-15 The Choices of Pain
    Jul 15, 2018
    2018-07-15 The Choices of Pain
    Anyone who has experienced physical, psychological, and spiritual pain knows that pain can lead us into discouragement - about life, about ourselves, about people, and about God.  However, the Bible teaches that through faith in Jesus Christ we have the option, the choice to not be discouraged when we experience pain in this life.