Journey of Faith Messages Podcast
Journey of Faith
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Welcome to Journey of Faith. In this podcast you will hear the weekly message from Journey of Faith, s multi-site church with campuses in Manhattan Beach and Torrance, CA.
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21 hours ago
Silent Night
We may have heard the classic Christmas story of the shepherd’s hearing that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But what if we had been those lowly shepherds? What would our reaction have been? How far did Jesus go to share his love with me? This week we’ll explore this famous Advent story and find that we, just like the shepherds, are seen and called by the God of love.
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Dec 3, 2023
The Angel and the Kingdom
Many of us have heard the story of the angel Gabriel visiting the virgin Mary to tell her that she would have a son, Jesus. But we often overlook a pivotal promise from that interaction: that Jesus’ birth would usher in his Kingdom, and that Kingdom would have no end! But if that Kingdom started 2000 years ago on that first Christmas, where is it now? How can we experience Jesus’ leadership and rule in our lives? This week we’ll see how the classic Christmas stories take on new meaning as we see them as a reflection of Jesus’ character and mission.
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Nov 26, 2023
Filled with God’s Comfort
Group Discussion Guide To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here. To view read more...
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Nov 19, 2023
Holy Spirit 101
The Holy Spirit can seem like a mysterious, ethereal being in our faith journey, but who read more...
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Nov 12, 2023
Share Each Other’s Burdens
Following Jesus is a lifelong, everyday Journey. What can we do when we grow weary in our pursuit of a simple, flourishing faith or when our lives go off course? We will answer that question this week as we close out this series from Galatians. We will see in chapter 6 that we can help one another through accountability and encouragement to stay focused on the goal of the spiritual life.
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Nov 5, 2023
Let the Holy Spirit Guide You
What does a real Christian look like? You can’t a Christian by their ethnicity, income level, what they wear, or who they vote for. The best way to identify a real follower of Jesus how they relate to other people. This week in our Simple Faith series, we measure ourselves against what the letter to Galatians calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” We’ll exchange our old “spiritual success measurements” for a simple faith of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentles, and self-control.
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Oct 29, 2023
Let Faith By Your Fuel
A Christian’s life should be full of love, kindness, compassion, and good works. But is that what MAKES someone a Christian, or do those qualities flow from a deeper source? Does where our goodness comes from make any practical difference? This week we’ll explore chapters 3 and 4 of Galatians and be encouraged to explore how vital and life-giving a faith-fueled connection with God can be.
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Oct 22, 2023
Die To Your Old Self
What keeps us from living a simple faith in Jesus? It’s often a natural but unhealthy focus on ourselves. Sometimes we are scared that we are measuring up to expectations set by us, others, or what we think God’s expects from us. Other times, we are tempted to sit in judgment of others rather than moving toward the very people God is wanting us to befriend. This week, we’ll see how Paul’s letter to the Galatians challenges us to move from fear to faith.
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Oct 15, 2023
Believe the Good News
What is the Christian Faith really about? Put simply… Jesus. We tend to make it complicated. We find Jesus and then we start adding things on – cultural traditions, politics, personal preferences – and by the time we are done, we might be following a different Jesus! This complicated faith is not only spiritually exhausting, but it makes it harder to get along with other people. In this first message of our Simple Faith series, we look at the basic message of the Christian Faith, what’s called the Gospel and start the process of removing the religious “add-ons” that we’ve collected along the way.
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Oct 8, 2023
Commitment
Jesus is one of the most influential leaders in history! The secret to his lasting influence was something he called “abiding.” It involves remaining in an intimate spiritual connection with God. In our last message of this series, we’ll explore one of Jesus’ stories that shows what it takes to find and nurture this abiding relationship with God and how we can invite others to experience it too!
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Oct 1, 2023
Empowerment
Power is not meant to be held; it’s meant to be given away. It’s a natural urge to want to acquire and retain power, but real influence is a dynamic process of “catch and release.” Rather than holding onto our power, God invites us to share who we are and what we have with others. This week, we’ll see how Jesus believed that we are better together and teaches us to intentionally invest in others.
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Sep 24, 2023
Compassionate Candor
Sometimes good leadership means treating everyone the same. But great leadership that bring true justice and transformation is often more nuanced than that. This week we’ll explore the underutilized power of candor and connection, learning to treat people as individuals and adapting our influence to be the most helpful in each unique situation.
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Sep 17, 2023
Resolve
Accomplishing good things requires effort. It’s easy to get discouraged when we face obstacles, challenges, and roadblocks. Rather than negatively reacting to our circumstances, we can be a positive influence by finding resilience with God! This week, we’ll see how Jesus pursued God’s good plan for his life by expecting challenges and wisely bringing people along with him in his goals.
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Sep 10, 2023
Character
What you do matters, but who you are matters more. It’s easy to get keep our eyes on the best results, largest profits, and the most followers and miss the foundation of true influence and leadership – character. Instead of focusing on the right kind of outcomes, we should be attentive to being the right kind of people! This week, we begin our series by seeing how Jesus viewed God’s good gift of power and how we can follow his lead by practicing humble influence!
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Sep 3, 2023
Dive Into Serving
Many of us know that engagement with God and the church are life-giving. Growing together in our relationship with Jesus can be fun, exciting, and transformational. But what about those aspects of the Christian life that are a little less glamorous, like the challenge to sacrifice and rely on God for strength? What would it take to overcome the hurdle of personal comfort and enter into real, vulnerable dependence on God? In this week’s message we’ll explore how each of us can embrace the value of sacrifice for a vibrant connection with Jesus.
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Aug 20, 2023
Dive Into Invitation
You’ve spent enough time this summer lounging on the side of the pool, drinking your iced tea in the shade. Now it’s time to really join the fun and dive in! During this 3-week series, we’ll look at what it would look like to do a cannonball into full engagement with God and his mission. We’ll launch this first week of the series by looking at what a huge difference participation can make as we prep together for the best fall of helping others connect with Jesus. Alright, on the count of three...
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Aug 13, 2023
Faith Surrounded
Its always easy to have faith, right? Well, if you have been a follower of Jesus for more than an hour, you know this isn’t always true. While we live here on this earth, Jesus himself said we will have trials and sorrows. So how do we maintain our faith when its hard? This week we will discover just that as we hear one of the most famous stories of the Old Testament! We will see how resilient faith makes it possible to face any circumstance.
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Aug 6, 2023
God’s Awesome Power
In our culture, it’s easy to think that the issues we’re the most passionate about or against are the most important issues. But God wants us to remember that He’s the most important thing, and that giving him our singular focus would lead to a much stronger and more life-giving connection. How do we take the necessary steps to center our lives more on God? This week we’ll talk through a famous story from the Old Testament of the prophet Elijah, and learn the value in letting God alone have the most important place in our hearts.
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Jul 30, 2023
God’s Faithfulness
We don’t always understand the ways in which God shows us his faithfulness through the difficulties, disappointments, hardships, unmet dreams, unanswered prayers, joys, and ordinary times in our lives. Join us this weekend as we learn through the story of Ruth how we can trust in the faithfulness of God.
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Jul 23, 2023
The Best Worship
What does it mean to worship God? Is it just great singing and great songs at church? How do we know if that worship we’re giving is the worship that God wants? What would it mean to really give God the worship he deserves? In this week’s message, we’ll explore the famous Bible story of Cain and Abel and discover how we can experience the fullness of what it really means to worship God.
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Jul 16, 2023
How We Talk About the Christian Life
What’s the difference between how followers of Jesus live and the way the rest of the world operates? Should there be a difference? How can people see God’s love through the way Christians think and act? This week we’ll explore different aspects of how our daily lives can reflect Jesus. We’ll look at key ways we can explain a Christian life to people that may be interested in pursuing God.
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Jul 9, 2023
How We Talk About The Church
What is the Church? What does it really mean to be part of a church like Journey of Faith? Are we defined by the buildings we meet in, the songs we sing, or the pastors that lead us? Or is the real definition of the Church something more, something bigger, something more vital? How can we have a better understanding of what the Church really is to help the people in our lives who have never experienced God and his people before? This week we’ll hear from our Student Ministries pastors as they help us consider the best ways to introduce our friends, neighbors, and coworkers to the family of God.
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Jul 2, 2023
How We Talk About The Bible
For Christians, the Bible is the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Good Book. We believe it’s fully inspired by God and ultimate authority for the way what we believe and how we act. But how can we explain that to someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus? How can we capture the beauty and importance of the Bible to someone who is spiritually interested, but has no faith background? This week we’ll work together to learn how to introduce people to the Bible in a way that would allow them to take a step closer to God.
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Jun 25, 2023
How We Talk About God
When we talk to people about God we are talking to people who may have personal skepticism, questions, and doubt. It is so important for us to recognize about how we have conversations with people in our lives about God! Over the next four weeks, then, we’re going to learn about and practice that skill together. Starting this week we will find motivation to have spiritual conversations with people in our lives, recognize and honor where our friends/coworkers/neighbors might be on the continuum, and then actually have 2-3 spiritual conversations with someone who isn’t a follower of Jesus yet. These are VERY lofty goals, but I think we can do it. In fact, I know we can, because these are part of God’s heartbeat for the world! We can learn to have great spiritual conversations that will help people we love move toward Jesus.
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Jun 18, 2023
God is Speaking to You
When is the last time you received a letter that encouraged you… or challenged you? A read more...
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Jun 11, 2023
God Speaks Truth
What can we do when we see suffering and injustice in the world? In ancient times, God chose special messengers called “prophets” to call people to live with compassion and fairness. This week, we’ll explore the genre of biblical prophecy and see how it guides us to remember what God has said, repent from sin, and ready ourselves for God’s good future with Jesus!
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Jun 7, 2023
God Makes All Things Beautiful
Great poetry awakens the imagination and appeals to our emotions. Simple artistic writing and imagery can surprise us with life changing wisdom. God is the creator of all things beautiful and speaks to us through Psalms, Proverbs, and other “wisdom books.” This week, we’ll learn how to read these genres of the Bible and how can help us express ourselves to God and wisely follow Jesus.
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May 28, 2023
God Tells the Ultimate Story
What keeps the world from spiraling out of control? Laws! From the laws of nature to the laws we create, the purpose of law is to help us live well in God’s good world. As we begin our series looking at different genres of the Bible, we start where the Bible starts. God gave a specific set of laws to the Jewish people to help them live in a unique way. We’ll see how the laws God gave them encouraged freedom, not legalism, and reflected God’s concern for all areas of life! And we’ll also see how, through Jesus, we can honor the principles of those laws by loving God and loving others!
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May 21, 2023
God Brings Order to Chaos
What keeps the world from spiraling out of control? Laws! From the laws of nature to the laws we create, the purpose of law is to help us live well in God’s good world. As we begin our series looking at different genres of the Bible, we start where the Bible starts. God gave a specific set of laws to the Jewish people to help them live in a unique way. We’ll see how the laws God gave them encouraged freedom, not legalism, and reflected God’s concern for all areas of life! And we’ll also see how, through Jesus, we can honor the principles of those laws by loving God and loving others!
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May 14, 2023
God’s Heart for the Spiritual Life
Whenever we go the doctor, they check our vitals to see if we're healthy. What are the vital signs of a healthy spiritual life? This weekend, we’ll look at four teachings of Jesus that can help us check our spiritual vitals so we can have a healthy and growing faith!
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May 5, 2023
Your Local Faith-Building Club
Constructing or reconstructing our faith is not a solo project. We must connect with and rely on each other for input and encouragement. This week we’ll look at a biblical example of how people on the journey of faith can form a solid team that keeps them stay motivated, disciplined, and focused on the goal of building a strong faith.
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Apr 30, 2023
The Next Right Thing
The challenge of constructing or reconstructing our faith can seem daunting. We could find ourselves stuck, with no idea how to get started or keep moving. Thankfully, the process of building faith comes with a clear guide: God’s truth in the Bible. Learning to read the Bible and understand who God is through it is the ultimate way to build the kind of faith that overcomes even the most difficult challenges.
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Apr 23, 2023
Curious You
One of the most pivotal acts of faith construction is learning to ask great questions. Questions read more...
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Apr 15, 2023
House on the Rock
What’s the best way to navigate the journey of faith? How do we best go read more...
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Apr 1, 2023
Welcome King Jesus
Life is not about us—it’s about Jesus’ mission of love and forgiveness. Instead of making life read more...
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Mar 25, 2023
Begin New Spiritual Rhythms
We do not have endless time and energy. Building our lives around the world’s constant demands will read more...
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Mar 18, 2023
Hear God’s Voice of Love in Your Dark Times
There are times in life when we just “hit a wall.” It could be the loss read more...
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Mar 11, 2023
Let God Heal Your Past
In our desire to move ahead in life we sometimes ignore, suppress or minimize the read more...
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Mar 4, 2023
Find Your True Identity in God
What defines your identity: your performance, your possessions, your popularity… your passions? Instead of letting these read more...
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Feb 26, 2023
Value Alignment
Our friendships can help us move toward God or away from God. As we finish our series on Friendship Essentials, will explore the topic of alignment. The closer our friends, the more they should help us move toward God’s great mission of love and forgiveness.
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Feb 19, 2023
Experience Forgiveness
Every friendship will eventually face tension. Sometimes that tension will be the beginning of the end, as friendships fizzle and fade. But what if there was another option? This week we’ll look at Jesus‘ example of using the power of forgiveness to reinvigorate even the most challenging friendships.
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Feb 12, 2023
Connect Emotionally
Friendships should be fun and easy! At least, that is what many of us are prone to believe. But, this belief will limit our friendships when other emotions are necessary. This week we’ll look at the friendship essential of emotional connection. Learning from the Book of Proverbs and seeing examples from Jesus’ own friendships, we will discover how a deeper understanding of our own emotions can help us find better connections and more meaningful relationships with our friends.
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Feb 5, 2023
Prioritize Growth
Many of our friendships center around shared interests; we have the same hobbies and interests or spend time together doing activities that we both enjoy. But what if our friendships had the shared value of helping each other be and become better versions of ourselves? This week, we’ll look at the friendship essential of mutual growth. Coming from the great wisdom of the Book of Proverbs, Jesus shows us how we can embrace God’s good plan for personal growth and invite our friends to speak into our lives!
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Jan 29, 2023
Choose Friendship
Recent studies have revealed a growing epidemic in the realm of friendships: people are reporting having fewer friends or even no friends and feeling less satisfied with the friendships they do have. Is there anything we can do to reverse this trend? A great place to start would be to realize that Jesus called his followers his “friends” and lived a life defined by great friendships. As a Jewish man in first century Palestine, we know he would have read the Bible book of Proverbs, a collection of time-tested wisdom, which includes powerful insights on friendship. During this five-week series, we’ll see how the Proverbs Jesus loved can help us improve our ability to give and receive friendship, and how we can be counted among Jesus’ friends.
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Jan 22, 2023
I AM: Our Lord
For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring some of the beautiful and powerful names for God used in the Bible. But if we asked God directly, what would he say his name is? This week we’ll explore a story from the Old Testament in which a famous hero of faith asks God that very question and gets a surprising answer. We’ll learn how, by understanding God’s name, we can have a whole new connection to him.
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Jan 15, 2023
ABBA: Our Father
One of the most personal ways Jesus referred to God is as Father. He even recommended prayer our prayers to begin with “Our Father.” The word “father” can bring to mind so many different thoughts and feelings. Pastor Jason looks at some of what it means to call God our Father and how in our times of hurt, we can experience the parental compassion of God.
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Jan 8, 2023
ELOHIM: Our Creator
Pastor Jason kicks off the AKA God series as he shares how we can experience God as Elohim—the Creator of all things good and beautiful.
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Jan 1, 2023
The Power of the Pause
New Year's 2023 Message
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Dec 18, 2022
Divine Detours
What should we do when life doesn’t as planned? We can believe that God is directing us to divine detours! Christmas reminds us that God’s love directs our lives. Pastor Jason looks at a prophecy about the infant Jesus becoming a refugee in Egypt, and we’ll explore how God is still in the business of guiding us to safety and peace.
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Dec 11, 2022
Humble Beginnings
We always wait for that next big thing—that job, that relationship, healing, and event that will move us up in life. But God is at work in the small things. Christmas reminds us that God’s greatest work comes from a place of humility. Pastor Jason looks at one of the great Bible prophecies about Jesus’ birth: that the King of Kings would be born in a poor, defenseless village. We’ll explore how we can be more aware of God’s power in our lives, especially when we feel weak and vulnerable.
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Dec 4, 2022
Miraculous Arrival
What can we do when life doesn’t make sense? We can trust that God is with us! Rather than praying and waiting for God to “show up” and do something, Christmas reminds us that God is already here! As we start our new message Series The Wait Is Over, Pastor Alex Grahmann will look at one of the great Bible prophecies fulfilled by Jesus birth, the promise of “God with us.” We’ll explore how we can be more aware of God’s presence in our lives, especially when life doesn’t seem to make sense.
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Nov 26, 2022
Thanks + Giving
THANKS+GIVING. It's more than a holiday food-fest. God has designed within us a powerful connection between gratitude and generosity. Join us this weekend for worship, communion, and an invitation to “let our thanks lead to giving to God and others!”
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Nov 19, 2022
Pay Attention
During the Get Ready series we’ve learned that preparing for Jesus’ return isn’t about just sitting around and waiting; we have important things to do while we wait! This weekend Pastor Jill Lewolt takes a look at three areas that Paul thinks are important to pay attention to while we live in the waiting: our time, our mind, and one another.
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Nov 12, 2022
Keep Calm
God wants us to be encouraged about the future! This weekend we explore how the early Christians living in Thessalonica were anxious about the end of the world but learned to find hope and take steps to be ready for Jesus’ return—and how we can do the same.
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Nov 6, 2022
Pursue Purity
God has a beautiful plan for human intimacy. In this message, we explore how the early Christians living in Thessalonica honored God with their sexuality and how we can do the same. We’ll learn why we should honor our bodies as a part of a larger plan God has for our lives and how our sexual self-control is a way to love others.
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Oct 30, 2022
Expect Challenges
God can give us what we need to face any challenge that comes our way. This Sunday, we explore how the early Christians living in Thessalonica held on to their faith in the face of persecution and how we can too! We’ll learn to see our current and future challenges as part of a larger battle that Jesus has already won and how to find endurance with our spiritual brothers and sisters.
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Oct 23, 2022
Check Yourself
When Jesus finished his time on earth two thousand years ago, he said he’d return! He said we’d know he was coming back because there would be wars, catastrophes, and confusing religious teaching. We have all that! Are we living in the “end times?” In this five-week series, we’ll look at the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, which was written to people who had a lot of questions about the return of Jesus and the end of the world. We’ll discover God’s advice for living in a world that appears to be on the brink of self-destruction.
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Oct 16, 2022
The Door of Invitation
This week we finish our Doors series with the greatest door of all! Jesus said he is standing at the door of our lives and asking us to come in. Join us this weekend for a special time of celebration, reflection, and invitation to new life with Jesus!
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Oct 9, 2022
The Door of Crisis
Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” It’s certainly not the kind of promise from Jesus we like to think about. The good news is we can get through crises with the help of God and others! Pastor Jason looks at how God can help us face crises, navigate the grief process, and find courage with the help of others we trust.
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Oct 2, 2022
The Door of Regret
We face so many doors of decision in our lives we’re bound to walk through a few that we shouldn’t. In fact, some of us feel like we’re prone to picking the wrong doors at key moments in life. Can we go back? Is it worth the pain to turn around and face that same door again? How do we handle the feeling of regret that comes along with poor decisions in our past? This Sunday, we’ll explore how God wants to help us turn around and find a new path.
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Sep 25, 2022
The Door of Change
There’s a saying that the only constant in life is change. Not true! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So God can help us navigate change well. This week in our 'Doors' series, we’ll be exploring how to walk through The Door of Change / Life Transitions. We’ll see how Jesus’ final instructions to his first followers helped them face the future with curiosity and connection with God.
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Sep 18, 2022
The Door of Big Decisions
We’ll start our series this week by looking at what we need when making BIG DECISIONS in life. Big Decisions can make us nervous and anxious, but Jesus teaches that God is ready to give us the wisdom we need!
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