It's a word that can change everything. It paints a contrast between the world's path and God's ideal. It one way that God lets us know how He makes a way, when there seems to be no way. So much hope, encouragement and inspiration wrapped up in a simple, thee-letter word: but.
Join Pastor Merritt as we open Scripture to look at four exceptional verses. Exceptional because the word but changes everything. Through this teaching series you'll learn how God turns harm into good, death to life, our dreams to His plans, and our fear into faith. Yes, But will be four practical sermons that you will not want to miss.
The Holy Spirit is mysterious... even to most Christ-followers. Who is He, and how does He interact with us each day? How do we know when the Holy Spirit is talking to us. What does it mean to grieve the Spirit, or to quench the Spirit, or to be baptized in the Spirit? Join Pastor Merritt as we dive into the Bible to learn Who the Holy Spirit is and how we can live more like Jesus every day through Him.
If you're a parent, you've certainly had joys, but almost as certain you've also had frustrations. How can you raise your kids without resorting to those same threats that your mom and dad might have used on you? In the Bible we find that we don't have to parent by reacting to our kids sins and mistakes. Instead we can be proactive, and parent forward, giving our children a godly example to model and teaching them how to obey the God we want them to come to know.
If you want to know what salvation in Christ really is... the "grace of God" that is often spoken about in churches, then there's no better place to find the answer than the book of Romans. Through the first eight chapters the Apostle Paul unfolds the plotline... man's great sin and the complete and utter separation from God that it has caused. But then, just when all seems lost... well, we won't give away the ending.
What makes a church something that people are intrigued by and want to experience? It's not a building or a program or a song list. The church at its heart is people. When we live and serve as Jesus teaches, people will be drawn to Christ through us. Join us as we find out how our church can move from being merely attractive to being truly magnetic.
What is the Christmas Story? Is it a baby, a manger, a star and some wise men? The reality is that the Christmas story starts at the very beginning of time. It continues through two thousand years of expectation, and gives way to a promise yet to be fulfilled. Pastor Merritt teaches a three-part message series from the Bible entitled "Christmas In 3D". Hear a new dimension to the classic holiday narrative you probably never knew or expected, but will make the Christmas story leap off the page and into your life in a brand new way.
She just left you for another man. He won't stop hitting you. The boss just handed you a pink slip. There is no getting rid of that big red "F." We all face problems so looming and so large that only God can solve them. Luckily, we aren't the only people to run out of options. In this series, we'll study four stories of people who were forced to rely on God in desperate circumstances. And along the way, we'll learn how we can also access the power of God for the life crises we face.
Think you've got life figured out? Or are there some questions that just leave you guessing? When you get stumped, there is a place to turn for answers, and that is God's Word, the Bible. In Scripture we find the solutions to the most profound, the most complex and the most far-reaching questions we can ask. When we understand where we came from, why we are here, what we are doing and where we are going, according to God's design, we can move from being stumped to being sure of our past, present and our future.
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? In this teaching series, Pastor Merritt unpacks the Scriptures' teachings on how a Christ-follower interacts with his friends, neighbors and community. Key to Jesus' instructions to His followers in the Bible is the idea that followers of Jesus make followers of Jesus. As we live of our lives and share our faith, we become a witness of Christ to others, and God uses that witness to draw people to Himself.
People Tweet and post Scripture verses all the time. So often, in fact, that there are "viral verses"--Scriptures that receive the most attention online. Which verses are they, and why do people share them? Can we learn something intentional and important from God's Word as we study the "viral verses?"
Have you ever felt that life was just too much? There's not enough time, money, energy, or brain-power for the commitments, choices and responsibilities you have. Or maybe there's not enough of you to go around. And just when you think you have things figured out, here comes a crisis, loss, or disagreement. And it's all too much again. But Jesus promised us a different kind of life. One where our burdens are His. Tired of being overwhelmed? Find out how to place your deepest concerns at the feet of Jesus.
Today's smart phones are so smart, you can ask them any question. What's the weather like tomorrow? What time is the game this weekend? How is the stock market doing? Is there traffic on the way to work today? But what would happen if you asked your phone a really big question? We all have questions that are deep down, about God, about life, about purpose and about our toughest decisions. Questions that are more than a search on the internet. For those questions, you can ask your phone, and the response may be interesting or amusing. If you want a real answer, however, you'll need to look to the One who not only has the answers, but who is the Answer.
