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.
How can you make better decisions, avoid temptations that lead you away from God and make the most of your relationships, your health, your finances and more? Maybe it's time to put conventional wisdom aside and trust in unconventional wisdom. The wisdom that comes from God through His Word, the Bible, is like no other wisdom on earth. It's more than wise. It's other-wise.
Go to the shopping mall or listen to the radio today and you won't find a rendition of Christmas that is true. We invite you to join us and experience a different kind of Christmas. It is not the Christmas of Santa Claus, but the Christmas of a Savior. It is not the Christmas of a reindeer, but the Christmas of a Redeemer. It is not the Christmas of the North Pole, but the Christmas of a Bethlehem. In this three-part message series, Lead Pastor James Merritt will teach us why the birth of this baby was unlike the birth of any other baby before Him or after Him.
When relationships break--a spouse, a child or parent, a friend, a co-worker--the first thing we often look for is who to blame. But if we spend all of our time looking for the fault, we'll miss the opportunity to understand what went wrong and restore the relationship. All of us live with divides between people in our lives. Those who have let us down, or hurt us, or that we disagree with. And keeping distance takes time and energy.
God says there is a better way. We really can move past fixing the blame, and start fixing our relationships. In this teaching series, Lead Pastor James Merritt details practical principles from the Bible for mending the most broken of relationships. If you're suffering from a broken relationship, join us for this great teaching series, and learn how to mend hearts and minds, God's way.
