We don’t see ourselves the way God sees us. He sees our unrealized potential. He has used the potential of people since the beginning. We read stories throughout the Bible of God using people in ways they couldn’t see possible; heroic ways. All we have to do is be open to what he’s calling us to do.

We all have things that cause us, or have caused us, to stop moving forward. We call these obstacles “giants”. Sometimes we see the giant in front of us instead of God. Through our fears, we see what we think the outcome will be instead of the the outcome God has planned for us. However, when we look at the story of Joshua and Caleb we see that we can always trust in God’s presence and direction. 

When we have to make a critical life-decision, how can we know the direction God wants us to go? Does he communicate to us? If so, how can we know we’re hearing from him and it’s not just something we’re making up. This talk will address these questions and look at the specific ways God leads and how to know they are from him.

There is a powerful lie at work in our culture, a lie that measures status and worth by one’s  possessions and whispers to us, “You are what you have.” Let’s stop buying that lie. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Life is found in being the beloved children of God.

Our identity is found in being a beloved child of God and discovering the unique vision, calling, and mission God has given each of us. Anything else that we let define us does not tell us the truth about who we are.

Every person longs for meaningful friendships. We are wired for them. Yet far too many of us have grown to be adults with too little relational connection. What if we lived as a community of people who walked through our days with attentiveness to the opportunities we have to invest in the lives of others? What if, instead of just letting people pass us by, we actually took the time to invest in them.

Jesus extends an invitation to all people. So we want to be a community of people who are on mission together so that more and more people accept Jesus’ invitation and find their way back to God. An invitation starts with identifying people who we know who might be ready to receive Jesus’ invitation. 

In the decisions that come our way, we are faced with many choices, but oftentimes we end up going from one thing to the next and are never able to discern the important from the urgent. This can cause us trouble. However, as we read in the Gospel of Luke, there is only one priority that we should focus on.

Fear is an emotion caused by belief of impending potential distress, misfortune, or loss. It’s based in the future. The source of our fears is usually something we’re going to lose or we’re afraid we won’t have in the future. Since we can never really know what’s the around the corner, is it even possible to live without fear and worry?

Do you remember the board game slogan, “You learn about life when you play The Game of Life”? It’s true. We do learn about life when we play games. But too often, the lessons we learn aren’t healthy ones . . . especially when we play The Mind Game. Relationships built on The Mind Game can’t survive.

We all love games, but playing games in relationships is dangerous. Approaching relationships as though someone has to win and someone has to lose is a bad idea. One game we tend to play in our relationships is The Change Game. There’s nothing more toxic to a relationship than secretly trying to change the other person. It feels awful. It doesn’t work. And it will eventually destroy the relationship. The good news is there’s a better way.

For thousands of years, the Bible has contained the best financial principles to help people achieve financial freedom. These principles worked thousands of years ago, and they’re just as effective today - they are timeless financial truths.

We make investments in life to provide for something in our future. But have you ever thought about how you can invest in your eternity? Is that even possible? You may be surprised!