Ethos Church

The breath that is in your lungs, gives you the ability to live, to speak, and to enjoy your daily life. But the breath that is in you, since it is a gift from God, is meant for so much more. We are called to use the breath that God gave us, for His good and His glory. That means speaking life, speaking love, speaking encouragement, and letting our voices be used to draw people into Christ. What w...

For many Christians, Romans 8:28 is a “go-to” scripture in perilous times. Especially when we cannot explain “why” something bad has or currently is happening. The problem is, we often use this verse as a stoic blanket by saying, “Something bad has happened? Aww, that’s terrible. But wait! All things work together for good.” In many ways, with that being our complete understanding of Romans 8:28,...

In the book of John, the ninth chapter, Jesus’ disciples ask the standard question, not that different from the question many people ask today when bad things happen, “Who sinned?” But Jesus doesn’t look back to a hypothetical cause - He looks forward, to see what God is going to do about it. Meaning; what Jesus is going to do about it. So, He heals the man. As to communicate that this is the “now...

God is a loving Father, so why would the Bible talk about our need to fear God? In this message, Jordan tackles one of the most challenging truths of Scripture; that fear of God is necessary for real, authentic, friendship with God. We all have fears. In fact, right now is a very fearful time for us all. Too often, though, we have let fear rule our lives and stop us from taking a stand for what we...

In one of his more famous quotes, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer is an essential part of our faith in Jesus. We learn through the teachings of Jesus that we pray to God, in the name of Jesus. It is because of what Jesus has done on your behalf that you have access to God, as your father. To say that’s i...

A recent study revealed that 9 out of 10 Americans will pray at least one time this week. Yet, with all of that praying, prayer is still a mystery to so many of us. Philippians 4:6 tells us to, “be anxious for nothing but pray about everything”. It is one of the more famous bible verses but one of the most challenging too. How many of us can say that we “pray about everything”? If we are really ho...

There may not be an adequate way of truly explaining the importance of God’s word in our lives and what it does to us when we choose to live by it. It is an experience that changes us. Daily it is up to us to determine if the world or the Word will be the basis for how we live our lives. When we have an attitude that gratefully receives, humbly accepts, and intently embraces the truth of God’s Wor...

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heart-breaking needs, is whether those who are identified as Christians will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ. Steadily learning from Him how to live the life of the Kingdom of Heaven into every corner of human existence.” – Dallas Willard We hear the language, “follower of Jesus” all the time, but wh...

One theologian was asked, “If you could describe Jesus in one word, what would that be?” His reply, “Relaxed.” As we continue leaning into knowing God in a personal way, we cannot neglect the role that rest plays in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Rest does not mean you don’t do anything; it means you learn to do the right things. In fact, for many of us, following Jesus may entail chan...

The beauty of the Bible is that it is literally God’s very words. When we pause and view this book as God actually speaking to us and revealing His wisdom and truth to us, it fully alters our approach and how we read and grasp it. This book now takes on a whole new identity to us. Hebrews 4:12 says that, “the word of God is living and active and full of power…” When we approach the Bible as living...

 

 

Continuing in our series “Christmas…more than just a nice story”, we dive into the hope the prophet Isaiah was pointing to in Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah describes the son to be born as, “Mighty God.” However, we learn that mighty looked a lot different than anyone expected. Jesus doesn’t impose His will and take over as many expected, instead He simply submitted to the will of the Father. This even result...

Christmas can be a very difficult season for many people. It can highlight the loss of a loved one, reawaken old family drama, or even make us painfully aware of our loneliness. But even in that darkness, we can have hope because Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor who guides us from a position of authority. It may feel intimidating to approach God with your problems. What if He ignores you? What if...

What if the uncertainty of life with the new coronavirus could be one of the best things to ever happen to our spiritual formation? What if, when we tell the story of our life in old age, and people ask what it was that made us who we are, we boldly answered, “living through 2020”? Control is often the issue underneath so many of the issues that block, hamper, or derail our spiritual formation int...

As we enter this week of Thanksgiving, we enter a time where we naturally pause and think about what we are thankful for. It is easy to rattle of the normal things like family, health, job, and friends, which are normally the things that first come to mind. But what if for a change we stop and reflect on who we are thankful to and not just on what we are thankful for?

Need some good news? Our God is big enough to oversee the whole world and in the same breath He is loving enough to care about you. When we invite God’s presence to inhabit our daily lives, we set ourselves apart from the things of the world. Being in His presence is not dependent on us being in a particular place or in a certain circumstance. Rather it is dependent on simply our decision and dete...

It seems that many of us feel uncomfortable talking about the topic of Hell. Yet, Jesus talks about this topic more than all of the other New Testament authors combined. We often try to avoid it as if it doesn’t exist. However, when we live our lives disregarding the reality of Hell, we begin living with less conviction, less sacrifice, and less regard to Jesus.

Legacy is not about being famous - it’s about living a life that honors God. It’s not an event, but a lifestyle. We live legacy lives when we love God, love people, and invest in something bigger than ourselves. A life lived for simply ourselves is uninspiring and dies merely with us. However, a life lived for others goes beyond just us and touches lives even after we are gone. Let us all accept t...

Having a heavenly mindset is especially important for advancing the kingdom. Not just advancing the kingdom in our own lives but advancing the kingdom on this earth. When we forcefully and with intention grab hold of the kingdom of heaven we in turn advance it here on earth. Living with a heavenly mindset means we understand the future that is to come. We understand that our future, our eternity,...