The Harbor

Join us for this special New Year's Devotional as Pastor Chris Taylor leads us in worship with a song of hope, and Senior Pastor Jeff Maness gives us his inspirational word for 2024. We hope you'll take some time to end 2023 in reflection, thanksgiving, and prayer for the New Year. _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe so you don't miss a...

What we expect and what we experience can sometimes be very different, even disappointing. Christmas is an excellent example of that. To fully experience what was given at Christmas, we have to fully understand what to expect from Christmas. In this message, entitled "Disappointment with Jesus", Senior Pastor Jeff Maness teaches what we should expect from the very first Christmas. Follow...

Hope is the fuel that keeps us going. Without hope, it is difficult to even get out of bed in the morning. Jesus brings us hope, and not just for the new day, but for all of eternity! Watch this message to find out why there is hope in the name of Jesus. Click here for Pastor Jeff's message notes. _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe so you don&apo...

Another of the Ugly Christmas Sweaters that seems to be amplified during the holidays is loneliness. Even with family and friends all around us, and sometimes especially with people all around us, we can feel lonely. In this message Pastor Jeff teaches us the truth about loneliness and how to combat it. Click here for Jeff's notes. Click here for Small Group Questions. _______________________...

Have you struggled with greed? Most have at one time or another. And it seems to run rampant at Christmas time. It fits into the season like an Ugly Christmas Sweater. If we are not intentional about overcoming greed, we’ll be in bondage to an overwhelming god, the god of "more", the god of discontent, the god of selfishness. In this message, entitled "Overcoming Greed", Senior...

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” —Matthew 5:10-11 This is not a blessing for which we often pray, but Jesus knew persecution would come to many who follow Him. Persecution is real, and it is happening today aroun...

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. —Matthew 5:9 This beatitude is not talking about those who live in a peaceful manner, but those who bring about real, lasting peace, those who work to bring people to Jesus so that they can live in peace with God. As Christians, we are called to bring peace to the world. Watch this message by Director of Worship Art...

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. —Matthew 5:8 Everyone wants to see God, and if you are in Christ, you will see Him in heaven. But those that are pure in heart will see God now, here on Earth. So how do I make my heart pure? The answer is: you can't. A pure heart is received from Jesus, not achieved for Jesus. It's not based on what you do. Our hearts are m...

Mercy is more than an attitude, it is an action toward others, fueled by love. Jesus taught us to love one another and to show mercy to others, just as the Father has shown mercy to us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7 NLT). There are over 2,000 passages in the Bible that say God wants us to take care...

We all have cravings from time to time, and we try to appease those cravings (within reason). But even following our most heartfelt longing doesn't really leave us feeling satisfied. It is only in seeking God's righteousness will that we can be filled and truly, deeply satisfied. In this message we talk about the fourth Beatitude: "God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice...

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. -- Matthew 5:5 (NKJV) Meekness is generally equated with weakness, but it means quite the opposite. Meekness is power under control. Being meek is not the same as being weak; it is demonstrating God’s power under control. At any time on the way to the cross, or even from the cross, Jesus could have used His power to call down legions of angel...

The second Beatitude in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is: "God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4 NLT) The Greek word for mourn here is Penthéō, and it means, "To grieve over a death; to grieve over a personal hope that dies. A manifested grief so severe it takes possession of a person and cannot be hid." Have you felt this way? Are you grievin...

Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to be blessed. Jesus presented some values that describe a life that is blessed. The problem is, these values are not of this world. They are upside down and backwards. In this series we’re going to walk through eight values Jesus taught called “The Beatitudes”. These eight values lay out the pathway for those who desire to live "ᗡƎSSƎ⅂ꓭ.” At the beg...

We generally like for people to know as little about us as possible. We are afraid to admit our doubts, our fears, our worries, and our sins. We are afraid to live naked. But that is the opposite of what God has for us. He wants us to live naked so we can experience His love and hope and peace. In Part 1 of the mini-series We're All in this Together, Pastor Ryan Akers taught that, "We we...

Have you ever wondered what the perfect church would look like? Acts 2:42-47 describes the Church (big C) as it was when it first started. "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer." Everyone lived in community, sharing everything they had, taking care of one another's need...

Sarah laughed at God when He said she was going to have a baby. Certainly she was too old! The Prodigal Son decided to go back to his father in the capacity of a slave. Certainly he had made too many mistakes and was too full of shame to be restored as a son! Zacchaeus was a notorious sinner who just wanted to get a peak at Jesus, but Jesus wanted to go to his house for dinner. Certainly Zacchaeus...

Throughout all of history people have asked this one big question: What is the meaning of life? In this series we have learned about finding meaning in many different aspects of life such as relationships, community, and money. But this message wraps it all up and gives you the overall BIG picture, THE reason we are here on this earth, and the answer can be found in the last words of Ecclesiastes,...

Life is short...very short. The Bible has many, many verses that talk about the brevity of our lives, like Psalm 39:4-5: LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered — how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. So how should we engage...

King Solomon, who wrote the book we are studying in this series, Ecclesiastes, was most likely the wealthiest man to ever live. He had it all. Everything money could buy, he had it. And yet he writes this in Ecclesiastes 5:10-11, 15: “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it...

One of the symptoms of a lack of real, true community is a feeling that everything is meaningless. True community doesn’t just provide us with connection, it can help us live with meaning. Why does community help us live with meaning? Watch this message, "Finding Meaning in Community", to learn how we are created for community, can be cared for in community, and can conquer with the help...

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” This is how Solomon, the richest and wisest man to ever live starts his writings in the book of Ecclesiastes. This man had everything! He could do anything. People did whatever he asked. And yet he was unhappy, not finding meaning or contentment in anything under the sun. This sounds very depressing, so why would we want to s...

Everyone has a story to tell. We tell our stories to people every day, whether it's what we did over the weekend, or how we ended up in the city or job we have now, or even about the good deal we got on our car. We love to tell others our stories. In this, the last message of the Let's Go Fishin' series, you'll hear the stories of how four different people met Jesus and what di...

As Christians, our primary goal is to become more like Jesus. In John 13:3-7, Jesus led by example as He did something only the lowliest servant would do. He got down on His knees and washed the feet of His disciples. Jesus was over everything, yet nothing was beneath Him. As His followers, serving is not something we do, it’s part of who we are. Listen to this message to learn the things we need...

There are people all around us that don't know Jesus, yet do we see them? Do we see the opportunities we have to share His love and His promises? Paul tells us in Ephesians to make the most of every opportunity. We can’t always create the opportunity, but we can be ready to engage when one is before us. In this message, Pastor Jeff Maness shows us how to be ready to engage by redeeming the ti...

Leading someone to Jesus can be as easy as having a conversation, and an important part of a good conversation is listening well. This message will teach you what and who to listen to in evangelism and the five H's of being an active listener. It's a little more than just paying attention. It's all about really hearing someone's story. As Pastor Jeff's Big Idea says, &quot...