God Centered Life

Our society is showing symptoms of disease—massive divisiveness, injustice. But why? On that there is little agreement. The book of Amos speaks to today's societal ills. Today we'll hear about the power of God's Word. Amos 2:4-5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The reason why Pharisaism is always popular is because we think it's possible to follow rules. "I can clean the outside of the dish but I can't clean the inside. I can't change my nature—it's hard-wired." But God can. Matt 5:8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jesus tells us, against everything the world suggests to us, that the root to extreme happiness is by way of holiness, purity, and integrity. Matt 5:8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our healing comes both eternally and now in this present life through a restored relationship with God where we receive mercy. That is the path to healing and the nature of our redemptive experience. Matt 5:7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We need to be people who are proponents of fairness and justice. When it comes to our relationship with God, however, what we really need is mercy. What would a culture of mercy look like in our country? Matt 5:7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The distance and lack of real intimacy in marriage seems very difficult to solve. Ultimately the loss of intimacy with Christ is what this whole book is pointing us to. How do we regain it once more? Song of Songs 5:2 - 6:3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our whole western society is set up to encourage us to seek happiness. But happiness is one of those things that cannot be obtained by seeking it for itself. The only way to get happiness is by seeking something else. Matt 5:6 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The saying "your best life now" is half right. "Your best life then" is more like it. In this message we study the most radical beatitude—blessed are the meek. The idea that the meek will inherit the earth is astonishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do we get ourselves to stop being so uppity before God? How do we make ourselves realize our own spiritual poverty that we might inherit the kingdom in all its power and glory? The answer, of course, is that we cannot. Before you can receive spiritual fullness, you have to realize that you need it. Matt 5:3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People today want to be spiritual. They want to get in touch with a higher power, they believe in transcendence, they want connection with something out there. But Jesus says we must realize we are not spiritual at all. Matt 5:3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We need to recapture the idea of the power and authority of Jesus' Word in church life. That is what will feed people; that is what will grow people. And the lack of it is why we have nominal Christianity—people aren't being fed. Matt 5:1-2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You cannot interpret this passage without tackling King Solomon. He's sort of a hero figure here, but isn't this the guy who had 700 wives? That's not exactly the Genesis 2 template of one man and one woman for life. Song of Songs 3:6 - 5:1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atonement is made at the point of confession. When we sin, grace abounds. Where we fail, mercy thrives. When we are broken, healing comes. God's grace and mercy comes to the point of our real need and brings healing. Isaiah 6:1-7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you have a small god, people look big. You fear being open about who you are because you care about what others think. The only way to have people be real about who they are is to have them be real about who God is. As you center your life on God, you find fulfillment, integrity, and authenticity. Isaiah 6:1-7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consumeristic Christianity finds people choosing a different church just because they don't like the music. When we talk about worship, our goal is to forget about the technicalities of music and actually worship God. Hebrews 12:18-29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do you think of when you think of church? Perhaps you just can't see that it's going to make any real difference in the world in the times we live in. Sometimes we compartmentalize God from the rest of our lives. But church is a mission to the world. Hebrews 10:19-25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of you are disappointed by church. To be honest, you would rather play golf on Sunday morning. We all need to be called back to a vision of what the point of church is. Hebrews 10:19-25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beware of the toothpaste-tube fallacy—going from a small thing (what's the right way to roll up the tube) to a massive thing (he doesn't love me anymore). Issues can build up over time in marriage and sometimes something small feels like the last straw. Take a step back and breathe! Song of Songs 2:8 - 3:5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Worship is only biblical worship when, at its heart, is a confession of sin and a reception of the forgiveness of sin by a focus on Christ and his cross. 2 Chronicles 34:1-7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Part of the fruit of idolatry in our culture is a disdain for gathering in worship at the house of God. Some think nothing of disparaging church by rarely attending in person. We think that our resources of time, talent, and treasure should go to something else besides God's house.  2 Chronicles 34:1-7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humility focuses on what God wants and on doing right in the eyes of the Lord. Humility is a self-forgetfulness that can only come with a God-fullness. So the real question is: can we get close to God if we're proud? Josh Moody says the answer is no. 2 Chronicles 26:1-23 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The internet is awash with deception. One of the great problems of our age is that we live in the age of misinformation. Photographs are deep-faked and AI spins out words. Josh Moody says we have to be very active to sift out the truth from the lies in social media, YouTube, and even podcasts. The battle for the solid ground of truth is a very important and real battle. 2 Chronicles 20:1-15 Learn...

We tend to think the battle is about more abstract or spiritual things. But Josh Moody says it's often more concrete. We must decide if we will put God and God's people above some other priority, such as sports, work, or "me" time. 2 Chronicles 20:1-15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Song of Songs is about human love and marriage. It's a love song at a human level. But love and marriage are about something else as well. Interpreting Song of Songs has long been a source of debate. Pastor Josh explains it on two levels. Song of Songs 1:1-2:7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Christian world in the West is plagued by comfort. Never before has there been a problem of too much to eat. Entertainment options are everywhere. Josh Moody says that suffering rarely drives people away from full commitment to God—but comfort does. 2 Chronicles 14:2, 16:7-9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices