Valley Creek Church Weekend Messages

Most of us believe that busyness is just part of life and that, the more busy we are, the more successful we are. But, what if we’ve gotten it backwards? What if we’re missing out on the life of freedom God has for us? In this message, Pastor John Stickl teaches us that the Sabbath is not just a spiritual practice, but a command designed for our good. It’s not a rule to follow, but a gift to recei...

Fasting is a practice that can feel so archaic in our modern day but is actually very strategic. It's the ancient path that has been practiced by the people of God for thousands of years. Fasting is one of the most relevant and necessary practices because it reminds us that we are not sustained by the world but by God alone. In this message, Pastor John Stickl walks through the practice of fasting...

What is prayer? What if it's more than just asking God for things? What if it's more than just a religious exercise? What if prayer was simply being aware of God? In this message, Pastor John Stickl shares that prayer is talking with God about the life we're living together. We learn that prayer is intimacy and authority, it's relationship and rulership, and it's communion and commissioning. We le...

Today we wanted to start Season Three of A Different way with a blackout experience by intentionally removing several service elements we love like lights, videos, and a full band to make Jesus the One thing we focus on. In this experience, Pastor John Stickl walks us through a teaching about gold shields and bronze shields from 1 Kings 10-14 and 2 Chronicles 9-12. We learned that bronze is a pict...

Do we really want to change? If we want to live like Jesus, we first have to decide we want to be His disciples. If we want Jesus's health, we need to first build our life around Jesus's habits. In this message, Pastor John Stickl recaps Season One of our A Different Way series by reminding us that a disciple is a student of Jesus who is training to be like Him. The spiritual practices/disciplines...

Do you like the direction your life is going? If we want to do the things that Jesus did on-the-spot, we first have to do the things Jesus did behind-the-scenes. Before we jump into Seasons 3 and 4 of A Different Way this fall, we revisited the first message in our series to again ask ourselves, who am I becoming, and who do I want to become? We are all being molded and shaped into the image and l...

In this upcoming season, are you going to choose your routine, or are you going to let your routine choose you? In this message, Pastor John Stickl invites us to prepare our hearts for the fall by asking us who we need to forgive, what we need to grieve, and where we need to obey. There is a race that God has marked out for each of us, and His grace gives us everything we need to run it. Let's loo...

What is church? Why does it matter? And why are you here? It all comes back to Jesus because our view of Jesus will determine our view of the church. The more clearly we see Jesus, the more clearly we see everything else. In this message, Pastor John Stickl helps us re-focus on who Jesus is and what He's done for us, he gives us a couple definitions of the church, and he reminds us of who we are a...

Unbelief asks, "What if...?" But unwavering faith says, "Even if...!" In this message, Pastor Becca Reynolds reminds us that our feelings can never lead us into the future God's creating for us... only faith can! Both fear and faith require us to believe in something we can't see. Are you going to choose to let fear of the unknown keep you stuck in the past? Or are you willing to trust that, in Go...

Are you aware that God is with you wherever you go? In this message, Caleb Chapple, one of our Central Students Directors, teaches us how we can learn from how Joshua led the people of Israel to defeat giants and claim the Promised Land. God's presence is the greatest change agent in the universe, and it's what allowed Joshua and the Israelites to be victorious! But remember, if God didn't go with...

Who defines your needs? The world, the news, social media, your friends? When God and His Word defines our needs, we can trust that He will always give us what we need to be who He's called us to be and do what He's called us to do. In this message, Justin Lanham, one of our Student Directors, reminds us that God is a good Father, and we can trust Him to meet our needs! And the truth is, what we n...

Twice a year, we take intentional time to celebrate and then to rest. This helps us stay healthy, refreshed, and focused on the goodness of God! In this experience, leaders from all our campuses came together to worship, pray over each other, celebrate God's goodness, and declare God's promises over our lives. Church isn't a building, it's a family! Jesus has done so much for us, and through unity...

God didn't create us for worry! In this message, our Next Gen Pastor, Dave Scriven, teaches us that worry is a choice, and when we choose to worry about anything, it's robbing us of a kingdom life full of peace and joy. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus invites us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, promising us that, when we do, He will provide for us. The enemy wants us to live in a constant s...

Trusting in God is a foundational part of being a disciple of Jesus. But, how often do we trust ourselves more than we trust God? In this message, Sebastian Mancillas, our Central Students Director, reminds us that trust and doubt can't coexist. If we try to control everything in our lives, then we're not able to surrender to Jesus. When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, they didn't unders...

In times of trouble, we may have heard someone tell us a promise from Romans 8:28, that God works all things for His good – and He does! – but do we believe that? In this message, Dawson Shields, one of our Student Directors, looks back at the life of Paul and Joseph to remind us that God never promised us a life of constant ease and enjoyment, but He does promise us that He will always be at work...

The Bible is full of God's promises for us! In fact, we may know many of them or have them hanging on the walls in our home, but have we claimed these promises in our heart? In this message, Pastor Jason Hillier kicks off our new summer series, 60 Days of Unfamiliar Promises, by reminding us that God's promises are not common or familiar; they're beautiful and sacred. Our beliefs drive our behavio...

Throughout Season 2 of A Different Way, we have received a deeper understanding of what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus. In this message, Pastor John Stickl walked us through reviewing all we have heard from God in Season 2 of our A Different Way series. Reflecting on everything God has revealed to us helps us continue to renew our minds with His truth, and a renewed mind can see God's wil...

Jesus loved to celebrate! So as we continue to train ourselves in the ways of Jesus, we can't ignore the practice of celebration! Celebration is paying attention and calling attention to the goodness of God. In this message, Pastor John Stickl teaches us that there is always more goodness of God than there is brokenness of the world. Have we trained ourselves to see it? Or are we training ourselve...

People of God's kingdom are supposed to have totally different mindsets from the people of this world, because we were created to think like God! In this message, Pastor John Stickl teaches us that meditation is spiritual warfare. Whoever has a stronghold on our mindset has a stronghold on our life, which means we can't afford to think a thought that is not full of faith, hope, and love. The prima...

Jesus, have it all – our days, our life, our church – it's only for You. In this experience, Pastor John Stickl invited us to ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we need to confess, repent, surrender, and live differently. Acts 3:19 tells us, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Confession and repentance brings clean...

Whoever influences our thoughts determines what we see, and when God's Word influences our thoughts, all we see is His kingdom! In this message, Pastor John Stickl reminds us that only a mind that has been renewed by the Word of God can see God's will, and meditating on God's Word is how we renew our minds. When the Word of God defines truth in our lives, the world and it's lies can't get in. Thro...

Jesus spent His life arranging and rearranging His life to memorize and meditate on the Word of God. Meditating isn't just thinking; it's thinking with the Holy Spirit. It's having a vision for our thought life! In this message, Pastor John Stickl teaches us that our thoughts lead our life. Whatever we fill our mind with is what our lives will be full of. Remember, we are not a victim of our minds...

The deepest question in the heart of every human – the deepest question in each of us – is, "Am I loved?" At Easter, we get to look to Jesus for the answer to that question. In this special Easter experience, Pastor John Stickl reminds us that, when we were lost in sin and shame, Jesus came to show us our worth and invite us to live a life of love. When we know we're loved, it changes everything.

God comes whenever we cry out to Him. In this experience, Pastor John Stickl walked us through specific ways we can pray for our cities to encounter God's presence at Easter! Jeremiah 29:7 says, "Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you... Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Prayer is both intimacy and authority. When we spend time p...

Jesus wants us to both rest in and remain in Him. In this special Selah Experience, Pastor Jason Hillier reminds us that the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) is produced in us through the work of the Holy Spirit when we remain in Jesus. Jesus is doing a deep work among us. What's He doing in you, and what's your trainin...