Alliance Church - Hortonville

Life is an unwinnable battle, but the good news is we don't have to fight it alone. We have the Mighty God on our side and no battle is too hard for him! Will you trust him with the battle of your life?

This life can be dark, and we need someone to light the way. Isaiah gives us a glimpse of a world that seems to be totally dark, but then a Light appears and changes everything. A child is born, a Son is given, and he is the Wonderful Counselor who can lead us out of the darkness of this world and into the light of his kingdom.

Two things that are true for all of us: life will throw some hard stuff our way, and we will all be tempted to walk away from God. But the good news is that God can get us through. Jesus teaches us to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Do you understand the difference between justice and revenge? Do you trust God to bring about justice in your life and around you? According to Jesus, there is a deep-seated correlation between forgiving and being forgiven. Are you ready to extend to others what has been given to you?

Rev. Brandon Hilstad continues our series on Prayer.

If we really knew who we were talking to in prayer, how would that change the way that we pray? Pastor Brian explains how to trace the lines of the Lord's prayer to align our hearts with God's heart.

Pastor Dennis Episcopo continues our series on Prayer.

Prayer won’t make sense if you don’t understand who God is. Jesus always places prayer within the context of our relationship with God our Father. Because he is our Father, we can be confident prayer is a good use of our time because he loves us, he is eager to listen to us, and knowing us, he knows everything we need.

Have you ever wondered, what is the point of prayer? In this passage, Jesus teaches that prayer is meant to be an intimate conversation with God the Father. He also explains that when we use prayer for anything else – say, to impress other people – we completely miss the point. Let’s be a church that gets this right.

What would you say is the most powerful piece of furniture in your home? What piece of furniture has the most untapped ministry potential? Pastor Brandon believes it is your table.

Have you ever wondered why studying God's Word together plays such a huge role in the life of our church? We devote half of our weekly service to teaching the Bible, and throughout the week, we organize opportunities for people to study the Word in small groups. Why is this such a big deal? To be the Jesus-like church God wants us to be, we need his Word to keep us on track.

Why are we a church that places a big emphasis on serving together? Quick answer: God is glorified when we serve one another well. Peter explains that God has gifted every believer and calls us to use those gifts to serve one another. When we get this right, God looks good in our church.

In this passage, Jesus tells his followers to buy a sword. Why on earth would he say that to them, and what's it got to do with us? Jesus wants his followers to be prepared to persevere through hardship, specifically hostility from the world. Are you?

Here's a terrifying thought: According to Jesus, there will be many people who claim to know him, but are denied entrance into the Kingdom. Some of them will even have an impressive religious resume, but still won't make the cut. So, who does make the cut?

If you’re going to follow Jesus, you’re guaranteed to face hardship, have your allegiance to Christ tested, and be tempted to turn back to your old life. Jesus is looking for all-in disciples who commit to following him no matter what. Are you all in?

Jesus said some challenging things: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. In this message, we look at the true cost of discipleship.

The majesty of God is displayed in every square inch of creation and seen most supremely in Christ. If we fail to see this, we will walk a path of rejecting God and rebelling against his loving lordship. But in Psalm 8, and throughout the Bible, God constantly calls us to wake up and see the beauty of who He is and what He has done.

Have you ever noticed how it’s easier to pray when we’re happy and the sun is shining, but when the emotional clouds roll in, we tend to withdraw relationally from God? It’s often hard to interact with God when our emotions are down, but in a sense, that’s when we need him the most. Psalm 43 gives us an example of how to pray through the emotional fog of life, and back into the presence of God.

How can we experience God's forgiveness? In Psalm 32, David shares from his own life experience that God is eager to forgive, but if we want to receive that forgiveness, we must be open and honest with Him about our sin. In one verse, he says "don't be like a mule," meaning don't be stubborn in your refusal to acknowledge your sin to God thereby foregoing his life-transforming forgiveness.

Do we have the same expectation for the Christian life as what Jesus had for His disciples? We will explore one of Christ's expectations from this passage, specifically to forsake yourself.

When we are faced with unjust actions, we might wonder if God is really just, or if he really is in control. This Psalm points out that evil and sin will end, that God is good, and that we can trust in his justice now and forever.

"Be still and know that I'm God." If you grew up in church, perhaps you heard these words. Rev. Brandon Hilstad unpacks the Psalm from which it comes, reminding us that we can trust in the Lord as our refuge and our strength.

Living for God is hard when you feel like he's not actually in control. What do you do when you feel like this? The writer of this Psalm encourages us to look heavenward, and remember that our King is still on his throne and He's not nervous.

What is the good life and how do we live it? According to Psalm 1, to live the good life—or, the blessed life—you’ve got to live the God-life, meaning with him, for him, and on his terms. And to live the God-life, we’ve got to love God’s Word.

Life can be complex, messy, and sometimes brutal, but there is a straightforward way to make the most of this messy life. This message draws out four nuggets of wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes to help us live with God-honoring competency in the face of this reality.