Evergreen Christian Community

Romans 12:9-21 Big Idea: Honor others above yourself. Honor: (timé): a valuing, a price 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 How it is, we honor others within community:  1. Cultivate Humility Romans 12:14 Matthew 5:44  Philippians 2:3-4  "True honor comes from selflessness, placing the needs and interests of others above our own, and esteeming them as valuable in God's eyes." - Rick Warren 2. Extend Grace Roman...

The Big Idea: Christian community, while difficult and terrifying, is God’s ongoing incarnation of His love. Read the 4 biographies of Jesus and it is clear that he had 2 core commitments: • Solitude with the Father • Life in Community 1 John 3:11-18 What is Community: Not Connection   Not Chemistry But Koinonia: People with a shared commitment, physical proximity, and regular engagement. Matthew...

Hebrews 5:7-14 The Big Idea: We become complete in God the same way Jesus did. How Jesus Was Made Complete The Barrier to our perfection Learning the Jesus Way Jesus was made perfect through His faith, fervency, and submission in suffering. The Barrier to our perfection is laziness. (v11) “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are...

Philippians 4:4-13 The Big Idea: The antidote for anxiety is the Presence of God. The Call: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” - Charles Spurgeon 1 Peter 5:7  The Cadence: • Rejoice in the Lord  • Present your requ...

James 5:13-16 What if the thing that leads to our greatest security in life is not building walls barriers, but rather building a connection? Big Idea: The greatest peace we can experience is by living in authentic connection.  Authenticity with God "Our relationship with God is the foundation of our entire lives. It affects how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we see the world." - Cha...

In a world that pressures to divide, devalue, and discard, followers of Jesus must shift to a God-perspective and see the image of God in ALL people. Big Idea: There is no us and them—there is only us. Jesus calls the Church to change our vocabulary from THEM to US, from a verbiage that SEPARATES to a verbiage that LOVES. Genesis 1:26–31 Luke 10:30–37 Problem: Division moves to devaluation which d...

Genesis 3:8-19  The Anatomy of Human Captivity: • Fear - our core emotion • Shame - our core motivation • Hiding - our core strategy • Blame - our self-deception • Curse - our cultural reality The Big Idea:  Perfect love is the only thing that sets captives free. 1 John 4:18-19 Freedom is not the absence of some thing; it’s the presence of Some One. How we deepen our own captivity: Colossians. 2:8...

Isaiah 30:15-16 Matthew 11:28-30 The Big Idea: Real rest is a 24/7/365 invitation for followers of Jesus. The Problem: I’m worn out, overwhelmed, and rarely at rest. The Ten symptoms of “hurry sickness”: 1. Irritability—You get mad, frustrated, or just annoyed way too easily. 2. Hypersensitivity—It takes very little to throw you into an emotional funk and ruin your day. 3. Restlessness—When you ac...

Luke 23:13-25; 32-34; 38-43; 46-47 ‭ Three witnesses of the King’s Love: 1. Barabbas - Receives a pardon he does not deserve 2. A Criminal on his cross - Receives an eternal paradise he does not deserve 3. A Centurion executioner at foot of the cross - Receives a revelation about God that he does not deserve. How do I know that this is real and certain? His resurrection is the guarantee of this pr...

Luke 15:1-7 The Big Idea: Jesus is the best friend a sinner could ever have. Luke 7:33-35 The Lost Sheep How do Sheep get lost? One clump of grass at a time! Jesus leaves the 99 and goes after the one. And then throws a big party! The Lost Coin How does a coin get lost? It slips through someone’s fingers. Jesus loves people who fell through someone’s fingers. He lights lamps and searches all night...

The Big Idea: The more I know God’s Word, the more I will recognize His voice in all kinds of places. James 1:2-11, 21-25 1. Start with Why Why do you want to hear from God? What are you looking for?  James 1 Suggests Four Good Reasons to Listen to God: • He is Good and Sovereign  • He is committed to your development and growth  • He is trustworthy. Placing your trust elsewhere makes you unstable...

3 Attitudes we might find ourselves in: • Confident • Curious • Cautious Big Idea: The Bible is the living, active Word of God that connects us to its author. John 14:1-7 Scripture is the telling of God’s story. Attitude towards Scripture dictates authority, the authority dictates transformation. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 • The Bible is not just true, it is TRUTH. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the tr...

Can we trust this book to be what it says it is—a story of God’s plan for us? Luke 1:1–4 1 Thessalonians 2:13 John 20:31 The Big Idea: You can trust God, and you can trust His word 1. Why Has It Not Been Trusted? Perceptions and Misunderstandings • Preconceptions • Misunderstood contexts 2. Why CAN It be Trusted? The Historical Accuracy of God’s Word • There is eyewitness testimony • The biographi...

Matthew 7:24-27 The Big Idea: The Bible is the solid foundation we all need. Three Things The Bible Is: 1. The Bible is the Word of God. Revelation 19:11-14 Hebrews 4:12  2. The Bible is the Story of God. A library of 66 books, written by 39 authors on 3 continents over 1,500 years.  When we don't understand the context of God, we miss the details of God. 3. The Bible is Real, Raw, and Relevant  “...

Mark 8:34-38 Matthew 11:28–30 Big Idea: As we give God an undivided heart, He infuses our life with His Spirit as we learn to walk in step with Him. 1. We balance ON the rock–Jesus–our foundation Matthew 7:24-25 “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”  ― Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship 2. We balance WITH the Spirit–with all of our lives intertwined with the Spiritual (ca...

Matthew 7:24-27 Matthew 22:36-40 Matthew 28:16-20 The Big Idea: If you don’t have a sense of purpose worth dying for, you will struggle to find anything worth living for. How to Build on Solid Rock: • Embrace that all authority in heaven and on earth is HIS • Entrust my entire life to the Lordship of Jesus, as I currently understand it • Be baptized into a living relationship with God • Commit to...

Psalm 133:1-3 John 17:20-23 The Big Idea: Christian community exists because of Jesus, through Jesus, and for the mission of Jesus. “The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayer...

Stability: To make an impact, one must remain in the same place for a long time. Jeremiah 1:10 Jeremiah 29:4-14 The French have a saying from the 15th Century: "Fleuris là où tu es plantée," which means, "Bloom where you are planted." Big Idea: God wants you to bloom where He has you planted. • God has a plan for your exile season. Jeremiah 29:4 Jeremiah 29:11 • Blooming where we are planted bring...

Matthew 16:24 2 Timothy 2:1-10 The Big Idea: Private discipline always precedes public fruitfulness Asceticism is an antidote to the poison of self-centeredness common in our culture, which teaches us that satisfying our own desires is the key to the good life. The ascetic knows that true happiness can be found only by living in harmony with the will of God, and ascetical practices train body and...

Genesis 1:26-28 Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17 Genesis 3:17-19 The Big Idea: For disciples of Jesus, our work is a prophetic act of worship. The Origin and Purpose of Work‭ The purpose of our work is to add value - to bring value, beauty, and contribution to the world. The Curse Changed Our Relationship with Work. Many of us have a disordered relationship with work • Find (or lose) our identity in our work...

The Big Idea: Prayer is simply about being with God. Psalm 46 Practicing the Way of Jesus Pray in adoration to God and in defiance to your circumstances Pray for fidelity, boldness, and obedience, rather than deliverance. Pray the Rosary The Hallow App Pray Hail Mary’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Pray the Our Father The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15) ‭ Get your Why right - Don’t be like the hypocrites G...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20-25 The Big Idea: Intentional structures free us to experience the presence of God within our everyday life. 2 Peter 1:3-11 Faith -> Goodness -> Knowledge -> Self-Control -> Perseverance -> Godliness -> Mutual Affection -> Love  Intentional focused structures will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your faith. Ideas For Getting Started: • Living in the River -...

John 7:37-39 The Big Idea: Your personal mission is to be a source of God’s life-giving water in the middle of a desert. Ezekiel 47:1-12 Psalm 1:1-3 2023: One Objective and Three Strategies One Objective: Live in the River! Three Strategies: • Learn to Think Biblically Colossians 2:6-12 The Issachar Collective • Build Incredible Marriages Ephesians 5:21-33 Merge Foundations re|engage • Develop com...

Hebrews 1:1-4 Many of us perceive that God speaks very rarely and when He does, it’s hellfire and brimstone. God Spoke - often. Consistently. Clearly. Often almost begging - through the prophets Deuteronomy 30:19-20 2 Chronicles 16:9 God is speaking - Through Jesus • Appointed Heir of all things • Through whom He made the universe • The radiance of God’s glory • Exact representation of His being •...