Flagstone Church of Christ

Of all the different reasons we could list for why God created the church in the first place, one of the main purposes we see in God's plan for His church is to be a body of people that meets the needs, not just of its members, but of its surrounding community as well. We are not made to put blinders on and ignore people's needs. We are designed to have eyes that see people's needs and...

After the Holy Spirit breaks out onto God's people after Pentecost, the church is born and they are captivated by SPIRIT FILLED AWE that ignites them to become a church that has become the blueprint for the church of today. Acts 2:42-47 is not a "list of things a church needs to do" but rather the inevitable results of a Spirit filled church on a mission. So how can we position ourse...

The book of Acts provides depictions of some of the events that took place at the start of the church after Jesus' ascension into heaven, including amazing miracles, challenging sermons, and people coming together as a community. All these stories help to provide a blueprint of how God wants His church to function. But one key aspect of God's plan for His church that we often overlook is t...

"Forgive and forget." How often have we heard that sentiment? How often have we said that to someone else? Maybe the tougher question - how often have we actually practiced that? There are lots of us who try to convince others or even ourselves that true forgiveness also means forgetting whatever caused the hurt. But usually the hurt caused by others is quite painful; it leaves a scar; i...

In Luke 4, Jesus says that one of the reasons He came to this earth was to give freedom to the prisoners. He wasn't talking about setting people free from the prison cells they occupied because of crimes they committed or laws they violated. He was talking about setting mankind free - all of us! He came to set us free from our choices and our hurt and the ways we've hurt others. He came to...

A recent survey revealed that 62% of Americans believe they need more forgiveness in their personal lives. Forgiveness is something we seem to value, and yet it's something we sometimes not only struggle to offer to others but struggle to accept for ourselves. We say grace and forgiveness are important, but we aren't always consistent in forgiving others or living like we've experience...

This Sunday we are celebrating our Mothers and wrapping up our series "Exploring Questions that Jesus Asked" with a story found in Luke 2. Mary, the mother of Jesus gets separated from her son for 3 days only to find him sitting in the temple in "his Father's house"... So what kind of mom does it take to raise the Son of God? What does Jesus question to his parents mean for...

Imagine being one of Jesus' disciples and getting to be an eyewitness when He demonstrated His supernatural power over nature and diseases and even spiritual forces. One would think that His disciples would have no problem trusting in His ability to overcome problems and protect those He cared about. And yet on one particular occasion their faith seemed to be diminishing, if not completely cru...

From scrolling through social media to binge-watching the newest shows to catching up on highlights of our favorite sports teams to having conversations with family members, friends, and coworkers, we have a lot of things that battle for our focus and attention on a daily basis. Our vision can become so fixed on a variety of different things that we might even miss seeing the things that really ma...

When given the opportunity, many of us tend to choose the thing in life that is newer or flashier or more convenient. And that principle comes into play with our belief systems as well. Many of us often choose to focus on and put our trust in whatever is most popular or most trendy at the time or at least whatever requires less effort from us to participate in. Jesus once found Himself dealing wit...

Words and names carry a lot of power. The names we use or the character traits we use to describe someone often stem from our perception of that person or what we've been told about them. In His time on earth, Jesus was referred to by a lot of different names - some positive and some negative - based on what various people thought of Him or had heard about Him. With that concept in mind, Jesus...

One of the more challenging questions Jesus ever asked was actually a rhetorical question. He wasn't seeking an immediate audible response from His audience. He just used a question to confront an issue they were in habit of overlooking. It's a question we still wrestle with today, because it gets at the heart of how we view and treat others...and ultimately how we view ourselves.

When Jesus rose from the grave, it came as a surprise to many, including His own disciples. It shouldn't have been as shocking as it was for two reasons: 1) He told them several times ahead of time that He was going to die and then rise again. 2) He articulated to one of His followers some time before His death that resurrection and life were part of what made Jesus who He was. Following that...

When it comes to investing financially, those who are unwilling to make long-term investments are often either worried about the risk involved or are too impatient to wait for their investment to produce results. But what about spiritual investments? What about investing in my relationship with God or investing my time, my energy, maybe even my stuff so that someone else can be blessed? When I can...

During this final Sharing Jesus class, we will remind ourselves of the reasons why we need to be engaging in spiritual conversations when the opportunity arises. We will also get some practical tips for effectively sharing the good news about Jesus and helping non-Christians see the need for Jesus in their own lives.

We have a clearer picture of where non-Christians are coming from, and we’ve recognized what’s at the core of some of our own hesitations when it comes to sharing our faith. Now it’s time to get a little more practical. How do we engage in a spiritual conversation with an unchurched person? What do we need to say? What do they need to hear from us?

Debt is not uncommon...at least not in our American culture. It is estimated that approximately 80% of Americans are in some kind of debt right now. Debt has become so commonplace that it almost doesn't bother us - we expect to live with at some amount of debt in our lives. And yet debt can be a cruel master, taking control of our thoughts, actions, and relationships. So how do I get free from...

After gaining a little bit clearer understanding of the perspective and mindset of non-Christians in our community, in this lesson we turn our focus more towards ourselves as Christians. What are ways we have tried to share our faith with others in the past, and how effective have those methods been? We need to also take an honest look at some of the factors that can cause us to be hesitant when i...

When we think of "greedy" people, we think of folks like Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" or Gordon Gekko in the movie "Wall Street." Most of us don't consider ourselves to be greedy. And yet, when we take an honest look at our perspective and our actions when it comes to our finances, we may discover that we have an unhealthy craving to get more money and...

My relationship with money can be complicated. Money can be the thing I work hardest to acquire yet complain about the most. It has potential to help me accomplish wonderful things, and it has potential to consume every aspect of my life. I’m called to trust God with my money, but I often end up trusting money to be my god. But what if I shifted my view of money and changed my relationship with it...

The mission is simple: "Make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) and sharing Jesus makes all the sense in the world when you are surrounded by fellow Christians, but in the real world it might look intimidating and even anxiety inducing. Does it really matter? Am I even allowed to share my faith in corporate America? In this class we will seek to better understand the "unchurc...

Welcome to Unscripted! Church leaders Marshall Brown and Brandon Dodd engage in meaningful conversations and topics aimed at asking questions honestly about culture and faith. This week's episode is about meaningful community, and more specifically about online friendships and relationships. For a long time, there's been a stigma about online relationships, but can they actually be healthy...

God promises to bless His followers, right? That's part of being a child of God - receiving His love and His grace, but also His blessings and His protection. If I believe that to be true, then it becomes very easy for me to expect that I'll never have hardships, nothing will ever go wrong, and God will keep bad things from happening to me. But that's not the reality, is it? What happe...

Welcome to Unscripted! Church leaders Marshall Brown and Brandon Dodd engage in meaningful conversations and topics aimed at asking questions honestly about culture and faith. This week's episode is about meaningful community, and more specifically how we are biologically designed for connection. We know that we have a natural desire to connect with people and be a part of a community, but how...

The excitement and anticipation of the work I'm doing can fade pretty quickly, especially when the expectations I had going into that job are not being met with my actual experiences. I may have had a vision of a positive, teamwork-oriented, fulfilling environment when I started working at a particular job only to find out that my perfect picture is not my reality. So how am I supposed to hand...