Generations Community Church

When was the last time you were with a family member, friend, or co-worker and felt like they weren't listening to you? What were the clues? How did you KNOW they just weren't getting you or getting it? Listening is linked to CARING, which is why it's critical for Christians (followers of Jesus) to learn the art of incarnational listening. Jesus was a good listener, and the world would see his fol...

In life, there is a continuum of emotionally compromised people. Some lean toward OVER-regulating their emotions, pushing negative feelings deep down into their heart and soul, hoping that those highly charged and highly negative emotions will simply disappear or fade away over time. Others lean toward UNDER-regulating their emotions, expressing EVERY passing feeling they have with robust intensit...

Imagine a husband who calls every day from work. One day, however, he doesn't call. The husband and wife had had an argument the night before, the but the wife thought it had been resolved. Now, in the wake of no phone call, she begins to wonder if she was mistaken. Perhaps her husband IS still angry. Perhaps he's pulling some kind of passive-aggressive tactic (the kind HIS father used). Later tha...

Everybody's got an angle, or so it would seem. Friends, family members, and co-workers sometimes disappoint us, because it becomes apparent (over time) that their interest in us in ONLY because of what we will do for them. It's a take-give relationship (they take, we give). Unfortunately, too many of us take that disappointment and place it at God's feet, assuming that God will be just like these...

We define hope as believing that something GOOD can come out of something BAD. And, given the past couple of years, it is necessary to HOPE, good to HOPE, and right to HOPE.

We live in a world marked by chaos, ugliness, and scarcity - and that makes us afraid, so we try to mitigate our fears by exerting control. But NO amount of control will ensure our safety or guarantee that we have what we need. Which is why, time and time again in the Bible, we're implored to have faith, to put our trust in God and NOT in ourselves or in what we can control. In this message, Max V...

There's often a disconnect between the person that gets projected out into social media (and in conversations) and the real person on the inside. Which is why we're sometimes blind-sided by a friend's failing marriage (they seemed so happy together) or a bankruptcy (they just took a vacation to Disney World) or an arrest (I had no idea he was an alcoholic). The Bible speaks to this reality - this...

It's difficult to deal with a family member, close co-worker, or friend who's making BAD decisions. Why? Because it eats you up on the inside! And it eats you up on the inside, because (more often than not) YOU don't say anything to that friend...for fear you ruin the friendship or because it's really none of your business. It's absolutely CRAZY that we would tell the WORLD about a potentially stu...

You're going to have people in your life (from time to time) who expect YOU to fix THEIR problems...their money problems, their relationship problems, or their emotional problems. And if you're not careful, you'll walk right into this trap of trying to fix (or rescue) people. Whether you consider them "extra grace required" people or emotional vampires, one's things certain: there's GOT to be a be...

You're going to encounter difficult people. People who push your buttons. People who interrupt. People who never shut up. People who violate your personal space. People who do not seem to possess the ability to see ANYTHING past the end of their nose. So what do you do? What do you do with the non-listener? The one-upper? The gossip-er? The curmudgeon? In this message, Max Vanderpool teaches on th...

Many of us have encountered a sudden reversal of fortune in life...a deadline that got moved or a tax refund that increased when the paperwork was finished. At the heart of the Gospel is a similar sudden reversal of fortune for humanity. In this message, Max Vanderpool explains the heart of the Gospel - from Romans 3 - that has a perfect illustration from Polish history.

Any time a pastor, rabbi, priest, or religious leader calls out a "sin," a lot of Americans just roll their eyes (in disgust) and dismiss those statements as illegitimate. After all, the religious leader saying them is a hypocrite and they just think they're "better than everyone else." This makes it terribly difficult to talk about sin - particular the personal sins of you and me. And if we can't...

Our church family has endured some loss (of late). Lost groups & gatherings (due to Covid). Lost people. Lost marriages. And lost pregnancies. But Americans (for better or worse) aren't very good at supporting people through loss. We tend to say the darndest things. If you've ever struggled with what to say to a friend who's grieving or how to support a friend who's experienced loss, you're not al...

Mike Rowe, longtime host of the TV series Dirty Jobs, learned FAR more than he anticipated doing that series. In TED talks and subsequent interviews, it turns out FAR MORE is going on behind doing a dirty job. Maybe that's why Jesus appeared in a manger or why Jesus claimed that the Son of Man came (not to be served but) to serve. In this message, Amanda Duke explains why getting your hands dirty...

When we launched Generations in 2004, we were the ONLY church in the USA with that name. Today, there are over 30 versions of Generations Community Church throughout the United States. Perhaps God IS doing something we might not easily recognize. Our very name comes from one of our church's values - a belief that we should ALL take our faith home with us. Faith isn't just something that happens at...

The church is full of hypocrites. It's true. But it isn't just the church. LIFE is full of hypocrites...people who pretend to be "righteous" or a certain way when they are really struggling or not that way at all. If you watch the Netflix series, "The Crown," you see it in the marriage of Charles and Diana. But here's the thing: You do NOT have to have it together to come here, belong here, or be...

The earliest Christians in Ephesus struggled with feeling like they were not enough, feeling like they didn't matter, and feeling like they didn't belong. It's because their culture told people you only matter IF you are smart (or intelligent), IF you are beautiful, IF you possess athletic prowess, or IF you can entertain. So the Apostle Paul reassured them...of God's love...of their identity...of...

Weddings are typically a lot of fun, except when you get stuck at the pastor's table. Why is it that people assume pastors and "serious" followers of Jesus are NO FUN AT ALL? In some ways, it goes all the way back to Puritan New England, but it's a myth perpetuated today by well-intentioned believers. So why did Jesus go to so many weddings, dinners, banquets, celebrations, and parties? BECAUSE HE...

There's a tension between the right kind of flexibility and inflexibility. It's something parents (particularly of teenagers) live out daily. When should they HOLD FIRM to something and when should they BEND? And how do you know which is which? In the New Testament, we see the earliest Christians walk out this same kind of tension (between flexibility and inflexibility). Where and when do you hold...

Jesus said, "Love your enemies." And some people think that means you shouldn't resist someone breaking into your home or an army invading your country. Still others believe it means you should be a doormat for everyone and everything. Don't resist. Just sit there and take it, they say. So what did Jesus really mean by insisting that we love our enemies? Is it possible to hold out for justice AND...

In the fall of 2018, God gave Generations a "place to call home." We had four months in our (new to us) facility before COVID hit. But what if we heard God RIGHT? What if this facility IS God's provision and a "place to call home?" What if, like the Israelites under the leadership of Joshua, God is giving us and opportunity and a place...so that WE can be a blessing? In this message, Brian Hull, d...

Most of us have gotten a Christmas gift (or job or boyfriend or girlfriend) that we THOUGHT would make us happy and satisfied...only to be disappointed. We have a habit of going to "empty wells" looking for water. In John's Gospel, Jesus is presented as a friend to sinners and as someone who CAN and DOES satisfy our deepest longings.

Jesus was more than just a relevant teacher. He had POWER to free people from demonic oppression, religious strongholds, stress and anxiety...and that SAME power is available to his followers TODAY.

Researchers have determined that there is ONE difference between the happiest and unhappiest people. And that difference isn't money, social status, physical appearance, I.Q., or possessions. It's the presence of joy-producing, life-giving relationships. That's right...people! Flourishing isn't just about connecting to God (and being connected to God), it's about connecting to God's people. In thi...

In the American church, we've pushed the idea of a quiet time - something a believer does in the morning (by themselves) when the read the Bible (by themselves), pray (by themselves), and perhaps even journal (by themselves). But this ONE SIZE FITS ALL approach to connecting to God doesn't work (for many) and doesn't accurately reflect the diversity of personalities and temperaments that God made....