In the Word

Is it possible to hear God’s voice and if so, how? Scripture reveals that God is a God who speaks, but many of us struggle to understand what that looks like? How can you tell the difference between God’s voice and your own desires? How can you learn to recognize Him when He speaks? Join Michele as she shares from her own experience learning to hear from God.

Do Christians have to forgive others and how is it possible? If you've ever struggled to forgive or thought it impossible, this message will help you get things into perspective. There have been many people Michele has had to forgive over the years join her as she shares what has helped her to do that.

Why does a good God allow suffering? Grappling with one of the hardest questions of life, why does a good God allow suffering? Michele shares some of her own story. She is no stranger to suffering herself and asks if anything good can come from it?

Is Christ’s Resurrection fact or fiction, and is it really important? Join Michele as she looks at Christ’s resurrection and why it’s foundational to our faith as Christians? Do we have any information outside of the Bible that speaks about the resurrection of Christ? Could Jesus have swooned and revived later? Did the disciples steal His body and lie about His return to life? Or were His follower...

Did Jesus actually claim to be God? Join Michele as she looks at whether or not Jesus really claimed to be God? Did people in the New Testament simply honor Him or did they worship Him? And, if Jesus is God, and there is God the Father, then what about the Holy Spirit? Do Christians really believe in three Gods?

Isn’t it enough to be a good person? Join Michele as she looks at whether or not it’s enough to be a good person? Who defines what good is? How good is good enough? And what kind of works did Jesus say were required by God?

Is Jesus really the only way to God? Everyone has questions! Join Michele as she looks at "Is Jesus really the only way to God?” What did Jesus say about Himself? What did the original disciples believe and why is Jesus death on the cross so important?

Lesson 4 - An Example in Perseverance 1 Kings 21:1-28; 1 Kings 19:19-21 and 2 Kings 2:1-15. Elijah was an incredible man of prayer. He knew what it was like to persevere even when he was hated and rejected for his relationship with God. Choosing not to see it as the end of his usefulness to God, he was willing to see God’s bigger picture and humbly invest in the life of his successor, Elisha.

Lesson 3 - When Fear Overwhelms and Depression Sets In 1 Kings 18:40-19:18. As Christ followers, we know that the extremes of life teach us to trust Him, they draw us closer to Him, and conform us to His likeness. Elijah shows us what to do when those dark moments happen in our lives. God is never going to forget us! In fact, the Lord often uses those valleys to take us on to higher places, if onl...

Lesson 21 - An Exceptional God Kings 17:12-18:40. Elijah knew that nothing is impossible for God. In his encounter with the prophets of Baal we learn the truth that all religions are not the same and that enthusiasm and great activity are not always signs of spirituality! The prophets of Baal were no doubt sincere in what they believed, but it is possible to be sincerely wrong! People can have fai...

Lesson 1 - An Ordinary Man 1 Kings 17:1-15. We know nothing about the Prophet Elijah other than he came from the town of Tishbe in Gilead. No one knows about his family or his education, all we do know is that he was rather an odd character! But his life teaches us that God knows how to raise up leaders when they are needed, and that He can use anyone — even a person from absolute obscurity — to d...

Lesson 7 – Serving others as faithful stewards of God’s Grace 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 & 27-31; Genesis 39:3-5; Genesis 39:22-23; Genesis 41:43; Acts 6; 1 Peter 4:7-11; Acts 16 and Romans 16:3. In this lesson we cover the final two gifts of administration and hospitality. We also talk about discerning and developing our gifts in community with other believers.

Lesson 6 – Not a God of Disorder, but of Peace1 Corinthians 14:1-40. We look at some of the issues facing the church in Corinth. Paul wasn’t faulting the Corinthians for wanting all that the Holy Spirit gives. In fact, he encouraged them to desire spiritual gifts. However, he wanted them to focus on a few very important principles as they did.

Lesson 5 – Different Gifts but the Same Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Corinthians 12:15-21; 1 Kings 3:16-28; Acts 27:1-44; Acts 16:16-18. Paul wanted believers to understand that all the gifts — as varied and different as they are — come from the same source. The same Spirit gives each one and the same Lord is served through them. This week we study the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts o...

Gifts of the Holy SpiritLesson 4 – One body, with many membersRomans 12:1-8, Acts 6:1-7, Acts 9:26-28, Acts 9:36-43, Acts 15:4-31. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us and all of them need to work together in the Body of Christ. In this lesson, we look at five of the gifts as mentioned by Paul in Romans 12: the gifts of service or helps, encouragement, giving, leader...

Gifts of His Grace - Lesson 3John 14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3; 1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 21:8-14; Deuteronomy18:22; Acts 8:29-31 and Acts 18:24-26. Spiritual gifts are meant for all Christ-followers. They come from God as expressions of His grace — in other words, we don’t earn or deserve them. We look at five gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4: apostleship; prophecy; evangelism; shepher...

Lesson 2 – Being Sealed and Being Filled John 20:18-22; Acts 1:3-5&8; Acts 2:1-8 & 14-21; Acts 2:37-41; Acts 4:29-31; Acts 13:8-12; Acts 13:52; Matthew 28:18-20 and Ephesians 5:1-20. The Scriptures reveal that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit the moment that we put our faith in Jesus Christ, but what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Are we perhaps settling for less in our...

Lesson 1 - Who is the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 1:13-14; John 16:7-15; Acts 5:1-4; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 10:26-29; Mark 3:22-30; Romans 8:15-17 & 26-27. Prior to looking at the different spiritual gifts God gives to those who trust in Jesus, we first look at what the Scriptures reveal about the Holy Spirit Himself and clear up some common misconceptions.

Lesson 1 - Face of the Betrayer John 12:5-6; John 6:66-71; Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 22:1-6; Matthew 26:14-16; John 13:27-30; Matthew 26:47-50 and finally Matthew 27:1-7. It has always amazed me that Judas Iscariot followed when others deserted Christ. And though he heard every message that Jesus preached and saw every miracle —he did not believe in Jesus as the Son of God who could forgive sins. There...

Lesson 6 – Paul Acts 9:1-30; Philippians 3:4-9; Philippians 4:4-9 and 4:12-13; and 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. We concluded our study with Paul, whose life was completely transformed by his encounters with the grace of Jesus Christ. A grace so powerful that it was able to change the Pharisee Saul — enemy and persecutor of the Church —into the Apostle Paul — protector of the faith and preacher to the G...

Lesson 5 – Peter Luke 5:1-11; Matthew 16:13-18; Luke 22:14:34 and John 21:1-19. Peter followed Jesus imperfectly, in fits and starts, sometimes getting the point, sometimes not — responding to Christ’s gentle and not-so-gentle rebukes, receiving His forgiveness and redirection more times than we can count. Through the grace shown to Peter we learn that even in our worst moments, we are not alone a...

Lesson 4 – Mary and Martha Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:1-12:6. Mary, Martha and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus and I’m sure that when Lazarus fell sick and died the two sisters were left with many questions about Christ’s love for them. However, from their story we learn that grace is at work even when our world is shattered and when it seems as if God doesn’t care.

Lesson 3 – John the Baptist Luke 1:5-25; Mark 1:4-8; John 1:29-37 and Mark 6:20-29 The life of John the Baptist teaches us that the grace of God sets us apart even before we are born and unfolds God’s plan to us as we walk in obedience to His call. Grace encourages us and gives us the strength to hold on even when we doubt so that we finish our race well.

Lesson 2 – The Woman at the Well John 4:1-42 For the first time in His ministry, Jesus directly claimed to be the Messiah and in doing so He entrusted the Gospel message to a woman that no one else would have even spoken to! The good news for you and for me is that God’s choice of unlikely messengers hasn’t changed, so there’s room for us to be used in His Kingdom even today!

Lesson 1 - Nicodemus John 3:1-18; Numbers 21:4-9; John 7:45-52 and John 19:38-42. Nicodemus’ encounter with Christ teaches us that God isn’t put off by our tentative questioning in the middle of the night. If we seek Him, He will never turn us away but will receive us just as we are. He will speak to us in ways that we can understand, but He will also lead us to the real issues we need to face.