Ordinary Faith - Sermons

  Last week we turned down the noise. This week we change the angle. How do you choose to see your life? The picture only gets clear when you stop looking at life from a horizontal, earthly perspective and embrace a vertical, heavenly perspective. You are seated with and in Christ at the right hand of God, right now.

Do you have clarity for the coming year? Do you know your identity as God’s child? Have you embraced your Kingdom purpose? Or, does your vision feel pixelated and your motivation nonexistent.

To have hope and joy you have to have a vision for the future that you can pursue in the present. As Christians we have an incorruptible hope because we know that the Kingdom of God is breaking into the present. We can have hope during pain and suffering because our hope is a commission to bring the glory of the next world into the brokenness of this one.

Jesus, the Prince of Peace , invites us into vulnerability— not to expose our wounds, but to heal them and set us free. His healing restores us to God and others. Jesus came…

Mary’s story teaches us that the joyous and sometimes traumatic breaking of God’s Story into our own is worth the disruption. Her faith and surrender in the Christmas narrative shows how God uses ordinary people for extraordinary purposes.

The story of the wise men is a story of taking the time to find God.

Friendship is an often forgotten gift from God. Our stories are interwoven with the stories of others. Shared vocation, experience, and trial forge relationships that continually bless us with the best gifts in life.

Through Christ’s story we are invited into a Ministry of Reconciliation

God’s plan has always been people in relationship with others and with Him.

Living out your true identity is not a destination but a journey. You will discover false versions of yourself and beliefs unworthy of your purpose. We can find joy in the process.

Blank Canvas Tour

God is still creating His masterpiece that is you. Your song isn’t finished yet. You are Untitled.

Living our true identity requires faith-driven action. It takes courage to refuse the labels of others, or the false identities we’ve embraced as a matter of survival. People and institutions will always try to conform us into something they can label, pigeonhole, and dismiss. When we choose to trust God’s revealed identity for us, we choose courage.

God’s plan to overcome fear in our lives will not always make sense to those around us. We can learn to trust God’s revealed will, plan, and identity even when it doesn’t make sense.

True identity is revealed through God’s unique call on our lives and confirmed by our faith community. God reveals your calling and identity through scripture and the Spirit’s revelation. You can hear from God. He will tell you who you are and what to do. David asked God direct questions and got answers. And, David had people around him to help him listen.

When we discover the truth from Scripture and God’s voice, we can embrace it. Learning to trust God’s revelation about our identity sets us free and gives us purpose. Exchanging lies for truth empowers us to act fearlessly.

During a stand off with the Philistines, Israel’s army is put to shame by a warrior named Goliath. While King Saul and the rest of Israel’s army cower in fear, a young shepherd boy hears Goliath’s challenge and decides to step up. David’s brothers and King Saul himself tell him why he can't fight Goliath, David knows who his God is, and who he is.

We can learn to discern God’s voice from the chaos in our minds. The scriptures and learning to listen when we pray will transform our thinking.

Only Jesus has earned the right to define you as a person. God created and sees your true identity. Only He can reveal the best version of you. Only by “abiding” in God will we discover our true self.

Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who says that the moment she saw Mary her own baby leapt for joy. When Elizabeth confirms the importance of this baby, Mary sings a song. Her song is a beautiful example of God’s heart, the gospel itself, and the power of saying ‘yes, Lord’ when God calls your name.

Jesus’ teaching on giving was radical. He believed that God’s economy is one of divine abundance, not human lack. The Father is not a miser; He is a fountain of unending blessing, and He desires for us to be channels of that blessing, not reservoirs of worry.

God's name, Yahweh, is life, many believe we say it with every breath. Jesus’ gift is life. “Dying to self” isn’t about Death. It is a rejection of a “false self” so that the person God created will truly live.

Let’s embrace a fearless vision for the future. What if the behaviors, and even the attacks, of others did not shake us? What if we were so confident in our Father’s acceptance, that we could bless those who curse and persecute us? What if we were free from the opinions and accusations of those who consider us their enemies? What if we were so free, we could bless those who curse us?

Jesus is often credited with telling people the Truth, and that the main thing that He addressed was their sin. What if rather than correct people, he often chose to connect with people? What if in that connection He addressed their identity more often than their sin?

The church is called to be a family marked by unconditional love, support, and belonging, reflecting God’s heart for His people.