Paradigm

"The storms in this life are but a drizzle compared to the storm of judgement that is to come when we meet God. Only the wise builder, who build their house on the rock of Jesus Christ, will endure." Are you a wise or a foolish builder? Are you building the foundation of your life on the Rock? And where will you be when storms come? The foolish builder hears the words of Jesus, but does not put th...

Are you going through the gate leading to destruction, or the gate leading to life? In Matthew 7:13-23, Jesus is concluding the content of His message, but sharing His burden. We might walk through life thinking we have freedom, but we don’t have the freedom that we think we have until we are resting in Jesus. Here are some questions to reflect on: •Where are your feet leading you? •Who is teachin...

How do you judge someone? Make sure you have the right motive, that you start with yourself first, and that you are careful doing it. In Matthew 7, Jesus is not condemning the correction of people, He’s condemning the condemning of people. Before judging your brother, humble yourself to see your own sin before you see theirs. Remove the plank in your own eye before trying to remove the speck in th...

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” ‭‭ Last night we looked at what Matthew 6:25-33 says about worry, and how it doesn’t work, it reveals our faith, and it distracts you from your purpose. We were not made to carry the anxiety that we’re carrying in this life, but don’t give yourself over to worry. Worry pretends to make a difference, and often only makes things worse....

How do we become a generous generation? Give with your whole heart, give with a healthy eye, and you have to choose to give. Give quietly, give your best, and give in response. Also, remember ultimately it’s about the heart of the giver, and that God’s mercy is more precious than money or anything that we own. Paradigm is a weekly gathering of Kansas City college and 20s-30s young adults who desir...

🗣️ You can’t live a powerful life if you live a prayer-less life. 🗣️ Pastor Phil teaches on the power of prayer and fasting mentioned in Matthew 6 and 7. Prayer, firstly, is personal. Prayer is simply a conversation with God, not to impress others in any way. If it doesn’t come from the heart, it isn’t personal. Prayer is also relational; to get our will to align with God’s, and not the other way...

How do you know you’re dating? When and how do you put a label on it? How do you define the relationship, and what’s the next step once you have? First, step back and see where the relationship is heading. Has your attraction to their character grown? And are you truly ready for the next phase? Look for wisdom from God’s Word, His Spirit, and from His People. Once you are sure, have the conversati...

What does the Bible teach us about how we should date? There is a lot of pressure around dating in our culture right now, so how can we make sure our dating relationships are spiritually healthy? First we must determine if we’re ready to date. The vision for dating is the destination of marriage (Proverbs 29:18). Are you taking care of your baggage, and are you who you claim to be? Before dating,...

Church culture says women should strive to be Proverbs 31 women, and men should be Job 27 men... but what does that even mean? Kicking off our Decoding Dating series, we simplified that long list of what to look for in a date to what really matters. We dive into what to look for in someone to date, ask who you're becoming, and talk about why all of this matters. Overall, date someone who is taking...

What does the Bible teach about divorce? What does divorce do to our hearts, and how do we avoid it? In this message we cover these questions, when biblical divorce is allowed, and steps to take before considering divorce. No matter if you’re single or married, it is important to have clarity and wisdom on this topic. The Christian marriage should be a representation of Christ and His church; That...

What does the Bible teach about divorce? What does divorce do to our hearts, and how do we avoid it? In this message we cover these questions, when biblical divorce is allowed, and steps to take before considering divorce. No matter if you’re single or married, it is important to have clarity and wisdom on this topic. The Christian marriage should be a representation of Christ and His church; That...

The enemy often baits us to fall into lust, and he catches a lot of people. Matthew 5:27-30 teaches us that we can fall into lust with our heart, eyes, and hands. Jesus uses this common struggle to point us to the reality that we need a new heart, and that if there’s lust in our heart, our heart isn’t right with God. Lust leads to adultery and is ultimately destructive. Take the steps to get free...

Whether in action or in thought, we all can experience anger. Though anger is inevitable, it doesn't have to control us. In Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus teaches us that anger has a high cost. If the Lord's presence sat on the other side of anger, what would you do to get there? God calls us to deal with our anger quickly to be reconciled to Himself and others. Paradigm is a weekly gathering of Kansas Cit...

How are you being salt and light to your circles of influence? We should be spreading ourselves out into the world to preserve the places we go, places that are decaying. What good is salt that doesn’t leave the salt shaker? We are called to expose evil and what is sinful, but also love people, so that we can light a path that leads to Christ. He is calling us to leverage our platforms to invite p...

Matthew 5 records the beginning one of Jesus’ most memorable messages – the sermon on the mount. The beatitudes in this chapter point us to what a truly supreme blessedness in life looks like. Blessed are the poor in spirit and those who mourn, for they will still see heaven and the Lord’s comfort through grief. Blessed are the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for He will en...

God’s greatest invitation for us is to enjoy His presence, and he takes pleasure in us when we find our supreme pleasure in Him. Psalm 131 shows us three ways that David enjoyed God: with a humble heart, with a calm soul, and with hopeful community. David humbles his heart and renounces pride, knowing that you cannot glorify God and walk in pride at the same time. He knew to simply enjoy God, with...

Do you "trust" God, but still have a tight grip on your finances? Relationships? Future? God truly has the best planned for us on the other side of trusting Him with everything we're still holding on to. So how do we grow in trust? Go all in, surrender your understanding, and bring Him in. Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49079912 Paradigm is a weekly gathering of Kansas City college and 20s-30...

Love is important, love is a verb, and love is mature. Are you a loving person? Are the descriptions of love mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 evident and increasing in your life? Mature love is marked by patience, kindness, and forgiveness. Some good ways to practice these are moving at the pace of the ones you love, lending your strength to others, and serving someone other than yourself. Jesus...

Pain isn’t easy to go through in this life, but pain does help us develop endurance, character, and produces hope. Romans 5:2-5 tells us this. Pain always produces something, and Paul knew that suffering would be what made him most Christ-like. We can take comfort in that we have a Savior who experienced suffering just as we do, that God has a purpose for the pain we go through, and that one day t...

Do you have FOMO, or FOBO - "fear of better options"? We tend to be either overcommitters, or flaky when it comes to commitments, and God has a lot to say about that. In Psalm 15, we see that a mature follower of God keeps their commitments, even when it hurts. Commitments matter to God, they matter to others, and they matter forever, so how are you keeping your commitments? Notes: https://www.bib...

Aren't we all so glad we aren't in one of the most awkward seasons of our lives - puberty? In a spiritual matter, God doesn't want us to stay in an awkward stage in our spiritual walk, but He desires us as born again believers to grow in maturity. Ephesians 4 explains the mark of spiritual maturity as being involved, learning, not being deceived, speaking the truth in love, and growing in Christli...

What or who do you let define you? The reality is that only your Creator gets to define you, and He does it with unconditional love. Hosea chapter 3 shows us the defining qualities of God's love through the story of Hosea faithfully pursuing, rescuing, and loving his wife Gomer after her infidelity. Through this story, we see that God's love is relentless, redefining, and restorative. Do you know...

The goal of the discipline of God is not to drive you away, but to bring you in and remind you of His great love for you. Hosea 2:1-20, we see that God's love is tough, but is also tender towards us. God truly wants the best for us, and the best for us is in a right relationship with Him, so He may limit us and remove things in our life we idolize over Him, but at the same time He is also relentle...

What does God’s faithfulness towards us look like? Hosea 1:1-11 directly shows us. God represented Himself through Hosea, and we are Gomer. Their marriage is the message. Even in our mess, He still chooses us to have a relationship with. That even though we might use the gifts He’s given us for wrong, He still loves us and redeems us.  Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49050805   Paradigm is a w...

Living on mission is a risk: Relationships, Investments, Schedule, and for the Kingdom. Living on mission means helping build the Kingdom, and can be the most fulfilling kind of adventure. 41% of people don’t have any kind of access to the Gospel. God is calling you somewhere, do you know where? Some are called here, some there, and some to the ends of the earth. Notes: https://www.bible.com/event...