Peace In Aiken

God has equipped us with an incalculable number of gifts. He starts by equipping us with our salvation, and then he piles more on top. The real question that lies before us is this: how do we even begin to use them? Pastor Nate Holz helps us explore this daunting and exciting task before us!

God has not left us alone. There might be times in your life in which you feel like he has... but he hasn't. He proves that to us as he sends us the Holy Spirit. And make no mistake: the Holy Spirit isn't just doing "church stuff." He is working tirelessly in your life as he draws you near your Savior!

Why did Jesus have to ascend into heaven? It wasn't simply to give a satisfying end to the story of his earthly ministry. Instead, Jesus ascended into heaven for a purpose: to rule and serve you. As Jesus ascends into heaven and takes his seat at the right hand of the Father, we know that his new mission is to rule all things for the benefit of you, his Church.

How does God make it work? When he groups sinners together in these things called churches, why don't they fall apart at the first sign of trouble? One word: unity. God creates unity inside of his church as he calls people from different backgrounds to one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. See how he does this in the life of Lydia!

Generally speaking, life is a roller coaster of emotions. When you're on an emotional high, you usually don't stay that way for long. And perhaps, as a blessing to us, when we hit those emotional lows, God draws us out of them. But maybe life doesn't need to be so inconsistent. Maybe our joy can be deep and lasting. This is the joy we find in the resurrection. It isn't contingent on circumstance o...

How do we know we can trust the words of the Savior? He makes some bold promises. The resurrection assures us that we are listening to the right voice. Now, the Savior urges us to be that voice for those around us!

Does it matter how deep your faith goes? Is it worth spending hours of your life focusing on a truth you already know? How much can you really learn from the Scriptures when you already get the gist? In our sermon this Sunday, we explore how learning the deep truths of Scripture and imprinting them on our hearts reveals the deep beauties of the gospel!

Why should I share my faith? It's a good question. We find the answer with the disciples in the locked room where they were terrified after the death of Jesus. Jesus appeared to them, and all of a sudden, they couldn't help but spread the news and share their faith. It wasn't as if they were forced into doing it. Instead, they understood that they were witnesses to something miraculous with eterna...

Easter is the day that gives the church meaning and purpose. If Jesus died and stayed in the tomb, our hopes would be dashed to pieces. We would have some wise words... but what good is that? Instead, Jesus secures the victory we need for us. He defeated sin and then proved it by stomping death to pieces. Now, we see death with new eyes. It's not the end but the beginning for those who trust in hi...

It's all going according to plan. Don't be fooled. There is nothing about Holy Week that is outside of the Savior's power. He is not being overcome. He is not being overwhelmed. He is our willing sacrifice, our perfect substitute.

What is necessary to your spiritual life? In our sermon today, we are reminded of this simple truth: what God has done for us is far greater than what we have done for him!

The story of the Prodigal Son gives us insight into God's dealings with humanity. The father in the story has two completely different sons. One that has been struck by the plague of disobedience and the other that struggles with pride. How does he respond? He reminds them that their relationship with him is entirely dependent on grace.

In our third Lent devotion, we see how our Savior deals with the betrayal of a brother.

In our fourth Lent devotion, we see how our Savior treats "fairness".

Why do bad things happen? This is the timeless question we want God to answer so badly. Luke 13:1-9 is the perfect time for Jesus to give us a look into the inner-workings of God. But he doesn't. Instead, he reminds us that in those moments of tragedy and grief, we should remember that our God is using it to patiently and graciously call us to repentance.

In our second Lent devotion, we see the sacrifice of the Savior take shape. And he starts by sacrificing his will.

It's a done deal! Your citizenship is in heaven. No one can take that away from you. So why does Paul issue such a dire warning about walking in opposition to the cross? Because he knows better than anyone what type of distractions the world might throw at us so that we would give our citizenship away.

Our midweek devotion is taken from our Sunday passion reading, Luke 22:1-38.

Salvation can't be a joint effort. Why? 2 reasons: 1. Our enemy is too strong. 2. We aren't strong enough. So God takes the battle for our eternity into his hands. In this sermon, we use the story of David and Goliath to see how God intervenes, not to battle WITH us against evil, but to battle FOR us against evil.

When David sinned, did he realize what he had done? We're not sure. What we do know is that God sent a prophet to the king in order to call him to repentance. This is how far God will go to bring his children back. How far has he gone in your life. As we begin Lent, we contemplate the sin that brought Jesus from heaven to carry out our salvation. In this time of reflection we're reminded that no m...

Where is God's glory found in our lives. You may see it partially revealed as you see his grace unfold in your lives. But if you want to see his glory on full display, if you want to see glory face to face, look at your Savior. On Transfiguration Sunday, we are reminded that the love of God has been completely revealed in Jesus!

How do you deal with people who treat you badly? The world would tell you to have nothing to do with them. The world might even tell you to get back at or get even with them. That's the way of the world. But that's not how the family of believers works. Instead, Jesus teaches us the family business of love by showing us first hand what compassion and mercy looks like. He showed it to you... now we...

When you go through struggles, do you attribute them to God? Maybe we ask God why he's doing this to us. Maybe it feels like the struggles of life are outside of his control. As we read 2 Corinthians 12, we see that our struggles are in God's control. In fact, our struggles need not be seen as a bad thing at all. Instead, they can be used by God to draw us closer to him!

Are you qualified to talk about Jesus? For so many, they feel inadequate to speak about the graces of Jesus. But in our reading, Jesus recruits fishermen to do this important job. As he does so, he shows us what he sees as the most necessary qualification: knowing his grace for sinners. Because you, like the disciples, know the grace Jesus granted to you, you are qualified and called to speak abou...

In modern Christianity, a "relationship with God" is a hot button topic. It seems like every church uses this phrase in their marketing. What are we to make of it? It's safe to say that Scripture is a book about the restoration of our relationship with God. But the relationship created between us and God isn't on OUR terms. It's on HIS. While this might not be a popular view of that relationship,...