Shartel Church

Patience. The word we love to hate. We all know we need it. We’re all aware we lack it. But it is one of the most beneficial of the fruits that God’s Spirit produces in us. And perhaps the greatest fruit those around us need!

There’s something powerful about a person at peace. We become immovable and unshakeable. It’s as though we live in a certainty about our future…because we DO! God’s peace guards us and steadies us.

Everyone wants to be happy. But few discover true JOY. Joy is the exhilarating feeling of well-being. But unlike simply being happy, joy is not dependent on the circumstances around us. True joy comes from WITHIN us!

Jesus said that all the commandments in scripture were based on loving God and loving people. This message will focus on what that kind of love looks like…love that truly flows from the Heart of God to us, and then through us, to the world around us.

The heart is the wellspring of life. What we allow into our hearts will flow out from our hearts. This message will encourage you toward spiritual reflection, healing, and intentionality in what we allow into our hearts.

This message challenges believers to stop living divided between the old life and the new life. In Jesus, we are invited to live fully surrendered, fully alive, and fully free.

Jesus didn't perform a miracle to make Peter a better fisherman. He did it to set the stage to make Peter a "fisher of men." God has a higher calling for all of us. He wants to work through us to transform the world.

As Peter experienced the grace and power of Jesus, he made another amazing discovery. His own sinfulness. His proud and stubborn heart was broken. Humility and gratitude replaced his cocky, self-confident attitude. Broken people are pliable people. And they are EXACTLY the kind of people God can use.

God’s response to Peter’s faith was not a few fish. Nor even a good catch of fish. It was a haul of fish that was more than he could have ever imagined! So many that the nets were breaking, and they needed help bringing them in. Peter discovered what we all need to discover: You can’t limit God. Because no matter how big you can imagine, God can do MORE!

Peter and his brother had fished all night and caught nothing. As Jesus challenged them to go out deeper, He also challenged them to let go of their past failures, their past discouragements, and their past pain. We can’t follow God to the future while we’re staring back at where we’ve been.

A deeper walk with God requires us to take deeper steps of faith. Steps into waters we’ve never been in before. Sometimes, the greatest obstacles to the work that God wants to do in us are the comfort zones we refuse to leave. Our faith is the doorway to the deeper things God has for us.

God is always taking steps in our direction to work in our lives. But WE have to welcome Him in! This message will look at how giving God time and space in our lives to work is the beginning of the “deeper” work He does. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Easter is an empty tomb, death defeated, sin forgiven. Easter is brokenness restored, a new covenant, a promise fulfilled. Easter is our redemption, eternal life, a celebration. Easter is a Risen Savior.

Jesus is coming back! Though the disciples didn’t understand what He was talking about at the time, WE DO! This promise gives us hope, no matter what the circumstances. This promise reminds us that we are living for something bigger, something greater than just the here and now. This promise fills our lives with joy even in the face of death. We are people of hope because Jesus is coming back!

Jesus gave his followers a mission as he prepared them for his death, "Go, make disciples." He let them know they are the ones who will take the mission forward. The path forward relies on those who trust Him and go and make those disciples. His disciples held the key to sharing the good news of what was about to happen. And you do to.

The Christian life isn’t for sissies. Jesus didn’t promise an easy road for those who follow Him. He knew not only what was ahead for Himself, He knew the persecution and trouble that was ahead for those who wore His name. Pain and sacrifice were a price we would all have to pay.

Another major thought Jesus tried to communicate before He left was the importance of the disciples staying connected to Him. It’s a major mistake to believe that we can do God’s work out of our own strength. We need His Spirit. We need His Word. It is not OUR talent the world needs. It’s the Presence and Power of God. That comes from abiding in Him.

Throughout history, there have always been things that distinguished the people of God from the rest of the world. Festivals and feasts, holy days and sabbaths, rituals, and even dietary habits. One of the key points of Jesus’ ministry was that all those other things didn’t really matter. What DID matter was one Big Thing. That big thing was love. Love would be the way the world would know we were...

One of the ongoing arguments that disciples had was probably the most annoying to Jesus. They wanted to know who would be the “greatest.” Jesus called them back to reality with one of the most unbelievable acts He could have done shortly before He died. He washed their feet. That’s how a true leader leads.

Barnabas is one of the quiet, unsung heroes of the early church. He wasn’t famous for much, but he had an incredible impact on untold lives simply by using his main spiritual gift. Encouragement. He was a lifter, not a leaner. His name was actually Joseph, but his helpful nature and generous spirit earned him the nickname, “Barnabas.” That means, “Son of Encouragement.” Maybe, if WE encouraged mor...

This passage was a strategic shift in how the Kingdom of God would advance. The Church was growing, and the needs were growing with it. When the disciples faced the dilemma of how to keep the widows fed, they challenged the leaders to pick seven who would take on that responsibility. As those seven stepped up to meet the need, the Apostles were released to do their job. And the Kingdom of God ADVA...

Many people think they can’t witness because they’re not Bible scholars or trained in evangelism. But the most powerful witness in the world is OUR STORY! When the demoniac was healed by Jesus, he wanted to hang out with Jesus and the other disciples. But Jesus picked him to go back to those who had known him before and let them see what the Lord had done. His story gave God Great Glory!

The people thought Saul would make a great king because he was tall and strong. But God knew that it’s not what’s on the outside but what’s on the INSIDE that really matters! God picked David because of His heart, not his muscles or his smarts. When our hearts are open and submissive to God, we become incredibly powerful for His Kingdom. David knew what others didn’t. Ultimately, the battle belong...

There was a huge crowd following Jesus. Over 5000 people. Maybe as many as 10,000 or 15,000. After a long day of teaching, they were hungry. The disciples had no food, nor enough money to buy food for that many. Then, a young boy offered his lunch. Jesus picked HIM to be the catalyst for a miracle! Jesus reminds us again and again, “Little is much when God is in it!” What’s your “little” that God...

It was out of a fresh, new vision of God that Isaiah became passionate about being picked by God. When we really see God, we remember who He is and what He can do. And we renew our passion to be about His work.