Shartel Church

The immortal words that Jesus spoke are incredibly powerful. Having accomplished the work God the Father sent Him to do, He spoke His last words and died. Those words give us hope and life and set us free. This weekend, as we celebrate freedom in our country, we will look at the freedom that is ours through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God made a promise to Joseph when he was young. It took 25 years and a lot of ups and downs, but God finally fulfilled that promise. As Joseph dies, he reminds his brothers and family that God will help them just as God helped him throughout his life. And that’s God’s promise to us!

The Israelites had been up and down and back and forth with God. Joshua witnessed it firsthand as they wandered through the desert and fought into the Promised Land. Now, as he prepares for his death, he challenges them to leave their weak-faith lives and commit wholeheartedly to the Lord. Joshua challenges them and us to live lives of intentional, resilient faithfulness.

On this Father’s Day, we’ll look at how to use our positions and power in a God-honoring way. In a world where many seek to flex their muscles and control those around them, Jesus calls us to serve, lift, and empower. One of the most attractive traits of those we want to draw near to is feeling safe with them. They are approachable, tender, and gentle.

If there is one relational principle we get backward, it’s this one. When someone hurts our feelings or does something offensive to us, we do everything but the one thing Jesus tells us to do: Go to them. This message will look at recalibrating our dysfunctional ways of handling hurts. We’ll explore how to have hard, honest conversations with those who have wounded us.

thanRelationships were God’s idea. He created us and designed them for our well-being. It only makes sense that from time to time, we need to step back and ask the question if we are building our relationships on His Word or upon Our Wants. Nothing will get us off track quicker than not having Christ as the Cornerstone of our relationships.

Have you ever seen an old car that’s been restored? They’re beautiful! Fresh paint, trim, seat covers, and a car you were ready to take to the junkyard becomes one you don’t want to part with. The same is true in our relationships. Sometimes, we forget that the simple things, the little things, attract people to us or repel them from us. This message looks at some of those little things and the di...

The most powerful story in the world is the one we tell ourselves. It’s also the most powerful part of our relationships. The stories we tell ourselves about other people and ourselves are often lies that the Enemy uses to divide us. He takes our past wounds and struggles and tries to make it the lens through which we view today. Healthy relationships only happen as we learn to reframe our interac...

Relationships were God’s idea. He created us and designed them for our well-being. It only makes sense that from time to time, we need to step back and ask the question if we are building our relationships on His Word or upon Our Wants. Nothing will get us off track quicker than not having Christ as the Cornerstone of our relationships.

The Resurrection not only gave us a new life and a new power, it also gave us a reason to live: To share the news that Jesus is ALIVE! We all know that Jesus is what this world is looking for and we know that Jesus is the cure for the ills of our society. But sadly, we keep that news to ourselves instead of sharing it with those who need to hear. Jesus doesn’t ask us to be scholars or theologians....

God’s Spirit not only works in us, He works THROUGH us! The Resurrection unleashed the power of the Holy Spirit to do amazing things through the disciples. People were saved. People were healed. God gave His people boldness and favor and they carried out His work. That same Spirit that worked in them is in US today. Let’s rise and let God’s Spirit work His wonders through US!

All of us are born with certain talents. Along the way, we develop various kinds of abilities as well. But when God’s Spirit comes to dwell in us, He adds to that list by giving us spiritual gifts! Those might be an enhancement of what we already have or something altogether new. But with the gift comes a calling to use those gifts in service to the Body of Christ. Let’s rise up and discover how t...

The Resurrection gave us a common Big Brother in Christ and the Spirit unites us together into one family. We have others to help us, care for us, and encourage us. We have place where we belong. We also have a group to contribute to and share our lives with. Young or old, married or single, we are all a part of God’s amazing family and have a place to call HOME!

The grace that Christ made possible on the cross is amazing. Our sins can be forgiven and our slate wiped clean. But the Resurrection reminds us that we also have a chance to bury that old way we lived and truly be different people. Let’s rise up and claim the new lives God wants us to live!

The Resurrection was the final “proof” that Jesus was who He claimed to be: God in the flesh. It was what gave the disciples the motivation and power to continue the ministry He began here on earth. It is also the “hook” that we can hang our faith on. Like Thomas, the Resurrection challenges us to rise and believe!

This story of Jesus reminds us of the investment God has made in us and what we are to do with that investment. God has a place and a purpose for each of us. He wants to work THROUGH us as much as He wants IN us. With the Spirit of God working through us, we can accomplish anything that God calls us to. One day, God will ask us what we did with what He gave us. How will YOU answer that question?

Many of us have never discovered the difference between “saying our prayers” and really praying. Jesus uses this story to push us to discover our power and privilege in coming to God with our requests. This message will focus on how to CLING to God—how to seek Him passionately and wholeheartedly. The bells of heaven ring when God’s people pray!

God gave up everything to make us His. What are we willing to do to fully possess the life He wants us to have? This week we'll look at the "pearls" we have to be willing to sell to fully embrace our "Pearl of Great Price."

This parable reminds us of the incredible intrinsic value that God has put upon each of us. Though we may not see it, and it may not even be obvious to others, God sees it. This message will look at rediscovering our worth and the amazing price tag God has put upon every one of us.

We quit too soon. We give up too easily. Those facts are true for many facets of our lives. This parable will teach us the power and wisdom of patience. Just because everything or everyone is not responding the way we think they should, don’t throw in the towel. Much can be accomplished by the ones who are willing to put up with a few weeds.

This amazing parable looks at the work that God wants to do in our lives. Jesus compares us to a garden that a farmer is planting in. And here’s the incredible piece: We get to decide what kind of garden we want to be! This message will look at how we prepare and protect ourselves for God’s work in us.

We don’t just need the help of God to get out of the rut we’re in. We need His help every single day! Moses and the people leave Egypt only to be chased by Pharoah’s army and have nowhere to go. But God parted the sea. The journey from Egypt to Canaan would be a long and hard one, just as the road to deep change is. But what they were able to count on is what WE can count on. God will be with us e...

When Moses and Aaron go to Pharoah to carry out God’s orders, it doesn’t go as they planned. Instead of Pharoah giving in, he made it worse on God’s people. That’s often the way it is when we approach deep change. Often to make our lives better, we have to first let them feel worse. Pulling out the “weeds” that keep us from growing and becoming is hard and painful. That’s why many people who appro...

As God asked Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, fear gripped his heart. It seemed like an impossible task, but it wasn’t the size of the task that was the problem. It was the size of the fear. God can do anything—but we have to push through our fears to take hold of God's promised freedom. Everyone WANTS to change, but only the COURAGEOUS make the change!

The people enslaved in Israel realized they could never be free on their own. So they did what we ALL need to do. They cried out to God. Admitting our need for God’s help in our lives seems to be the hardest part of the deep change that we’re longing for. But if we will cry out, God will answer!