Shartel Church

Where is God when it hurts? Have you ever asked that question? Most of us have. There are times when life becomes so painful that we find it hard to hear or see God. But yet, we're reminded in Psalm 34 that in our times of pain, God is not far away like it feels but is, instead, very near. This message will examine how to hold onto God in times of pain and sorrow and find comfort in His presence a...

Why do some Christians stand strong through trials and others seem to fall apart? Why do some people seem to live with such confidence and others live full of doubt? How do we develop a faith that is unshakeable and immovable? Those are the questions we'll look at as we explore Psalm 1.

Just like an unbroken horse is unusable, so it is with us. But when we allow God to break us, He can do incredible work both IN and THROUGH us! This message will walk back through Psalm 51, looking at what David teaches us. We discover that God takes the Broken Life and makes it a much Better Life!

In Psalm 51, we learn that God is not looking for a perfect person, but He is looking for a broken person. When we’re truly broken before God, we discover He does His best work. What is brokenness, and why is brokenness so necessary to the work God wants to do in our lives? This message will explore why brokenness is critical and how God uses it to get us on the right path.

This message is about reclaiming the identity that God created us to have. In a world where we are pressured to fit in, God challenges us to stand out! We are created with a divine identity that this world can neither give nor take away. We'll look at all that God has intended for us to claim as children of the King!

Is there any greater challenge than building a home in these turbulent times? Psalm 127 reminds us that's why we need the help of God. This message will focus on what it takes to build a strong home of faith and what it means to be a father of such a home.

Gratefulness will change how you view everything. This Sunday, we look at what it takes to be grateful.

All of us mess up in our relationships. That's human nature. But strife begins when we say, "I'm sorry," and we don’t change our behavior. People want us to do more than confess our sins to them. They want us to CHANGE. This message will look at the power of repentance and how it proves that our hearts have changed and heals and restores our relationships.

Many people struggle in their relationships because they don't know how to have healthy boundaries. Some think boundaries are selfish. Some think they are ungodly. But Jesus knew that if He was to be whole and healthy on this earth, He had to take care of Himself and not just others. Jesus drew boundaries. This message will look at why boundaries are important and how to draw and keep them.

Prayer is one of the most powerful gifts God has given us. But it is one we often don’t think about when it comes to relationships. Prayer can tear down walls. Prayer can build bridges. Prayer can bring about breakthroughs. But most importantly, prayer invites GOD to move and work in our relationships. This message will look at how prayer is KEY to great relationships!

We are the common denominator in all of our relationships. If common issues with others appear, we need to check and see if the problem is us! Starting with ourselves keeps our hearts humble before God and allows us to own our part in our relationship struggles. This message will examine how we can do rigorous self-examination and let God's Spirit deal with us before we deal with others.

"It's the hard that makes it great." That famous line from the movie "A League of Their Own" is very true in relationships. One of the hardest things for us is to confront someone who has hurt or disappointed us. But, instead of confronting them, we carry that wound and allow it to become a festering sore. This message will look at how we do what Jesus calls us to do: to speak the truth in love. T...

We see how God makes paths where there doesn't seem to be a path and how he reveals these paths to you. Stephanie Greenwald is our guest speaker.

Some of the greatest relational advice comes from Steven Covey, who says, "Seek to understand, not to be understood." So true. One of the people's biggest complaints in our relationships is that we aren't listening to them. And they're right. It's not that we don't hear their words. It's that we're not trying to listen to their HEARTS! This message will explore what it means to listen actively and...

Everyone loves people who are “real.” The problem is most of us don’t want to be that person! So we hide how we feel. We don’t share when we’re hurt. And we don’t let other people know what’s going on with us. Healthy relationships begin when we find the courage to be honest with one another. This message will focus on what it means to have relationships that live in truth.

The cross was a defining moment in the story of Jesus—but it was not the END of the story! The cross gave way to a grave, and the grave gave way to the resurrection! This reminds us that OUR story doesn’t end on a cross either. Though our days may be dark, there is a sunrise coming. Though our times may be tough, there is victory just ahead. The Jesus we serve is not on a cross anymore. He is RISE...

The thief on the cross who appealed to Jesus for mercy is a wonderful testimony of how great God’s grace really is. He had lived a life of sin and had only a few moments in which to be forgiven. Yet those few moments were enough! This message will focus on the greatness of God’s grace, no matter where we've been or what we've done.

When Jesus dies, there is an earthquake. The darkness and the shaking ground scared everyone there. Even the Centurion near the cross declared that Jesus must be the son of God. But acknowledging that Jesus is God is not the same as committing ourselves to Him. Believing is not enough. There is a receiving, a repenting, and a following that Jesus asks from us. The cross didn’t happen to impress us...

The sacrifice of Jesus was total and complete. He held nothing back as He gave Himself in life and death. But what does sacrifice look like for us? How do we offer ourselves back to God with the same selflessness He gave Himself to us? This message will look at what it means to be a "living sacrifice" Christian in a "comfort at any cost" world.

When Jesus said, "It is finished," He brought all of mankind to equal ground. There were no longer Jews and Gentiles but people who were all lost before God and saved the same way. There are no longer "good guys" and "bad guys." All sin is equal before God. This message will examine how we consider some sins worse than others and why we must find our shared need for grace.

One of the most remarkable statements from the cross was Jesus asking the Father to forgive those who were killing Him. That forgiveness is not just offered to us regardless of our sin. It is also asked of us in forgiving those who sin against us. The cross was more than a symbol of the payment for our sin. It is a model we must live by in our relationships with others!

This message will look at passages around Simon the Cyrene and how he helped to carry the cross of Jesus. Jesus didn’t make it to Calvary on His own. Someone carried the cross with Him. That scene was a wonderful foreshadowing of the role Jesus needs us to continue to play. We are told to pick up our cross "daily" and follow Him. So we'll explore what it looks like to carry the cross of Christ eac...

The cross was not random. It was planned. What's so interesting is that the men who wanted to get rid of Jesus thought THEY planned it. But they didn't. The cross was a part of the plan of God for the salvation of mankind. God knew when He sent Jesus what would happen. So God took the evil plans of men and wove them into His remarkable story of redemption. It was thoughtful, designed, and prophesi...

The cross of Christ was birthed in love—pure love, total love, the Greatest love. It is a love that couldn't be earned, couldn’t be deserved, and couldn't be stopped. When the world was at its darkest, the light of love came. The crucifixion was an act of hate by evil men but was birthed in the heart of love by a Holy God.

We are sent as Jesus was sent. What a powerful but humbling statement. With that commission comes a whole new purpose toward which we now live. We are to be the Ambassadors of Jesus wherever we go! This message will look at how God changes our reason for living and sends us forth as ministers, missionaries, and emissaries of His Kingdom. We are now a New People with a New Purpose!