The Connection Church

Ready to learn the second prerequisite to hearing the voice of the Lord? This past Sunday we learned that when it comes to prayer we can’t just “put our time in.” It’s imperative that we come to God with a willing heart that is open to hear God’s voice. This week we will continue our series Stop & Listen .

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice…” (John 10:27). As a follower of Christ, hearing the voice of God should be a normal and expected reality. There is no simple formula to hearing God, but there are basic principles that each of us can learn to hear His voice. God can speak to us individually in different ways, but every Christian must Stop & Listen in order to hear.

Enjoy this message for the new year from our friend and guest speaker, Peter Markgraaff.

God was the coming Messiah in the Old Testament, our Savior and Redeemer today, and He will come again. The Lord will gloriously return one day. No matter your end-time beliefs, you should anticipate Him. But what does that mean for us? How should we act in our anticipation? As we examine Christ's first advent, we can find answers to how we should anticipate the second.

Why does it matter so much that God came to earth in the person of Jesus? When we dive into His character, we can see what God is like. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Join us as we look at the second part of our sermon series: Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is to Come. 

The Bible is one big book of Advent. The word, Advent, has its roots in Latin and carries with it the meaning of “coming.” The story of the coming of Jesus doesn’t begin in the New Testament, and it doesn’t end with a baby in a manger. The entire Bible anticipates and tells of this great Messiah, the Anointed King, who has come to bring hope to a dark and dying world. Discover “Who Was and Is and...

“And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” What did Jesus mean when He asked us to pray this? Find out as we finish our series on Jesus' model of prayer.

In the model prayer given to His disciples, Jesus asked them to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He goes on to tell them to also pray, “and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” These prayers express our dependence on God and relate to our physical and relational needs.

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” But what did Jesus really mean when He told us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done? 

We continue examining the Lord’s Prayer which is a model of prayer given to us by Jesus Himself. As we look deeper into this wonderful example, we will see Jesus telling us what we must know to grow stronger in prayer.

Matthew 6:9-13 is one of the most popular passages in the New Testament. It contains a model of prayer Jesus gave His disciples as part of the Sermon on the Mount. It covers foundational basics that are expanded upon throughout Scripture, and its importance cannot be overstated. Prayer is the primary way God releases His power through His people. Who better to learn from than Jesus Himself?

From the beginning, God gave mankind authority over the earth. However, if we don’t know we have authority, we can’t take advantage of what is available. As a result, we live below God’s standard. Join us for a reminder of the authority God has given to us!

Enjoy this special message from our guest speaker and friend, Mark Shell.

We are defined by who we are in Christ. God establishes this definition by who He is and what He has done for us. When we truly understand this, we know how to live the life God intends for us. Satan hates who we are in Christ so he declares war on us. However, we don’t have to let him win that war! Join us as we explore how to stand victorious in the revelation of how God sees us.

In the beginning, mankind messed up and put separation between us and God. Then Jesus came, as fully God and fully man, to restore what was lost in Eden's Garden with His death on the cross and victorious-over-death resurrection. We can now have the life God originally intended for us because our position with the Creator is restored!

Too many people lack a proper view of life and, therefore, don’t value life the way they should. Scripture tells us in Psalm 139:14, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Join us as we look at the worth of humanity through the eyes of God.

Change is necessary for success. We all have a choice: to adjust how we live daily or to stay the same. Join us as we conclude this sermon series with our seventh and final decision for Godly success.

Everyone wants to have a successful life. Throughout the year we make daily choices that determine whether or not we are successful.  Join us as we will continue to share the principles that will help us make decisions for Godly success.

As Christians, we know that our  Heavenly Father wants the best for all of His children.  He wants us to be successful in every area of our lives.  And we must understand that success is not based on what we do (career or job), it is based on who we are.  It’s making right decisions stemming from who we are in Christ. 

Life can be hard. It’s full of twists, turns, and decisions that we have to make.  The choices we make determine the course of our lives.  The decisions we make not only affect us, but they affect those around us as well.  What choices are the right ones? What makes the difference between failure and success?

In chapter 5, James winds down his letter by showing us that the heart of God is open to every aspect of our Christian lives through prayer and praise.  He concludes his letter with the message that Christian fellowship is a safety net to protect all from falling away from God’s grace.

In chapter 5 of our expository sermon series, James encourages Christians to be patient and strong in their faith as they wait for the Lord's coming. We will see our harvest!

A Living Faith cannot be achieved without a humble dependence on God. James cautions us against having an attitude of independence from our Creator.  He also issues a challenge to every believer to live according to what we know in the Lord.

A living faith cannot be achieved through pride because God resists the proud. Therefore, being humble should be of the utmost importance to us. In fact, submitting ourselves to God in humility is our responsibility as Christ-confessing believers.  Join us as we explore the humble attributes of a living faith revealed in James 4:1-12.

In the first chapter of James’ letter, we learned that if we feel that we lack wisdom, we can ask God for it. Join us as we discover James’ definition of what wisdom really is—his unique understanding of what wisdom from God actually looks like.