The Well Church of the Nazarene

Celebrating the sacrament of baptism as we dwell in the new life we have in Christ. To dwell in Him is to hunger, desire, and yearn to get rid of the "old" and embrace the life we were created to live. 

To be holy as God is holy is a call to heart purity that is best exemplified in how we love others--not in the checklists, the do's and don'ts, and the "dips." Allowing ourselves to dwell in Him leads to a stronger presence of God in our life that brings about genuine worship--a move of God that leads us to seek that which we may be lacking. Or as Rich Villodas puts it, to ask ourselves... "Do I w...

Last week, six of our teenagers attended Nazarene Youth Conference in Tampa Bay. Over the course of their time there, they had an opportunity to drink the water of life--to taste and and be filled to overflowing, to hear the ways God is calling them toward His  purpose! There's something stirring in our young people, and as a result, in our congregation as well. Water was made to move. When it sit...

We strive to live Godly lives and to act in Godly ways, but do we actively seek to understand what God wants for us and the people in our sphere of influence? Do we want what God wants? Do we will His will in our lives?v

In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul charges Christians to spread "the fragrance of the knowledge of [Jesus Christ] everywhere." For we are the "aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." Unfortunately, not everyone likes the scent of his truth. While our witness always spreads the fragrance of Christ, it's not always received the same way. Regardless, our testimonies...

The call to holiness begins with (and is about) our relationship with God--a vertical atonement in which God draws near to us and we draw near to Him, and then its horizontal application to our everday lives.  Whatever is inside of us is what comes out of us. If we have discontent, bitterness, hurt... that's what we'll give others. If we're drifting off course or allowing the world to fill us, tha...

We like the idea of being in the presence of the Holy Spirit, but often draw the line at wanting His presence in us. But the filling of the Holy Spirit that takes place in Acts 2:3-4 is a complete and total permeation and saturation of the Spirit--there was fire in the house and in those waiting in the upper room! And just like it is with smoked meat, where the evidence of a fire (smoke) is soaked...

With our pastoral staff in Indianapolis attending the 30th General Assembly of the global Nazarene church, we'd like to thank Mike Griffith and Steve Brown for leading the music this morning, and Todd Gates for sharing the message! 

In Psalm 8, David ascribes glory and awe and wonder to the Creator for his majestic works, but then asks... who do we think we are that God would be mindful of us--and the answer? We are the most significant representation of God's glory! Despite how small and insignificant you might be in the universe, YOU are a masterpiece. An image-bearer. Beloved. And regardless of what stage of life you're in...

Being God's chosen people is not about separation, but rather invitation. The burn within us compels us to send smoke signals to a world that needs to hear the message, but it's not just looking the part, saying the right words, or doing the right things when others are watching. We are called to be the real thing. When you examine your faith, what fruit is your life producing?

Christ commands us to let our light shine before men, to use whatever means we have at our disposal to relieve the suffering of others and drive out the darkness that shrouds the lives of so many. When we are yoked to Jesus, we become light!  Time to get our hands dirty...

We all fall somewhere on a temperature scale of 1 (cold) to 10 (hot) when it comes to evangelism, and yet God calls us the salt of the earth--we bring flavor! Are we living a life that creates a thirst in others that can only be filled by the Living Water? In our ever-evolving--or devolving--society, preservation of the "salty" life we're called to live is more important than ever! So what can we...

Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. And grace is getting what we don't deserve. Love is the doorway to grace, and though often misunderstood, grace is an incredible, indescribable, amazing gift of God.

Our love for God shapes our heart. The more we love God, the more we see the world as Jesus sees it. And as we see others as Jesus does, love moves us to follow Him into the fields! Love prepares the soil for ministry, service, and outreach. And this "dirty work" is what opens us up to share life with those others may not see, or seek to avoid.

Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon us. To learn as He leads. But if we are "yoked"--joined or connected to something--that is anything but Jesus' easy yoke, then we are un-yoked to Him. Disconnected. Bearing a burden that is unnecessary. But Jesus invites us to more! He wants us to dig in, get our hands dirty, and let him guide us toward loving Him and loving others according to His teaching,...

When we stop praising, fulfilling our purpose becomes less of a priority. When we stop fulfilling our purpose we tend to be less concerned with God’s nature. And when we stop pursuing the nature of God and participating in the divine nature, we allow the sin from which God and Christ saved us back into our lives.  When we lose sight of our WHY, we eventually lose our WAY. But praise be to God--hal...

We have been studying how the Old Testament promises reflected in the Passover find fulfillment in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. And because the stone was rolled away, the tomb still empty, we can live our lives from a position of victory! God keeps his promises! But whether we recognize it or not, we spend much of our time fighting, or reliving battles that have already been decided, living...

God has a plan for you, and we discover His plans for us when we drink from the third cup. The Cup of Redemption is found when we embrace our spiritual gifts. Doing so brings about awareness and empowerment to do something you might feel inadequate about or unsure of...but 87% of those who believe never get to this cup. You have been redeemed! Restored. Perhaps it is time to drink of the third cup...

The second cup, the Cup of Deliverance, helps us deal with the issues (of body, of mind, and of spirit) that keep us from participating in the divine nature of Christ. But where the first cup, the Cup of Salvation, was instant, this second cup takes work. And 87% of those who profess to be Christians get stuck somewhere between the first cup and the second. They've been taken out "of Egypt," but t...

Our understanding of the four cups of the Passover changes how we approach and receive communion. We were created to participate in the divine.  The Biblical word for promise literally translates: "to make a future guarantee." God's promises have a purpose! And just as He brought the Israelites out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, we too have been promised salvation. We are His people--set ap...

We have talked about the gods of succcess, pleasure, entertainment, love, self... but perhaps the most dangerous idol of all is that of religion, or the church. Our strongholds become walls, walls become fences, and we become gatekeepers instead of greeters. Let us tear down the altars in our lives, the idols we serve, and let God out of the box!

Daniel 4 is one of the most unique chapters in the entire Bible. Written using "reverse chronology," we're shown the end of the story first, with the author (King Nebuchadnezzar) praising God before we get into the story and see his transformation from self-worshiper to worshiping the one true God unfold. And, if a king like Nebuchadnezzar can receive grace, we too can remove ourselves from the th...

Luke 18:18-30 shares the Parable of the Rich Ruler, who was faced with a choice--he could serve God or money, and he could not choose both.  We often look to money to do the very things for us that God wants to do. Money itself isn't the problem. It's the love of money--the god of success--that is the problem. It's become our source of satisfaction, our measure of worth, our security, and we find...