The Well Church of the Nazarene

The gods of pleasure often begin as good gifts from the Lord God--food, entertainment, sex, relaxation, etc. These are good things God gave us out of his love, but too often we find ourselves living for these pleasures. They become what motivates us to get out of bed in the morning and go to work. They're what our relationships, our time, and our money often revolve around. Without even realizing...

We come together every week weary, tired, frustrated, discouraged, alone, wounded, and we search for answers to our symptoms believing they're the real issues we're facing. But over the next 7 weeks, we're going to look past the symptoms and get right to the disease, engaging the gods at war within our lives.  The beauty in this conversation is not about guilt, but about recognition. When we reali...

From our 2022 Advent series, "An Unexpected Christmas."

From our 2022 Advent series, "An Unexpected Christmas."

From our 2022 Advent Series, "An Unexpected Christmas."

From our series, "The Blessed Life." It is at the Lord's table that we find the true source of thanksgiving. The eucharist, the sharing of communion, is the center of our attitude toward thanksgiving. Being thankful down to the core, and with complete disregard to self, can only be found in the center of our communion with Christ.  

From our series, "The Blessed Life." While God works in the pluses and minuses of life, He is a God of Multiplication. When we trust Him with our offerings (both financial and otherwise), by letting go and giving them back to Him, God multiplies those offerings and uses them to bless others. What is He asking you to let go of, to give, to be, or to do?  

From our series, "The Blessed Life." "Everything comes into order when God is first. When God is not first, life falls out of order." -- Pastor Robert Morris, The Principle of First

The Book of James is a letter written to the Church, and we see in Chapter 4 an unflattering portrait of some things taking place... some of which are still happening today. No matter where you are in your faith journey, everyone faces temptation, every day. These temptations come from our own desires--the pleasures of this world that we're often drawn toward--and feeding them leads us away from G...

Today's culture is heavily influenced by voices that are earthly, unspiritual, disordered, and evil. But "wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere." 

The tongue is mentioned in all five chapters of James. Words matter! What we say has the power to build up or to tear down, to bring death or to bring life. Once something leaves your mouth, it's both uncontainable and uncontrollable, so choose your words carefully.  

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress AND to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  Ours is a hands-on faith--it is not enough to simply give, no matter how much, or to send someone else, no matter how well intentioned. WE are to go to others in the midst of their desperation and JUST DO SOMETHING about it....

The conclusion of our "Hand Crafted" series on spiritual formation.  We are molded, fired, and filled for a reason--to be poured out! And the deepest love poured out comes from the most complete sacrifice. Love that heals. Forgives. Welcomes. And prepares a seat at God's table. So the question is not WILL your life be poured out, because it inevitably will. Instead, the question is on WHAT will yo...

From the "Hand Crafted" series on spiritual formation. The Potter takes a prepared, shaped, and fired vessel and fills it... to fulfill its intended purpose. For us, as living vessels, this filling occurs from the inside out, as we empty out ourselves and are permeated and saturated--filled--by the Holy Spirit. What would happen if we looked at our lives with this in mind? How should this change o...

From our "Hand Crafted" series on spiritual formation. Even though clay has been prepared, molded, and shaped on the wheel, it's not yet ready to be used. There are still important steps it must go through before it (we) can bring ever-increasing glory to God. Fire is necessary for others to see our transformation from mud to something useful, but we often miss out on glorifying God because we can...

From the series, "Hand Crafted." God is intimately involved in our formation, having created us in His image from the inside out. We are a marred clay that God is shaping into something beautiful, but when we allow ourselves to be transformed from within, the process is often uncomfortable. The Father has his hands on us! In us. Are we willing to be molded to reflect Him? To be emptied, open and s...

Scripture is filled with examples of God doing extraordinary things through ordinary people, but we don't always see every detail of their lives. Such is the case of Joseph in the New Testament. An average guy whose life changed after encountering Jesus!

Is there anyone more ordinary than Peter? Jesus invited Peter--the same way he's inviting us--to go into deeper water, cast a wide net, and search for BIGGER fish. Again. And again. So often we miss the miracle because we don't obey--we're tired, caught up, distracted, overwhelmed, and chained to whatever it is we're fishing for. But even in our weariness, God can do more.

Though part of one of the most familiar accounts in scripture, today's focus is on a character that is unnamed. He was an ordinary boy with an ordinary lunch who was willing to give everything he had to an extraordinary God.  It's the only miracle included in all four gospels, and it started with surrender. Jesus can do anything with whatever we have...but first we have to let it go. 

As a Church of the Nazarene, we believe in sanctification and holiness. But sanctification is meaningless apart from mercy and grace, and holiness is impossible apart from forgiveness and reconciliation. As we see in the story of Joseph, mercy and grace (sanctification) are best exemplified through forgiveness and reconciliation (holiness). If we are not reconciled with each other, in time we will...