Venture Church Messages

Family, friends, food - there are so many blessings from the Lord to be thankful for! We’ve been blessed beyond measure, and we have the opportunity to give back from the overflow. In the book of Haggai, Haggai encouraged others to put the Lord first in all things. Likewise, we can show gratitude by giving back the first fruits of our God-given time, money, and dreams to further the gospel. Our si...

What makes you want to hide? Unwanted attention, unannounced visitors, or unbearable anxiety? When faced with danger and uncertainty, Gideon hid. God didn't leave Him in his fear. Gideon's story teaches us that a connection with God is the beginning of a change with God. Connection leads to confession and a commission to do God’s work in His power. Little becomes much in the hands of God! We can b...

There are some topics that seem off-limits because they seem too personal or too difficult to unpack. Our relationship with God and money is often at the top of that list. How we view God affects our view of money, and our view of money affects our view of God. In today’s message, we’ll reveal how the right mindset allows us to rejoice with those who rejoice, invest in what lasts, and become a Kin...

As we wrap up the “Plot Twist” series, we’ll hear one of the most influential and memorable parables of Jesus, The Parable of the Lost Son. Though our focus is often on the sons, the parable is ultimately about the father and his love and perspective of his children. Just like the father in the story, God has a celebration in store for His children. No matter what we’ve done or where we’ve been, o...

Do you feel like you are living a life of hurry? Are you simply trying to check off the items on your list and get your job done? Through a well-known parable, Jesus teaches that the opposite of love isn’t necessarily hate – it’s hurry. Jesus calls us to be neighbors who love, serve, and meet the needs of the hurting. Instead of asking "who is my neighbor," we should be asking "whose neighbor am I...

What have you been waiting for? A phone call about a job, test results, or the person of your dreams? Have you been waiting for what seems like an eternity? Sometimes even when we wait for really great things, our desire for future events can feel like a burden. The question isn’t how to avoid waiting, but how to wait well. Jesus answered this question in The Parable of the Talents with the promis...

Have you ever been hurt in a way that seemed unforgivable? Maybe it was a long ago in your childhood, maybe it was last year, or maybe it was this past week. When we carry the burden of hurt through life, we are unnecessarily weighed down. Jesus gets you, and He specifically taught about this topic. Through the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, we can learn how to move forward in life without th...

Have you ever watched a movie and confidently thought you knew where the story was going? And then – BAM! – out of nowhere a plot twist completely changes everything! In the new October series, “Plot Twist,” we’ll begin studying the stories with unexpected endings that Jesus told His followers. This week, we’ll specifically look at the Parable of the Sower and examine the authority of God in our l...

From the Garden of Eden, we see that limitations have existed since the beginning of time and that human nature wills to push against them in pursuit of all that life offers. The limitations we experience in life might not seem like a good thing, but they are actually a part of God’s design for His children. As we dive into the promises of scripture, we’ll discover that when you and I embrace the...

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." Such wise words from the book of Proverbs. What we give our time, our thoughts, and our attention to will ultimately be the direction in which our life grows. The challenge for most of us is that with more than 6,000 thoughts a day, research shows that at least 80% of our thoughts are negative. Thankfully, the Bible has a lot to say about how to prote...

What do you invest your time in? Exercise, sports, work, family? Whatever you are pouring your time and energy into will begin to grow and develop. We have an opportunity and responsibility to invest in what matters. When we take the time to dig deep, uproot the dark sins hidden beneath the surface, and cultivate God’s spirit within us, we will defeat our enemy and reap a lasting, eternal return....

What does it look like to develop other people for Christ? Do you wonder if you are knowledgeable enough? Experienced enough? Good enough? We aren’t required to have it all together to develop others. Matthew 28 tells us that we have already been given the ability and the authority to lead others in the way of Jesus. When God pours into us, we are able to pour into those around us from the overflo...

Do you ever feel lonely and disconnected? A recent study shows 61% of Americans feel lonelier now than ever before. We weren’t created to do life alone, and we can’t grow where we aren’t known. But when we come together in an intentional biblical community, we can share our burdens and joy in the way God created us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Major changes in our life can completely disrupt our routines. Whether it’s a full schedule, an illness, or a life-altering event, these changes can easily knock us out of our rhythms of following Jesus, including corporate worship on Sunday. Our rhythms determine the quality and direction of our lives, and the first step to establishing and improving our rhythms is to show up. Hosted on Acast. Se...

As we move through our daily routines, how can we live in the Way of Jesus? What does it look like to be generous and serve others like Jesus in 2022? Mark 6 helps us unpack what generosity and serving truly look like, not to earn God’s favor but to be a conduit of His Kingdom into the lives of others. We can reframe generosity in our own lives with the right posture, intentional practice, and und...

There is something special about a personal invitation. Birthdays, weddings, church - no matter what the event, it feels good to have someone say, “I want you to come.” Jesus offers us a personal invitation to follow Him in His Way and into a personal relationship with Him. Don’t miss the start of “The Way of Jesus” message series as we take a closer look at daily essentials or habits that deepen...

In Matthew 28, Jesus gives His followers The Great Commission, a command to “Go and make disciples…” Was Jesus saying that in order to follow Him, we must pack up, sell the excess, and travel across the world to fulfill our calling to share the Gospel? Don’t miss this important introduction into the life of a disciple as Lead Pastor Jeff Clark teaches us what it looks like to live as a Christ foll...

As we celebrate the anniversary of our nation, we also are faced with questions - Does God care about America? Are we really a blessed nation? How can our country unify under Christ? When we look at the book of Genesis and the story of Abraham, we see that answers are found in the movement of a God who is equally just and merciful towards His people. This movement begins in our own hearts as we se...

Most of us feel the tension that comes with living in a scattered world, but how do we find purpose and meaning in the chaos? To see beyond the scattering requires setting our eyes on the living HOPE of Jesus. Accepting God's call to make a difference in the scattering requires becoming HOLY. And, experiencing freedom from the anxiety created by the scattering requires HUMILITY. Humility is a choi...

What if the change we really want to see in our families, our communities, and our country began with building better (godly) men? Through the story of Elisha, we can learn what it looks like to pursue the greater purpose God has for all of us. Elisha accepted God's call, he said goodbye to distractions, he embraced the adventure, and he dedicated his life to building a legacy rather than an inher...

Do you ever feel like you’re just going with the flow? We’re all just trying to do our best in this scattered life, but we’re called to live our lives differently from the culture around us. It’s hard to live a life set apart for Jesus when culture pulls us in the other direction. As believers, we are being molded into the image of Christ one degree at a time, but we have to choose between culture...

Where have you placed your hope? In your job? Your relationships? Your talents or achievements? When we haven’t placed our hope fully in the Living Hope of God, we will be let down time and time again. But with the imperishable, incorruptible, and undefiled inheritance of our faith, we can face anything. It’s not just about what we have in this world, but the hope we have in our eternal home. Host...

School is out and everyone has already started moving in different directions. Beach trips, ball tournaments, and family reunions - summer and all its activities can make us feel completely scattered, but in the chaos, we are not without purpose. Summer doesn’t have to pause our mission. Even in our scattering, God sees us, works in us, and gives us a purpose and a plan. By slowing down, using our...

Have you ever spent a rainy day putting together a jigsaw puzzle? You know what the final image should look like, but it takes time and consideration to put the pieces in the correct spot. Families can be like puzzles with their own joys and challenges. Some may feel like they don’t fit into the puzzle that is their family, but there is always room in the family of faith. In the last message of th...

We may buy into the illusion of the perfect family, but the reality is that every family is made up of broken people who function in dysfunction. So how can dads effectively lead and positively influence the trajectory of their families? Kids will see God as their Heavenly Father when they see God directing the steps of their earthly father. From Psalms 23, dads can learn to model the provision, l...