Verve City Church: Weekly Messages

We all want to be masters of our own destinies. We all want to feel in control of our lives.  The idea of autonomy is attractive. It makes life feel ordered and predictable. But our  desire for autonomy can stand in the way of faith. One of the biggest barriers to belief in  God is that we don’t want to believe because we don’t want to need anyone. But what if  autonomy is an illusion?  Don’t let...

We all want to rid the world of injustice. But we can only recognize injustice if we know  what justice is to begin with. But maybe the best way to rid the world of injustice is to rid the world of God. We don’t always agree about what is just. So, who gets to define justice if not God? When God is gone, injustice leaves with him because justice leaves with him. If anyone had a reason to stop beli...

Are you caught between doubt and despair because you’ve been trying to worship the  bodyguard god, on-demand god, boyfriend god, guilt god, anti-science god, gap god, or  angry-Old-Testament god? If big-G God has lost his appeal because you’ve mixed him up  with a gaggle of little-g gods who don’t exist, then how can you know what God is really  like?   If you could see God just once, wouldn’t it...

Do you find some of the Bible’s stories about God unsettling? Do you ever wonder how you can trust Jesus if it requires you to believe everything in the Bible is true? Does Christianity seem like a fragile house of cards that may tumble down in the face of scientific or archeological discovery? Before you abandon your faith, it’s worth exploring this question: What if the Bible isn’t the foundatio...

Everyone has religious doubts. Certain things about God are unsettling. Our circumstances can make God seem distant or vengeful. Science can make God seem unnecessary. Those doubts can cause us to abandon faith. But maybe our perspectives are wrong. Maybe the gods we abandon never existed to begin with.

More Americans than ever are backing away from religion . . . and God. Not because  atheism is attractive, but because religion is unattractive. Religion is seen as the problem.  It’s thought of as a source of conflict and violence. So, it’s worth asking the question: Who  Needs God?

We’re supposed to share the gospel of Jesus. But how do we do that? Is it all up to us individually or do we get graded as a group project? If I really, really want my friends to follow Jesus, is there something I can do to help that along? Great questions. Let’s think through some answers together. 

Having looked at partial gospels as being unsatisfying, we turn to secular narratives — beliefs about reality that most cultural institutions hold as truth — and find that they are ultimately unsatisfying as well. What we need isn’t a partial gospel or an unsatisfying cultural narrative. What we need is Jesus and the gospel he proclaimed. And it’s what our friends need as well. 

When we think about inviting other people to participate in faith, we need to ask: what specifically are we inviting them into ? We are surrounded by competing gospels. In week one, we’ll describe five different gospels versions that are often taught in the United States: 1) the evangelical gospel 2) the reformed gospel 3) the social justice gospel 4) the political gospel and 5) the prosperity gos...

Community can be beautiful, but it’s also messy. How do we bring our whole selves into a group of people? Our strengths, our weaknesses, our doubts, our certainties: these are some of the elements that make up who we are. How do we trust that other people can handle all of that, and how are we able to handle all that others may bring? What does community look like when we disagree? When we see thi...

Great community and friendships appear to be all win: who doesn’t want a group of people to be known and loved by? But a fuller understanding of community recognizes something more: community requires sacrifice. If we truly are better together, how will we have to reorient our lives, our time, and our ideologies in order to build the community that our souls so desperately need?

We weren’t built to live life alone. We’re social creatures who flourish most when we are together: celebrat-ing, eating, partying — together. But also: struggling, mourning, questioning — together. Our challenge is that building true community around us is both necessary and difficult. How can we live our lives and engage with other people in such a way that we become better together?

The  Scriptures  speak  constantly  of  human flourishing:  it’s  God’s  desire  that  we  live well  and  connect  well  relationally  with  him  and  with  others.  But  what  happens  when we don’t? The Old Testament book of Daniel contains multiple stories that point to a singular point: human beings lose their humanity when they don’t connect with God. Tragedy occurs when created beings lose...

There’s  a  fascinating  story  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  about  idolatry:  what  happens when we take a good thing and make it an ultimate thing. An entire nation is coerced into  bowing  down  to  a  golden  image  that  represents  the  empire  and  the  king,  but three  young  men  choose  to  resist.  What  kind  of  faith  does  it  take  to  go  against  the flow?  To  be  surrounded  b...

Life is full of suffering, pain, and disappointments. Rearing kids is hard; work is hard; aging, sickness, and death are hard. The Hebrew Bible tells the story of Daniel and of the great disappointments and challenges (even threats to his life!) that he faced. Daniel’s story teaches us that our greatest struggles can lead to our greatest breakthroughs ... and that the point of suffering is often t...

It is not an easy thing to own our past and move toward something better. It takes courage to lead and influence people who have seen both our triumphs and our failures. The Gospels contain a peculiar story that has far-reaching implications for us today: what do you do when Jesus asks you to influence the very people who have seen you at your worst?

Most of us are raised to be "brave," but only in a way that doesn’t involve risking rejection or failure. This can lead us to avoid anything resembling vulnerability, which involves uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. But the life of King David has a lesson for us: it is only in opening ourselves up to God that he can lead us to new heights.

“In this world,” Jesus tells us, “you will have trouble.” We will all walk through pain, suffering and loss. It will make us bitter, or it will make us better. How is it that our character can be forged in the crucible of conflict? The Hebrew Scriptures contain the story of Daniel: a man who was stolen away from his home country at an early age and who continued to develop the strength of characte...

You want to make a difference in the world, but it feels like the ever-consuming hustle of life just keeps getting in the way. The Hebrew scriptures contain the story of a man named Nehemiah, who became laser focused on a single task: rebuilding the walls around the city of Jerusalem. To accomplish his task, he overcame obstacles familiar to all of us: fear, distractions, and criticism. How do we...

We looked at the Apostle Peter this week as one of the Bible characters who exemplifies the importance of “The Leader Within You.” If you’re looking to influence others, it’s pretty helpful to start with an understanding of “self leadership.” How are you leading your life in a way that models honesty, determination, and a sense of your unique purpose?

There’s a massive conversation in our culture around masculinity: what does it mean to be manly? How are we raising boys to become “good” men? What role(s) should men play in our society? Are some forms of masculinity as we’ve traditionally defined them actually harmful? And if I define myself as a follower of Jesus, what does my allegiance to Christ have to say about manhood?

What’s your role in God’s plan? It’s one thing to consume a religious product... But it’s life changing to contribute to a team that’s making a difference. To be part of the Church is to be part of the team of people Jesus has assembled to impact the world!

We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves; to make a difference in the world around us. If you’re a follower of Jesus, YOU hold the answers to the biggest questions the world is asking. And as part of a church, we can be on mission together to share the Gospel with the Chino valley in ways that none of us can do on our own.⁠

Scriptures remind us that anger is not inherently a problem, and it can even be helpful in some cases. As followers of Jesus, how can we respond to our anger in a way that demonstrates our desire to be more like Jesus in what we say, and do, and think?

There has been a dramatic uptick in feelings of anxiety over the past decade, especially amongst young adults. While some anxiety levels can be extreme and are best resolved through professional therapy, Jesus modeled a way of living that can help break the cycle of worry and fear that drives much of our anxiety.