So What’s The Big Deal?

I want to start today with an exercise, don’t worry it’s not cardio or anything like that but I want to get you thinking before we really dive into this today.  If I asked you to tell me what the central part of your Christian faith is could you do it in a sentence?  If we took a moment and I asked you about your journey as a Christian how would you describe it?  When you think about . . . Read More »

Being a Disciple Maker and Some Fishing Tips

So this summer we have been in a series about the church and I think it’s been a ton of fun so far and I think it’s been a really powerful time for us to dive into some penetrating truths about us as a church…about who we are, what we do, and why we do it.  We have really been pushing in one very specific set of questions.  How do you view the church?  How do you do . . . Read More »

What Could Be

Over the last few years we have taken the summer and studied a book of the Bible.  Quite frankly it’s something that I look forward to every year.  Over the past few years we have studied some of Paul’s letters, and James…and this year I was really gearing up to study 1st and 2nd Peter with you all.  I enjoy picking the scriptures apart like that…but that isn’t the direction we went this summer…instead we are jumping into . . . Read More »

Soaring on the Wings of Eagles…Really?

So today we continue this I am Second series looking at a very inspiring young lady.  Some may know her from the movie Soul Surfer which is all about her story.  Her name is Bethany Hamilton, and I will tell you her story is inspiring and challenging because of how she responds to adversity, and the challenges of life.  I know by now you probably sick of hearing about it, and you are thinking is he seriously going . . . Read More »

The Hardest Person To Forgive

You know if you have been anywhere near MRC in anyway, you probably have seen one of our favorite images.  It’s the image of an upside down turtle with this one very specific question on it; “stuck?”  We love that imagery and we use it on everything from our Facebook page, to our billboards, and our invitations to our church because it really says a lot about how a lot of us feel.  We can feel stuck in . . . Read More »

Get Real

So today we continue this teaching on Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount…and I have to tell you, for me this has been a huge deal on a personal level.  Jesus is literally laying out a foundation of how we are to live our lives as His followers and here’s the deal, it’s a better way to live.  Think about where all just the first chapter of this sermon has taken us and what our lives would look . . . Read More »

Right Thing, Wrong Heart

Good morning everyone! Today we are looking at the next chunk of Jesus’ teaching, what I am titling “Right Thing, Wrong Heart.” We’re moving into Chapter 6 now of Matthew, if you want to turn or click there awhile. Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there is a theme behind almost every section of the Sermon on the Mount that we’ve looked at, and it’s a pretty clear one: God is concerned about your heart. Sure, . . . Read More »

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

So last week I think we really started to hit our stride in this study of Jesus’ very famous Sermon on the Mount and that is really going to continue today.  So by this fourth week of the series it’s probably becoming pretty apparent to you that Jesus is really pushing in hard on us and how we live.  Jesus has a way of thinking and living that is just completely opposite than the way we humans think . . . Read More »

The Challenge of Real Love

It is hard to believe that we are already coming to the end of our big spring series on Emotionally Healthy Relationships.  Spring seemed to take a little longer to sprung than we would like but here we are in our last talk in our spring series before heading into our big summer study of Jesus’ famous teaching, The Sermon on the Mount.  I have to tell you this series has meant a lot to me for many reasons.  First the . . . Read More »