When Reality Fall Drastically Short of Our Expectations, Hopes, and Dreams

Have you ever had a moment where life just didn’t match what you expected it to be?  It can be more than a little disappointing, can’t it?  Maybe a moment where you have just been pushing through life, and you stop, and look around and think, “Really…is this it? This isn’t how it was supposed to go.” At some level, we all carry expectations about how things are supposed to work out for us. We may not even realize we have them; we may never have spoken them out loud, and ty

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Trapped, Vulnerable, & Afraid -Then The Sea Parts

Today, we move further into the Exodus story. Moses has said yes. God has sent the plagues. Egypt has been broken. Pharaoh has finally released the people of Israel. After 430 years of slavery, they are free. Can you imagine that moment? Families gathering what they could carry. Parents telling their children, “God heard us. God has not forgotten us.” People celebrating. Singing. Laughing. Dreaming about a future they had never been free enough to imagine. And as they begi

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Moses Obeyed God. His reward was failure.

The story we are in this summer is a story about God.  God wanted to rescue the Children of Israel out of slavery and lead them to the promised land.   The problem was, they didn’t trust God.   Even after experiencing God, they struggled to trust God.  When you read this story, it makes you wonder, who would do that?  Who would experience God saving them and then not trust God?  The answer is, we would, we do.  Their story in scripture is a story about us.

The Bible gives u

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It's Not Who I Am. It's Who God is!

This summer, we are studying the Exodus journey of the children of Israel. We are calling this series “Who would do that?” because that is the question that will be on your mind as you watch these people experience God in miraculous ways, while they doubt, complain, and just fight God every step of the way, often just wanting to go back to slavery, rather than follow God to the Promised Land.  Their journey went from a two-week stroll to a forty-year beatdown because they

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Your Burning Bush Moment

This summer, we are walking through the story of God delivering the Jewish people from slavery and leading them into the promised land.  What makes this story incredible is that what should have taken around two weeks became a 40-year, two-generation story that covers five books of the Bible.  Why?   They didn’t trust God.  And it makes you wonder, ‘Who would do that?’  After experiencing what God did through the plagues of Egypt, after God walked them on dry ground throug

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Don't Be Naive and Self-Confident

This summer, we are walking through the story of God delivering the Jewish people from slavery and leading them into the promised land.  What makes this story incredible is that what should have taken around two weeks became a 40-year, two-generation story that covers five books of the Bible.  Why?   They didn’t trust God.  And it makes you wonder, ‘Who would do that?’  After experiencing what God did through the plagues of Egypt, after God walked them on dry ground throug

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It's All About What You Love Most

I’m going to start today with a quote that I’ve shared with you before…it’s one of my favorite quotes because it literally explains the essence of our lives, how to live as God desires, and also why we humans struggle internally, and I think it’s a great way to start our new summer conversation. 

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” St Augustine

Life can be so much easier than we make it.  Christianity can seem so compl

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Christian Consumer vs. Disciple

Raising kids is a big deal.  I’m in the Pappy stage, but I clearly remember the days when we were in the middle of it.  The days when we were three little girls deep.  I remember being so tired and wondering if there would ever be a Saturday when I could sleep in and relax.  I remember the insane amount of things we had to pack into the minivan to spend the night anywhere.  I remember the nights everyone fell asleep in their beds.  And then waking up to discover that the n

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Life: Either I'm blowing it or God is holding out on me

Today, I want to start with a section from the book, Waking the Dead. 

Oh, I’d love to wake each morning knowing exactly who I am and where God is taking me.  Zeroed in on all my relationships, undaunted in my calling. It’s awesome when I do see.  But for most of us, life seems more like driving along with a dirty windshield and then turning into the sun.  I can sort of make out the shapes ahead, and I think the light is green… After a while, the accumulation of event after

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Why We Still Believe We Must Earn God's Love

We have covered huge topics in this series, and I am wondering how you are doing so far.  So let me ask you a few questions.  After reading scripture, hearing the sermons, and after your real-life experience, do you believe in the power of God’s grace that can radically change your life?  Do you believe you have an enemy trying to steal everything Jesus died to give to you?  Do you believe you are in a spiritual war?  Looking at your life, do you see that your enemy’s lies

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The Real Reason, Maybe, Why Life Is So Frustrating

There is a story in the Bible that Jesus told.  You are probably very familiar with it.  It’s a story of two sons.  The younger son demanded his inheritance early and left home.  It was extremely disrespectful to his father and shows the true condition of his heart.  As you hear this story, he seems to be the bad son.  The older brother, he stays at home and works on the farm with his dad.   He seems to be the good son.  He is loyal and faithful.  As the story goes on, the

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Self Doubt And The Damage It Does

This series is a big deal.   Why?  Because we are dealing with the things that can significantly damage how we live our lives.  If you are wrestling with these things, it's like adding one hundred fifty pounds to your daily life, and it's exhausting.  Topics like living with regret and guilt.  Being stuck in the world of people pleasing.  Being paralyzed with feelings of self-doubt.  Living with a sense of entitlement that steals our gratitude.   Constantly feeling unlovab

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The Sneaky & Dangerous Trap of People Pleasing

This spring, we jumped into an important conversation called "Mind Games: Winning the Battle Within."  It’s important because our lives are so intense, with so much happening on the outside that we can physically see, that I’m not sure we even recognize that the real battle is spiritual, and what we are up against is happening on the inside.  The Christian life isn’t a playground; it’s a battlefield fought for your mind.  And what we have set out to do in this series is lo

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Guilt and Regret and the Damage They Do

I want to start this week in scripture.

Romans 6:2-5 That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised in

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How To Stand Firm Daily In This Spiritual War

Today, we are starting a new series called Mind Games – Winning the Battle Within.  We are really looking forward to this conversation because life is so hard, and we face so much on the outside that I’m not sure we realize the real battle is being fought on the inside.  Our lives can feel like a whirlwind; they are so busy and intense that it's hard to pick up on the thoughts and inner conversations we have that impact so much of our lives. We need to understand that our

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