Hide or Seek
Come Home
March 17, 2019 • Trevor Barton
Jesus loved stories. He used them all the time to help people better understand who God was and how God saw them. Out of the many stories He told, few are as popular as the story of The Prodigal Son. A story of two brothers, more alike than they knew. Both lost, both seeing and using their father as a means to an end. A story we can all relate to. In this story, Jesus redefines who God is and redefines what it means to be far from God. A story of hope, forgiveness, and love. A story of coming home.
A Bad Kind of Good
March 10, 2019 • Trevor Barton
Jesus was incredibly tolerant of the “sinners” around him. The people who got it wrong, the rejects, the ones that you’d be hard pressed to find in a pew on Sunday morning. This is the type of person you’d find at a party with Jesus. But he consistently set himself at odds with the “good people,” the saints, i.e. the self-righteous. It’s a group we’ve all been a part of. Whenever we talk about, judge, or condemn anyone because they fall short of a standard, we join the very tribe that Jesus was so at odds with. We become unlike God, because the worst form of unrighteousness is self-righteousness. Self-righteousness: a comparison that ends in arrogance. It allows us to hide our shortcomings in the shadow of someone else’s shortcomings. Self-righteousness grants us a free pass to deceive ourselves and those around us. It says “I’m better than you because I’m better at _____.” And it always undermines our relationships with God and people.
Porn on the Brain
February 24, 2019 • Ryan Hartzell
Everyone has looked or is connected to someone who looks at porn. It makes up a multi-billion dollar industry and it has the corner on the online market, and consequently, has a huge affect on our lives and families. Under the guise of “Adult Entertainment,” pornagraphy impacts children, teenagers, and adults. Altering our brains, affecting our relationships, and changing the culture of the world around us. What do we do when we know better, but don’t do better?
You're Not Alone
February 17, 2019 • Trevor Barton
Life isn’t easy and faith doesn’t make it easier. However, faith can make it better. Everyone has issues and struggles, some of us are just pros at hiding them. We make our outside life look issue-free while on the inside we are a mess. God desires for us to reconcile our mess with Him in order to receive healing from Him.
Known and Loved
February 10, 2019 • Trevor Barton
“Ready or not, here I come!” These words are readily associated with a childhood favorite, Hide-n-Seek. We love to hide. We long to be found. This game doesn’t end with childhood but can take a dangerous turn as we practice it as adults. Self-deception. Isolation. Denial. Rationalization. Self Righteousness. These are the ways we hide from God. However, God still seeks. God still loves. “Come out, come out, whenever you are!”