icon__search

A Better Way - Part 3

June 14, 2020 • Rick Lawrence

”Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” - John 15:4

Simon Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples. He was the owner and operator of a fishing company before he met Jesus. He was a guy that was in control, successful and street-smart. Then Jesus invited Peter to another direction in life. This experience for someone like Peter can be painful, from control expressing itself in self-effort to lack of control resulting in dependance upon Christ. Yet even though it was painful, Jesus always wanted to re-direct Peter’s pain into something that benefited him, and Jesus wants to do the same with us. But first we must give Jesus the raw material of our pain. We need to give him the control we’ve been addicted to—dependance from us to Jesus.

As God allows us to travel through the painful process of being in control to allowing Him the control in our lives, it is imperative that we simply begin to act and live as if we actually believe He loves us, He is good, and we are safe wherever He directs us.

More from A Better Way

A Better Way - Part 4

June 21, 2020 • Scotty Priest

”Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” - Mark 2:27 During this Co-Vid 19 pandemic season, there are a lot of us who can’t wait to get our lives back to “normal”. We are racing to get back to normal, but what if “normal” wasn’t working? Could it be that one of the gifts God has given us during this time is the understanding that how we were living wasn’t the best for us? What if God has allowed us to slow down and gain a new perspective? In this season, let’s begin to seek God and allow Him to show us a better way to live. From the very beginning of time, God has not just encouraged us to stop and rest—He has commanded it. Sabbath, or “Shabbat” in Hebrew, literally means to “stop." “Sabbath” is a resistance to the pace and push of our lives. A statement that declares, ”This is enough. STOP and appreciate it.” It is a resting, a worshipping of God, a remembering of what God has done, and a resisting to the cultural pressure to “go, go, go."

A Better Way - Part 2

June 7, 2020 • Scotty Priest

”Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise’.” - Luke 10:37 During this Co-Vid 19 pandemic season, there are a lot of us who can’t wait to get our lives back to “normal”. We are racing to get back to normal, but what if “normal” wasn’t working? Could it be that one of the gifts God has given us during this time is the understanding that how we were living wasn’t the best for us? What if God has allowed us to slow down and gain a new perspective? For example, maybe God in this time has exposed our lack of compassion for serving others in need. He’s revealed how much of our life revolves around ourselves and our little world…and that when we see someone in need, they are viewed more as an interruption than an invitation. Maybe God is opening our eyes to see that a better way is seeing other people as God sees them.

A Better Way - Part 1

May 31, 2020 • Scotty Priest

”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28 We're kicking off a brand new series of messages called A BETTER WAY! Many are racing to get back to normal but what if normal was broken? If this season has done anything helpful, it has exposed some of our harmful habits. (Hurry, Focus, Priorities, Loving our Neighbor, Selfishness, Greed, etc.). What if there is A BETTER WAY? What if Jesus wants to point us to a better normal?