Messages from Brian - Valley Christian Center

June 30, 2024: The Rumble of Grumble with Brian

June 30, 2024 • Brian Coons

In this illuminating word from Brian Coons, he talked about the way grumbling/complaining affects our lives. Starting by explaining that grumbling comes from agreeing with something that doesn't align with God's truth. It is rallying to a selfish cause and arises from a smoldering discontent. Brian showed us how the literal meaning of the Hebrew word for grumble is Without Foundation/Unjustified + Narrow Thinking/Self Importance + Lack of Faith. Proverbs 18:21 Death and Life are in the power of the tongue... Our grumbling can be like a negative prophecy against ourselves and opens the door to discord and division as our words echo out and have a ripple effect around us. He went on to show what happens when we complain, signs that we complain too much, what we call it and why we say we do it (justify it), why we really do it, and the effects it has on our brain (Who knew 30 minutes of complaining a day damages your brain!?) Brian showed us that the solution(s) to grumbling is -Having an attitude of gratitude -Set a goal or purpose - a solution to what is bothering you -Return to Joy - Practice appreciation -Savoring - Park in the positive not the negative -Awareness/Watchfulness - Taking our thoughts captive

April 7, 2024: Reconciling Love & Anger

April 7, 2024 • Brian Coons

Brian continued with his deep dive into the topic of emotions with an insightful word on Reconciling Love + Anger. He broke down how human anger is (technically) a 90 second chemical response but how we can get stuck in a cycle of anger if we ruminate on those feelings and circumstances. Usually, the thing that triggers our anger isn't the root cause of our anger. Anger is meant to be a protective emotion, but we can spiral down into areas that we aren't meant to be if we don't take our thoughts captive. Then Brian pointed out how God's thoughts are not our thoughts, and neither are our ways His ways. (Isaiah 55:8) We tend to interpret God's character based on what we experience as humans. But God IS love so everything He says and does is coming from pure love. He defined God's wrath as His love in action against sin. "The wrath of God is not an emotion or angry frame of mind, but instead the settled opposition of His holiness to evil."

Let's Get Emotional

February 18, 2024 • Brian Coons

Brian really opened up the book on emotions in his sermon, "Let's Get Emotional." He shared about how we are created in God's image and likeness, how emotions can be hurtful or helpful, the difference between guilt and shame, and what Godly emotions look like.