It's easy to trust God when things are good. But what happens when things AREN'T good? What happens when the worst ghosts from our past come back to haunt us? What happens when the pain we thought we left behind is staring us right in the face?
As we pick up Joseph's story this week in Genesis 42 things get interesting when that very thing happens to him. But now, the tables are turned. Now Joseph has all the power, and can do whatever he wants. Take revenge? Grant mercy? Joseph can do what he wants. The real question is, will Joseph continue doing what he's done to this point? Or will he take matters into his own hands. Either way, Joseph has some big decisions to make.
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Praying prayers that move God's heart is a great thing, but if that's all we ever do we've just reduced God to a cosmic Santa Claus, and that's not a role God is willing to play. The reality is prayer is much more than just praying those big, bold prayers. And, it's only by understanding that bigger picture of prayer that this whole process works anyway.
This week we're finishing up Circle Maker by looking at the story of one of the greatest circle makers in the Bible, Daniel. While he's most famous for his encounter with lions, the real secret to Daniel's life was something else entirely. As we look to his story we'll see the key trait that makes a circle maker a circle maker, and form a simple plan to unlock the power of prayer in our own lives.
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Epic stories have always gripped the minds and hearts of people. It's why movies like Gladiator and Braveheart are so popular. But what a lot of people don't know is that some of the most epic stories ever written can be found in the Bible.
This week we're looking at one of those stories – the story of the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. It's a story that is full of drama with a huge climax, just like every good epic. But most importantly it's a story that teaches a really important, and challenging truth about humanity. It's a truth Jesus himself taught some 800 years later during his life. Join us this week as we explore this incredible story and learn what it has to say to us today.
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If this war we're in is real, and if our enemy is truly an unseen spiritual force, is it possible to have hope? For so many people we've given up on truly believing things can be better in this life, but the Bible shows us how hope is not only possible, but is inevitable.
As we finish up the message series "This Is War" we'll look at how a simple, common-sense truth as old as the universe holds the key to understanding and having hope in the battles we face.
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‘Kindness’ in the message series “Good Fruit” at City North Church.
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Esther in the message series “Women of the Bible” at City North Church in Sunbury Ohio.
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The King At Last in the message series “The Goat” at City North Church in Sunbury Ohio.
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The Cure in the message series “Two Trees” at City North Church in Sunbury Ohio.
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We work so hard to get rid of anything in our lives we don’t like. Things that cause stress, things that are difficult, or things that we think should be different are seen as a problem. But when we look back on our lives it’s usually in those times God does the most incredible things, isn’t it? What if, in our desire to remove the darkness, we’re really just making it longer?
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People always want to know how to get God's best blessing in their lives. It's an interesting and important question. God WANTS to bless us. He WANTS to do great things in us. So why don't we usually feel it? This week we'll learn how to not only GET God's blessing, but how to experience it fully.
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Circumstances can often feel like they dictate our futures. Or our Potential. Maybe even our sense of worth. Others may take extreme steps to alter their life’s direction. No matter where we fall in this spectrum, it is easy to see that adding relationship with God into this very personal dynamic can get “sticky”. How do we overcome the tension of our plans versus God’s? This week we look through the eyes of Jacob, and the transformation in his life after letting God lead his steps.
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