Boldness in our faith is something that's unnatural in our culture, but boldness is what makes the movement move. Without the boldness of the early church the name of Jesus may not have made it out of the first century, but because of their extraordinary boldness the world changed forever. What might happen if we could recapture of that same boldness? How might our families change? Our cities? The world would never be the same.
Read MoreHow a church prays indicates whether or not it has strayed. So many of our American-Christian prayers are about us. "God, keep us safe." "God, protect us." "God, heal our sick loved ones." The problem is self-centered pray-ers create self-centered Christians, which create self-centered churches. The early church prayed for boldness to tell the world about Jesus, and the power of God to be at work in the world. It wasn't about them at all. They prayed for the sake of the world, and because of it the world changed.
Read MoreChurch. What comes to your mind when you hear that word? What if what comes to your mind isn't what God intended the church to be at all? The day the church began was a day of movement and momentum. It changed the world forever. And it still can.
Read MoreAs hard as it is to believe it's been one year since we launched City North. Today we'll celebrate, remember, and look ahead and what God has done, is doing, is has next for City North Church.
The best is yet to come.
Read MoreDifficult people are impossible to get away from, because everyone is different, and our difficulties come from our differences. For so many of us difficult people impact every area of our lives and rob us of joy and life. But there is a way to find peace with difficult people. Today we learn what the real problem with people is, and what we can do to turn it around.
Read MoreEvery one of us works so hard to remove the stress from our lives, but the reality is a stress-free life is impossible. We will never be able to remove all our stress, but what we CAN do is find something bigger than our stress to focus on. When we do our stress fades into the background and we can live with peace and purpose every day.
Read MoreMany of us have tried over and over to drop our baggage, and maybe we've been successful with a lot of us. But for so many people there's that one thing we just can't seem to let go of. No matter how many times we try to drop it it just seems like it's stuck to us. This week we learn how we can get rid of the sticky baggage that has been with us for so long.
Read MoreLots of different kinds of baggage are heavy, but relational baggage is the heaviest. All of us have been hurt, wounded, or betrayed by someone close to us. We're handed baggage, and it's so hard to drop it. What we don't realize is that our relationships in the horizontal actually determine our relationship in the vertical. God doesn't play ball when we choose to hold on to the baggage. But there is hope, and there is an answer. Listen in to learn how to drop your relational baggage once and for all.
Read MoreSome baggage is a little heavier than others. Guilt is one of the heavy bags. For so many people guilt has driven their relationship with God and it has stolen all the joy and life from it. This week we tackle guilty baggage head-on, uncover the lie, and tell you the truth so you can drop the guilt and have a life-giving relationship with God once and for all.
Read MoreBaggage. Everyone has it, but few people deal with it. It weighs us down, makes us tired, and keeps us stuck, and yet we keep carrying it year after year after year. But what would happen if we could drop the baggage from our past and step fully into what God has for us tomorrow? In part one of this five part series we unpack the true problem with our baggage and what we can do to live free and travel light.
Read MoreEveryone wants to make a difference. It's built into us. It's why we think we can change the world when we're young. Then, as we get older, that youthful idealism tends to fade and we give up those dreams of making a difference in the world. But it was never meant to be that way. God always intended your life to be a life that makes an eternal difference. This week we identify the roadblocks to making a difference and how to break through them to live a life that counts.
Read MoreFrom the beginning God's plan for his Church was that it would exist not for itself but for the world. We are called to be ministers to the world around us. When we choose to be ministers we break down walls, heal broken hearts, and make a difference in the world around us.
Read MoreJesus said, "The son of man came not to be served but to serve..." Jesus always intended his Church to give their lives away so the world would know Him. That starts with choosing the heart of a servant.
Read MoreWe're taught our whole lives to be self-sufficient. To pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. To be independent. But what if that's all wrong? What if we weren't created to be independent? What if we were created for dependence? It's only in dependence that we can find true freedom in this life.
Read MoreIn order to accomplish the purposes and plans that God has for us, we must be page turners. We must allow God to move us forward in life to writing the next chapter and not stay stuck reading and rereading our previous chapters. #turnthepage
Read MoreFather's Day is a day filled with different emotions for everyone. For some people it's joy and celebration, but for many people it's a day filled with pain due to broken relationships with their own fathers. Unfortunately, sometimes we view our Heavenly Father through the lens given to us by our earthly father. But even the best fathers can't love like the Heavenly Father, because His love is perfect.
Read MoreEverybody wants to be happy, right? But happiness is temporary and fleeting. What we really need is joy. Deep, abiding joy. Joy can get us through the best of times and the worst of times, but it's hard to find. This week we learn the things that block joy in our lives and how we can overcome them.
Read MoreRelationships are the key to life. Whether for better or for worse, they never leave us the same. This week we learn five characteristics of the kind of people you need in your life if you're ever going to live the full, abundant, purpose-filled life God has for you.
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