God Centered Life

The early church found in the book of Acts provides a model for subsequent churches to “do church right.” We’ll take a look at the specifics in our study today.Acts 2:42-47

The Holy Spirit… the filling, the power, the benefit… Do you wait for it, or pursue it? We’ll continue our look at Pentecost in this study.Acts 2:1-13

Is salvation a “course correction” or more of a “dramatic U-turn"? How radical is the change we should expect? We’ll look at one “grand reversal” in our study today.Esther 5 - 7

Pentecost was a point on the young church's timeline. But what takeaways, what action steps can we apply to our churches today based on this historic event? We’ll explore this question today.Acts 2:1-13

Want to over-simplify the challenges our culture is currently facing? The loss of a belief in absolute truth is a strong candidate. We’ll explore this topic in our study today.Acts 1:12-26

“God, please show me which way to go.” Ever prayed that prayer? Very likely. How does God guide? We’ll tackle that question in our study today.Acts 1:12-26

If you were to create a continuum of “more attention on the Holy Spirit” versus less attention, and placed your church on it, where would it land? Is there a correlation to the dynamism within churches based on this continuum? We’ll explore this question in our study today.Acts 1:1-11

Stating the obvious, problems abound! So does skepticism about solutions. And yet, our new study proposes a universal solution and boldly claims that it actually works!Acts 1:1-11

Ask the next ten folks you meet what “otherness” means. Is self-preservation or even self-promotion the primary energy of the day? We’ll explore availability for the greater good in today's study.Esther 3 - 4

David and Goliath… a great story from the Old Testament. What is your Goliath? Once you admit you have a Goliath, how do you defeat it? We’ll study that today.Ephesians 6:10-24

Having studied the exhortations to submit, we’re heading toward the end of this study with strong military images. We’ll look at how these two ideas co-exist.Ephesians 6:10-24

Leading through service. We’ll look to understand how those two align in our study today.Ephesians 6:1-9

Submitting to become free? At a glance, that doesn’t make sense. We’ll unpack this dichotomy in our study today.Ephesians 6:1-9

Contentious marriages are all around us, including amongst believers. How do we change this? We’re heading into practical teaching aimed at nurturing successful marriages.Ephesians 5:22-33

Where is the balance between “God will do it” versus “take advantage of opportunities"? Our study in the book of Esther looks directly at this question.Esther 2:1-23

Marriage, it’s a mystery. Or is it? What if marriage is a reflection of something else? We’ll explore this idea in our study today.Ephesians 5:22-33

We all have influences that affect how we behave, some more obvious than others. Our study today will challenge us to examine who we’re imitating.Ephesians 5:1-21

What is kindness? Is it an important force within the church? Does is constitute an important part of evangelism? We’ll explore these questions today.Ephesians 4:17-32

“People are basically good.” Do you buy this? Does Paul buy this? Let’s find out in our study today.Ephesians 4:17-32

What does unity cost? Are we willing to “pay” truth to buy unity? And does this dynamic ever make it into the church? We’ll investigate in our study today.Ephesians 4:1-16

It’s easy to wring our hands while looking at the craziness around us. Our study today jumps head first into a situation that will eventually escalate into the crazy, but then quietly reminds us who’s in charge through it all.Esther 1:1-22

What is love? Easy to answer, right? So why does Paul pray that God would help us understand love? We’ll jump into this question in our study today.Ephesians 3:14-21

Doesn’t take long for any news channel to drain the hope out of you. So where does positivity come from? Scripture speaks to this question in our study today.Ephesians 3:1-13

Unity… how does that come about? There are a lot of theories about this, but can it be that it’s a simple answer we’ve all heard and excused as a cliché? We’ll explore this question today.Ephesians 2:11-22

Life is not perfect. So how do we handle the “bombs” going off around us? We’ll explore durability in our study today.Ephesians 2:1-10

What does power look like? We are fed so many examples in the media, but are these individuals really powerful? We’ll explore these questions today.Ephesians 1:15-23

Okay, so we’re told that God understands our suffering. But we still want to survive this valley we’re going through. Does our passage address the “how"? We’ll look at this question in our study today.1 Peter 3:8-22

Ever go treasure hunting at your church? Have you considered the possibility that there are great things hidden there? Our study today offers a treasure map.Ephesians 1:15-23

When you look at your life, is it hard to hear that God wants to bless you? We’ll work on that potential disconnect in our study today.Ephesians 1:3-14

If someone told you that “God wants to bless you,” how would you react? Our study today will look at that statement.Ephesians 1:3-14

Ever felt that with the “here and now” so chaotic, you have no bandwidth to think about the future? Our study explores how the future may just be the encouragement you need today.Ephesians 1:1-2

Do you like magic? Many do. Our study today looks at a church that was surrounded by a belief in magic, so much so that it was becoming oppressive. We’ll also look at the solution offered to them, and to us.Ephesians 1:1-2

It’s an age-old question. How do we match up the concepts of a loving God and suffering? We’ll explore this question in our study today.1 Peter 3:8-22

“One of the best places to meet a spouse is at church.” While likely true, what happens if that becomes a primary function of the church? We’ll continue our look at assemblies as found in the book of Judges in this study.Judges 20:12 - 21:25

Our study has been looking at individual heroes, but we’ll now switch to a focus on assemblies and see what the book of Judges has to say about how to do “church.”Judges 20:12 - 21:25

Society and religion are two different topics. Or are they? Our study today looks at how our world is changing and what may be at the root of these changes.Judges 19:1 - 20:11

Individualism reigns. Ironic then that it is individualism that is the cautionary focus of the passage in Judges we’ll look at in today's study.Judges 19:1 - 20:11

While Samson is in the focus of this passage, other characters provide lessons for us. There's one more look at the life of Samson and his “supporting cast” in our study today.Judges 15:1-20

Newsflash—marriage is not always warm and fuzzy! Sometimes, it’s work. The Bible, being applicable to all aspects of life, has some practical guidance for marriages as well as daily life for all of us. We’ll glean biblical guidance in this study.

It’s a cliché question until it lands on your doorstep. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Our study today dives into the topic of pain and God's use of it in our lives.Judges 15:1-20

When it’s time for a spiritual inventory, is it numbers that tell the story? Put another way, is bigger always better? We’ll explore this topic in our study today.Judges 14:1-20

What are the qualifications for leadership? If your quick response leans towards perfection, let me introduce you to Samson, and in the process celebrate the fact that God can use us all for His causes.Judges 14:1-20

Our passage today gives a number of illustrations as to how a lack of clarity as to what God wants can lead to more effective following.Judges 13:1-25

When was the last time you felt like throwing in the towel? You just felt overwhelmed on every side. Our study today looks at how God steps in, sometimes using some rather unconventional characters, to remind us that He is bigger.Judges 13:1-25

Maybe you’re familiar with the kids wrestling game that ends when one wrestler folds by saying “I submit!” Submission and the idea of being a loser share an awkward relationship. But what is Biblical submission? We’ll explore this question in our study today.1 Peter 3:1-7

Ever do an inventory of possessions with your roommates? “This is mine, and this is yours.” Do we ever inject this mindset into our life priorities? We’ll look at the process of “letting God” in this study.Judges 11:1-28

Do the images of a “God Follower” and “Rough and Tumble” align for you? In this study, we’ll look at just such an intersection in the form of Jephthah.Judges 11:1-28

Oh, good! A sermon about other people! Or is it? Let’s take a “no holds barred” look at sin as reflected in the book of Judges.Judges 10:1-18

If I had control over… fill in the blank, I would be able to get rid of… fill in another blank. We’ll continue our look at the aftermath of power as our study in the book of Judges continues.Judges 9:1-57

Do you wish for more power in your life? Our study in the book of Judges provides a number of warnings about what power can do.Judges 9:1-57