Maury Hills Church

At the Movies week 4

Through the story of Les Misérables, we explore the contrast between grace and law through the lives of Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert. One allows grace to transform his identity and begin a new story, while the other cannot accept it. God’s grace has the power not only to save us, but to free us from our past and completely change our future.

This week's At the Movies takes on Wicked, the story of Glinda and Elphaba and how a friendship gets tested when one of them decides truth matters more than popularity. It's the same choice believers in Thessalonica faced in Acts 17, and the same one we face today: do we accept what we're told, or do we test it for ourselves like the Bereans did? We're unpacking Paul's charge in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 to "test everything, hold fast to what is good," and what spiritual discernment actually looks like in practice. Because what we don't know can hurt us, and it's never too late to see the truth.

It's Family Worship Sunday at Maury Hills as Russ is joined by special guest Luke Chapman, a third grader from Maury Hills, for a unique message in our At the Movies series. Using The Lion King as a backdrop, they explore the difference between fear and identity, discovering that our greatest confidence comes from remembering who we are in Christ. Through scenes from the movie and passages from Scripture, this message reminds us not to be consumed by worry, to embrace our identity as children of God, and to face life's fears with the confidence that comes from walking with the King.

For generations, Christians have debated the rapture, the tribulation, and the millennial kingdom. But what does the book of Revelation actually say? In the final message of our Revelation series, we'll separate popular ideas from biblical teaching, explore the three major views of Revelation 20, and discover why this book wasn't written to fill us with fear about the future, but with hope and faithfulness in the present.(Revelation 20-22)

Revelation 4–19 contains some of the most mysterious and debated imagery in all of Scripture, but its central message is clearer than many people realize. In this message, we explore the four major approaches Christians have used to interpret Revelation—the Futurist, Preterist, Historicist, and Idealist views—and discover that faithful believers have disagreed on these chapters for centuries. Rather than focusing on predicting dates or decoding every symbol, we examine what all Christians can affirm: God is on the throne, the Lamb is victorious, judgment is coming, and followers of Jesus are called to remain faithful no matter the cost. Whether you see Revelation as future prophecy, first-century history, timeless spiritual truth, or some combination of the three, the book ultimately points us to the same hope—God reigns, Jesus wins, evil loses, and the church must endure in faith until the end. (Rev 4:1-19:21)

(Revelation 2:1-3-22)

Revelation is often considered the Bible’s most confusing, debated, and misunderstood book. In this opening message of our series, It’s Revelation, Not Revelations, we step back from charts, timelines, and end-times speculation to explore the book’s original purpose and historical context. Who wrote Revelation? Who was it written to? What was happening in the Roman Empire that prompted John to write this message of hope and encouragement? By understanding the world of the first-century church, we begin to see that Revelation is not primarily about predicting modern events but about calling followers of Jesus to remain faithful in the face of pressure, persecution, and competing allegiances. The central message of Revelation is as relevant today as it was then: Jesus is Lord, evil will not have the final word, and in the end Christ will prevail.

In this message from Romans 14, Russ explores one of the most important principles for maintaining unity in a diverse church: “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, love.” Paul addresses disagreements among early Christians over issues like food and special days, reminding believers not to judge or despise one another over disputable matters. Drawing connections to modern debates within the church, this sermon challenges us to distinguish between essential truths of the gospel and secondary issues where faithful Christians may disagree. The call is simple but challenging: keep Christ at the center, extend grace to one another, and refuse to let opinions become points of division.

In her sermon From Groanings to Glory, Lydia Brooks draws from Romans 8:18-28 to challenge the tendency many believers have to skip straight to the comfort of verse 28 without sitting in the weight of the verses that precede it. Using a mirror-versus-microscope approach to Scripture, she walks through three movements in the passage: first, that we are bound to our human nature and our pride will be challenged by the call to obedience; second, that God provides warning signs and a map so we are never left without direction in our suffering; and third, that difficulty produces endurance, endurance produces wisdom, and wisdom ultimately produces glory. She unpacks the key phrase "according to His purpose," reframing love for God not as a feeling but as trust, surrender, faith, and obedience. Her closing charge is clear: the groanings of this life are not obstacles to salvation but instruments of it, and our responsibility in the middle of those groanings is obedience, prayer, and attentiveness to where God is working.

This week we wrapped up our “Big Picture” series by turning to the final two chapters of the Bible — Revelation 21–22. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells one unified story: creation, fall, rescue, redemption, and restoration. Pastor Russ explores how the Bible ends where it began — with God dwelling among His people in a renewed creation. Along the way, we look at the connection between Eden and the New Heavens and New Earth, the symbolism of Revelation, and the hope Christians have in the resurrection and restoration of all things through Jesus. This message reminds us that the story of Scripture is not ultimately about fear or speculation, but about hope: in the end, God wins.

In week five of "The Big Picture", Ebony traces the birth of the church through Acts 2. The early church was marked by devotion to scripture, shared meals, communal prayer, and generosity, a model the pastor admits she deeply longs for while also acknowledging the tension modern believers feel between that first-century ideal and today's consumer-driven church culture. Drawing on the example of her own painful experience with church leadership, she is honest that no single model of church is one-size-fits-all, while testifying that her healing and renewed faith in the local church came through her community at Maury Hills. The sermon closes with a challenge rooted in Micah 6:8 and Francis Chan's pointed contrast between what congregations expect from church and what God actually commands of it, calling believers away from comfort-centered faith toward sacrificial, Spirit-led community, with a charge that lingers long after the benediction: don't just come to church; be the church.

This message continues our series The Big Picture by focusing on Act Four—The Chosen One (Jesus)—where everything in Scripture finds its fulfillment. After tracing the story from the Garden to the Fall to the Chosen People of Israel, we see how the promise was never about elevating one nation but about pointing to one person—Jesus. Looking at the opening of the Gospels and key moments in Luke, we explore how Jesus fulfills the promises made to Abraham, David, and ultimately to all people. Like a story rooted in a greater story, the life of Jesus only comes fully into view when we connect it to what came before. From his first sermon in Nazareth to the road to Emmaus, Jesus reveals that all of Scripture has been leading to him.

In Week 3 of The Big Picture, we step into “The Chosen People” and trace the unfolding story of God’s rescue mission through Abraham and the nation of Israel. Beginning in Genesis 12, we see God make a promise to bless all nations through one family, but what follows is a story filled with faith and failure, hope and dysfunction. From Abraham to Moses to the giving of the Law, God reveals His heart and calls His people to live differently, yet Israel continually falls short. Even in their rebellion, exile, and brokenness, God remains faithful, raising up prophets who both confront sin and point forward to a coming rescue. This message shows how the entire Old Testament builds tension and expectation, setting the stage for Jesus, the One through whom God ultimately fulfills His promise to bless, redeem, and restore the world.