Making Sense of Faith
If you could sum up the Christian life to one phrase, it would be "by faith". We are called to live by faith and not by our feelings or fears. There is more to this life than what we can know with our five physical senses and faith is that bridge between our natural realm and the supernatural realm of God. In this message, Pastor Chris examines principles from Hebrews 11:1 - 3 and 6 that show us how we can develop and increase our faith so that we can face every doubt and fear.
WatchNotesDownloadDateTitle
- Oct 23, 2022Making Sense of Faith
Making Sense of FaithIf you could sum up the Christian life to one phrase, it would be "by faith". We are called to live by faith and not by our feelings or fears. There is more to this life than what we can know with our five physical senses and faith is that bridge between our natural realm and the supernatural realm of God. In this message, Pastor Chris examines principles from Hebrews 11:1 - 3 and 6 that show us how we can develop and increase our faith so that we can face every doubt and fear.
- Oct 16, 2022Journey Through the Tabernacle
Journey Through the TabernacleIn this message, we hear from special guest Wade Urban of Restoration Ministries. He walks us through a journey of Moses' tabernacle, constructed during the Israelites journey in the wilderness. As he walks through it, he highlights the symbolism that God incorporated, which points to Jesus and all He accomplished through His death, burial and resurrection. And also, Wade emphasizes what that means for us as coheirs with Christ and how His finished work should impact how we see ourselves and how we live as Christ's ambassadors.
- Oct 9, 2022Three Things Every Believer Ought to Know
Three Things Every Believer Ought to KnowContrary to the old adage, ignorance is not bliss. In fact, God, through His prophet, tells us in Hosea 4:6 that His people perish for a lack of knowledge. Along with this knowledge, though, we must also have an encounter with Jesus that brings an assurance and confidence that will carry us through every mountain and valley of life. In this message, Pastor Chris highlights Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15 - 23, and points out three things that every believer needs to know to remain steadfast in our walk with Jesus.
- Oct 2, 2022Triumphing Over Temptation the Jesus Way
Triumphing Over Temptation the Jesus WayHow well do we fair when we encounter temptation? Satan tempted even Jesus in an effort to defeat Him before He could fulfill His calling. This is the bottom line of all temptation--to keep us from fulfilling all that God has for us to do. We see in the account of one of Jesus' temptations that He was able to overcome even at His weakest, most vulnerable state, to show us that we also can overcome. From that account in Luke 4:1 - 13, Pastor Chris points out five aspects of temptation and shows how, following Christ's example, we can overcome also.
- Sep 25, 2022Getting Past Your Giants
Getting Past Your GiantsAs the Israelites approached the Promised Land, twelve spies were sent in to survey it. All twelve saw the same things on their mission, but two of the twelve came back with a radically different conclusion, based on their faith in God. In this message, Pastor Chris looks at this account in Numbers 13:30 - 14:4 of the spies expedition. He breaks down the different conclusions of those spies and how we can live our lives with the Caleb and Joshua attitude, the attitude of faith in God. Having great faith does not mean that life will be a cake-walk, but it does mean that as we walk with God, we will be overcomers. Pastor Chris lays out five points on how to practically apply slaying the "giants" in our life. But first, we hear from Jonathan and Alisa Lade, Chi Alpha missionaries to Ivy Tech. You can find out more about them here.
- Sep 11, 2022The Three Faces of Discipleship
The Three Faces of DiscipleshipWhat exactly does it mean to be a "Christian"? In our increasingly humanistic culture, believers have had to add qualifiers to the phrase "I am a Christian", muddying the waters of all that entails. We need to come back to the basics of being a follower of Jesus--being a disciple. In this message, Pastor Chris does just that; he points out the three facets of being a true disciple based on Jesus' own words in Mark 12:28 - 31.
- Sep 4, 2022The Hillary Step
The Hillary Step“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” –Sir Edmund Hillary. The greatest obstacle we will overcome in our spiritual walk is ourselves. As Paul admonishes us in 1 Corinthians 9:24 - 27, we must be mindful of our conduct and behavior so as not to lose the race. Pastor Chris highlights this passage to encourage us to maintain a circumspective attitude in our own lives so that we may obtain that great and glorious imperishable crown and hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
- Aug 28, 2022Kicking the Worry Habit
Kicking the Worry HabitWorry is constantly going between doubt and faith. Worry is being consumed with stuff that is of less importance than the eternal. Worry will choke, strangle and neutralize our faith if we do not break the habit. In this message, Pastor Chris gives three steps to breaking the worry habit, based on a portion of Jesus' sermon on the mount, found in Matthew 6:19 - 34. He encourages us to learn to cast ALL our care upon Jesus because He cares for us. In doing this, we will live truly free, unburdened lives for the glory and honor of Christ.
- Aug 14, 2022Rise & Be Healed
Rise & Be HealedWe serve a God of healing. In fact, one of His covenant Names with the Israelites, found in Exodus, is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord Who Heals. Throughout the Old and New Testament, we can find powerful promises of God's healing work in the lives of His people. In this continuation of "Breakthrough" messages, Pastor Chris looks at breakthrough in our health and body, referencing Jesus' encounter with the paralytic in Matthew 9:1 - 8. Pastor Chris lays out three points from this passage that highlight how we experience healing in our lives.
- Aug 7, 2022The Basics of Breakthrough
The Basics of BreakthroughThere are times in our lives when we experience unbelievable victory and breakthrough. But there are also times when we must work through and persevere to the next breakthrough. We must work through the process God has for us to see that next breakthrough and we must understand that as we begin to step into what God has for us, the enemy will raise up a level of resistance. How do we handle that resistance? In this message, Pastor Chris highlights strategies from 2 Samuel 5:17 - 25, from the life of King David, that we can employ to be victorious and experience our breakthroughs.
- Jul 31, 2022Identity – Who You Are In Christ
Identity – Who You Are In ChristIn this message, we hear from guest ministers Wade and Connie Urban of Restoration Ministries. Teaching from Mark 10:46 - 52, Wade looks at the encounter Bartimaeus had with Jesus. Bartimaeus knew the covenant promises but they were not operating in his life and he lost hope, until he began hearing about Jesus. Just as Bartimaeus' eyes were opened, ours need to be opened to what we have in the here and now, through Jesus Christ. We do not have to wait for the "sweet by and by" to walk in all that Jesus accomplished for us through the cross and His resurrection.
- Jul 24, 2022Sowing and Reaping
Sowing and ReapingWhen God created the universe, He established laws by which to govern it. These laws are fixed, absolute and predictable. In this message, Pastor Chris looks at one of the most important of those laws in Galatians 6:7 - 9--the law of sowing and reaping. From these verses, he highlights five basic principles of the law of sowing and reaping.
- Jul 17, 2022When Christ Returns
When Christ ReturnsThe New Testament contains more than 300 prophecies regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ. That means 1 out of every 25 verses reassures us of His return. In those prophecies, much is shrouded in mystery and sealed up for the very end. But there is one clear fact: Jesus IS going to return visibly, literally and victoriously! In this timely message, Pastor Chris encourages us from 1 Thessalonians 4:14 - 5:11 regarding the rapture of the Church. Whether or not we agree on the timeline of events, we can agree on the surety of Christ's return and we need to recapture the understanding, as the early Church had, that Jesus could return at any moment and we need to be ready and hold on to this "blessed hope".
- Jul 10, 2022The Spirit is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak
The Spirit is Willing, But the Flesh is WeakOur biggest struggle in this life is not with outward forces, but with the person in the mirror. Jesus knew the full force of that inward battle between flesh and Spirit and He admonished His disciples to victory while He was in the midst of the battle Himself, in the garden of Gethsemane. In this message, Pastor Chris lays out those four points from Jesus found in Matthew 26:36 - 41. It is critical, in these current times, that we learn how to "stay awake and keep watch".
- Jul 3, 2022A Formula for Faith & Freedom
A Formula for Faith & Freedom"If we are not governed by God, we will inevitably be ruled by tyrants." -William PennIn spite of those who would like to redact American history, it is a holy history. Though not without imperfections, God's fingerprint can be seen throughout her history. Yet, we must remember, that a nation's only hope for blessing is to have God as its Lord (Psalm 33:12). In this message, Pastor Chris breaks down Psalm 2 and lays out a formula for maintaining faith and freedom, not only corporately, but individually. He reminds us that is it God's purpose that will ultimately prevail over man's purposes.
- Jun 26, 2022Homes Under Attack
Homes Under Attack"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." -Thomas Jefferson We are engaged in a great spiritual fight in our homes and families. To combat this, we must steadfastly stand to maintain the Biblical standard of ethics that the enemy is systematically destroying. We have to stand against his agenda and determine to protect our families. In this message, Pastor Chris enumerates three points from Ephesians 6:10 - 18 that lay out our strategies for standing. He emphasizes the critical need for us to hold the line, for the sake of our loved ones souls.
- Jun 19, 2022Get Out of the Gray
Get Out of the GrayGod tells us what is coming, not so we will worry and fret about the future, but so we will put our trust in Him and not lose our peace as we see things come to pass. We see one such alert in 2 Timothy 3:1 - 5. As Pastor Anthony points out, the Church needs to not assume this is talking about the world. We need to examine ourselves to see if we have made areas gray that God has made black and white. We need to come back to God's Word. Period.
- Jun 12, 2022The Spirit Makes the Difference
The Spirit Makes the DifferenceThere is no way to talk about the successful Christian life without also referencing the Person and work of Holy Spirit. Our spiritual growth and maturity are directly proportional to our submission to Holy Spirit's work in our life. In this continuation of Pentecost Sunday's message, Pastor Chris elaborates on the work and ministry of Holy Spirit and gleans from Acts 2:38 & 39 that the gift of Holy Spirit is intended for every believer and is our source of power.
- Jun 5, 2022Welcome Holy Spirit
Welcome Holy SpiritIn the Genesis creation, we see God the Father (God for us). In the incarnation, we see God the Son (God with us). And in the infilling, we see God the Spirit (God in us.)--the Godhead, three-in-one. In this Pentecost Sunday message, Pastor Chris highlights three aspects of God the Spirit's ministry that Jesus stresses to us from John 16:7 - 14. Pastor Chris encourages us that we are to be containers, moreover conduits, of God, through Holy Spirit.
- May 29, 2022His Blood Still Speaks
His Blood Still SpeaksMemorial Day is the day on our calendar set aside to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. As we celebrate, we must remember the ultimate One Who gave His ultimate life for the ultimate price for our ultimate freedom. In this message, Pastor Chris reminds us of why it was necessary for Jesus to shed His blood and, from Hebrews 12:18 - 24, gives us three points of His blood's efficacy.
