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What Makes You Happy: Part 1 - NothingWhat makes you happy? Something comes to mind, right? Something comes to mind for all of us. We all daydream about a trouble-free life made possible by some thing: a job, a house, a car, a spouse, a child, a family, or a pile of money. But what if what makes you happy isn’t a what at all. What if it’s a who?  No “thing” can make you happy. The path to happiness begins with “who”.

This is Us: Part 6 - MultiplierJohn 15:8, Acts 1:4-8, Matthew 28:18-20 When you hear the phrase "The Great Commission," what is your initial reaction? The tendency is to relegate the carrying out of this command to those who are "called," or perhaps to those of a certain personality type. But if we follow Christ, the command to make disciples applies to us all—to the introvert as well as to the extrovert; to the lawyer and the barista as well as to the pastor and the career missionary. Every follower of Jesus is called to live with gospel intentionality in a way that results in true multiplication.  Who is following Christ by imitating me?

This Is Us: Part 5 - Giver Luke 16:1-14  A legacy is inherently something that reaches far beyond us, making an impact long after we're gone. So how do we approach the stewardship of our money in a way that leaves a lasting legacy? One of Jesus' parables actually shows us how leveraging our resources for eternity truly is the wisest course of action. If we believe that everything ultimately belongs to God, that radically changes how we handle everything we’ve been entrusted.  What am I doing with what God h as given me?

This Is Us: Part 4 - Listener Galatians 5:16-6:5  There’s a connection between one of the most mysterious doctrines of the church and one of the most mundane. The mysterious one? The Holy Spirit. The mundane one? How we love one another. When we follow the lead of the Spirit, the same power that resurrected Jesus could begin to flow into every dimension of our lives. It all begins with how we walk.  What is the Spirit saying?

This is Us - Part 3 - AbiderWhether you make resolutions or not, you probably have areas of your life you’d like to change. But the path to change, as we all know, isn't an easy one. It can be difficult to break old habits, make new ones, and incorporate fresh rhythms into our lives. In John 15, Jesus makes it clear that our growth as disciples isn’t a matter of willing new routines and habits into existence. Rather, true growth is a natural byproduct of abiding in Jesus as he abides in us. It is this true connection to Jesus that will produce fruit that lasts into eternity.

This Is Us: Part 2 - Belonger We all want to be known for something. Maybe it’s something we’ve created or built, maybe it’s how we look or what we own, and sometimes it’s being known for how our kids turn out. There’s nothing inherently wrong about that but Jesus puts more emphasis on being known by someone. There is a cost to faking it and a risk of being known, the choice is ours.   Who knows the real me?

This Is Us: Part 1 - On Mission, On MessageMatthew 16:15-18, 1 Cor. 6:19-20Seth Godin says, “Human nature is in need of a map. If you’re brave enough to draw one, people will follow.” When churches don’t have a map, tragic things can happen. For the next six weeks we’re going to talk about or map and why we exist. It’s all about who we are, where we’re going, and how you can join in on the adventure.  A local church that's on mission is the undeniable fulfillment of one of the greatest prophecies ever spoken.

Invitation of a Lifetime The Church is God’s agent of transformation for the world, and it’s also your opportunity to take part in that transformation. If you’re grateful for your local church but not engaged, do we have some great news for you.

The Lord’s Prayer: Our AmenWe conclude our series on the Lord's Prayer with a morning of worship.

The Lord’s Prayer: Part 6 -  Deliver Us  Jesus instructs his disciples to pray about their temptations before they happen. It seems he assumed they wouldn’t be able to muster up the energy to fight temptation in the moment, on their own. Even though it’s the last part of the prayer, we would be wise to pay attention. We face temptations regularly—to say, do, or think things contrary to God, his Word and his good plan for us. So, like the disciples, we ought to listen to the advice of Jesus and pray for guidance and deliverance—not just in the moment of temptation—but long before.

The Lord’s Prayer: Part 5 - Forgiven and Forgiving It’s hard to admit we need forgiveness. We often don’t live up to our own standards—let alone God’s. Which is why the New Testament authors remind us over and over again about our need for forgiveness. But it doesn’t stop there; when we realize God forgives us, and what it cost him to do that, we should aspire to forgive. Jesus knew this wouldn’t be easy for us and reminds us to pray about it by linking our own forgiven-ness to forgiving others.

The Lord’s Prayer: Part 4 - Daily Bread Jesus’ prayer shows us we can bring our daily needs to God. These daily needs are much more than just asking for food, God wants us to bring our spiritual needs to him as well. The words aren’t magic to get God to do what we want, and it’s also not a prayer to mindlessly recite. Jesus’ prayer shows us how to approach our loving Heavenly Father, who has promised to meet all our needs.

The Lord's Prayer: Part 3 - Your Kingdom ComeJesus prays for God’s kingdom to come to earth and provides a preview of what that kingdom is like as God-in-the-flesh. As citizens of that kingdom, he also shows us how we bring it to earth here and now while awaiting a future day of complete restoration. As we join that petition, in words and actions, we find our prayers and desires shift to match God’s kingdom and will.

The Lord's Prayer: Part 2 - Our FatherIn his prayer, Jesus presents two truths about God; he is God Almighty, sovereign, all-powerful, blameless, pure, righteous and Creator. And by calling him Father, Jesus declares he is a loving, caring, understanding, always present, merciful, forgiving provider. While none of us have a perfect earthly father, Jesus’s prayer show us we can come to Almighty God as our good and perfect father.We are allowed to approach God Almighty as our loving dad.

The Lord's Prayer Part 1: Teach Us To Pray Jesus’s disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. They were well acquainted with prayer because they were raised praying in their Jewish households. They’d probably been praying daily for the majority of their lives and still sensed something was different about the way Jesus prayed. So, they didn’t just want to learn more about praying, they wanted to learn to pray as Jesus prayed. With all their knowledge and practice, they still asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Even if you’ve been praying your entire life, there’s more for you to learn about it.