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It’s pretty human to do things in an effort to get other people to like you, approve of you, or to become well known. Jesus challenges us to instead seek God’s approval. When we chase the approval of people, we end up in an impossible rat race, but when we chase the approval of God, we can find rest and peace. Fame and approval are really the same root idol wearing two outfits—fame is approval at scale, approval is fame within your small circle. Both are about deriving identity from what others think rather than from God. Passages: Matthew 6:24, Matthew 6:1-6, Galatians 1:10 Speaker: David Wyman

Our culture is obsessed with comfort, with removing any and all challenge and pain. While that isn’t a terrible goal, when we make it the ultimate goal, we find an empty life - because this life is not meant to be a final destination, but preparation. When we are chasing comfort, we are really trying to control our lives to the point of removing the need for God. Passages: Matt. 6.24, Matt. 6.25-34, 2 Cor. 1.3-4 Speaker: Josh Jones

We all want “the good life,” and we chase it through things like more money, a better relationship, and being liked. All of us are chasing something. The question is - do we know what we are chasing and why?  If you’re always hungry for the next big thing, but frustrated because it never seems to satisfy, you might be Chasing Carrots. It’s time to hop off the treadmill and chase after something real. This four-week series is about the things we chase that do not satisfy - things like money and stuff, fame and approval, comfort and control, and success and achievement - and how we can find true satisfaction in our relationship with Jesus. The world will tell you that chasing treasures on earth is the pursuit of the good life. Jesus says the good life is found in chasing more treasures in heaven. We are often tempted to think we can do both, but Jesus says we cannot serve two masters. Passage: Matt. 6.19-24, Romans 6.16-18 Speaker:

What I most love about God is the character trait that I least desire in my own life. He loves His enemies. I like loving my friends, but loving those who love me isn’t virtuous, it’s just smart because it benefits me. Jesus didn’t die just to make stupid people smart, He died to make bad people good. That takes extraordinary love of our enemies. Luke 6:2-27 explains not only what extraordinary love looks like, but why it is worth it. Passage: Luke 6:27-36 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

How do you live your best life now? How can we have a successful life? Jesus tells us in Luke 6 that the keys to success are poverty, hunger, weeping, and being cursed, mocked and hated. What is that all about? Did Jesus wake up on the wrong side of bed that day? Many of the things Jesus says seem to turn the world upside down. But Jesus isn’t wrong. We must kill the concept of normal success if we truly want an extraordinary life. Passage: Luke 6:20-26 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

Ordinary religion operates like a club: Following the rules is what gets you in and keeps you in. Jesus’ relationship with the rules kills the ordinary religious scorecard. Instead of a club, God created a family. Keeping the rules didn’t get you into your family, nor does it kick you out. Instead, God’s commands point us toward something even more important than conforming to the rules – loving God and others.  Passage: Luke 6:1-11 Speaker: David Wyman

Children dream of slaying dragons or befriending them. But somewhere in the journey to adulthood, we scale back our visions for greatness and settle for an ordinary life... and then, boring mediocrity. But the Creator of this Universe didn’t make you to be ordinary. Jesus didn’t die on the cross in the hope that you would someday reach the heights of ordinary-ness. Let’s let our 2-dimentional dream of normal die and follow Jesus to the extraordinary life He calls us to. An ordinary church and life is about me, “my people” and my successful commandment-keeping. It is a museum for like-minded saints. Jesus condemns this ordinary church and life in the strongest of language. Instead, he challenges us to be an extraordinary that pursues the despised and loves Jesus more than our way or our rules. Jesus wants a messy-hospital-church for the hurting and hungry and not a beautiful-casket-church concealing the spiritually self-centered and dead. Passage: Luke 5:27-32/39 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

At the end of Esther 7 everything seems fixed, but there are three chapters left! A new law had to be written, preparations made and then the Jews had to unite and fight for their survival. God’s deliverance still required obedience. But even after that, it wasn’t over. The last phase of God’s victory is setting up a system to remember it. When will you habitually celebrate God’s victories in your life? Joy truly is the serious business of heaven. Passage: Esther 8-10 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

It is the plot of endless stories, because we never tire of it. The situation is dark. All hope is lost... but then out of some impossible scenario, the hero shows up and wins the day. The tables are turned. That is the story of Esther 6-7. But how did it happen? Eventually, God always wins. But Esther shows us several tips of how to make sure we are on the Lord’s side.  Passage: Esther 6-7 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

In our modern age of fear and anxiety we desperately need to have the courage of Esther. How was she able to confront the two most powerful men in the largest empire on earth – alone!? Esther 4-5 reveals four secrets to great courage that will embolden you to overcome the fears in your life today. Passage: Esther 4-5 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

What do you do when it seems like God doesn’t show up and evil is winning? Don’t mistake God’s silence for His absence. Like Esther we must trust and obey God even when everything seems hopeless. Evil often takes the lead, but God’s side succeeds. Passage: Esther 2:19–3:15 Speaker: David Wyman

God’s name is never mentioned in Esther, but His fingerprints are all over every unexpected twist and turn. Join us as we discover how God works to bring about an amazing story of courage, justice, purpose and hope through quiet coincidences, not obvious miracles. Esther’s story reflects our own: we may not always see God’s hand, but we can trust His heart. Often, God’s plan to transform the world is not through spectacular displays of power, but by invisibly working behind the scenes and using ordinary people like Esther and Mordecai. Like them, we need to personally love those God has put in front of us. Like an artist who can make beauty from discarded things, God’s plan is to use us. That doesn’t seem like a great plan, but it is! Let Him use you in His story of salvation and hope. Passage: Esther 1:1-2:18 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

They say the hardest part of a journey is the first step, and that may be true. But the next hardest part is the next step. The first step onto the water for Peter must have been terrifying, but it’s when he notices the wind that he begins to sink. Peter’s first step of faith was strong, but we need to trust Jesus through every step of our journey. After catching Peter’s fall, Jesus says to him, “You have so little faith. Why did you doubt me?”. It’s not a question of the amount of our faith - it’s the object of our faith that matters. What has your focus - the storms or the God of the storms? Passage: Matthew 14:30-33 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

Instead of merely being content to wait for Jesus to come to him, Peter asked Jesus to give him the power to walk on water toward Jesus. Peter didn’t know how it would turn out, but he trusted that Jesus could do what seemed impossible. He didn’t wait for an explanation - Peter asked for an invitation: “Tell me to come to you.”. Too often, when we say “tell me,” it’s “tell me all the information,” or “tell me what happens next,” but Jesus invites us to trust Him even when we don’t know what’s next. Where in your life do you need to stop merely waiting for Jesus to show up and take steps of faith towards Him? Passage: Matthew 14:28-29 Speaker: Kevin Stiles

When Jesus came walking to them on the water, the disciples recognized Him. Whether it was what He said, the sound of His voice, or His presence alone, they knew immediately that they could trust this man walking on water to them. Yet we have so many voices, thoughts, and ideas swirling in our minds all the time. How do we listen to His voice when the world around us seems like it’s crashing in? How do we recognize Jesus in the storms of life? The disciples knew it was Jesus because they knew His voice, they could see Him, and they had spent time with Him, and we can know Jesus’ voice by doing the same things today. Passage: Matthew 14:25-27 Speaker: Kevin Stiles