Collecting rocks can be a fun hobby. The problem with a rock collection is that those rocks will always just be, well, rocks. They might be pretty and unique, but they’re still rocks. The Bible tells us that we, as Christians, are kind of like rocks (“living stones”), but we were never meant to exist as individual rocks. We were meant to be more like bricks, because bricks can become something more than just bricks. They can become a house. If you want to grow as a disciple, that’s a good place to start- viewing yourself more like brick than a precious jewel.
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As culture continues to shift and turn against the Christian faith, being a disciple will consist of widespread challenges not experienced by many of us. According to Peter though, it isn’t the challenges from outside of us that we need to be most concerned with- it’s the ones that come from ourselves. We must be vigilant of our own sinful desires before we consider the sins of others. Even more to the point, we must recognize that the challenges we face aren’t just setbacks, but instead they are tremendous opportunities.
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Family is, for most, the most precious thing we have. We don’t hesitate to sacrifice and move mountains for our families. Yet when we see what Jesus had to say about family, it can be hard to understand. How can you be a disciple of Jesus when he tells us to hate our families? How could he even say that all? The lesson Jesus is teaching us about family frees us to pursue Him and allows our families to thrive in their proper place.
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A GPS map can be a valuable tool on any journey. All you need to know is where you are and where you’re going, and it can take care of getting you the most efficient and most effective path to get there. As we begin our series “You Are Here” we take a look at our starting point and where we want to go, but we acknowledge that where the Spirit is leading us is rarely efficient.
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Pastor Tony is back and wrapping up our “If I Could Tell You One Thing” sermon series. What would you say if you only had one chance, if your life could only be remembered for one thing, if your kids could only take one lesson from your life, what would it be? Pastor Tony shares why his “one thing” is the truth that we desperately need Jesus, but when we have him- he is ALL we need.
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Do you fear man more than you fear God? It’s a hard question to answer. While anxiety and stress are multi-billion dollar industries that dominate the world of marketing and only attempt to fix the symptoms, the Bible teaches that when following Jesus there is another way. Providence elder Tony Runyan’s story is closely linked to the anxiousness of people pleasing. How God changed his life and can change yours is the topic of part six of IF I COULD TELL YOU ONE THING.
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How do we view God when bad things happen? How do we cope when things don’t go the way we want? How do we relate to the brokenness of the world around us? Providence elder David Crowe has seen his share of pain and firmly believes it was God who helped him through it all. He graciously and carefully explains how God’s Word speaks to the hurt we feel in this, part five of IF I COULD TELL YOU ONE THING.
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“I never knew you; depart from me.”
There may not be a more scary verse in the whole Bible. It seems many will stand before God and be shocked it was not Jesus they were trusting, but rather themselves. We often struggle with the when and the where we are saved, but we’re not meant to dwell on such things. Rather, we should ask ourselves – what do I believe? God’s Word teaches that a true faith, saving faith, is more than just head knowledge, more than just a decision, more than a feeling or a memory. Providence elder Bobby Lemons shares how God’s kindness led him to see this and more in part 4 of our summer series, IF I COULD TELL YOU ONE THING.
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What is the most important commandment God gave us? Jesus didn’t hesitate to give His answer. But why do we so often struggle to love both God and people? How we answer that question is more than a little important. Providence elder Jonathan Mixon shares his story in part 3 of If I COULD TELL YOU ONE THING and explains his passion for the local church and how God led him to see why these two commandments are undeniably connected.
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Faith is a very personal thing. Each of us must hear and believe the good news. But we are often quick to discount the role our faith plays in the lives of those around us. The paralyzed man being lowered through the roof to be healed by Jesus is one of the most well known stories in the gospels, but like all miracles there’s more to it than meets the eye. In part 2 of IF I COULD TELL YOU ONE THING, worship leader and student minister Chris Hodge shows us the connection between the paralyzed man’s ultimate healing and the faith of his friends.
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Have you ever been to the mountaintop? The apostle Paul had. And yet he was a man well versed in loss and pain. How can he say that in the midst of so many hardships that we are “more than conquerors” through Jesus? In this, the first in our summer series IF I COULD TELL YOU ONE THING, Providence elder Ben Willings unpacks how God brought him low to show him just how high we have been raised by Jesus Christ.
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In God’s economy, even the most insignificant act of service can advance the battle for the kingdom of God. That’s because we aren’t fighting the battle alone. Serving others is, at least in part, how the kingdom advances. When we try to do it alone, we- like Moses- will falter, but with the support of others, we can accomplish things that would otherwise never be possible.
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They’ve just experienced a miracle on a scale we can’t comprehend. Their joy and jubilation are tangible. They are high on emotion and confidence. So now what? Where do you go from there? For Israel, the question of “What’s next?” didn’t come with the answers they wanted. So what did they do? Grumble and complain. What does that say about them? What does that teach us about us?
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A “man of war”; that’s the title that Moses gives to God as he composes a song of praise. To some, that title is something to be celebrated, but to many modern ears that seems like a harsh description that doesn’t fit a modern, refined God. Is God truly a “man of war,” or have we moved past this kind of description to a more refined, kinder God that fits our modern senses? As we study this passage, we realize that God has not and does not change, but that the war he’s waging today may be very different than the one his followers are fighting.
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The two biggest events in scripture are remarkably similar. The Exodus in the Old Testament and the Resurrection in the New Testament are meant to show us two very similar pictures. Both teach us about a salvation that is complete and final, and a God that is big enough to secure that salvation for Israel and for us.
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