The will to survive is an instinct that is inherent in all of us. It motivates us, sharpens us, and ultimately rules us. Unfortunately, it can lie to us too. We make choices based on the assumption that those choices will help us survive or even thrive. But scripture tells us that there is more to life than just surviving. Not only that, it’s often when we make choices that seem to be contrary to our safety and well-being that we truly begin to live the lives God calls us to.
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David’s greatness was known throughout Israel and beyond. But what made David great? We run to his accomplishments and victories, but God defines greatness in other ways. The story of Mephibosheth gives us a great look at what it was that sat David apart. A broken, forgotten outsider that’s brought to the king’s table.
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Sometimes you walk into a problem before you know you’ve got one. Other times- you’re warned and yet you go anyway. Such was the choice the nation of Israel made when they asked for a king. What was behind their choice? Why didn’t they listen to some good advice from Samuel? The answers are very instructive for us in our own lives today.
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Why would an objectively successful and definitively powerful army commander want things in his life to change? He had everything the world says we need and should want, but Naaman needed something else. Naaman had a condition that he was desperate to change. Desperate. Not just wanting or hoping. Desperate. Because he knew he needed change- he was willing to do anything or even nothing to change.
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Day-by-day we are all writing our story. This is true of us and it’s true of Providence as well. As we have now become an independent church (no longer a campus), there are many questions that naturally arise. What’s next? What changes? What will our story be? The answers to those questions are crucial to the mission and vision of Providence. In this important talk, we look at what it will take for Providence to become what we envision.
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How will I be remembered? It’s a question we all ask ourselves as we live our lives and do the best we can. The truth is, even the best of our accomplishments will be forgotten in just a few short years. Timothy’s story helps us see that the only thing that will truly last is the legacy of treasuring Jesus we pass on to the next generation.
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Most of us spend our lives avoiding uncomfortable situations. Most of the time God does his most profound work through uncomfortable situations. So what do you do when God calls you someplace you’d rather not go? Ananias gives us a good picture of the person God calls and how to respond when he does.
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(We apologize, the first portion of this recording is missing) We all have a story to tell. Some of us think our story has been told- we’re just living out the foregone conclusion. Others feel like they’ve been written off. Scripture teaches us that God is never done writing our story. But the story that gets told isn’t always pretty. So what does your story say? What will be your legacy?
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Sometimes our place in this world can seem very small. In the face of such massive problems facing our country and in our own lives, we can seem very insignificant. How can we make an impact on something so much bigger than us and seemingly out of our control? The bible gives some pretty counter-intuitive advice. Wanna change something big? Start small. The power to change the world begins in your own local church.
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Forgiveness is one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith. It is also one of the most difficult things to put into practice. What does it look like to truly forgive others and do we really have to do it? Jesus shows us that it’s not an optional part of the life of a disciple.
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Love- it seems like a simple enough concept. But it all depends on the definition you use. The biblical picture of love is a lot more than simple affection and affirmation. In the end, love is helping one another become more like Christ. What we see in Matthew 18 is that God has a structure in place to help us in that pursuit- The Church.
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Sin is not to be taken lightly. Jesus makes it clear that we need to take sin with the utmost seriousness. He certainly does. Some of Jesus’s strongest words in all of scripture are in relation to sin and those that lead others into it. That’s scary for us sinners. But thankfully he doesn’t stop there—he also shows us a beautiful shepherd that seeks us out and saves us from ourselves.
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When Yoda attempts to train the prideful, impatient Luke Skywalker, Luke’s misconceptions about Yoda lead him to miss amazing things. Yoda warns him that you can’t judge things by their size. Jesus has similar instructions for his disciples. Can you heed the lesson of Jesus and let the small things become the things that teach us the most? Can you change your view of yourself and the things you feel you are owed? It’s the mark of maturity, humility, and a disciple.
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Peter’s confession marked him as a new man, but that was just a moment in time. What happens after that confession? How does it change us? For Peter, he still had a lot to learn. The road we walk when following Jesus is rarely comfortable and frequently far from what we’d expect. How do we trust Jesus’s plan when it’s so different from ours? Jesus lays out for the disciples, and for us, that every day is an excercise in faith.
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Who do you say I am? It’s the question we all have to answer. Just who is Jesus and what does it matter? Peter’s confession is a dramatic moment in Matthew’s gospel- a turning point. But the confession doesn’t just acknowledge who Jesus is- it marks Peter too. The confession forever changed Simon and marked him with a new name and a new responsibility.
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