Be Fruitful and Multiply
John the Baptist drops the hammer in Luke 3, calling people not only to repentance — but to live like it! And what he says echoes what God had said all the back in Genesis 1: “Be fruitful and multiply.” Discover how these four words lead to living in God’s …
Day One Celebration
There is power in focus. It’s why people make New Year’s resolutions — to FOCUS their energies on things that need attention. Today Pastor Tim shares three areas of focus for SM4 in 2023: Prayer, God’s Word (including our new 260 Journals), and the development and release of Leadership. Dive …
Hold Fast – Part 3
Hebrews 10:23 offers us a unique model of faith — five powerful ideas wrapped up in this single verse. Today we wrap up this three-part series and discuss the importance of getting our hope out into the world around us.
Hold Fast – Part 1
You only have to read just a bit of the Bible before you’ll recognize that FAITH is extremely important — to God and to our stories. This reality of God’s faithfulness is always the starting point for faith. Pastor Tim shares with us how once you come to know that …
Surprised by Jesus
Would it surprise you that Jesus will send you into the middle of trouble? But take courage – He will meet you there as well. That’s what we discover in the story of Jesus walking on the water. It’s where He joins His friends who were in deep trouble.
An Upgraded Faith: Knowledge
It’s in 2 Peter 1:5 that Peter tells us there are essential things to add to our faith. In fact, he goes on to say in 1:8 that if we don’t add to (or upgrade) our faith, we’ll end up with a faith that’s totally ineffective. One of the upgrades …
An Upgraded Faith: Perseverance
Yesterday’s good decisions were helpful — but they have little value today if we don’t persevere. If we give up now, all may be lost. Perseverance is more than patience. It always has three elements: waiting, pressure, and promise. Today we explore those three things to find how we can …
An Upgraded Faith: Self-Control
The Apostle Peter tells us one of the “essential upgrades” to our faith is self-control. And we’re not talking about human willpower on steroids. This kind of self-control is part of a spiritual (and even supernatural) lifestyle, empowered by God himself. It’s where our decisions come into agreement with our …
An Upgrade Faith: Serving
Did you know you can build confidence in your faith? The Bible tells us we can do this by serving well. The reverse is also true: people who never serve run the risk of being filled with doubt. Today we explore what serving well looks like (and what it doesn’t …
An Upgraded Faith: Love
If faith is the operating system of Christian belief, and God’s promises are the code, then love is absolutely the language in which it’s written. Love is central to how our faith in Jesus is to be lived out. Without it, no matter how smart or spiritually powerful we are, …