Apr 27, 2025
Growing in Godly Character – How Good is Good Enough?
Series: Galatians
Goodness as a part of the Fruit of the Spirt, is not a matter of how good we have to be to get into heaven.  It is about the goodness of Christ showing through our lives and impacting the lives of others.  It is God calling and equipping us to demonstrate His goodness to others.
 
As we seek better understanding of this aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit, I thought it might be helpful for us to ask & answer 3 questions about goodness together this morning: 1) What is Goodness According to God? 2) Can I Really Show God’s Goodness to Others? 3) How Can I Grow in Goodness?
 
God wants His goodness to grow in you as you share it with those around you.
 
 
Galatians 5:22
Apr. 27, 2025
 
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  • Apr 27, 2025Growing in Godly Character – How Good is Good Enough?
    Apr 27, 2025
    Growing in Godly Character – How Good is Good Enough?
    Series: Galatians
    Goodness as a part of the Fruit of the Spirt, is not a matter of how good we have to be to get into heaven.  It is about the goodness of Christ showing through our lives and impacting the lives of others.  It is God calling and equipping us to demonstrate His goodness to others.
     
    As we seek better understanding of this aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit, I thought it might be helpful for us to ask & answer 3 questions about goodness together this morning: 1) What is Goodness According to God? 2) Can I Really Show God’s Goodness to Others? 3) How Can I Grow in Goodness?
     
    God wants His goodness to grow in you as you share it with those around you.
     
     
    Galatians 5:22
    Apr. 27, 2025
     
    To watch the video of this message, click here.
  • Apr 20, 2025Viewing Life Through the Empty Tomb
    Apr 20, 2025
    Viewing Life Through the Empty Tomb
    Series: Easter
    If someone asked you to prove that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, could you do it?  Jesus’ resurrection must be true, because if it’s not, then the whole Christian faith collapses.  Thankfully, Scripture gives us plenty of evidence that Jesus was truly raised from the dead.  But, there are a couple of critical questions we need to ask ourselves: First, do we believe it's true?  And second, am I living like it's true?
     
    Our study takes us to Matthew 28:1-15 where he provides ample 1) Evidence for Christ's Resurrection.  After a detailed look at the evidence, we'll turn to consider our answer to the question, 2) How Should Christ's Resurrection Affect our Lives?
     
    Jesus died for your sins and rose again to offer you forgiveness and eternal life.  He died for us; let's live for Him.
     
     
    Matthew 28:1-15
    Apr. 20, 2025
    Easter Sunday
     
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  • Apr 13, 2025Faulty Expectations?
    Apr 13, 2025
    Faulty Expectations?
    Series: Easter
    People have a number of differing expectations of Jesus – Who they think He is, what they expect Him to do for them, and so on.  By the same token, God has expectations of us too – how we ought to strive to live and care for others.
     
    On Palm Sunday it’s common for us to focus on Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the week before His crucifixion.  We’re going to look at that event and consider some people’s faulty expectations of who He was and what He was going to accomplish.  After that, we’re going to examine 2 other episodes from early in that week to help us understand what God expects of us.
     
    God wants us to grow the spiritual fruit of unwavering faith, believing prayer, and intentional forgiveness.
     
     
    Mark 11:1-25
    Apr. 13, 2025
    Palm Sunday
     
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  • Apr 6, 2025Doubting Thomas? Let’s Find Out
    Apr 6, 2025
    Doubting Thomas? Let’s Find Out
    Series: (All)
    Let's take a closer look at a familiar disciple, Thomas.  Almost always referred to as "Doubting Thomas," is that all there is to this man?  David Rhoads takes us on a more sweeping look at Thomas's life.  Three separate interactions involving Thomas set up scenarios where Jesus is glorified.
     
     
    John 11:16; 14:1-6; 20:24-29
    Apr. 6, 2025
     
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  • Mar 30, 2025Growing in Godly Character – Concerning Kindness
    Mar 30, 2025
    Growing in Godly Character – Concerning Kindness
    Series: Galatians
    In Scripture, the subject of kindness is translated many ways: grace, loyalty, faithfulness, love, mercy or goodness.  An act of Biblical kindness typically finds one person in a position to give help to someone else who is unable to help themselves or to reciprocate.  Often, the kindness given is linked to a covenant established between the individuals. 
    For a wonderfully clear example of kindness I want us to turn to the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel.  In 2 Samuel 9 we find an account from the life of Israel’s King David, a time when he showed unexpected kindness to someone he had never met.
    Rather than simply reading the account and discussing it, let's try entering into the story a bit by hearing about it from the perspective of person who received that kindness.
     
    Show the same sort of kindness to others which God has shown to you.
     
     
    Galatians 5:22
    Mar. 30, 2025
     
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  • Mar 23, 2025Growing in Godly Character – Patience is Worth the Wait
    Mar 23, 2025
    Growing in Godly Character – Patience is Worth the Wait
    Series: Galatians
    Patience is the 4th element in Paul’s list of the Fruit of the Spirit, found in Gal. 5:22-23, and probably one of the less popular ones.  The first 3, love, joy, and peace, are things that we desire to have.  Patience?  Maybe not quite as much.  It’s not that we don’t think patience is important, it’s just that it’s so hard to be patient sometimes.
     
    In the epistle of James we find believers who were being oppressed and treated unfairly by rich land owners in their communities.  They were struggling in many ways and through many circumstances, but James encourages them to be patient.  In James 5:7-11 the author intermixes his 3 points: 1) We Are Called to be Patient; 2) Patience is Possible Even When Facing Problems; and 3) We Need to Confront Our Lack of Patience.
     
    God gives us patience to persevere through all of life’s problems.
     
     
    Galatians 5:22
    Mar. 23, 2025
     
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  • Mar 16, 2025Growing in Godly Character – The Peace of God’s Presence
    Mar 16, 2025
    Growing in Godly Character – The Peace of God’s Presence
    Series: Galatians
    Imagine a lighthouse on a rocky outcropping.  All around a storm rages, lightning flashes and thunder roars.  Enormous waves crash against the cliff below the lighthouse, sending wind whipped spray all the way to the top.  It is dark, and loud, and violent.  Not exactly a picture of peace.
     
    But, imagine we are able to open the door and enter the lighthouse.  Inside we find the lighthouse keeper seated at a table with a steaming cup of soup in front of him.  He holds a spoon in one hand and a book in the other.  There is a smile on his face as he reads, warmed by the crackling fire in the hearth across the room.  His dog naps on the floor, curled up near a padded chair.  It’s cozy & dry.  Despite the chaos and turmoil outside the lighthouse, inside there is peace.
     
    This image illustrates the Biblical idea of peace.  True peace is not the absence of conflict, trouble, or “storms” in life.  True peace allows us to be calm and content, even while the storm rages.  It is the calm assurance of God’s protection, provision & grace.
     
    Peace is God’s gift to His children.  It is the third element of the Fruit of the Spirit which we find in Paul’s list from Gal. 5:22-23.  As we look into peace this morning I want to take us to John 14, where Jesus says that He will leave His disciples with peace, even though He is going to be leaving them very soon.  There are two primary things which God's peace provides us with: 1) God's Peace Gives Us Comfort; and 2) God's Peace Gives Us Confidence.
     
    God’s peace provides us with the comfort and confidence we need to face life.
     
     
    Galatians 5:22
    March 16,2025
     
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  • Mar 9, 2025Growing in Godly Character – Full of Joy
    Mar 9, 2025
    Growing in Godly Character – Full of Joy
    Series: Galatians
     
    Life has a way of throwing challenges at us.  It can be hard to feel much joy when things in your life are just going wrong. 
     
    I imagine that’s how the disciples were feeling as they spent what would be their final hours with Jesus.  They were beginning to understand that He was going to leave them by way of death.  This caused them grief and fear.  But, Jesus tried to help them see that their grief was only going to be temporary – their passing grief would give way to lasting joy that only Jesus can bring!
     
    In John 16:16-22, there are 3 things which contribute to our Joy in the Lord.  First, we see that 1) Jesus Cares About What Concerns Us.  Next we find that 2) Jesus Fully Knows the Future.  And finally, we acknowledge that 3) Jesus Can Totally Transform Our Lives.
     
    Only Jesus can give us true, lasting joy!
     
     
    Galatians 5:22
    Mar. 9, 2025
     
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  • Mar 2, 2025Growing in Godly Character – Perfect Love
    Mar 2, 2025
    Growing in Godly Character – Perfect Love
    Series: Galatians
    Love shows up a lot in the Bible.  If we’re going to understand love the way God wants us to understand it, we need to have it clearly defined for us.  There is one passage in particular which makes love the primary focus.  
     
    In 1 Cor. 13:4-7, Paul sets out to define love: 1) What Love Is; and 2) What Love Isn’t – basically, what it does and does not do.  There, Paul uses 15 different verbs to describe the love which God has for us, and the love which we are to have towards others.
     
    We need to love others the way God loves us.
     
     
    Galatians 5:22
    Mar. 2, 2025
     
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  • Feb 23, 2025Warning Lights on the Dashboard
    Feb 23, 2025
    Warning Lights on the Dashboard
    Series: Galatians
    With the final verses of Galatians 5, Paul gives a list of vices and virtues – a list of the works of the flesh vs. the fruit of the Spirit.  In doing so, Paul provides a checklist for measuring the conduct of those who consider themselves spiritual.  These are the markers of how we are doing, bad or good.
     
    In this message we are only going to look at the negative side of things which Paul presents in verses 19-21.  He groups these 15 sins into 4 categories, warning us to steer clear of : 1) Sexual Sins; 2) Spiritual Sins; 3) Social Sins; and 4) Self-Indulgent Sins.  The last thing we'll look at is our need to: 5) Understand the Seriousness of Our Sinful Habits.
     
    Habitual sin has horrible consequences.
     
     
    Galatians 5:19-21
    Feb. 23, 2025
     
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