Change

If you were granted three wishes, it would probably be pretty easy to come up with three things you wish you could change about your life or the world around you. Maybe that’s because we know the world isn’t always the way it should be – and neither are we. In this new series at Renew, we’ll be challenged to seek change in the world and our own hearts by turning to God in prayer. Because we believe that change happens when we’re grounded in our understanding of who God is (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), and then we pray with God’s own words (Scripture), we pray like Jesus prayed (the Lord’s prayer), and we pray for what matters most (the people God has made). Join us in this discussion on Tuesday nights from 6:30-8:30 pm at Renew.

After You

In a culture obsessed with selfies, celebrities, money, and success, it’s not difficult to understand why so many of us struggle with being a little self-centered at times. But while “me first” may be the norm for the rest of the world, Jesus showed us what it looks like to live a generous, compassionate, selfless, “after you” kind of life. In this series, we’ll be challenged to move away from the world’s “me first” attitude and embrace the “after you” message of Jesus. Tuesdays at Renew in November.

Boss – The God of Worry

Read Exodus 2:1-3

It’s been thousands of years since God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Maybe it seems like something written so long ago that it couldn’t possibly still be relevant to us today. But here’s the thing: thousands of years ago, last week, and today, the God of the Universe continues to remind us that we are to have no other gods—no idols—before Him.

At first glance, worry may not seem as threatening or dangerous as the god of me or the god of stuff. But worry can dominate your life if you don’t know how to handle it. It’s so easy to let worry become “the boss of you.” But here’s the good news: it isn’t news to God that we all struggle with the god of worry. He knows. And even better, He’s even given us exactly what we need to defeat it.

Let’s fast forward a couple of thousand years or so after the Exodus story. We just read about God giving this command (“Have no other gods before Me”) to the Israelites. Now let’s look at what Jesus has to say about the false god we’re talking about today. We’re about to read what is probably the greatest sermon ever preached. It’s often called The Sermon on the Mount.

Boss – The God of Stuff

In the days when the Bible was written, most people believed there were many gods, rather than just one. There was a lot of fighting about whose god was best. Often, when things weren’t going well for a person or group of people, they would abandon their old god and begin worshiping a new god, hoping their new god would treat them better than the last one.

Even the people of Israel, the true God’s chosen people, were guilty of this.

Boss – The God of Me

In the book of Exodus, we get to read the story of God saving the people of Israel from slavery. He saves them in an incredible, miraculous way, then literally splits a sea in half to help them escape. And then He tells them, “Follow me—we’re going on a journey through the desert. At the end of the journey, I’ll lead you to an incredible new land, where you can settle down and be free.”

If you know anything about the story of the Israelites, you may know that their little journey gets sidetracked.