Refine // Part 3: Greed – Generosity
Are You Believing a Lie? Have you ever found yourself saying or thinking, "If I only had [fill in the blank], I would be happy"? You’re not alone. In our American culture, we are surrounded by wealth, money, and stuff. It’s extremely common for us to see advertisements everyday (typically, multiple times a day) encouraging…
Read MoreRefine // Part 2: Gluttony – Moderation
Don’t Settle For Where You Are Today Sometimes we can get in the mindset that tells us we are never going to change… that this is simply who we are or what we do. "I’m always going to struggle with ______." "I wish I wasn’t so ______, but oh well." "My life is always going…
Read MoreRefine // Part 1: Lust – Love
Fighting the Seven Deadly Sins How do we refine our lives for the glory of God? We all struggle with sin – some sins more than others. And, what we know is that God hates sin. When we sin, we are not only sinning against others or against ourselves, but we, too, are sinning against…
Read MoreAdvance // Part 5: Mental Health
The Battle for Your Mind There is a battle going on for your mind. You may be thinking, Wow, that sounds pretty intense. Well, that’s because it is. The Enemy is fighting each and every day, endlessly and tirelessly, to take control of our thoughts. He wants to discourage and defeat us, to torture and…
Read MoreAdvance // Part 4: Financial Health
Let’s Talk about our Feelings Would you believe us if we said… 59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck? 38% of households in America have credit card debt? 33% of the adult population in America saved $0 for their retirement? Now, these statistics are not to scare you – rather, they’re meant to draw your…
Read MoreAdvance // Part 3: Emotional Health
Let’s Talk about our Feelings I feel like ________. Fill in the blank. What are you feeling today? Sad? Frustrated? Overjoyed? Relieved? Tired? Whether you pay attention to them or not, our feelings affect us on a daily (if not hourly!) basis. God created us in His image, and like Himself, He made us to…
Read MoreAdvance // Part 2: Relational Health
Getting Right in our Relationships Relationships. They’re a big deal, right? Every one of us has relationships in our lives – with our family members, our significant other, our friends, our coworkers, and many more. Some are built-in, like our families or our coworkers. Others are some that we’ve chosen to build, like our friends…
Read MoreAdvance // Part 1: Physical Health
Turning a New Page New year’s resolutions – many people make them each year, but statistics show that few actually follow through on them. Why? Because sticking to something over the course of a whole year can be challenging. It’s hard to make a goal and stick to it, especially when we’re trying to do it…
Read MoreChristmas The Supporting Cast // Part 5: Worship Jesus This Christmas
The Role We All Play This Christmas season, we’ve learned about the roles the different supporting characters of the Christmas story played as they waited for the coming Messiah. Simeon obediently waited, trusting God to fulfill His promise. Anna remained faithful, even in the heartache and longing. The Magi joyfully sacrificed and invested in what…
Read MoreChristmas The Supporting Cast // Part 4: The Magi: Sacrifice and Investment
We Saw the Star… After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2 In…
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