Fill in this blank: Some day, I would love to _____________. That dream may seem so far off in the distance – maybe even seemingly unachievable in the everyday drone, hardships and pain of today. My challenge to you? Dare to live fully right where you are. Dare to live fully right where you are, by feeling and expressing gratitude for the blessings surrounding you.  When you find beauty in the everyday, you’ll discover the joy of Christ. And when you can honestly find joy in, or despite, your circumstances, you’ll be moved to extend it to others. Thankfulness begets trust, gratefulness begets...

How much can you trust someone? Only as much as you know him or her.  Now apply this axiom to God. The more you know God, the easier it should be for you to trust Him. In fact, we have spent the past seven weeks learning more about the character of God through “The Good & Beautiful God” series. A trusting relationship must have three things: 1.  Truthfulness (they must be willing to tell you the truth). 2.  Justice (they must be good and do what’s right). 3.  Reliability (they must be dependable). Psalm 33:4 says that those three characteristics are actually attributes of God....

Can you fill in the blanks? • There’s no such thing as a  _________  ___________ . • If it sounds too good to be true it_________________   ___. • We make our money the old fashioned way; we_____________ it. • God helps those who help__________________. Many of us are pros at performance, yet know little of grace.  The American work ethic says, “You get what you pay for. You get what you deserve.”  And in certain contexts, there is truth to those statements. How does all of this relate to a gracious God?  How do you find yourself struggling to live in grace?  Grace...

Is freedom a reality? If God is in control of everything, do we even have a choice? The Bible teaches us about the sovereignty of God. In a prayer, King David acknowledged that everything in the heavens and earth is God’s, and God is in control of all things. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (NLT) 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in...

Wikipedia, Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, AdWords, Amazon AWS, Meetup, iPod, Skype/VOIP, iPhone, Google Docs, Flickr. These everyday things all would have been foreign to us just 10 years ago. In fact, tie-wearing network news anchors have been eclipsed by cable-channel comedians with open collars. Billionaires have traded in their suits for jeans. And the most powerful CEO in America has been universally known as “Steve.” Informality now seems to be a sign of privilege. So what do Wikipedia, Facebook and first-name CEOs have to do with God? All of this change with the pressure to keep...