Mountain Christian Church | Sermons

Wish You Were Here | Find Your People

In the beginning, we were all together--God with us and us with God in close relationships. Then, sin entered the picture and one of the things that got messed up was our ability to be together in relationships. We've been thrust apart by sin and COVID has just multiplied that by 100. Isolated... we're all feeling it in some way. Thing is, when Jesus invites us to follow him, the first thing he does is bring us to a room with others. And he's inviting you, today, to enter into a Christ-centered community where you can build bridges of trust, let go of the barriers on your heart and grow. You will never fully experience community or significant transformation until you begin to acknowledge to others the truth about yourself. Think about it, do you have someone you can confess your sins to?

Wish You Were Here | Abide Alone

Who do you call when big changes and revolutionary things happen in your life? You know, that person in your life who has a solid character, who you admire and love to learn from them. This person has your best interest at heart and you know will support you and love you through the good and bad. Transformative relationships like that, make us better people and good friends like that bring out the best in us. But oftentimes we forget that Jesus invites us to think of Him as a friend too. And just like that influential friend that brings out the best in you, Jesus, the son of the living God, God in the flesh, Savior of the World--He wants to bring out the best fruit in you! People will know you're a disciple of Jesus by the fruit in your life. So maybe it's time to ask yourself, "Is good fruit being produced in my life? Or is it rotten? Am I truly abiding in Jesus?”

Wish You Were Here | You Were Made For This

There’s plenty in the past to be discouraged and disgusted about. Listen and learn from it, but dwelling on the past is not the path forward in your spiritual life. Whatever happened in 2020, God can restore your fortunes and change you around, because God specializes in giving people a fresh start. And the gap between who you are today and who Jesus is calling you to be... that is the journey before you in 2021. Before you set any other goals for 2021, are you ready to fix your eyes on Christ?

Wish You Were Here | Where Are You Exactly? And Where Are You Going?

A new year stirs up hopefulness and excitement about the future. Oftentimes we set new goals, and think in a fresh way about what’s ahead. There are some things we can’t control too much, but there are ways we can take responsibility for the STEPS we CAN take, for the STRIDES we can make, and with our strides and God’s strength, some real change can happen. Because Jesus loves us so much, he comes to us, and meets us where we are. Doesn’t matter how far away we are, how messed up, stressed out, screwed up or sinful or dirty, he comes to us. Jesus also wants us to come where he is! He loves us just as we are…but he loves us too much to leave us that way. Jesus also loves us so much he wants to take us some place. Some place new. He longs for us to experience some of what he is experiencing…and is inviting us to come with him…be with him… trust him enough to follow him … to a place you have not yet been. That’s what God wants to see happen in 2021. That’s God’s WISH FOR YOU. That you would go some place you have not yet been in your life. He’s wants you to trust him enough to let him change you, grow you, and help you BECOME someone new…not completely different, but actually, different. More like him… Because wherever you are right now, Jesus is saying I WISH YOU WERE HERE.

Anybody Up for Some Good News? | Finding a NEW BEGINNING when you're at a DEAD END

2020 is coming to an end-- the year that has been a long string of bad news. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could just start fresh in 2021? What if we could just erase it all and have a do-over in 2021? As we come upon a new year there is hope and optimism for what will come in 2021. But the reality is that there is nothing that automatically changes in life just because we flip a calendar page. The consequences of 2020 will still carry forward into 2021. However, hope remains because like in Psalm 121, we’re going to lift our eyes up and ask where does our help come from. And our help comes from the Lord. 2021 won’t automatically bring us a fresh start, but God can.

Anybody Up for Some Good News? | Finding JOY in the midst of DISCOURAGEMENT

JOY! When you see the word JOY right about now in 2020, you're probably thinking.. "JOY, are you kidding me? Do you know the kind of year I've had?!" 2020 has been a rough year... but you see, that's EXACTLY WHY we need to talk about how to find JOY even in the middle of discouragement with everything that's going on. Are you happier this Christmas than last Christmas? It's an important question, but do you know what else is important? To remember the HUGE difference between happiness... and JOY. Happiness is about what happens, but JOY is bigger, deeper, and stronger and is anchored deep inside you. Tune in to discover how to find JOY this Christmas.

Anybody Up for Some Good News? | How to be RESTORED when Life's a DISASTER

When disaster strikes, you’re overcome by a force that makes it painfully clear: life will never be the same again. 2020 may feel like a disaster to you. Your life has been flooded with change. Maybe you’ve been sick with COVID-19 or know somebody who has. You’ve probably been afraid. Yup, 2020 has been quite the disaster. We’re all craving GOOD NEWS even more right now, in the Christmas Season, when we’re wondering if the Christmas story is more than candy canes and gingerbread. That it has a true depth, a real strength and substance behind sentimental feelings. That it makes a difference when our world doesn’t just have disasters but IS a disaster. Does Christmas, does what God is doing and has done in Jesus, born in Bethlehem, actually mean something, actually change something in the world, in my world, for me?

Anybody Up for Some Good News? | Finding PEACE When Everyone is DIVIDED

Peace... on earth? Maybe a better word would be TROUBLED. We’re troubled. Not just because we have trouble getting rid of the coronavirus, or trouble knowing what to do, or trouble sleeping… but we are without and troubled within. We've struggling to find peace in in our heads and our hearts. We're plenty divided from one another, but we can't find peace inside, either. If you want PEACE, the place to find it... is Jesus. The Child born in Bethlehem who is the PRINCE of PEACE.

Anybody Up for Some Good News? | Finding HOPE in the midst of DEPRESSION

HOPE is our lifeblood. Without it we die. HOPE is not just wishful thinking or a fantasy or positive thinking. HOPE is born in the dark. HOPE grows in the dark, hard times. It can survive on almost nothing. Even when things look bleak, HOPE lives on, and we hold on to HOPE, our faith carries us through no matter what is going on. No new science or politics or education or legislation or human movement of any kind is going to heal us, help, and give us HOPE. HOPE is the rock of our faith that moors us to be something bigger, stronger, and more powerful, so even in the midst of the worst storm we can say ‘it is well and it will be well.’ Because we have HOPE and that HOPE is in GOD in CHRIST. So, where are you reaching for HOPE today? What part of your life do you need the HOPE of God?

Anyone Up for Some Good News? | In a world that is DISTANCED, God comes NEAR

This year there has been so much DISTANCE. 6 feet apart. Don’t gather. Stay apart. Don’t go to school. And we’ve gotten used to it, sort of. But as human beings, we really can never “get used to it” fully. We’ve sacrificed and stayed apart during a time when what we want and need most is to come together and hug one another and cry together. And it has taken its toll on all of us, and made even the most introverted among us aware how much we need connection and how much we are made for belonging and friendship, and how we ache for GOOD NEWS. The GOOD NEWS is that no matter how disconnected we may be and distant we may feel, God is near. God is not distant.