Where are you today? Are you THRIVING or are you STRIVING? For the past few weeks, we’ve used an artificial tree to describe striving. It looks so perfectly put together, but it’s not REAL and it has no LIFE. Today I want us to notice together that the striving tree also is not FREE. It sits …
God is Life
The past few weeks we've been discussing the difference between thriving and striving. Are you thriving--allowing God to grow you? Or are you striving--trying in vain to grow yourself? This week we want to focus on God as life. Life is kind of important for thriving, isn’t it? Jesus explained this in John 15:5-8. The Message …
God is For Real
The best selling paperback, Heaven is for Real, has captivated us with a story of a boy who told his father what he experienced in heaven for a few short minutes. Something about that simple, innocent account rings true from the inside out for some of us. It confirms what we know to be true …
Prayer in Community
Jill Trucke, our Prayer Team leader, gave us plenty to think and laugh about this week: This year our desire is to provide more opportunity for building community. But besides the obvious things that help build community – food, coffee, and chatting-- what does that really mean? How does that look in our prayer groups? …
Thriving and Striving
Laura Dilworth, our Worship Team leader, shares her thoughts about our theme this year: Our theme for Titus this year is “THRIVE”…as opposed to strive. I looked up those two words and have been pondering their meaning. Strive: 1.To make great efforts, try very hard; 2.to be in conflict, struggle, contend, fight. Thrive: 1.To prosper; …
Welcome to Fall 2011
THRIVE! . . . it’s becoming one of those power words. The popularity of that word has placed it on new products like tablet computers, health foods, fitness centers and even banks. Advertisers are telling us if we have their “stuff,” we will thrive. I happen to notice when God talks about thriving, He uses the …
Thrive in Community
Psalm 92:13 encourages us ... Planted in the house of the LORD, they thrive in the courtyards of our God. I notice that the word for "house" means "family". There is a calm assurance that we are not alone in our world, left to fend for ourselves. God plants us right where He would have …
Crossroads
In the past week I travelled from southeast Nebraska to west central Missouri. It’s a road trip I’ve made numerous times and it’s always been very direct and easy to navigate. Until this Missouri River Flood of 2011. The road I normally travel was closed due to flooding and some alternate routes were under construction. …
Redeemed, Named, Honored
When life hasn't turned out the way we'd planned, we do well to realize that God's ways are not like our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) -- it's a gap in understanding as wide as heaven and earth. Yep, that wide! We do even better to realize that God's love is not like our love. Here's what God …
The Shepherd’s Oil
In our summer Bible study this week, the theme was Anointing. We looked at how David was chosen by God for a specific task – king over His people. This was an anointing or CALL for service. Just like David was anointed for a higher purpose, we are anointed by God’s Spirit to fulfill our …
Equip Her 