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Live | Why is the Christian Life So Hard?

Series: The Wesleyan Way

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Why is the Christian Life So Hard?

The gap between Jesus and the lifestyles of those who claim to follow Jesus can be so wide that it becomes the reason an unbelieving world does not believe. Our basic nature is not to love God and our neighbor—this is why the Christian life is hard. When Jesus redeems us, he also calls us to a new way of living. This means something very different than simply avoiding immoral actions; it means changing our hearts and lives.

All Series

The Wesleyan Way
1/12 - 3/3/2019
Sometimes the “rules” of Christianity can seem so complex. An 18th century English pastor named John Wesley taught that the best guide for the journey of life and faith goes beyond the important forms and rituals of religion to a place of rediscovering the joy and freedom that the earliest followers of Jesus felt. Wesley sparked a worldwide revival of Christian faith by pointing to a way of following Jesus based on a real relationship where we can find God’s grace. This series looks at eight core aspects of faith that lead to a joyful and abundant life.
Home Again
12/1 - 12/24/2018
We’re told Christmas is the happiest season. We want to experience home. Yet the holidays rarely live up fully to our imagination. For many of us, the idea of Christmas remains a dream. The Christian story is that this world was once God’s home and we were with God. Jesus brings us home again. Our dreams of home became a reality on the day that Jesus was born. Christmas is about coming home again.
Witness
11/24 - 11/25/2018
We find our story and identity as Christians within the powerful, transformative narrative of Christ. We explore our faith journeys in this brief series as our church leaders share their personal testimony to Jesus.
Why I Give
10/27 - 11/18/2018
Many churches like to talk about giving in relationship to the work of the church. The problem is that the focus is in the wrong place. The heart of what it means to give isn’t about the support of an institution, no matter how good. The act of giving is about a state of generosity. Giving begins not with a what, but with a why. Everything changes. The act of giving becomes not a burden but a privilege, an opportunity to take on an essential characteristic at the heart of God, who so loved the world, he gave.
Witness
10/13 - 10/21/2018
We find our story and identity as Christians within the powerful, transformative narrative of Christ. We explore our faith journeys in this brief series as our church leaders share their personal testimony to Jesus.
Habits
9/8 - 10/7/2018
"What do you want?" This question, not what you believe or what you do, is Jesus' primary question to us. We are not merely the summation of what we think but how we feel. What we want out of life will shape what we do day to day. We see in the life of Jesus the truest form of what it means to be human, through the habits he chose to practice. Join us during this series as we explore what  spiritual habits or practices we learn from the life of Jesus, and how these can help us to shape who we are and what we want in life, from the outside in. 
Seeds
8/11 - 9/2/2018
While growth is good, it isn’t an end to itself, but the result of a life spent in the dirt, seeding and sowing. The biblical story begins in the dirt of Eden’s garden and ends in the garden city of God’s kingdom. God has designed us to live and work in the garden, tending and tilling. We’re made of dirt and for dirt. This combination of keeping and creating is a right way of understanding Creation and our work within it. Just as the purpose of fruit Is both joyous feasting and regenerative planting, our purpose is to both enjoy God’s gifts and nurture the presence of Jesus in the world.
Kids Stories As Adults
7/7 - 8/5/2018
Some people refer to the Bible as a book of stories for children. But what if there’s more to the famous children’s stories of Scripture than we realize?  What if these stories aren’t simply harmless adventures, but true, powerful and even dangerous stories of God at work in the lives of people like us? Experience famous biblical stories with all of the richness and nuance and universal human emotion they deserve.
Incarnation
6/30 - 7/1/2018
“The world did not know him...” Many times, Jesus shows up in our lives in unexpected ways. It can be such a challenge in the midst of our everyday lives to recognize that God is present. Yet the truth of incarnation is that God chose to enter into creation, revealing God’s grace in miraculous and surprising places. We must simply learn to receive.  
Joined
5/20 - 6/24/2018
The church has held for 2000 years, an almost unimaginable amount of time. One secret to its longevity is a healthy tension between tradition and innovation - between staying connected and stretching to grow. Such tension is vital to a healthy church. Like joints that attach the parts of the body together, these essential, shared convictions and obligations keep us strong as we both hold to tradition and seek new ways to innovate.
When You Grow Up
4/8 - 5/13/2018
When Jesus invites us to become like little children, he doesn’t intend for us to stay there. Instead, he wants us to grow up, the right way-to not just acquire knowledge but to become full in spirit and truth–mature in thought and action. 
Easter Series
3/25 - 4/1/2018
In ancient culture, conquering rulers rode into town on a high horse, a war steed of the best line, to make sure the commoners knew who was in charge. Jesus instead chose a donkey, a meek animal. He wasn't above the people, but on eye level, a symbol of foolishness to those in charge, but an image of salvation for a higher kingdom.
Between Friends
2/18 - 3/18/2018
Jesus says that the greatest love is to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. We describe marriage this way, but any friendship can be as holy, if the love of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit are between the two friends. When Jesus laid down his life for us, he showed us what kind of friends we can have, and what kind of friends we can be.  
Starting Over
1/14 - 2/11/2018
 If you’ve ever played a game, you know the appeal of a do-over. If you’re human, there’s certainly a part of life you wish you could do over, too. But is it really possible to start over, or is life a pile of regrets and consequences? Jesus promises that with faith, we can become a new creation, born with God’s Spirit, and how, when we follow Jesus, God heals sin’s four breaks (from God, from one another, from ourselves, and from creation) and gives us the power of Christ’s resurrection in the midst of our not-yet-redeemed world.
A New Thing
12/30/2017 - 1/7/2018
The new year brings new resolve to do more and be better. This impulse is good. God wants to do a new thing in us. But the catch is, we cannot find new life by trying to be better, but only through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that renews us.
Fall on Your Knees
12/3 - 12/24/2017
For thousands of years, to take a knee has meant to worship. It is what the Magi did when they entered the presence of the Christ child. Scripture tells us they literally fell down on their knees and kissed the ground in honor before the baby Jesus. More than just a sign of respect, we fall on our knees at Christmas because we are overcome with gratitude and amazement at the very presence of God among us.  This is what we call worship.
Christ the King
11/26/2017
On this, the last weekend in the historic Christian Calendar, we celebrate Christ the King, the shepherd king whose kingdom has no end, the Lord of Lords, whose dominion has no bounds.
Setting the Table
11/19/2017
This Thanksgiving, we gather together with family and friends. The table is vital to the family of faith. Everywhere you read in the gospels, Jesus is eating with people. That’s because the kingdom of God isn’t a geographical location, but a set of relationships where Jesus is sovereign. We gather around the table to express gratitude for our many blessings.
Unbalanced
10/22 - 11/12/2017
Gift-giving can be difficult. It's easy to get hung up on the value of our gifts and offerings. The moment we make our gifts into a calculated balancing attempt, it becomes an exchange for services. The good news is we know we're unbalanced, but God loves us anyway. When we understand God's no-strings-attached gift in Jesus, we can respond freely. The more we see God's gift as extravagant, the more extravagantly giving people we want to become. 
Born To Run
9/10 - 10/15/2017
Jesus asked people to “follow me.” The earliest Christians were so branded with an image of movement that they were known as “the Way”. Jesus doesn’t just want our intellectual assent. When he tells us to "go and make disciples", perhaps the most important word is the first one: go. Discipleship isn’t something we do with our minds, but something we do with our feet, and the missionary God who came to be with us also calls us to be with others in body and in spirit. 
Mind Over Grind
8/20 - 9/3/2017
Summertime is over. Now, it’s back to the grind. Why do we have such a sense of dread about the routine? If you are struggling with the grind of life, ask the Holy Spirit to work with you to do something about it. You might just find that with the right mindset our days of joyless routines can turn into a full life consisting of faith, hope, and love.
Supporting Actors
6/25 - 8/13/2017
Most of the time, we view ourselves as the main character of our own lives.  In the entertainment industry, actors that last discover something akin to a biblical truth, which is that sometimes, we’re not the star. We’re the supporting actor. This summer, we’re going to highlight eight people whose actions put the spotlight on God’s power and love, on Jesus, and on the building of God’s kingdom.
Restoration
5/28 - 6/18/2017
Micah offers people a vision of restoration. Like an old object retrieved form the attic or shed, dusted off, and cleaned back to its original condition, Micah offers the Israelites an opportunity to dust off and restore their relationship with God. The image of restoration also invites us to respond. We have a job to do.
Who is Andrew
4/30 - 5/21/2017
The life of the Apostle Andrew, the first evangelist, embodies our aim of spreading the word of God and sharing good works. We ask, Who is Andrew? And as we explore the life of our namesake, we understand the meaning of our mission, "Calling the Christian-ish to become passionate servants of Christ."
Everything Changes
4/16 - 4/23/2017
To witness an actual, physical resurrection is so mind boggling, it can create confusion, not joy. But Jesus encourages us to let go of what we think we know, and instead to tell the world: everything has changed.
The Main Thing
3/5 - 4/9/2017
With God’s vision for all people in mind, now the work begins. New visions are exciting and easy to follow, but it’s after the glow has faded when we must become committed.  Our challenge, to use the old saying, is to know and keep the main things of life: to keep our eyes on the summit and our spirits committed to the work ahead.
See Clearly Now
1/8 - 2/26/2017
The world is full of people with vision. As followers of Jesus, though, our vision is different than what the world offers. The Bible tells the story of God’s singular vision for humankind  It is a promise of the restoration of God’s creation and our place in it. Our question as a church, as institutional and family leaders, and as individuals is, whose vision do you see?
God Abides
11/27 - 12/18/2016
The story of Christmas itself is, as births go, quite simple. The moment itself was simply about Jesus … being.  As far as we know, Jesus didn’t do any miracles on the night of his birth. He evidently didn’t begin talking or walking until the normal time that an infant would walk or talk. At Christmas, Jesus simply is. In Jesus’ birth, for the only time between the beginning and the end of time, God came to us. At Christmas, God abides.
The Net Effect
10/23 - 11/13/2016
Jesus offers a vision of the end result of a life spent following him when he asked Simon the fisherman to let down his nets one more time. Simon had failed all night to catch a single fish. What Jesus suggested seemed to counter conventional wisdom, but when Simon submitted, the net effect was an abundance of fish. When we listen to what Jesus says, the net effect is a life of overwhelming abundance, a life lived to the fullest.
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