Sermons by Lucas Maciel
A Disney animated film Inside Out is the story of a young girl depicted through the five emotions that live inside her mind, and how each emotion fights for control over how she perceives the world around her and how they color her memories of the past. What better time of the year than summertime to explore… our emotions. We’ll spend the month of July in the Book of Psalms. The Psalms were actually written to be songs, and like songs today, they contain a wide variety of emotional expression, everything from happiness and rejoicing to sorrow and despair.
Do you want to know about love? Maybe take a bit of time to detox your soul? Have you been looking at your life lately and wondering, hey, what’s in it for me these days? Well, a lot. Join us this July for a look at how the Bible actually encourages us to pour out our hearts and find what we’re really looking for.
Have you ever noticed how meetings might get more frequent or the pace of work intensifies as you get closer to a project deadline? Maybe you’re planning a wedding, preparing for exams or nearing the launch of a new product. Even rehearsals for a theatrical play might change as the director focuses on those parts that need to be refined so that the show can go on as planned. The story of Jesus and his time on earth as told in the gospel of Mark changes gears in the latter chapters of the book in much the same way. Jesus starts to prepare his disciples for the ultimate goal of his mission here on earth. He continues to reveal who he is with greater focus on his purpose and how this will come about. Join us as we continue in the book of Mark and watch how Jesus reveals his identity and intentions and what it means for us today.
Go down the list of the most popular questions asked about God and the Bible and you’ll find questions like – “Can people actually look down on us from heaven?” and “Do pets go to heaven when they die?” to “What is God’s view on cloning?” and “Why are there so many Bible translations?” But probably one of the most difficult questions many people ask is “How could a good God allow suffering?” You can’t listen to the news without hearing about a disaster or tragedy in some part of the world. For some of us, tragedies or suffering hit closer to home. Do we just accept this as a natural part of life or is there another perspective? We’ll talk about it more as we continue our series “UNFILTERED. Big Questions. Honest Answers.”
We often hear the word diversity used to describe the culture of our country. It is popular to support diversity… of thought, of people groups, and ways of doing things. It is often viewed as a requirement for a mature society – to be able to embrace what is different from our views or background. And it’s used as a means of generating original fresh new ideas – a result of bringing people together with different perspectives and life experiences. But reality is, diversity often produces disagreements and tension in relationships. Left to our own devices, we can use our differences to make comparisons of who is superior to the other, or who is more highly regarded in another’s eyes. But grace changes everything. Grace never produces this kind of pride. Why is that? What can we learn from the book of Galatians in the Bible, that will change everything? Join us as we continue looking at the apostle Paul’s letter to the people of Galatia.
Have you ever been engaged in a meaningful conversation with a friend only to hear “Well, that’s true for you, but not for me”? Or maybe you sought advice for a major life decision and you were encouraged to “follow your heart”. Perhaps these popular soundbites are well meaning but are they genuinely helpful? Do they help bring clarity out of confusion? Surely if anything can be real or true, then nothing is truly real and we are left nowhere to stand and have nowhere to go.
There was once a man who claimed to be Truth himself. Could he hold the keys that unlock all reality? Could he be the answer for why we are here and where are we going? Join us this Sunday as we explore Jesus’s response to the oldest question of all: “What is truth?”
The Unshakable Life is both satisfied by and hungry for God’s word
We all know someone like this…or maybe we can relate because we’ve been there. When you’re hungry, all you can think about is getting something to eat. In fact, you might get grumpy. Or, you can’t focus on a conversation because you’re looking for the nearest fast food restaurant. You might remember being out with a group of friends or family and the chatter is almost deafening, until the food arrives. Suddenly, the room goes silent because everyone is focused on eating. Then one by one, you might hear sighs of satisfaction as people’s bellies are getting full. What if reading the Bible felt like that? Is that too unusual of an idea? We’ll talk about it as we continue our series on The Unshakable Life.