We can be disoriented in our faith because in this cultural age everything is so fragmented.
Politics, the economy, the fall of celebrities (and pastors alike!), war, and rumours of war, all lead us to question the ways of the world and our role in it. So as we look around us we ask questions such as, there must be more than this?
There must be more than these lies, this brokenness, these unanswered prayers, my anxieties. There must be more than unfulfilled promises, the trap of comparison, the lack of joy I feel, and my unhealthy habits.
What does it look like to live a life that flourishes? A life under God. A life of purpose and identity. A life where we see that YES, there is more to life than this.
In this series we are looking at spiritual formation and how we daily are invited to become more like Jesus. Transformed not by the world, but rather from the teachings and practices of Jesus.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God
- this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is
- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
Week by Week:
Listen again to the messages from this series.
Weekly Practice downloads will become available following each Sunday's message.
1. Uncommon Community
Community in an age of isolation
Sunday 1st September, 2019 - Josh Binstead
We live in an age where loneliness and isolation are all around us and yet we often remain silent to what we see and our own personal experiences of it. In this teaching we seek to call out the ways of the culture and see how Jesus teaches us a different way to live a life of rich community. This way is very countercultural to the rest of the world, it’s an invitation to uncommon community that deeply changes lives.
2. Anchor for the Soul
Hope in an age of hopelessness
Sunday 8th September, 2019 - Josh Binstead
There are so many pressures that crowd out our minds from all directions. Personal relationships, environmental issues, finances, politics; these can all leave us feeling a distinct lack of hope. But is there a different way to look at the patterns of the world? In this teaching we will be working through where our hope is truly to be found, and it’s not in the areas of money, sex and power that the world would lead us to believe.
3. Mirror Mirror
Confidence in an age of comparison
Sunday 15th September, 2019 - Josh Binstead
We live in an age where we are more visually aware than ever before. Thanks to social media we have a constant feed showing what friends and family are doing, where they have been and what we have missed out on! We are going to look at how we all sometimes fall into the trap of basing our own happinesses on what others are doing. This might make us feel better than others, or it might make us feel less than others. In this teaching we will look at how in this age of social media and selfies, the teachings in the Bible are a firm encouragement to us to be confident in who God has made us to be and how we don’t need to fall into the trap of comparison.
> BREAK FOR VISION SUNDAYS.
4. We are the Church
Contributing in an age of consuming
Sunday 13th October, 2019 - Josh Binstead
5. Nothing Like Your Presence
Worship in an age of worry
Sunday 20th October, 2019 - Stephen Mayes
6. Prophesy the Promise
Assurance in an age of uncertainty
Sunday 27th October 2019 - Heather Taylor
Scripture tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
We can easily forget just how powerful our words can be; especially in the context of prayer. The words that we declare have the power of life and death! The focus of this teaching is to equip the listener with a greater understanding of the power of our words, and how to practically use the Word of God to powerfully and purposefully declare the will of God over our circumstances. The hope of this message is to awaken the heart of the listener to live as an overcomer not a victim, and to believe that as a child of God we have access to every spiritual blessing under heaven. We simply need to believe it and declare it.
7. Slow Down
Resting in an age of rushing
Sunday 3rd November, 2019 - Josh Binstead
Unfortunately due to a technical error, this message is unavailable.
8. The Fight to Forgive
Forgiveness in an age of bitterness
Sunday 10th November, 2019 - Josh Binstead
We all have had those moments where we have either been hurt by someone or we have been the one who has committed the hurting. This could be through our words, or our actions. It could be through our silence, or indeed through our lies.
Forgiveness is weaved throughout scripture and is integral in our discipleship to Jesus. The world is a messy and broken place which is full of broken relationships scared by the actions of sin and pain. God time and time again throughout the scriptures calls us to release those who sin against us. To pour out forgiveness onto others just as Jesus forgave us of all of our sin and wrongdoing.
9. Heart Condition
Honour in an age of dishonour
Sunday 17th November, 2019 - Jose Zayas (26 West Church, Portland)
We live in an age that values endless personal freedom. Freedom to express my opinion. Freedom to say or post whatever I want about whomever we want, thinking little of the impact on the person or the position they hold. How does our obsession with the freedom of self-expression fit with the way of Jesus and what the Bible teaches about how we’re to value one another?
10. Faithful to the End
Surrender in an age of control
Sunday 24th November, 2019 - Josh Binstead
Additional Reading:
[with links]