Ever hear the saying, “Only a mother could love him”? She got that from God. Sometimes we get so lost in the crowd we wonder if God could care about us. “He’s too busy to worry about me”. But He isn’t. If someone belongs to Him, He cares. This week we listen to Jesus’ story about how much God cares for each one of us!

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to absorb the gospel into their lives immediately, and others seem to have the words of truth bounce right off of them? And why do some people respond so positively and later seem to go right back to the way they were? This week we open our new series “That’s What He Said” with “The Right Kind of Dirty” and learn what kind of dirty we need to be!

Can people change? Can someone with anger, guilt, addiction, hate, bitterness—all those things we hate to be—actually change? Some say “no”, it isn’t possible. Others wish they could change, but don’t really believe it—they don’t have hope. But there is hope. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have hope—we can change!

As important as freedom is, sometimes the most important thing in our life is freedom curtailed. A small child with complete freedom is in grave danger. In the same way, whether we like to admit it or not, spiritually we are children, and complete freedom will destroy us. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have limits.

Freedom is important to Americans. We glorify those who fight for it. But is that how we become free? We all know a lot of Americans who have a kind of freedom, but live their lives enslaved to guilt, drugs, bad relationships, or just their own sin. We don’t have to be enslaved to such things. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can have real freedom!

Everyone knows that Easter is about Jesus’ resurrection. But let’s say he was raised from the dead. So what? Does the resurrection of Jesus really have anything to do with our lives anyway? This Easter sermon introduces a four part series where we ask a good question: So What?

April 1 is a day Foolishness reigns! Practical jokes and jokesters are the expectation, and everyone wants to be in a position to call out “April Fool” if they catch someone in their joke. But the scriptures talk about foolishness too. The world thinks the gospel is foolishness. But what is really foolish? The gospel, or someone rejecting it?

In an election year, we can expect to hear debate—even argument. Ideas are discussed, candidates are critiqued, and people take sides. It’s an important process, with the future of this country at stake. But how important is it, and how should citizens of another kingdom participate?

When you finish a letter, you tend to make sure the things you wanted to say are said in the end. Join us as we see John’s wrap-up and its application in prayer, mutual accountability and by practicing the life of faith.

What is faith? Is it what we believe to be true? Is it what we trust in? Is it in the sum of those things we do because of what we believe to be true? To practice faith requires an understanding of what faith is–and what it is in. Join us as we explore the nature of faith and what it means to practice it.

Everyone loves. Everyone wants to love. Everyone wants to be loved. Love occupies much of our thoughts, our arts, our lives. And yet love is so easily misunderstood. Ask 20 different people to describe love and you’ll get 20 different answers, because we tend to see love as a projection of ourselves. But it isn’t. Love isn’t from us–it is from God, and the only way to truly love is to experience His love.

Our world is very interested in the spiritual world–but we like to keep it just a step away from ourselves. We see it as fiction, though we want it to be real. But what if the world of spirits is real? How do we know which spirit is good and which is not, and how to respond to each? Join us as we explore the practice of testing spirits as we live in 2012 California!

Have you ever been in a relationship that seemed to be one way? How does that feel? Most of us value being in relationships that are reflexive–that go two ways. The Bible tells us where to find those relationships and how to practice them!

Who are you? How do you define yourself? And how do you know? So many people spend so much time trying to “find themselves”. But our identity should be obvious to us and others. So join us as we can practice living as the people we really are.

Anyone who has been around the church has heard people talk about “the world” and the dangers of loving it. But aren’t we part of the world, and shouldn’t we love it? What does it mean then, to not love the world, and how exactly can we avoid it? Do have to become hermits, or religious fanatics? Living faithfully with our first love requires understanding and practice!