Loveland Christian Church

09/06/2026

08/30/2026

08/28/2026

Join us this Sunday as we begin a new series learning from the life of Elijah⬇️

Emotions—we all have them. The problem is, we don’t always know how to articulate them. Maybe it’s because when emotions are heavy, words are…hard.

But that doesn’t stop the people who love us from checking in.

Have you ever heard these phrases from a loved one?

“You’re not your normal joyful self…what’s going on?”

Or, “You’re acting out of character.”

“Something seems a little out of sorts.”

“You seem…off.”

You know those words are usually spoken in love. But when emotions are heavy, words are…hard.

Oftentimes, when we read through Scripture, we forget that the people in those stories were just like us—emotional beings. Humans who experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

This was certainly true for the prophet Elijah. God used him in mighty ways, but Elijah wasn’t some wooden Bible character. He most certainly wasn’t a robot. Quite the opposite.

His story was filled with fear, grief, anxiety, loneliness, and even depression.

And yet, in spite of all those emotions, Elijah remained faithful to the LORD.

Here’s one of the lessons I’ve learned from the life of Elijah:

His emotions were heavy, but he kept doing God’s work—even when it was hard.

He knew something we often forget:

“When God is all we have, we discover that He is all we need.”

That reality became food for his soul.

See you Sunday for more lessons from the life of Elijah—and, hopefully, a little more food for our souls along the way!

08/23/2026

08/16/2026

08/13/2026

Join us this Sunday as we continue our summer series, “Summer on the Mount”⬇️

The other day, my son said, “Dad, let’s have a burn battle! We play it on the bus all the time… You go first!”

Believe it or not, I don’t have a bank of burns living rent-free in my head, so I shot out a joke I heard from a comedian years ago.

I said, “Son, that’s not a fair fight… You’re so dumb, I caught you staring at a jar of orange juice the other day because the label said, ‘Concentrate.’”

To which he quickly responded, “You’re right, Dad. It’s not a fair fight… I would burn you, but I’m not allowed to burn trash.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I guess I’m out of practice! It’s been years since I rode the bus!

But let me ask you a question: Have you ever felt burned by another person?

Perhaps someone took personal information you shared in confidence and used it against you in public. Maybe you felt betrayed or rejected by someone you thought was a friend. Or perhaps someone simply rejected you, ignored you or vanished from your life.

Burn battles are one thing, but feeling betrayed can hurt far more than getting slapped in the face.

And that’s where Jesus takes us this week in Matthew 5. Jesus addresses what we’re supposed to do when someone hurts us, wrongs us, or treats us like an enemy. His teaching is so different from our natural response that it forces us to ask a difficult question:

What does it look like to follow Jesus when someone has genuinely hurt you?

This week, we’ll look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:38–42 and discover that the way of Jesus isn’t about getting even—it’s about responding to evil in a radically different way. Jesus calls us to something far more difficult, and far more powerful, than winning a burn battle.

08/09/2026

08/02/2026

07/26/2026

07/22/2026

See you this Sunday as we continue our “Summer on the Mount” series picking back up at Matthew 5:27-30 ⬇️

A few years ago, my wife was in a beautiful mood. I mean, she has always been attractive to me—but that is not what I mean. She had a desire to beautify the world around her.

She’s great at that, so naturally, she gathered the kids and planted zinnia seeds in a bare patch of our landscaping.

A couple of weeks later, they sprouted. About a month after that, they had completely overtaken our front porch. It was, without question, more “beauty” than I was prepared to handle.

So what did we do with an overabundance of pink and yellow flowers? We trimmed them, made bouquets for friends, and created centerpieces for every available surface in the house. The beauty project had officially moved indoors.

My wife was happy… I was not.

Within a couple of weeks, this minor annoyance became a full-blown problem. As it turned out, I was allergic to zinnias. Bringing those little beauties into the house triggered my immune system and made me miserable. I had no idea they were a trigger for me.

Thankfully, we removed the flowers from inside the house—and eventually from the yard. I gave my wife until Labor Day that summer to enjoy them before I… handled things.

Realizing this vulnerability wasn’t a fun experience, but it was a helpful reminder: I need to know my triggers and not be blindsided by beauty. I also need to communicate those triggers to my wife.

What is true in nature is also true spiritually. All of us have allowed something destructive to grow in our lives. Sometimes it creeps in slowly; other times it springs up before we realize what is happening. Either way, we need to recognize our triggers and deal with them before they take root.

Experience is often our best teacher. Too often, we plant unhealthy seeds expecting good results, only to discover those choices lead to destructive habits.

And here’s the key: we can’t keep those triggers to ourselves. If we stay silent, the people around us might unintentionally invite the very things into our lives that we are trying to avoid.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death…

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. – James 1:13-15 &5:16

See you soon!