Next level youth

09/11/2020

Official live video for "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by Austin Stone Worship, Live from TGC Check out Austin Stone Worship's live video for, "In The Hands Of ...

09/06/2020

Official Music Video for "Man of Your Word featuring Chandler Moore & KJ Scriven by Maverick City Music. "Man of Your Word" was written by Jonathan Jay, Tony...

08/30/2020

“So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan... It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.”
‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭17:5, 7‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Oftentimes God calls us to a place so that we can just wait. During that time of waiting, He grows us and matures us. He teaches us how to rely on Him through faith. He teaches us humility and love.

Too often Christians want to look faithful, humble or loving to the outside world, but not have to put in the hard work of waiting on God to learn those qualities. We want a microwave lifestyle- where we punch a few buttons and the result is only seconds away. A microwave can cook a piece of chicken in minutes, but when it’s done, it’s tough and rubbery. A slow cooker can simmer a piece of chicken for hours, and produces a tender result.

Going through a time of waiting is a lot like a crock pot. The conditions are uncomfortable and seem to last longer than we can bear. If we wait on the Lord, however, He can produce a tender life that truly understands faith, humility, and love.

So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

05/13/2020

The Bible says “vengeance is God’s; He will repay” (Romans 12:19). What a great reminder. Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. We tend to give too much or too little, but the God of justice has the precise prescription. God can discipline your abusive boss. He can soften your angry parent. He can bring your ex to his knees or her senses.

Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. Unlike us, God never gives up on a person. Never. Long after we’ve moved on, God is still there, probing the conscience, stirring conviction, always orchestrating redemption. Fix your enemies? That’s God’s job.

When it comes to forgiveness, all of us are beginners. No one owns a secret formula. Remember this: as long as you’re trying to forgive, you are forgiving. Just stay the course, and you’ll find a way to be strong even when you’ve been hurt. You’ll get through this.

- Max Lucado

11/19/2019

“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭16:9‬a

For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely ha

09/06/2019

Next.Level.Sin
Mark 5:1-20

I’ll be honest. Sometimes I think about sin like it is not a big deal. The allure of sin is that it offers pleasure and satisfaction, with what seems like little to no consequences. The book of James contrasts our idea of sin though by saying it promises to bring forth death, not satisfaction. If this is true, then we aren’t just wrong, we are actively welcoming the thing that is killing us!

There is a man in Mark 5 who I believe shows us what a life absorbed in sin looks like, and it is not a pretty picture. This passage shows us seven different ways sin harmed him, and ruined his relationship with God, at least until Jesus shows up, that is.

The first of many qualities I want to discuss is how sin affected this man socially. Remember, this was a real man, with a real family. He was once a child, presumably with a father and a mother who loved him. Possibly brothers, sisters, friends, a wife, and children! When Mark 5 opens on his story however, he no longer has any tangible relationships with loved ones, and he is driven by sin into isolation to have “his dwelling among the tombs.” The story says he lived outside Decapolis, a region known for its ten cities. The tombs were surely filled with dead and decaying bodies.

Why drives a man to live life like this? Why wasn’t he at home with his family who loved him?

One of the many truths of his life and our lives is that sin estranges us and isolates us from the people we love and who love us. Affairs drive marriages apart, fights cause fathers and sons to not speak for years, and gossip can collapse a friendship quickly. When we sin, it hurts those who we are closest to, and drives a wedge between so many relationships. Think of an example of how sin has hurt someone you didn’t want to hurt.

Sin ALWAYS harms us socially.

Few people sin with the desire to hurt their family and friends. Why do we do it then? We need to see sin for what it truly is. It’s not pleasurable and satisfying, it’s painful and divisive.