Mill Creek Church

There is something special about brand new. Brand new clothes. Brand new car. The smell and the feel. So often though, the pursuit of our lives is wrapped up in the old. We can't seem to break through and find freedom. Seeing faith and spirituality as a pursuit, rather than an arrival might help us understand the life Jesus offers each of us.

The topic of salvation and heaven can sometimes be quite confusing. We've heard differing points of opinion and belief. What does Jesus and his followers actually say about what it means to be saved? It might not be as difficult as we sometimes make it. But it is always about relationship! For more information about the theological position of assurance of the believer, please check out www.mcusa.org/position-papers/#5.

The idea of heaven has been a hope of the church for generations. We sing about it. We pray for it and we know that one day, everything will be made new. While we might theologically believe in heaven, do we actually live with the truth of heaven in front of us?

Being a part of the inside crowd or the club always feels good. No one wants to be left out. The good news of Jesus was he came to invite everyone to be with him. Yet religious people can often make it feel like the complete opposite. More focused on who is in while Jesus was focused on who was left out. But his invitation is clear.

For many, the point of faith is built on the hope and promise of something beyond this life. Heaven. The good place. We hear that we must be saved in order to go there but what does that mean? Is it all about the good place or is it possible that salvation means something more? Throughout this teaching series, Chris will be referencing a new book by John Ortberg called Eternity is Now in Session.

Easter is the celebration of an event that changes everything. It changed the lives of those who witnessed it and it is the change that we are looking for in the deepest, darkest parts of our lives. Life can leave us empty but because of an empty tomb, we can find new birth and living hope!

Holiday and family traditions can be wonderful parts of our lives. In the Jewish faith, Passover is a celebration anticipated all year. During some of the last moments of his life, Jesus uses this setting to do something that most of us would not. He leaves us an example of how to live and it begs the question, what does love require of me?

Finding joy is a buzzword in our culture today with the philosophy of decluttering our lives of stuff no longer needed. It's a great idea but leaves us a bit short in understanding real joy. In some last words with his followers, Jesus shares a strategy of joy that seems strange and foreign. Yet once we engage with this amazing love it might change us forever.

People love to refer to Jesus as a great religious teacher. He taught life-changing principles, he taught us to love, to be good. But Jesus also made bold statements about himself. It was the main reason why the religious people of his day hated him. One of the boldest statements Jesus ever made leaves us with very few options. Either he is or he isn't and even if we might object to it, we have to decide.

If we knew our time left to live was short, our lives would probably take a much different trajectory. We would handle ourselves differently, spend as much time with the people we care for deeply, speak our last words with purpose. As we move closer to Easter, we explore some of the last words and actions of Jesus and discover life-changing words.

One of life's greatest faith questions is "What does God want from me?". Jesus answers this question as simply and profoundly as possible as he directs his followers to the simple idea of loving others. As we love the least, we love Jesus. And that is all God wants from us.

Follow God's plan and you will discover an entirely different life. You will begin to discover margin, breathing room. What will we do with that margin?

Our personal finances can be sources of great anxiety, fear and worry. On the outside everything can look okay but on the inside there is nothing but stress. We need hope and in a letter to a first century church, Paul gives us a promise of hope. If we let God have first, God will meet our needs.

Very few people want to be called selfish or self-centered. Yet if we were honest, most of our financial choices tend to be all about "me". We want to build our little kingdoms and we shut God out. But when life gets hard, its so easy to run to God to get his help. What if we had a different plan? What if we involved God at the beginning? It all boils down to priorities and God desires #1.

When it comes to personal finances, we all have different roadmaps. Maybe this is one of the reasons why it can be so confusing and frustrating and worry-filled. Everyone has a goal when it comes to finances - we want something - but our goals don't always match up with God's. In a moment of incredible generosity, King David helps God's people understand the right direction when it comes to who we are and who God is.

Discovering that we are lost can be a horrible feeling. No one purposely sets off in life and intentionally tries to get lost but we won’t know we are lost until we are lost. Then what? When it comes to our personal finances, we can often find ourselves lost. How did I get here? Why am I here? How do I get out of this? How do I make sense of this?

It can be fun and eye-opening to think back to where we were five years ago. How has your story changed since 2014? What challenges have you faced? How have you grown? A little perspective in the journey of life can go a long way.

Most people like to plan - plan their lives, their schedules, and families. Instinctively we know that we can't plan for everything. While it's powerful to consider our ways and where we want to be in five years, we know there are going to be situations that just can't be planned for. So what do we have? If it all disappears, if 2024 looks nothing like we hoped and planned for, what do we hold on to?

Why don't we change our ways when we know that we should? Change often requires time. It takes a long time to establish our ways, so naturally it's going to take time to change them. Change and growth also involves pain, change can be painful. But why put ourselves through pain? Maybe the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.

The beginning of a year brings new goals and dreams. Most of them never last too long because our attention spans tend to be way too short. Who will you be in five years? That might seem like an impossible question to answer. We overestimate what can be accomplished in the short term and underestimate what can be long term. Instead of looking at just this year, where could you be in 2024?