Watch/Listen
Topic: Transformation
The Gospel of Groundhog
Jesus grew in wisdom and he impressed the teachers of the law with his insight when he was only twelve years old. This wisdom and insight was not based upon a reservoir of head-knowledge. He was not impressing people with the facts he had stored up from studying. Instead he was demonstrating insight into life. He had understanding and he grew in this understanding. God wants to use a difficult marriage or a frustrating work environment to teach us something. While he is not the source of these troubles, he is wise enough to know how he can take advantage of trials to refine us and give us wisdom. Read More
Lessons from Anna II: The Heart of Worship
Worship is the essence of the Christian life. Anna, an example for us today, lived a life that was characterized by worship. She worshipped God night and day. To worship God is to simply behold and express the beauty of Jesus Christ, and to be transformed by this beauty. God’s love was expressed most clearly at Calvary, when he gave his Son as a ransom for our sins, so that we could be free and have a relationship with him. Worship is speaking, singing and living in this reality and then being transformed by it. Read More
A Piercing Sword
For disciples of Christ, the Word of God cuts and divides. God sees us for who we really are, and his desire is to mold and shape us into this person. God desires to carve away and remove anything that is sinful in our lives. He wants us to grow and may place new convictions on our hearts in the process. Our job as followers of Jesus is to humble ourselves, repent, and allow God to mold and shape us. Read More
Offensive Good News
The message that Simeon gives Mary has a heavy, ominous tone, as he predicted that Jesus would actually cause many to fall and that people would speak against him. This prophetic message establishes the fact that the good news of the Gospel is much more than set of encouraging thoughts or beliefs, but in fact it is offensive in nature. It offends because it challenges the lives of those who hear it to live a different way. Read More
Sanctified Emotions
The definition of something being “sanctified” means that it is separated (set apart) unto God for His exclusive use. God desires our entire being to be sanctified and conformed to His will. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Our intellect, will and behavior are aspects of our being that we can learn to surrender to God. But, there is also another part of our being, one that is given very little attention to within teachings on sanctification; our emotions. Read More
Escaping the Matrix Conference
The Escaping The Matrix Conference took place on December 9-10, 2005, at Woodland Hills Church. The conference was based on the book Escaping the Matrix, by Greg Boyd and Al Larson, and was led by Greg, Mike Davis, from Ontario, CA and Bobby Bodenhamer, from Gastonia, NC. Like the characters in The Matrix movie trilogy, our minds can get hardwired … Read More
Your Thoughts, Your Destiny
Mary’s song praises God because He scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. God’s is incredibly concerned about how we think because what we do is a product of how we think. Inmost thoughts steer all of life. Our quality of life is determined by our thought lives. Read More
From the Old to the New
The story recorded in Luke 1:39-45 highlights Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth and John represent the old, while Mary and Jesus represent the new, the new things that God is doing in the world. Elizabeth and John are not in competition with Mary and Jesus; instead they acknowledge, submit and rejoice in the new that is coming. Read More
The Enemy Within
Jesus gives us the greatest commandment, to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’ve all heard this command, but we tend to resist the basis for loving our neighbors — loving ourselves. The “small story” we often live in focuses on what we’ve done, what was done to us, and what we dislike about ourselves. The Big Story is the eternal perspective. It includes not only us, but what God has done, is doing, and will do through us. In Christ, we are to see our story as part of the Big Story. With God’s help we can embrace this process to overcome the evil within. Read More
Neil Anderson, 11:00 a.m. Service
**Please note, this study guide is only applicable to the 11:00 a.m. service. Unfortunately, we did not anticipate that Neil would give three different sermons for each service! Though very generous on his part, it was a surprise to us!** This message challenged us to be content as children of God, walking freely in the Spirit, and it warned us of the two things that might prevent us from experiencing the freedom we have: legalism and license. Read More
