Relate Church

The struggle our generation faces, unlike any other previous generation is that our minds and emotions have been trained how to be content with experiencing someone else’s story.
We are able to live out the greatness of characters in movies and tv without ever having to experience those accomplishments ourselves.
This frame of mind is exactly how so many have approached Christianity.  Deep inside we all have a desire to experience Christianity, the adventures we read about in the Bible. 
I’m asking you and challenging myself to not be content with others' stories or Christianity from long ago. I want my own stories about God’s miracles, signs and wonders.

Ask yourself,  “What direction am I headed in life?”  If your life were to be mapped out, what would it look like?  
What would the map look like for your life’s road to a mature relationship with Him?  That is, Your ultimate purpose in living: A meaningful relationship with God. 
How much closer to that goal are you getting?

What are you doing today that makes life worth living in spite of the pain? You can live with such meaning and purpose today that the pain and suffering of this life are no longer relevant compared to the good you are doing.
The only real problem we face in this life is not living a life with purpose and meaning that outweighs the pain.

Hard wired in each of us is the ability to see and appreciate “the ideal” in everything. And humans have a unique ability to look at other humans, and mimic what they like about others in themselves. When we choose the wrong things or wrong people to imitate, major problems arise in our lives.
Here's the truth, the only one you and I should be comparing ourselves to is Jesus. Comparing our lives to anyone other than Christ causes a lot of pain and unnecessary problems in our lives. 

As good soldiers of Christ we need to look at every area of our lives and get it together to the best of our ability. Our finances. Our health. Our homes. Our emotions. Our schedules. Some of us are letting everyone and everything run our lives so much that we have zero time to do anything for God. 
What is keeping you from being a good soldier for Christ? When the church needs your gifts, your talents, your abilities to help, to teach, to facilitate, to clean, to welcome guests, to reach the lost, whatever---what keeps you from doing it?

The reason people aren’t where they want to be in life could very well be, and mostly is because that they aren’t making the right sacrifices in life.
If you make sacrifices to have a healthy relationship with God, healthy body, a healthy marriage, a healthy church, a healthy family, a healthy financial situation -- all of those things are going to work out.

God wants us to be fathers. God wants good people to make more good people. I don’t mean to diminish being an earthly father at all. 
But I want to challenge you today to take a step into another kind of fatherhood. 
This kind of fatherhood can’t happen accidentally. It can’t happen without intention. It’s called being a Spiritual Father.

Pastor Dale VanSteenis guest speaks- providing an update on success in mission's abroad and a message on what Jesus really did on the Cross.

What you are willing to do, the measures you are willing to go through, determines the measure of meaning in your life.
Our flesh wants big meaning from minimal measures. It would be great if suddenly today, you could say something that changes the world. But it doesn’t work that way. To influence the world with lasting-meaning, you have to have a story. You have to have a history of preparation, or a serious sacrifice of some sort, or a story of great perseverance.
Meaningful measures yield great meaning to your life.

When you think of a peacemaker, what do you envision?
It seems to give the picture of someone blowing bubbles at everyone, or a person always being positive and encouraging, saying the right thing with a big cheesy smile.
Jesus said this, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9 NIV).
He also made this statement about us when we are in heaven: “they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36 ESV).
Jesus was saying that His peacemakers in heaven cannot die anymore! And because we cannot die for eternity, Peacemakers are powerful, strong, have nothing to fear but God, kind of people. We may be able to die here, but not there!