Restoration Church

The Downside of Being Too Familiar -- 1 May 2022

Vertical Church 2.0 -- 24 April 2022

The glory of God, His presence, presence driven vs program driven, personality driven.  When looking for a church, you should ask yourself, is the leadership humble and authentic? Is God present?
Everyone needs an ark. Everyone needs to be part of a spiritual family. I know many people struggle to find a spiritual family because there is a lack of healthy, biblical ones. But, everyone needs a spiritual family, a shepherd, a covering, and your covering needs a covering.  If you ever move away from here and need to find another church, find your church before you buy your home, if possible.
We’re going to keep worship unashamedly, preaching unapologetically, praying unceasingly, and telling others about the one who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us...AND, we’re going to continue to keep our focus...saying, “to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

This Is That -- 20 March 2022

This Is That -- 13 March 2022

It is heartbreaking to see people walk away from the Christian faith. Friends, family, and high-profile spiritual leaders.  Falling away or leaving the Christian faith is not something new. Paul tells of Demas “because he loved this world, Demas has departed from the faith.”
This trend of people leaving the faith seems to be accelerating in our times.
There are more than 72 million millennials in America - almost a quarter of the population. An increasingly sizable percentage of that generation has walked away from faith of any kind, choosing to identify as “religious nones.” In 2008, researchers noted that close to a third of millennials (31.9%) described themselves as religiously unaffiliated. Just ten years later, that number was at 42.7 percent.
Church membership in America has suffered greatly in the past decade.1937 church membership 73%, early 1980’s more than 70%, 2000 it was at 65%, by 2010 it was 59%, in 2020 it was 50%. Now, less than half of Americans belong to a local church. Pandemic factor.
This is more than people leaving the church, a declining church membership, attendance, it is people falling away from Jesus Himself.

This Is That -- 6 March 2022

Cancel Culture - It is one of the great ironies of our age that while we are living during a time when almost any behavior is celebrated no matter how sinful, we are simultaneously living in a time where any small misstep, public or private, could be the catalyst of our own social and financial ruin.
It would be nice if this cancel culture was a temporary phase we’re going through. But society is becoming more intolerant and polarized by the day. We can’t last much longer like this.What we’re seeing today is what Jesus was describing in Matthew 24:21-22.

This Is That -- 27 February 2022

Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel... (KJV)Prophecy27% to 33% of the Bible is prophetic. Prophecy and the spiritual gift of prophecy is legit. Not all who prophesy are. Be careful.  As we get back to this series, I want you to stay plugged into groups that will provide pastoral care and discipleship. We must stay connected.
These are perilous times, difficult times...for those who are unaware of what the bible says.
Some are unaware of the prophecy
Some were made aware but didn’t believe it
Some were made aware, believed it but the waiting caused them to doubt
Some were made aware of the prophecy, believed it, waited for it to come to pass and they were receptive to what God was doing in that moment

Restored: made new again, only better -- 20 February 2022

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges!
 
Restore, revive, renew, rebirth, refresh, reconcile, redeem, redo, repent, remember, remind, reform, recreate, resurrect - God of the re(s).  Old things pass away because you are a new creation, a new person. All things are new, a new life emerges.
Have you ever needed a fresh start, a do over, a mulligan? Has your marriage ever needed a reboot?

Welcome Guest Carter Conlon

Standing in the Storm, part IV -- 6 February 2022

Standing in the storm.Week 1
Matthew 7:24 Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice...is like a wise man who built his house on the ROCK.
1) Life-giving power of the word and 2) Life-saving power of the word (Psalm 107:20)
Week 2
Matthew 14 The disciples in the storm doing what they were told to do. Jesus walks out on the water to them in the storm. Storms of correction and perfection, discipline and revelation.
1) He is aware of your storm and He will meet you in that storm 2) to listen to Him and 3) to keep your focus on Him
Week 3
Hebrews 12:1-3 Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us...we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
1) Fix our eyes on Jesus 2) listen to Jesus (the Word) and 3) learn from Jesus
Week 4
Hebrews 12It’s a marathon so we must learn to endure. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, he endured the cross for the joy that was set before him.
It’s a marathon. Prepare yourself. There will be some twists and turns. Up some hills and down others. Keep your eye on Jesus (the Word). Mature believers must develop the ability to focus on Jesus. Not others. Not your people and not your pastor. You need people but they’ll let you down. You need a pastor but don’t let him/her be your Messiah.
Do the hard stuff. It’s worth it. Walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. Do that stuff that your flesh doesn’t want to do. It’s worth it. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and expect the supernatural. Go ahead and get out of the boat, do what The Word tells you to do, go ahead, trust it.

Standing in the Storm, part III -- 30 January 2022

1 out of 5 Christians deal with mental or emotional health issues yearly.  When people think about mental health, they typically picture mood disorders like schizophrenia, OCD, or a bipolar episode. What many don’t realize is that common symptoms like stress, anxiety, and depression are also tied to mental health. Among Christians, it’s easy to dismiss these emotions as personal flaws in our moral character, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s been estimated that nearly 1 in 5 Americans experience some kind of mental health incident each year, and like any physical ailment, these shouldn’t go left untreated.
John 5:25
...a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
Start the day with a commitment to put your relationship with God first, start with a good focus
Get rid of relationships and things that force you to focus on the wrong stuff
Embrace the idea that your ability to focus on JESUS will determine whether you survive the storm