Spiritual growth is not automatic. If it were, every person who is born again would progress along a certain path and at some point automatically “arrive” spiritually. Instead, just like physical growth, spiritual growth is a gradual process of development.
If you’ve been at Mars Hill Baptist Church long, you know how important practical teaching is to our church. Our goal is simple. We begin by identifying what is important for people to know. Practical teaching reveals where we are and where we need to go. We want the message to come alive so we added REWIND.
REWIND is weekly email designed for us to look back to Sunday’s message and allow God’s Spirit to prompt us in areas that need to change in our lives (before we shelve the thoughts in the archives of our mind). There are three sections to it: (more…)
God designed us in such a way that we are really just a big bundle of appetites, expectations, and desires. Appetites include security, an appetite for love, an appetite to be respected, to be cherished, and to feel successful. God designed to have appetites, but each one of our appetites creates tension. The reason you feel tension in your life, is because one or more of your appetites are clamoring for MORE.
Your ability or inability to manage your appetites will determine the direction of your life. That’s why I decided to begin 2015 with a new series called “All Things New.” On Sunday, January 4, 2015 (8AM or 10:30AM), I’m kicking off this series discussing the tension you face in your pursuit of MORE. Together we’ll look at the Story of Jacob and Esau and discover how uncontrolled appetites can lead to destruction (Genesis 25). Grab a friend and meet us at Mars Hill Baptist Church. You’ll leave stronger, better, and wiser.
Let me be honest with you…the desert IS NOT a fun place. It’s dry, lonely, and HOT!
Everyone goes through dry seasons. Be honest, you can recall times when you didn’t feel “spiritually high,” You attend church weekly, go to Sunday School or Bible Study, perhaps you even study your Bible, but God feels a lot more like a distant relative than somebody you’re connected to. The toughest season, and one that so many Christians seem to fight through, is the dry season–the desert months. During this season our relationship with God feels distant but lifeless. Again I repeat, everyone goes through desert seasons.
When I sense God is distant, I cringe when people tell me to “pray more” or “have more faith.” Really? That’s the best you have when you see I’m thirsty! When you go through your desert season, here are 3 key truths you can hold on to: (more…)
Each day has troubles. Sometimes the troubles are so great that we think they will break us. Unimaginable troubles…we never saw coming, hit us with such force, we are knocked down. We look up, searching for help, but we feel weighted down where we are. God knows we will have troubled times such as these. He desires we place our hope in Him rather than our circumstances. In order to do that, we must have a healthy understanding of hope.
What Is Hope?
In Scripture, hope is a confident expectation for the future, describing both the act of hoping and the object hoped for. When grounded in God, hope provides the motivation to live the Christian life even in the face of trouble. Having hope is to imagine a favorable outcome because we’re confident in hope’s source.
I love history! It gives you an opportunity to learn about your past and stand on the shoulders of giants. What’s more exciting than learning history is MAKING history. That’s exactly what we’re doing at the Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago. We’re celebrating our 50th Anniversary with events planned throughout 2013.
Celebrating Something Old – Our Past
I serve an amazing church filled with amazing people (Ok, I’m biased). The Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago is celebrating her 50th year in ministry. On February 24, 2013, we celebrated “Something Old” by taking a trip down memory lane. We paid tribute to our founding Pastor & 1st Lady, Rev. Dr. Clarence E. Stowers, Sr., & Margaret Stowers along with our founding members. Together, we laughed, cried, and learned about our glorious past.
Our 17 Founding Members
Celebrating Something New – Our Present
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
On Saturday, April 20, 2013, we opened “The Gallery.” Ylandus Roundy came up with the concept of “The Gallery.” On display were various pictures, artifacts, clothing, and other items depicting my life. The idea was to showcase the man behind the message and show that I’m more than a pastor, teacher, and leader. Many members came and were pleasantly surprised by the many facets of my life. I want to thank our staff, Ylandus Roundy, and Bert Parker for representing Mars Hill well.
Over two thousand years ago, in the Middle East, an event occurred that permanently changed the world. Because of that event, history was split. Every time you write a date, you’re using the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the focal point.
What’s so important about Easter? It’s important because it proved that Jesus was who he claimed to be. He was God in the flesh, and He came to earth to save us. Four events occurred in a dramatic succession on that Easter weekend: the betrayal of Jesus, then the suffering of Jesus, next came the crucifixion of Jesus, and finally the resurrection of Jesus.
It’s been said a picture is worth a thousand words so Let’s look at each of those events and their implications.
But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” (John 6:64 NLT).
While we cannot be absolutely certain why Judas betrayed Jesus, some things are certain. First, although Judas was chosen to be one of the Twelve, all scriptural evidence points to the fact that he never believed Jesus to be God. He even may not have been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah (as Judas understood it). Unlike the other disciples that called Jesus “Lord,” Judas never used this title for Jesus and instead called him “Rabbi,” which acknowledged Jesus as nothing more than a teacher. You can read more HERE.
But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. Isaiah 52:14
Jesus suffered most severely throughout the trials, torture, and crucifixion (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19). As horrible as His physical suffering was, it was nothing compared to the spiritual suffering He went through.
Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded. Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?” (John 18:22-23 NLT)
Beginning before 6:00am, Jesus was subjected to harsh interrogation, beaten, spit on, mocked, brutally whipped, and finally convicted and made to carry His cross to His own crucifixion. He was nailed by His hands (or wrists) and feet to the cross and left hanging for hours before He died. You can read more about it HERE.
Scripture presents conclusive evidence that Jesus Christ was in fact resurrected from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is recorded inMatthew 28:1-20;Mark 16:1-20;Luke 24:1-53; andJohn 20:1–21:25. The resurrected Christ also appeared in the Book of Acts (Acts 1:1-11). The resurrection is not an event, it’s a person and His name is Jesus.
What a glorious truth the resurrection of Christ is! “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
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