The best places in life are the places where the best stuff happens. These places make us feel something special, and we spend a lot of time trying to recapture those best moments in the best places. Bethlehem was statistically insignificant—which unfortunately is how a lot of people feel. A town of three hundred max was the birthplace of Jesus. See you can never say "well not me, not here" when it comes to Jesus. He wants to give you new life too, no matter who you are or where life has taken you. He is working everything for you to find the best place… a place with him. Just make room.

Letting go of what once was is always a hard lesson, to let go means we have to face “how do we move forward?” When you are “caught up” in circumstances it is easy to lose faith in the ONE that is always there for you. God is in the business of victorious endings.

The next message in our #BLESSED series focuses on the commands that Jesus gave us to be salt and light in our world. We may not realize this, but ANYONE can make an impact; we all have purpose. We need to live in our uniqueness and be an enhancement. We cannot keep our faith to ourselves, but we need to be a light exposing the darkness in the world. Most importantly, we are to do these things so that we can lead others to God and ultimately glorify Him through it all. You can make an IMPACT!

Waiting for anything is hard. It’s especially hard when waiting for matters of the heart. This message looks at the last encounter between the disciples and Jesus recorded in the book of John. Don’t fall back into what is comfortable or busy when you get restless. Look back and see how far God has brought you. Let your past trigger grace and reframe your future. God loves you and new beginnings await.

Thomas is a disciple who had a misunderstood moment stick, labeling him throughout history as “Doubting” Thomas. Thomas is a lot like us. We are more than a bad or unfortunate moment. We are free but not always doing great. The question is: Do you believe God is good? Let your questions be a catalyst to examine your faith and come out the other side stronger.

It is easy to lose things in translation. We get caught up in the buzz of the right now, what we need right now, what life looks like right now and we miss what God is doing in our lives. That is why it so important to go to the source and the source is Jesus. He’s whats missing when we miss peace and hope and joy.

There are things in life we don’t want to talk about but probably should. Sin is one of those things. The conversation about sin in church, maybe in your past is usually one absent of grace. That’s a huge problem. The bottom line is sin (not just yours, all of ours) wrecks things, but God’s grace is way bigger. This message points to our need for grace and doesn’t just stop there, it celebrates grace and invites us deeper into it.

The hard part is finishing strong. If you are struggling to get started, are stuck or failed somewhere along the way it should be encouraging to know that it’s not how you start it is how you finish that matters. Paul is teaching Timothy how to finish strong as he lives out an example for us all while he nears the end of his life. 7 ways to finish strong!

Life is full of seasons. Some easy, some hard, all carry a burden. You can’t let a season of your life steal your hope. Even when things aren’t going well you can learn to bear up under the burden of a season and live well. This message is how to make it through the season you find yourself in.

I would rather be better than worse but often it feels like the choices in life are between a bad situation and settling for less than what we hoped for. The secret to finding hope in anything is learning to disconnect your satisfaction from your situation. It is learning the state of, the spiritual practice of contentment. This message readjusts our misconceptions about contentment, helps us source it from Christ.

Sometimes the mess is the problem. The mess keeps us from experiencing hope and joy. The mess in our heart usually starts small but easily distracts us from what we need most. Jesus went to the temple and flipped the tables. He was passionate about the house of God where people would worship and find the hope they needed. Jesus cleared the mess so people could see God and find the new life He has for them. 1 Corinthians 6:19 and Romans 8:9 teach us that we are the temple. The place where God’s Spirit resides if we have given Him our hearts in faith. Time to clean up the mess and get back to the absolutely amazing experience it is to be close to Him. Let Jesus clean up your heart. Don’t wait to work on the mess.

Don’t make comfort your goal for this new year. Comfort is nice but it can also be a trap. There is a much better goal for your new year. The better goal is to step into the best life God has for you even if it means following Jesus when you are uncomfortable.

It doesn't matter what you look like, it doesn't matter what labels are thrown at you, it doesn't matter how other people judge you, Jesus just says come to me. Come to me if you're weary. Come to me if you're thirsty. I have what you've been looking for, just come to me. Just come and see. It's an invitation that will change your life. It's an invitation to be a part of something that is unstoppable.

I want my mentality to be "I Get To", not "I Have To". Happiness and joy is not found in ourselves. King David was living in a cave hiding to save his life. People flocked around him, made sacrifices for him. David had a “I Get To”, I get to offer these people what they could only get by grace. HE LOVED THEM! I get to serve Jesus, you get to serve Jesus.

The right gear for any adventure make the journey much safer, enjoyable and fun. Our life journey is no different, GOD has given us a list of “gear” needed to make our life journey much safer, enjoyable and fun as well.

In part 1 of How to be Victors, we talked about the first three items needed for our journey through life and how “the right gear” makes our life adventure easier or less stressful. Here are the last three items found in Ephesians 6:14.