Verve City Church: Weekly Messages

Every commercial we see reinforces the same message: the good life is just a purchase away. We could finally be happy if we had a bigger house, a nicer car, a newer phone, a more luxurious dining room set...the list is endless. Which is kind of the point. Increasingly, sociologists and psychologists are discovering that there’s a real emotional and relational cost to have a mindset of constant accumulation as a pathway to personal fulfillment.Jesus taught the opposite: he said that generosity was the key to living a happy and free life. Jesus even challenged some of the religious leaders of his day by pointing to what seemed to be a paradoxical problem: they were giving their money away, but they weren’t actually generous.Which of these opposing narratives do we choose to put our trust in? Do we live in a world of scarcity as the advertisers would have us believe? Or do we live in a world of abundance as Jesus taught? And how would our lives be transformed if we chose to trust in Jesus’ vision of the world?

We all want to be masters of our own destinies. We all want to feel in control of our lives.  The idea of autonomy is attractive. It makes life feel ordered and predictable. But our  desire for autonomy can stand in the way of faith. One of the biggest barriers to belief in  God is that we don’t want to believe because we don’t want to need anyone. But what if  autonomy is an illusion? Don’t let the illusion of autonomy stand in the way of a relationship with your heavenly  Father. Don’t be turned away from God by the prospect that his existence means you’re  guilty, accountable, and wrong. Acknowledging your sin and reaching out to God doesn’t  lead to condemnation. It opens the door to forgiveness, relationship, and truth. Romans  5:8; James 4:8-10This message "I Do" is the final week of our series "Who Needs God" at Inland Hills Church. We invite you to check out the rest of the series, and subscribe to our channel so that you never miss a new message!People are migrating away from religion at an unprecedented rate—Christianity in particular. Once upon a time, people believed religion offered solutions. Today, many people view religion as the problem.Learn more: https://inlandhillschurch.com

We all want to rid the world of injustice. But we can only recognize injustice if we know  what justice is to begin with. But maybe the best way to rid the world of injustice is to rid the world of God. We don’t always agree about what is just. So, who gets to define justice if not God? When God is gone, injustice leaves with him because justice leaves with him.If anyone had a reason to stop believing in God because of injustice, it was Jesus. The one who stands at the center of all we believe was treated extraordinarily unfairly. The one who taught us all people have inherent value was executed. The one whose definition of good and just informs your definitions of good and just was treated unjustly. Evil and injustice are not arguments against the existence of God. They are evidence of our need for his mercy and grace.  Scripture references: 1 John 4:7-8; John 12:47; Luke 18:7-8

Are you caught between doubt and despair because you’ve been trying to worship the bodyguard god, on-demand god, boyfriend god, guilt god, anti-science god, gap god, or angry-Old-Testament god? If big-G God has lost his appeal because you’ve mixed him up with a gaggle of little-g gods who don’t exist, then how can you know what God is really like? If you could see God just once, wouldn’t it settle your fears, give you assurance, and motivate you to hold firm in your faith? If you want to know what God says, listen to Jesus. If you want to know what God is up to, watch Jesus. If you want to have a closer relationship with God, follow Jesus. John 14:7-11; John 4:24; Luke 11:2; 1 John 14 

Do you find some of the Bible’s stories about God unsettling? Do you ever wonder how you can trust Jesus if it requires you to believe everything in the Bible is true? Does Christianity seem like a fragile house of cards that may tumble down in the face of scientific or archeological discovery? Before you abandon your faith, it’s worth exploring this question: What if the Bible isn’t the foundation of the Christian faith? Before the Old and New Testaments were combined and called the Bible, the debate about the Christian faith centered on an event, not a book. We believe Jesus rose from the dead, but not because the Bible says so. We believe because of the testimony of eyewitnesses who gave up everything— including their lives—because of their confidence in Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:13—14

Everyone has religious doubts. Certain things about God are unsettling. Our circumstances can make God seem distant or vengeful. Science can make God seem unnecessary. Those doubts can cause us to abandon faith. But maybe our perspectives are wrong. Maybe the gods we abandon never existed to begin with.

More Americans than ever are backing away from religion . . . and God. Not because atheism is attractive, but because religion is unattractive. Religion is seen as the problem. It’s thought of as a source of conflict and violence. So, it’s worth asking the question: Who Needs God?

We’re supposed to share the gospel of Jesus. But how do we do that? Is it all up to us individually or do we get graded as a group project? If I really, really want my friends to follow Jesus, is there something I can do to help that along? Great questions. Let’s think through some answers together.