Today we are going to stay in the book of Daniel and specifically look at how we can learn from Daniel and his friends about how we can intentionally build healthy guardrails as people of faith that can help keep us on the right path for the long term just like Daniel walked out over decades. As we bow our knee to Jesus and make him Lord, he begins…

We often feel we have one of two options when looking at the pressure of living in a secular culture: We can either separate or assimilate. The book of Daniel shows us there is a third option: We don’t have to separate or assimilate, but we can redemptively participate in the cultural moment we find ourselves in. God has called us to radically inte…

If you are wanting to live a life of faithfulness to Jesus in commitment to God’s plan and His design, everything around you in our cultural moment will rage against that. We live in many ways in a digital Babylon that condemns moral guidelines, champions immorality, and condemns those who won’t celebrate this new moral vision. God has called us to…

Methods and vision can change as we adapt to the ever changing circumstances of life, but it's our values that determine who we become and what we do with our lives! Values form our decision making, our priorities, and our financial decisions. As a church we have strong values that shape the way we look at things and how we make our calls regardles…

A weakness is a known bad trait someone has and they try to hide it even though it’s visible — it’s insecurity. Vulnerability is different. It’s the openness and honesty about a weakness or pain with a full desire and willingness to fix it. To grow in our faith and toward the callings God has for us we must be vulnerable with those in our community…

What if you could be content with nothing but hunger and need: That is the absurdity of what Paul is telling us in Philippians 4. But the truth is you are most fulfilled not when your plate is full or your bank account is full but when your heart and mind is full of the hope of Christ Jesus. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have le…

How does a relationship with God provide us the tools we need to live above the anxiety in our world and not carry this in our lives? How do we become people of peace in an anxious world? If we live in a world of systemic anxiety, it takes a person who is a differentiated (able to separate) non-anxious presence to lead people out of it. Here is wha…

Righteousness – a right standing with God – is never ever grounded on your accomplishments. It’s not about what you have done or don’t do for God. It’s about what Jesus has done. You can only Christ through faith & repentance as you commit yourself to Christ. And after we become one, we press into our righteousness, we press into the perfect creatu…

You will not become who God made you to be by winging it on your own. When you repent of sins and turn towards God you become part of a new family called the Church. God designed the church brilliantly with everything we need to grow and become like Jesus. “I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone lo…

In our faith the intention to obey and the cultivation of a life of obedience is our responsibility but at the same time, God doesn’t just call us to obey, he gives us the ability to obey. This is saying God gives us the desire to obey and has given us the power to do it. In this power we can go from people who are warped and crooked, bent in on ou…

It requires an incredible amount of humility to set aside our secondary preferences for the greater good of our community. It’s a high goal and often seems impossible to live selflessly as Philippians calls us to because we often have great faith in God’s ability to save our souls but often low faith in His ability to transform our hearts. The trut…

How can we have a life of overflow of joy in the midst of a world of consumption? We all have systems and we must evaluate what our systems are producing if we want to find the path to flourishing that God has for us. A path of flourishing that sets us apart from the world in that we have a joy that defies our circumstances through our peace and st…

What are you searching for? Has what you have been going to to satisfy your searching delivered on what it promised? Jesus is reaching out to you right now. And if you’ll answer this call, if you search for the risen Jesus, he’ll deliver on what he promised. He’ll change you from the inside out. He’ll change your today and he’ll change your future.…

You may have had needs for so long you’ve gone quiet. If you don’t keep your needs accurately and honestly in front of Jesus your faith and hope will drift. Jesus is not focused on the amount of faith you have, he’s focused on the object of your faith. But if you see yourself and your situation properly, you will bring your needs persistently, and …

In Mark 12, guest speaker Pastor Aaron Burke challenges us to go after the lost sheep and bring them into the kingdom. Whose life can you you start speaking into? Who has God put on your heart to pursue? If we love our savior, we have to love and pursue the lost around us! One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the deb…

If the goal is following Jesus what do you hope to get out of following him? Knowing what you hope to get out of something determines whether or not you’ll be disappointed by what you actually get. In Mark 10, Jesus is clear what he offers us in the gospel - an inner renewal for your present life and a hope for your future that creates within a hum…

Jesus doesn't want to be our good teacher, he wants to be our God. Our full surrender unlocks the purpose-filled life of walking with Jesus with blessing and persecution. In Mark 10, Jesus challenges the rich young ruler to move from security in his wealth to security in the kingdom. “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not …

Jesus walked this earth preaching and healing people, but his main target was always our heart and the forgiveness of sins. In that, he calls us to a higher standard than the law of the old covenant - he wants our hearts so he can liberate it from evil desires and produce in us a new heart, pleasing to him! He is more than just a sin forgiving heal…

Through the story of the woman with the issue of blood, we see how persistence in our faith, overcoming complacency, and getting in his presence touch the heart of God to move on our behalf. His work isn’t dependent on ours - but out faith should drive us to pursue him and when we meet him he loves to bring breakthrough in our life.…

In Mark chapter 4 Jesus challenges us with the parable of the sower and what kind of heart it takes to receive the good news of the gospel. Without humility, being tuned into the Holy Spirit, and his Word inside us we will not be able to keep the soil of our heart ready for deep roots. So be challenged to open up your heart to him and let him work …

Our desperation drives us to Jesus. But when we come to him we find Jesus’ deliverance goes far deeper than we can ever imagine! In Mark 2, we see Jesus’ deliverance in the healing of the paralyzed man with a far greater act of healing by forgiving his sins. This is a challenge for us to recognize our inherent brokenness of sin and absolute need fo…

The good news of the kingdom can only be received through repentance and belief. The gospel is the good news, the truth. If we see it and accept it as our reality - instead of just good advice - it should cause us to recognize our need for it and come into repentance as we evaluate our lives against it. Repent is the most gracious word in the Engli…

Who are you becoming and is God speaking to you to make some changes in that area? We are relationally created to live in committed, covenant relationships with fellow Christians to become more like Jesus, and through the love for another, reach out to those around us. Kingdom focused friendships will make you look in the mirror and drive you to gr…

The defining characteristic that we follow Jesus is not by sermons or miracles or services or songs – but by our love for each other. As we search his relationships we will learn a new way – a new love – covenant love! This week we look at Jesus’ relationships as an example of how to live in covenant with our church community and walk in a love tha…

How do we stay rooted in Christ and built up in him? If something is rooted, it means it is connected to a source that is providing life and growth. If we are going to grow spiritually we must stay connected to Jesus every day. To walk with Jesus as a disciple, or an apprentice. The call of Jesus is to come and follow him, not just believe. “If you…

With today’s rapidly evolving culture it’s easy to feel like we are fighting battles on all sides to hold the standards of our faith for ourselves, our kids, and even our church. We are called fight with love and grace, never giving up, and always holding to the truth. We must fight our battles with a sincere heart of love for those we feel are aga…

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus who came as God came to us, not to bring judgment but to bear it. Not to judge the world, but to be judged for the world. Not to condemn us, but to save us. We want this season for you to be filled with Joy for what God has done and hopeful Anticipation for what God will do. Christ is our guiding light i…

Why should we love God? What does it mean to love God wholeheartedly? Why is he ultimately deserving of our love? We have to see the value of a thing before we will worship it. Revelation is the precursor to worship, and worship is ultimately about love. We must recognize Jesus for who he is, and with childlike innocence, respond with the worship w…

As we continue celebrating the Advent season and anticipate the arrival of Christ, this week we want to discuss the coming of his Joy. Christ came to give us fullness of life and wants us to live in the joy of our salvation in him. To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on…

Are you at peace? One of the things we often find in our holiday seasons is that it often exposes just how little peace there is in your life. If Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, how can we access this peace in this world at war? Peace that lasts. Peace that is secure. Today, we are challenged to find peace through true reconciliation - in recogn…

Hope according to the bible is “To trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future.” Hope, as Hebrews shows us, is the foundation of a strong faith as we read in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Christian Hope is not like …

We must familiarize ourselves with the way the enemy is attacking our culture, our families, our church, and each generation. Modern study of adverse childhood experiences document the lifelong trauma that developmental trauma can bring whether by abuse or broken families. We hope this message equips you to recognize and counter the work of the ene…

In the parable of the sower, Jesus is asking you which of the four soils best describes the condition of your heart right now? Are you seeing the fruit that you desire in your life or is there room for improvement? Certainly, for all of us, there are ways we can grow, and we must let God be the sifter of our seed and fertilizer of our ground. Be ch…

It’s impossible to avoid the temptation of hiding our sin - but no matter how much it might make us feel safe for a while - it leaves us no way to really get rid of our shame, guilt, or regret. Our good shepherd, who pursues us in spite of our rebellion, speaks to us through his voice and his word to bring us hope, healing, and restoration and rest…

This week is all about global and local missions. Reaching out to the lost is core to God’s heart and who we are at New Life Church. So this week we get to highlight a lot of different missions in and around our church and meet some of our friends who are making a huge difference in people's lives. As you hear about these opportunities, we challeng…

God has chosen to limit the effectiveness of his church by the faithfulness of his people. The effectiveness of God’s church is limited by the faithfulness of his people. It takes time for us to grow and learn how to work how he does and become effective workers alongside him but we believe one thing God wants to develop in you is a heart of genero…

There is a generation that is suffering and walking away from faith in droves. But what if this is largely not because of decisions they have made and are making but because of the decisions and the faith of those who went before them. We are in the midst of a time in History where we need to see a comeback and we must lead from a place of being pl…

When it comes to vision in the Home, there are so many areas to start thinking and dreaming about: What could be better in my family? What could be better in my marriage? What goals do we have? What dreams do we have? God can transform your family from where it is today to where he designed it to be but it takes being intentional with leading our f…

When Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well, we can only imagine the social and emotional tensions in play. This woman meets a man she assumes will approach her with judgment from her social status or from the shame of her past - just as we all have personal and generational challenges. But instead of meeting judgment she meets the Messiah…

Have you ever had a competing vision of what is right or wrong with your boss before? What about with God? In Jonah chapter 4 we see Jonah struggling with a different vision of good that is not theological, but ideological. The truth is, Jonah is motivated by what is good for Jonah and God is motivated by what is good for all of his creation. “Then…

God is determined to accomplish his purposes through us so that his Justice and mercy will cover the earth like a flood. Still, despite hearing about the mercy characteristics of God, there are many of us who don’t know this God. We flee wrath but we never worship under mercy. It is his pure and true justice as a loving father that leads us back to…

The life of a Christian is not all blessings - but it's a call to fight our flesh and follow our heavenly father's call for our life. In this journey we will encounter the 5 Ps of a Christian life: Pull, Pursuit, Pleasure, Pain, and Peace. "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a wom…

We need a plan for becoming like Jesus. Though we can’t earn God’s free grace, the process of growth to becoming a truly transformed disciple will cost you. But the gain is so much greater than the cost. Where are you wanting to grow? Marriage? Raising kids? Single, looking for a healthy place to make friends? Prayer life? What do we gain? We get t…

In chapter 2 we get to experience Jonah’s physical, emotional, and spiritual low. This is certainly something we can all relate to – living in the brokenness from our choices and the choices of those around us. But at his lowest moment – even as he had been running from God – we see Jonah acknowledge the ultimate grace of his savior as he proclaims…

Jonah isn’t a story about the big fish, this is the story about a gracious God. God is using two of the most extreme examples in human history of depravity and religiosity to teach us something about his own heart and our very nature. So here is the question the book of Jonah causes us to wrestle with: Do we love God’s mercy? Do we really? “‘Throw …

In our journey through Colossians, Paul takes aim at setting a vision for what Biblical family should look like. Paul is not defining specifics of gender roles, but pointing to our intended design. God has made us as men and women equal and at the same time distinct in the way we function individually and together. God has a distinct vision for the…

What is our culture's view of a secure identity and how is Jesus seeking to re-form our identity? God has distinct characteristics he wants to develop in the life of each believer and also in his people, The Church. Our purpose is to be an outpost of grace, and community of growth. To be a visual representation of a new way to live, not shackled by…

We have been sold a pack of lies about what it means to be human. In this week's reading from Colossians 2, Paul is teaching us: We don’t have to let brokenness set our lens for reality. There is a greater reality than what we’ve seen. And we are to “fix our eyes on the reality of heaven.” In that reality we can put our old life to death and step i…

Jesus Christ is the ultimate reality. Everything points to him. Our salvation and our freedom is found in him. All other religious philosophies or ascetic practices are merely shadows. They cannot save us or transform us. Only Christ, our reality, can do that. We don’t have time to chase shadows, because the people around us need us to be true foll…

As we dive into a conversation between God and Jeremiah, God says He is both the God who is near and the God who is far away. God loves to come into our life and bring his blessings, but he also calls us out to find him. It is only in intentional seeking the far away God outside our own wants, needs, and desires that you find him and true abundant …