IRRESISTIBLE PART 5: People

SUNDAY, MARCH 16th, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

I don't know about you, but I tend to lean towards being an introvert. Which means, when it comes to my neighbors or going out of my way to meet new people, it's challenging. I have enough to deal with in my life than have to worry about other people who aren't my family. Once you open the door a crack into someone's life, BAM, the floodgates tend to open. 

So here where the problem is. Jesus was all about people. I mean, he went all over Judea meeting people. Getting into their stuff. Their lives. He even went where no other self-respecting Jew would go. Samaria. Why did he do that? Why did he have to be so "loving?" Because people matter to God. And they should matter to us. Our neighbors should matter to us. Our coworkers. And yes, our extended family too!! 

Part 5

IRRESISTIBLE PART 4: Response

SUNDAY, MARCH 9th, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

When you get a gift what is your response like? Is it totally appreciation? Thankfulness? Gratitude? How we respond at those times speaks a lot towards the state of our heart. Do we find it hard to be thankful? Are we unsure of how to respond? Do we become uncomfortable? Maybe it's because we've never been taught how to respond. Whatever the case may be, we need to learn some new responses, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. 

Part 4

IRRESISTIBLE PART 3: News

Sunday, March 2nd, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

What kind of news do you like to receive? Bad or good? My guess is that you like the good news significantly more than getting bad news. I'm right there with you. I especially hate the line that I sometimes get which goes something like, "We need to talk!" It's especially awful when it's done over the phone and the person on the other end says, "in a couple of days." Ever get one of those calls? There's something about good news that can just make a day go by a little faster and a little brighter. The news of a baby being born healthy. A friend getting a promotion. Approval for that dream house. Whatever the "news" is, we like it when it's good. 

So what if there was news given that could change everything? How we see the world. How we live in the world. How we respond to the world. What would you do with it? Would you walk away and say that it can't be true, or would you run as fast as you can and embrace it? 

That's the direction tomorrow. We all need some encouragement. We all need to hear some good news for a change.

Part 3

IRRESISTIBLE PART 2: Love

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

Ever been in love? So much so that it hurt? Have you ever loved someone so much that when you saw them in pain, you would do anything to make it go away? Love is complicated. It makes us do crazy and unspeakable things. Some good...some, not so much! But, when love is seemingly perfect, it's irresistible. It has power. It has pull. It's contagious.

As humans, we can't experience perfect love among ourselves. We're imperfect. Flawed. Broken. We can, however, experience perfect love apart from humanity. It's beautiful. Complicated. Breathtaking. Contagious. Irresistible. 

Part 2

IRRESISTIBLE PART 1: Beginnings

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16th, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

When you hear the word "church", what comes to mind? What do you think about? What kind of emotions are at play? The most common response is "a building." And, for many, negative emotions bubble up to the surface. Whether there has been abuse, failure or disappointment, to name a few, the idea of church means many things to many people.

A couple of thousand years ago, something happened so amazing and so radical that it changed the world. A movement happened. A way of life began. And a man named Jesus started it. He didn't come to start a religion. He didn't come to build another building. He came to change the world.

Wouldn't it be amazing to explore what that could be like today? To shed our preconceived notions. To toss aside our assumptions and have an open conversation about...wait for it...The Church.

Part 1

RESTART PART 6: Amazed

Sunday, February 9th, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

So last weeks blurb was around making deals with God and about belief. We definitely talked about not stopping believing, we didn't really get into the "making deals" stuff. That's where we're heading tomorrow. We've all done it. Every one of us. In the quiet. In the midst of anxiety. We've asked for a favor from Someone. "If you'll just change _______, then I'll do ___________ for You." There's a problem with this line of thinking. Unfortunately for most of us, we think that it actually works.

Part 6

RESTART PART 5: Believing

Sunday, February 2nd, 2014
Ken Elsner, Lead Pastor

Have you ever made a deal with God? Whether you have a belief system or not, have you ever been in a situation where you couldn't see your way out and you just blurted out something like, "God if you get me out of this I'll _________!" Ever been there? Maybe more than once? Here's the deal. All of us have a belief system. Really, we all do! The issue comes down to what that belief is. When the challenging times come, do you want your belief to be in something you made or in something much, much greater? That's it.

Part 5