Grace Church In Noblesville & Fishers, In

Loneliness and isolation seem to be gripping the world these days. It seems as if it's becoming somewhat of an epidemic. People seem scared or anxious to engage with others. Many seem to be secluded themselves, some by choice, many by circumstance. How do we find relief from this? In order to help figure this out we are going to look at the book of John. Turn to John 15:9-17. 9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you ever

So last week we began this sermon series - revealed and Dave started by talking about going to a movie - so I decided if he can start by talking about a movie - then I can too. Now I'm going to admit that if you have been around me the past couple of weeks you have probably already heard me mention this particular movie. I've actually been fairly annoying about it. And those of you that are sick of me talking about it - (my daughters for one) I ask for forgiveness in advance. But how many of you have seen Frozen 2? Anyone? N Indy? Fishers? If you haven't, I would highly recommend it. I mean highly recommend. It is this beautiful mix of story and unbelievable animation - and strong characters - especially female characters - and music - powerful music with a powerful message. And mixing story with music is maybe one of my favorite things. Just a great movie. But for me it was more than that - Frozen 2 was transcendent. I had a deep emotional and spiritual connection to this movie. You see I believe all beauti

Penny and I went to a movie Friday night. I wanted to go to the Mr. Rogers movie but Penny vetoed that. She said we're going to a movie that won't make us cry. I said OK, and she was right, it was a fun escape of a movie. Every now and then I need an escape. A way to rise above or step out of the pace or stress of life. That might be through a movie out with Penny. A party with friends. Or a retreat on my own. And sometimes it's by getting lost in a story. One that transports me to another place or another time. One of those stories, for me, is the Lord of the Rings. I've lost track of how many times I've read it. It always carries me away into that great story and allows me to walk with its characters. It always inspires me and captivates me. Well, that feeling of being transported to another time and another place is exactly what we hope will happen over the next four weeks. Through another remarkable story. A true story that you've heard so many times. A st

Principle 5: Face to face is best We need to work hard to create physical face to face connections with people. Three benefits of meeting face to face: 1. Eating together - Something happens when we break bread together! Jesus did it all the time! o "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Mark 2:16 o When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them - fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. "Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. "Now come and have some breakfast!" John 21:9 2. Touch - There is power in physical touch o Washing feet o Children in his arms o Touching lepers 3. The presence of Jesus o Where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. Matthew 18:20 Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 o The phrase "our meeting

Several months ago I was watching a YouTube clip of a Twitch stream of Ninja playing Fortnite. (If that's not a 2019 statement, nothing is!) For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, there is a very popular video game out right now called Fortnite. And also right now there is this whole trend of gamers streaming so others can watch them play. Well, I was watching a clip of one of these streamers, Ninja, who, at the time, had 14 million followers. It's estimated that in 2018 Ninja made $10 million from his gaming-related activities. So he's kind of a big deal. What was so fascinating to me was that, as he was playing, he would interact with his followers. They'd make a donation, ask a question, and he'd answer it as he ran around the game. I quickly realized that many of the people asking questions were middle school students. And most of their questions had to do with relationships. "Ninja, what do I do about this girl I like?" "Ninja, thi

A few years ago I came across a game on my phone all about starting businesses. First it's selling lemonade until you've made enough money to sell newspapers and then you work your way up until you're running banks and oil companies. It was fun. Pointless. A harmless way to kill a few minutes when I was waiting for my coffee to brew or whatever. The problem, though, was that the game was linked to real-world time. When you put the game down for an hour and came back to it, an hour's worth of lemonade had sold. A couple of taps later and you've multiplied the amount you're making per hour, which of course incentivizes you to come back as often as possible. On top of that, the game gives you all sorts of milestones and achievements to shoot for and constantly gives you new twists and upgrades every time you're about to lose interest. "Oh, I can start businesses on the moon now!" It didn't take long for me to become hopelessly addicted.

In February of 2009 social media gave birth to one of its most powerful, influential tools. o Since Facebook introduced the "Like" button, it has been used more than 1.13 trillion times (Twitter beat the like button by a few years with its favorite button) o That little like button has an almost direct link into our brains. o When your post gets more likes than normal you get a little rush? There is a reason for that. Dopamine. o For every thumbs up or heart we get a little psychological high through a shot of dopamine. The more likes the more shots. The more shots we have, the more shots we want. And we're in a loop. o Scientists used to think dopamine was responsible for pleasure in the brain, but we now know that rather than create pleasure it makes us seek it. The social media "like"triggers a reward cycle. The more you get it, the more you want it. A recent study confirmed the same brain circuits that are activated by eating cho

I need your help! When I say "what's up, ____" can you cheer? I'm making a video for my YouTube Channel. We're kicking off a new series today. The Good Life: Technology. I figured starting this sermon with a GoPro selfie sounded just about right. I'm going to say something so obvious it's almost obnoxious: We live in a digital world. And I would know, because I am an "elder millennial." Mid 30's, I'm at the upper limit of my generation. People my age have a pretty unique perspective on technology. Case in point: I remember walking across the room to change the channel on the TV. I have used a rotary phone in my life. And I have heard a record played in a non-nostalgic way. But as a millennial, technology today looks almost nothing like it did when I was a kid. o Today, high school freshmen have no memories of a world without iPhones. o Half of all children in the United States have a smartphone by age 11. &

This is the final week of our series, Into the Wilderness. We've been following the Israelites as they've struggled through water shortages, food shortages, and lots and lots of grumbling and complaining. Every time they face a new crisis, though, God comes through for them. And as we've talked about, these stories are in our Bibles for a reason. Each one has been handed down from generation to generation to help us all understand what life is like living in the wilderness - in our case, the wilderness of a broken world. Every one of us faces wilderness in our lives - depression, broken relationships, losing a job, illness, grief - and these stories speak to that. In every one, the big idea is the same: God has not abandoned you in the wilderness. You can trust him to see you through. He did it back then and he'll do it now. So, Exodus 17. God gave the Israelites water from a rock. But then, in verse 8, out of nowhere, the people are attack

For the last few weeks, we've been looking at four stories of the Israelites traveling through the wilderness. And what we've seen is that these stories have been passed down from generation to generation not just because they recount some historical tale, but because they speak to larger truths about living in the wilderness of a broken world - the wilderness we all experience. Loneliness, pain, confusion, hopelessness, injustice... Like the Israelites, life out here is hard, and it is all too easy to believe that God has abandoned us in the midst of it. But has he? So far the Israelites complained about bitter water; God made the water sweet. The Israelites complained about having no food; God gave them manna and quail. And now, the Israelites won't just have bitter water, they'll have NO water. So let's see if their attitudes are any better this time around... Exodus 17:1-4 At the Lord's command, the whole community of Israel left the wil

This is the second week of our 'Into the Wilderness' series, our look at the time the Israelite nation traveled through what the Bible calls 'The Wilderness' (Midbar). This wilderness was a hostile land that the Jews had to journey through to get from Egypt, where they had been in slavery, to the land God had promised to give them. And as you picture 'wilderness,' don't think 'desert.' Wilderness wasn't a sandy wasteland. Wilderness was rocky, rough, scrubby land... a land where you couldn't grow crops, but sheep and goats could generally find enough to eat to get by. Still, it wasn't a hospitable place, to be sure. Last week Barry talked about a time in the wilderness when the Israelites had difficulty finding fresh water. This week the issue will be finding food in this unforgiving landscape... finding enough food, by the way, for what many scholars believe may have been over a million people. Today's story is found in Exodus 16... and it's a pretty well-known story. It's the story of God sending the Jewish

When I was 26, someone cut me with a machete in the jungles of Panama. That person was me. It was a self-inflicted wound because I was a complete moron. It was pretty much my first time ever in something resembling a wilderness. I was with an aid group hiking to a remote mountain village, so we were surrounded by nature, many hours away from the closest hospital. I had recently bought a cheap machete and I was very proud of that machete because it was like I had a sword. And even though I technically didn't need it, I was happily slashing away at any branch or leaf which was in my path. At one point we had to cross a stream, and like a doofus I kept my machete out. As I was crossing with my heavy pack I slipped on a loose rock and started going down. The whole time I was falling I thought, "Is this how I die? Stabbed to death by my own machete?" I tried to keep the blade as far away from me as possible but when I hit the stream, my hand bounced back and I sliced ope

Many of us are kind of a mess when it comes to our financial situation. And our unhealthy money habits are causing tremendous stress and tension, which then causes unhealth in all areas of our lives, emotional, relational and even physical. We live in a greedy culture, and it is extremely difficult not to fall into that trap. And greed doesn't know socioeconomic status, it doesn't matter how much you have or own, how rich or poor you are, greed is a state of the heart. Greed and debt are just the outward expression of a deeper heart issue...contentment. The underlying, core issue is we are not living in contentment. Are you satisfied with how much you make right now, at this moment? Are you satisfied with what you have: your home, your car/s, your clothes, your shoes - your food? Are you satisfied with what you do? For fun: vacations, if you get to take one, do you like where you go, how you get there, how long you stay?

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The church exists to introduce you and your family to God, lead you to a lifetime of belonging with others, show you where you can make a difference as you serve the Kingdom of God in healing the world, and ultimately usher you into your hard wired calling and destiny for which you were made. God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and on earth. Ephesians 1:9-10 You get joy making a difference in the world. However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,"When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people"; Notice that it says "he ascended." This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the hea

Ephesians 1:1 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Adoption = To formally and legally declare that someone who is not one's own child is henceforth to be treated and cared for as one's own child, And Paul chose that term to imply God's passionate resolve to make you his child! Now, watch this, if I indeed belong to God my father...and you indeed belong to God your father...what does that say about my relationship to you? We are brothers and sisters for all eternity! We are the adopted ones. We belong to one another

The church exists to introduce you and your family to God...lead you to a lifetime of belonging with others...show you where you can make a difference as you serve the Kingdom of God in healing the world...and ultimately usher you into your hard wired calling and destiny for which you were made. This sermon will answer the question: Who is God? 1. God is the hope giver. I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called. -Ephesians 1:16-19 2. God is the power giver. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the

All summer we've talked all about the extreme range of human emotions found in the psalms: from the heights of joy and the depths of despair. Hopefully, it's been a moving and thought-provoking series for you. Psalm 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 150 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! P

Are you facing an important business decision? Are you facing a choice about your job or career or retirement? Is the direction you need about an education choice? Are you having to decide on a big expenditure? Maybe you are facing a decision about your health. Unsure what to do about an illness. Or maybe your indecision is a relational one. Or maybe you just are facing an uncertain future. It feels lonely and insecure at the crossroads of a decision, doesn' it? Let's talk about that today. And figure out how to seek God at the crossroads. How to pray when you need clarity for your next steps. O LORD, I give my life to you. 2 I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. 4 Show me the right

Top 5 American fears: 74.5% fear that corrupt government officials are going to ruin our lives by ruining our country. Our health care system will get so messed up that people either won't be able to get the health care they need or that the high cost of medical bills will ruin their lives. Air pollution, global warming, species extinction and a lack of good water will throw the world into chaos. 50% of all Americans are fearful that they won't have enough money for the future. Someone they love will die or get seriously ill. Fear is everywhere...it is constant and for many it's unending. Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interl