Foothills Christian Church

Growing Up

jonathan — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:23:15 +0000

Our culture has an epidemic of boys and girls walking around in adult bodies. People who never grew up.

What turns a boy into a man and a girl into a woman?

The Bible says something interesting about Jesus:

“Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52

notice the word “and”. As Jesus grew in stature, He also grew in wisdom. There was no separation between growing physically and spiritually. Notice how this also resulted in favor with God and man. People can grow in stature, but have no wisdom. This is the difference between boys and men and girls and women. The have grown up on the inside as well as the outside.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

The key to growing in wisdom and stature is to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is the perfecter of our spiritual growth. People only grow up when they grow in Him.

On Sunday, February 5, we will see how Going Vertical impacts boys growing into men and girls growing into women. If you can’t be here, plan on listening through the website or podcast.

This is not a message you should miss.

Pastor Doug

Vertical

Dustin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:03:59 +0000

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Vertical 1

Dustin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:36:33 +0000

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Vertical

Dustin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:28:52 +0000

I like coffee. Bold, full bodied, coffee. Not watered down. It’s a great way to start the day. I like to ski. Blues and backs, not greens. Greens are too slow, I need something steep to get going so I can turn my skis. I like truth. Steep, full bodied, quickly gets to the heart of the matter. Are you tired of a world where there are so many answers, so many opinions, so many paths, that they all seem watered down, weak, and slow? We need a full bodied, strong cup of Jesus. We don’t need a watered down version, a weak version that our culture would like. We need a full strength Jesus. The only way to see this full strength, full of truth, Jesus is to go vertical. 1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:1-2 The Bible is the one place to find the full strength, not watered down, Jesus. What happens to you, in you, in your life when you meet that Jesus? It’s time to go vertical, and get the ride of your life.

Pastor Doug

Challenging ourselves to grow

Dustin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:16:58 +0000

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What are you looking for in the new year?

Dustin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:15:02 +0000

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Winter is here!

Dustin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:06:00 +0000

We are an active bunch of people. Whereas winter slows most down, we just grab a coat and gloves and keep going! Some see it as a nuisance, others see it as a playground. Regardless of how you see it, winter is very important. Underneath the cold and snow, something important is happening- the earth is preparing for another season of fruitfulness. Is there a winter in your life right now? Not a storm, but a time where something important is going on. A preparation for another season of growth and fruitfulness? What happens in the winter determines the blossoms in the spring. In the dead of winter, trees are not dead, they are sleeping, remembering they were meant to grow. Preparing for a new season of fruitfulness. 2012 is an important year in your life. Let’s prepare together for this new year, a year of greater fruitfulness by reminding ourselves what our lives were meant to be, how they were meant to be lived. As Jesus said, Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24 Winter is the time in your life where you remember that living, real living, begins with dying. Dying is a time to remember the point and purpose of your life: to live and grow in Jesus. On January 22 we will begin a new series titled: Vertical. You won’t want to miss this one, it will focus on doing the right things in the winter so your spring blossoms!

Pastor Doug

Legacy

Dustin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:02:55 +0000

The greatest American tradition for ushering in a new year is the resolution. A promise to oneself to make positive changes in the coming year. The setting of new goals, achieving new things, moving forward towards bigger and better things. The second greatest tradition to usher in a new year is breaking those resolutions. Here’s a challenge for you: don’t make any resolutions, simply build a legacy. I say this because resolutions are easy to break and legacies are hard to break. The reason is because a resolution is mostly about yourself. Legacies are about others: your family, friends, church, community. Resolutions are easy to break because let’s face it, the only person you are letting down is yourself- and we are all used to letting ourselves down. Legacies are difficult to break, easy to keep, because they are others focused. People are depending on you, relying on you, hoping on you. The promises you make, the commitments you keep, the actions you take make a difference in their lives. This makes sense when you read the words Jesus spoke, “Whoever wishes to save his own life will loose it, but he who looses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will find it.” When you live for yourself, you end up loosing all those resolutions. When you live for Jesus you are building a legacy. So before you close out this year and look forward to a 2012, take a moment to look back over the last year. What legacy did you leave? What did you do last year that will impact the lives of those you love next year?

Let’s build a legacy together in 2012,

Pastor Doug

Complicated

Dustin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:52:40 +0000

Christmas can be very complicated. Setting budgets, staying in them, getting the right gifts for the right person, squeezing in all the get togethers, planning big meals, trying not to over eat, visiting all the relatives, hoping you don’t have to fly anywhere…it can be complicated. What about the message of Christmas? The point of Christmas? Has it become complicated as well? It wasn’t meant to be. As a community of faith we will celebrate the Birth of Christ and out theme is: Extraordinary. The simple and uncomplicated message of Christmas. We will have 5 services. 2 on Friday and 3 on Saturday. Remember, the Saturday services will be fullest, so plan on being there 15 minutes early for the 3pm and 10 minutes early for the 4:30 and 6pm services. There should be plenty of room at the Friday services. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you this Christmas Season and may you experience the depth and joy of His love for you!
Merry Christmas!

Pastor Doug

Extraordinary

Dustin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:33:47 +0000

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