We must learn to compromise—not on God’s standard of right and wrong, which never changes, but on yielding to others in love. God is perfect, and would’ve been perfectly justified in wiping us out for our sin; yet instead he “compromised” by taking all of it upon himself in love. And since God loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:9-11).
Scripture calls us to remain in relationship with other believers - but what do we do when conflicts arise?
Jason Harris teaches out of Proverbs 31 on the value of the Bride of Christ.
There are infinite reasons to worship God. In this week's message, Jeff Wald teaches on four of those reasons and invites us to take seriously the power of the words we sing.
Evil will increase until Jesus returns. Yet we are to rejoice and never worry—because God is good and just, and in the end he will make all things right.
Jesus explains the problem of evil using the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13:24-30. Jesus explains that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds, but whose crop was corrupted by an enemy planting weeds among the wheat. The weeds will always be with us here on earth, and will never be eradicated until the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25)—that’s us! At that time, the “weeds” will be burned and all of the good seeds, Jews and Gentiles together, will be harvested. Evil is growing—but so is God’s kingdom! When Christ left earth, it held about 250 million inhabitants and only a tiny percentage were Christians yet, while now it holds nearly 8 billion, and about 2.3 billion practice some form of Christianity! God is building a kingdom containing billions of believers, and one day he will burn the weeds and harvest the grain. But until then, we live in a weedy garden!
In our Christian walk, we may occasionally find ourselves taking steps away from Jesus just as Peter did when he denied Christ (Luke 22:54-62). Despite this, Christ welcomes each step we take back towards Him, not condemning us for our lack of faithfulness.
In the U.S., studying the Bible is declining more and more. Study it! God’s living word changes us! It is sharp and// powerful; it divides soul from spirit, and it judges our hearts (Hebrews 4:12).
The story of Jesus and the withering fig tree emphasizes the value of bearing spiritual fruit. With that in mind, how do we believers bear more fruit? Through connectedness with God in faith.
Whether we realize it or not, we are all called to be fishers of men. Scripture instructs us to make disciples of all nations - but how do we go about doing that? By growing the net!
Kids want “sweet,” but adults learn to appreciate “bittersweet” – a life of hopes and dreams, mixed with the death of those hopes and dreams. Satan steals our hope (Genesis 3:1-15), but God gives it back (Luke 8:49-56). Like a dying seed in the soil, hope fades slowly, as it did for Jairus and his daughter while they both faced her death. And like that dying seed, she did die. But after hope was dead, Jesus took her hand and gave her new life, saying, “Get up!” And he says the same to you.
As a Christian, does your life look different from those who have no faith? Do you exhibit mercy to those around you? What is the example you're giving to the world around you?
As a loving father, God not only invites us to take our requests to him but also promises that he will provide what we need. In light of this, we should reflect on what we're asking God for - if we're even asking for anything, to begin with.
Dr. Clem Ferris shares lessons from Scripture on getting through seasons of transition.
As a kickoff to our Recharge season, Jeff Wald and other leaders at MHCC take time to share about the various ministry teams and leaders here at Mount Helena Community Church.
Regardless of our life circumstances, we are all called to leadership and influence. Scripture outlines many principles of leadership which we can learn from in order to better serve those around us.
The first church (Acts 2) grew quickly and was marked by teaching, fellowship, eating together, praying, sharing wealth, praising God, and enjoying favor with all the people. (Yes, our public reputation matters!) Let's follow their model and do all we can to focus on those very same things.
The Holy Spirit is still at work in each of our lives today. While hearing from God and the gift of prophecy can be received with a degree of skepticism, Scripture gives abundant examples of how we can hear from God in our everyday lives.
Through the story of Daniel, we can learn how to stand firm with unwavering strength despite the constant changes and turmoil of the world. We must resolve to stay strong, work in a community of believers, listen to the guidance of God, pray, praise, walk out what God instructs us to do, and look at life through the lens of Scripture. Only then can we remain strong in a hostile world.
Hearing from God is not always with a loud, booming voice as we often picture it, and not every word from God is akin to the prophecies of the Old Testament. Instead, God regularly speaks in small, simple ways as we go about our days. Because of this, we should learn to hear God's voice and be attentive to what he may have to say to us.
Thanks for joining us in worship this morning! Whether you’re just paying us a visit or are looking to call MHCC home, we’d love to get to know you! We have lots of ways to connect here, including ministries geared towards men, women, youth, and kids, small groups, and serving on ministry teams.
If you’d like an introduction to who we are and what we believe here at MHCC, we have Welcome Packets available at the Welcome Center!
You can reach out to us by visiting the Welcome Center, using the form below, or calling us at 406.449.7771 to get connected!
Vision & Values is a great opportunity for those who are newer to MHCC to learn more about who we are, our beliefs, and our structure. Hosted several times per year, this is the perfect opportunity for anybody with questions about us to have them answered.
Next Vision & Values: September 17th, 11:15-12:45 – lunch is provided!