Blaze Church

The Journey - A Song For The Restless

The Journey Part 3 - All of us would love to have peace in this chaotic world. We face dangers everyday, that we cannot plan for. How do you respond in those moments. We'd love for God to promise that no trouble would ever happen to those who trust in Him, but He never said that. He said something even better! When we face trouble, He is with those who trust in Him. Discover safe peace in a dangerous world today. 

The Journey - A Song For The Thirsty

The Journey Part 2 - Every person experiences a "God Thirst." Some of us deny it. Some of us grow frustrated as it never seems quenched. Some us try satisfying it with other drinks, that only leave us with more of a thirst. What if there was a drink that we could turn to in moments of thirst? A remedy to our thirsting that will lead us to live a satisfied, giving life. Today we discover that thirst is normal, thirst is okay, and thirst can be quenched!

The Journey - A Song For Freedom

The Journey Part 1 - Sometimes our biggest problem is admitting we have a problem. We have been conditioned to believe that confession will be met with closed arms. We hide our sin, and our bodies end up wasting away. But confession is possible because forgiveness is promised. Find freedom today in the open arms of Jesus!
 
Reflect: Think about a time when you hid something from someone. How did you feel? Would you say you felt free or trapped?
Write: Definitions are important. Spend some time defining the following words: Problem, Mistake, Weakness, Flaw, and Sin. Do you think it matters which word we use when we talk about confession?
Read: 2 Samuel 11. This was the sin that David refused to confess. He carried this with him, and continued to waste away. The promise of forgiveness brought freedom to David!
Do: Forgiveness survey: Ask the people around you a simple question: “Do you think it’s easy for people to forgive?” Let the answers you discover remind you of God’s promise to forgive!
Pray: Adore God for being so forgiving! His forgiveness never ends! Admit that it’s easy to hide our sin at times. Aspire to embrace the forgiveness of God today and to share that forgiveness with others!

Clearing House

What are you passionate about? How would God assess your desires? This morning, Pastor Anthony Pelella from Medford Assembly of God, challenges us to search our hearts, and see if our desires match God's.

Jonah And The City - The Plant

Jonah And The City Part 4 - We all have things that we care about. That is not a bad thing. What is bad, is when we make the things we care about central to our lives. When we find our hope, identity, and purpose in relationships, career, comfort, success, or some other horizontal thing. God cares about what we are centering our lives around - the tree that we are hugging! Today we discovered that God has provided for us a tree that will never fail us or destroy us. His Holy Spirit moves us to loosen our grip on the trees that come to an end, and find our true hope in Jesus, who never ends!

Vision Night 2017

On Tuesday, February 21, 2017, we gathered to celebrate all that God did in 2016, and share our vision for where we are going as a church in 2017! 

Jonah And The City - The City

Jonah And The City Part 3 - Hope is something all of us want. For many of us though, we have given up. We have given up on the people around. We have given up on ourselves. How can we move from "no hope"? Today we discovered that the road to "know hope" is paved with the gospel message. Because of Jesus, the selfless prophet who was destroyed in our place, every person can "know hope"!

Jonah And The City - The Fish

Jonah And The City Part 2 - Everything we do is fuled by something. We are all looking somewhere. That's what keeps us going. But what happens when life is dark? When your environment is screaming, "Give Up!" From inside a fish, Jonah had hope. He looked to a place that had no end. You and I have the same opportunity to look to the place that Jonah looked to. Discover where that place is today!
 
Reflect: What or who are you looking to for comfort and hope? Finish this sentence, “If I only had ____, I’d be happy.”
Write: Write the teaching point, “We all need somewhere to look” on an index card or sheet of paper. Post it somewhere you go often (fridge, steering, wheel, mirror).
Read: Jonah 2. In verse 8, Jonah points out that all other sources of hope are idols that pull us away from God. Continue to gospel your heart to look to Jesus!
Do: Spend some time searching the Bible for specific aspects or promises of God that you need to look to for your specific situations. biblehub.com is a great resource! (i.e. if you are worried, read Matthew 6:32) Write down the verse you find and start memorizing it.
Pray: Adore Jesus for being the fulfillment of the Temple! Admit that you can easily replace Jesus with many lesser hopes when your environment gets dark. Aspire to have the Holy Spirit continue to point you to Jesus no matter what you go through!

Jonah And The City - The Sailors

Jonah And The City Part 1 - Life is messy. How are you going to clean it? All of us experience the messes of life. We have all made attempts to clean up what we see. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. God has the solution to the greatest mess we all carry: sin. Today we look at a group of sailors from over 2,500 years ago and see how they needed to believe in the one person who could clean their mess. We know that Jesus has been provided for us now!
Reflect: What is your response to the messes you face? Do you bargain with the “on-demand” god? Do you blame other people? Do you build a resume of your own strength and good works?
Write: Write about a mess that you are currently facing. What does it look like to respond like the sailors did? End by writing to yourself to trust Jesus!
Read: James 1:13-15. No one makes us sin - not even God! We create our own mess when we choose to give in to our sinful desires! Praise God that He saw mess-makers, and chose to clean it up for us!
Do: James concluded his writing by encouraging Christians to confess their sin to each other to find healing (Ja.5:13). Find someone, who will gospel your heart, that you can confess the mess you wrote about to.
Pray: Adore Jesus for willingly jumping into the mess of sin to clean you. Admit that you can still forget the gospel, and choose a “sailor’s response.” Aspire to have the Holy Spirit daily gospel your heart, and point you towards the true and better Jonah: Jesus!

The Bible Doesn't Say That: More Than You Can Handle

The Bible Doesn't Say That Part 4 - All of us experience crushing moments. Trials that are way too much to endure. Somehow, we've convinced ourselves that whatever we face, "God won't give us more than we can handle." Today we learned that there is no truth to that phrase. In fact, it communicates two lies that put us at the center, in place of Jesus. Find out the true intent of 1 Corinthians 10:13, and discover gospel truth that truly changes how we navigate life.
 
Reflect: Have you ever found yourself being tempted to sin; to do what you know God declares wrong? What is your response in those moments? How do you gospel your heart?
Write: Take some time to write why you agree with or disagree with the statement: “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”
Read: Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus was tempted to sin. The author of Hebrews says He was “tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.” This truth makes him the perfect substitute for us!
Do: Browse through popular news stories (Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post). Identify the narratives that say humanity is capable of overcoming anything or that suffering negates God’s existence.
Pray: Adore God for providing “a way out” for you - Jesus, His Son, your substitute. Admit that at times you neglect Christ’s provision and give in to sin. Aspire to look to Jesus in moments of temptation, instead of your own human abilities.