Blaze Church

The Journey - A Song That Crushes

The Journey Part 5 - Have you ever thought, "My life would be so much better if 'that person' would leave me alone." A neighbor? A coworker? A family member? It's easy for us to look at people around us, and treat them like enemies, hoping God will someday crush them! But what if you are targeting the wrong enemy? The Jewish people believed Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, to crush the Romans. Jesus did come to crush an enemy, but it was not the one people thought - it was a greater enemy! Discover the enemy that Jesus crushed on the cross, and what that means for the enemies you are facing right now!

The Journey - A Song For Everyone

The Journey Part 4 - Culture has a song. Everyone of us have been conditioned to sing it. It's the tune that says, "Look at me. Look at what I've done." If we are really honest though, none of us actually enjoy singing this song. Today we discover that we can trade our culture's song for a King's song. There is freedom for you!

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!