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It’s never been easier to compare ourselves to others than the time we live in. Researchers have found that one of social media’s most damaging effects isn’t seizing our attention—it’s that it constantly invites us to compare our lives to others. Psychologists call this “upward comparison”: looking at people who appear more successful, more attractive, happier or more fulfilled. The result is often greater anxiety, lower self-esteem and a distorted sense of identity. We were created to behold God, but we’ve become experts at beholding everybody else. In the Digital Age, comparison has moved from an occasional temptation to a way of life. But comparison is identity theft. It causes us to look horizontally for something that can only be found vertically. It makes us look around for what can only be found by looking up — to Christ.

Faith is not a sprint from promise to fulfillment—it is a journey marked by seasons of waiting, testing and transformation. God often does His deepest work in places where His purposes are not yet visible, teaching us to trust Him before we see the harvest. Psalm 126 reminds us that tears and joy are not opposites but companions along the way, for the God who allows us to sow in sorrow also promises a season of rejoicing. Wherever people walk faithfully with God, He leads them to a place where their joy is made full and His glory is unmistakably revealed.

Some of us have spent years seeking the will of the Father. We’ve pursued it, discerned it and even caught glimpses of what God wants to do in and through our lives. But too often we’ve tried to accomplish a heavenly calling in our earthly strength. And the weight of disappointment, delay, grief and unanswered questions has left us spiritually exhausted. Like the disciples in Gethsemane, we’re still awake—but our souls have fallen asleep. We’re going through the motions while overlooking the very place where strength is found.The distance between where we are right now and where the Father is leading us is not measured by our talent, our determination or our grind. It’s measured by one word: Nevertheless.

For months and years we have watched the world grow louder, angrier and darker. The temptation for the Church has been to become just as outraged, just as fearful or to simply disappear into the shadows. But God has never answered a dark generation by removing His people from it — He answers darkness by raising up a people who reflect His glory within it. The Holy Spirit was not poured out to make us comfortable in this world but to make us faithful in this world. Today is not the end of a sermon series; it is the commissioning of a Church called to shine.

We live in a world obsessed with approval. Every day we’re being liked or ignored, praised or criticized, followed or canceled. Through social media, the expectations of family and friends, workplace pressure, church culture, or our own desire to belong, voices constantly tell us who we should be and what we should do. The temptation isn’t just to hear those voices—it’s to live for them. One of the most uncomfortable realities of following Jesus is that faithfulness doesn’t always earn applause. Sometimes obeying God means disappointing people, standing apart from the crowd, and being misunderstood by the very people whose approval we want most. But when the voices around us become louder than His voice over us, we begin trading God’s purpose for people’s approval. And nothing costs more than living for them.

In a world shaped by pain, poverty, persecution, injustice and grief, Christians are called to endure hardships and suffering differently — by remaining faithful to our King despite personal or societal pressures and conditions.

We’re living in an age shaped by self-rule and self-exaltation — where comfort, control and autonomy are the highest pursuit. But Pentecost reminds us that humanity was never designed to rule or exalt itself—we were created to live under the life and reign of God. That’s why the Spirit comes -- not simply to inspire us, but to restore us, disrupting what we’ve grown comfortable with and forming the life of Jesus within us. Pentecost is not spiritual spectacle; it’s the restoration of God’s rule in human lives. And the uncomfortable truth is — we cannot be filled with the Spirit while remaining full of ourselves.

We live in a world that constantly tells us we never have enough—more money, more success, more security, more stuff. Excess isn’t just present in our culture; it’s the goal in our culture. But the Kingdom of God calls us to live by a different economy: not accumulation, but generosity; not ownership, but stewardship; not “what can I keep,” but “what can I release for the good of others.” As followers of Jesus, we are called not to fit into this world, but to become an otherworldly witness in the middle of it — Generous in a Culture of Excess.

9:30 Morning Service

oin us this Mother’s Day as we honor and celebrate the women who have nurtured, shaped, and inspired us in many different ways. We also recognize that this day carries a range of emotions and experiences, and we want you to know there is space for you here. Come expectant for worship and a prophetic, life-giving Word that speaks into every season—whether you are a mother, grandmother, spiritual mother, a man honoring the women in your life, or someone simply in need of hope and encouragement, this day is for you