Names are very important because they help communicate identity. In the same way, the different names used for the God of the Bible help us to understand more of Who He is. And because He is so many things to His people, He is identified with many descriptive names. We’ll spend these six weeks getting to know our God better by learning about some of those names. If you think Abba is just a Swedish pop group from the 1970’s, you might benefit from this series!
Music is a powerful thing. It helps lift us up and motivate us. It can connect with our pain and help us feel less alone, like someone understands. It can express difficult emotions -anger, frustration, loss- in a way that helps us process on them. It can remind us of truth. It can take us back to a specific moment in time, flooding us with memories. The Psalms are the Bible’s songbook, a collection of corporate worship songs and deeply personal laments that cover the breadth of human emotion. Some are pure adoration to God; others are accusatory, confrontational, and downright awkward. These five weeks will give us a glimpse into these powerful poetic expressions.
Boundaries are personal property lines that define who you are and who you are not; they influence all areas of life. We have boundaries physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Even Jesus had boundaries, so over these four weeks, let’s learn together how to have them and how to keep them healthy!
We’ll be taking a 13-week journey together through Paul’s New Testament letter to the believers in the city of Ephesus. This book provides a vibrant portrait of life “in Christ”, instructing believers that Christianity is not primarily about becoming more religious, but about becoming a new person. With a deeper understanding of the gospel, we will discover more about our identity in Christ and how that identity shapes our choices, behaviors, and priorities.
Understanding the Bible for yourself can be an intimidating thing to navigate. We’re often not sure how to get started for ourselves. Pastor Mike will be utilizing these two weeks to provide some practical points and some opportunities to make observations together. Benefiting from personal Bible reading is more accessible than you ever thought possible! Join us while we learn together.
Want to eat an elephant? You just said a mouthful! The old saying tell us that you can’t eat it in one bite, but you can one bite at a time. Small, consistent choices can add up to big progress in areas of our lives like our relationships with God, with other people and even with our wallets! Join us for these four weeks as we learn that little bites can amount to a huge impact.
We come to each Christmas season with certain expectations, but after a year like 2020, we honestly have NO IDEA what to expect! Having the wrong expectations can definitely mess with us. After generations of deafening silence, Israel found itself under a burdensome and unwelcome Roman occupation. They expected a Messiah who would arrive with grandeur, authority and power; instead, a helpless infant was born to a scandalized, working-class couple. Their king wasn’t at all what they expected, and if we’re honest, we can be similarly underwhelmed. This 4-week Christmas series will help us view the Nativity story afresh, including what this mighty, gracious King asks of His royal subjects today.
Even a highly committed, very sincere Christ-follower can make well-intended decisions based on an incorrect understanding. Many Christians make life-altering decisions, based on what they thought were Biblical principles, only to discover that what they thought was Biblical didn’t really come from the Bible at all. We’ll take 4 weeks to confront four of those hazardous almost-truths.
Screens are all around us and in constant use. Most of us have one in the palm of our hands many of our waking hours. Honesty is definitely the best and most crucial policy as we learn to navigate life ‘in, but not of’ this world of ever-changing technology. Where and how we spend our time clearly points to what has captivated our hearts.
Park Avenue Baptist Church 