In the fourth week of our Made to Worship series, Pastor Neal Benson, Pastor Teller Emmer, and Becky Shipe share about singing as worship from Psalm 96. The command to worship God through singing isn’t about whether or not we like to sing, whether or not we’re good at singing, or if anyone around us hears us singing. In fact, the command to “sing to the Lord” isn’t about us at all. As humans, we have the amazing propensity to make just about anything, worship included, about ourselves. But, worship is never meant to be self-focused. It’s meant to be God-focused. Listen in to the conversation as Neal, Teller, and Becky teach that we're all created to sing joyfully to the Lord.

It’s hard to worship when we don't feel the presence of God in our daily life. We want to praise God, but we just can't do it. The Bible teaches us how to worship through distressing situations. Many of the Psalmists experienced difficult times and wrote about them. This week as we look at how to worship God when it seems like He has hidden His face, we’ll figure out how to ask God to look on us and how we can respond in praise. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches on Psalm 13. 

We all have idols in our lives we must confront. It might be the idol of greed, selfishness, lust, etc. In fact, it seems that many cities are known for different idols. For example, Las Vegas is the self-proclaimed Sin City, and San Francisco was overtaken by the gold rush. In 1 Kings 18, the prophet Elijah confronts King Ahab for leading Israel into idol worship. Because of a powerful movement of God, a life-changing story unfolds. Listen in Pastor Neal Benson preaches on 1 Kings 18:16-42 and talks about how when we confront idolatry in our lives, God shows up powerfully. 

Worship is a part of our daily life. We might not think about the things or people we worship on a regular basis, but our actions reflect who/what we worship. We were made to worship. God put a desire in our hearts to be connected to Him. In Deuteronomy 6, the Israelites are on the edge of the Promise Land, and Moses instructs them how to obey God while in this new land. This passage includes one of the most famous verses about loving God. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches about how we were made to worship the one true God. 

When you are in trouble where do you turn? Jesus, in John 5:16-47, finds himself in trouble with the religious leaders but he knows who his dad is. He then lays out five distinct ways that we can trust his witness. Listen in as guest speaker, Pastor Matt Grubb, unpacks the validity and reliability of Jesus' testimony and answers the question, "Who's your daddy?"

Our passage in John 5:1-15 finds Jesus at a pool in Jerusalem. The area surrounding the pool was filled with people who had all kinds of physical handicaps. Word on the street was that whoever got into the pool while the water was being stirred would experience healing! Jesus’ eyes fell on a man who had been paralyzed for a long time. Jesus spoke to the man: “To take up his mat and walk.” Jesus’ words not only brought healing to the man; they also exposed the false hope to which many at the pool were clinging. Listen in as Pastor Doug Meye teaches that wholeness begins when we follow the voice of Jesus.

Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus engages with a wide range of people, from the wealthy and powerful to the marginalized and oppressed. He performs miraculous signs, teaches profound truths, and spends time with all kinds of people. In John 4:31-54 Jesus ministers in completely different areas but to people who are both needing hope. In these interactions, Jesus teaches us the power of spending time with people and calling them to a life of holiness in God. Listen in as Pastor Neal teaches how Jesus brings salvation to all who believe in Him.

The Gospel of John has been labeled an intimate gospel because of the way Jesus personally interacts with others. In chapter 3 we studied Jesus’ personal conversation with Nicodemus, and today we’ll study Jesus’ personal conversation with a Samaritan woman in chapter 4. Before diving into our passage it’s important to know that there was a history of animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. Because of this, most Jews would have never traveled through Samaria to get to Galilee even though it was the shorter route. Instead, they would have traveled to Galilee via the Jordan River to avoid the Samaritans. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson explains what we can learn from Christ's example of talking to all the wrong people.

In 2015, Disney released the hit movie “Inside Out." The story revolves around five personified emotions: joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. The movie teaches us a valuable lesson about the complexity of our emotions and the importance of knowing how to work with our feelings. As we turn to John 3:22-36 we take a look at one of those complex emotions - joy.  John the Baptist was full of joy at Christ's success. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches that joy is found when we humbly pursue Jesus' greatness and not our own. 

Through powerful imagery and profound theological insights, John reveals the nature of Jesus as the Son of God, the light of the world, the bread of life, and the hope of the world. Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus engages with a wide variety of people, from the wealthy and powerful to the marginalized and oppressed. As we move into John 3, Jesus has an interesting encounter with Nicodemus, a Pharisee. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches on this infamous passage that explains why Jesus came to earth.