Just like the game of Jenga, our lives are carefully balanced.  What happens when you take Jesus out of your life?

Christians are supposed to think and act differently from the rest of the world.  How we respond to adversity, our reaction when we don't get our way, how we treat others - all of these should be different from the cultural norm.  But we live, work, and go to school in this culture.  It's easy to fall into the accepted patterns, isn't it?  So how do you do it?  How do you renew your mind and not conform to culture?

Are we careful with the words we use?  Do our words lift people up or tear them down? 

Battleship is a simple, fun game that many of us played as kids.  But some people seem to make Battleship a way of life. They shoot with words, looking to see where they can hurt and what damage they can cause.  Children, adults, even people in churches wage battle with their words.  It's inevitable that in life, we'll sometimes disagree.  When that happens, how should we handle it?

In games, you want to win the game by beating your opponents.  But in real life, when you win by making someone else lose, you don't win.  You might think you win, but you don't.  No one does.  Unresolved conflict hurts the heart of God.

In this series, we will use simple, fun games that we remember to learn some important principles.  Remember Hungry Hungry Hippos?  The object of the game is to get your hippo to eat as much as possible.  We can be physically hungry, but there's also spiritual hunger. Are you hungry? 

The phrase "Been There, Done That" can have several different meanings.  It can be a badge of courage or accomplishment, or it can be funny.  It basically means someone has been there before.  Sometimes in life, it seems like we are facing things alone.  But in every area of our lives, we know that Jesus has "been there, done that" for us.

This is a free audio download of Pastor Brad's new song he wrote for our series about people who are away from God. 

We've already talked about the prodigal son who came home, the father who welcomed him.  But there is another family member in Jesus' parable:  the older brother, who does not react in the same way as his father when he finds out his wayward brother has returned home.  Why did Jesus tell this story?  Who is the older brother, and what can Christians learn from him?

What is God's response when you run away and then come home?