Whether it's during the holiday season or not, many of us struggle with depression, stress, and anxiety.  It seems like the hubbub of the holidays makes the stress level rise even higher.  Jesus faced a lot of stress.  How did he manage to be at peace under pressure?

If you sometimes feel like you can't take it anymore, if life feels out of control, this message that looks at the teachings of Jesus could change your life!

We've all been lonely.  Feeling lonely doesn't make you a failure.  Feeling lonely isn't silly.  It's something we all face at some point.  In this message, Rod Loy looks at five common causes of loneliness and what we can do when we feel lonely.

 

At one point or another, most of us have struggled with depression.  People tell you, "just be happy, deal with it."  That sounds good, but when you are depressed, you don't know how to deal with it.  You want to be happy, it's just not that easy.  In this message, Rod Loy looks at what the Bible says to do when you are depressed.

Forgiveness is a tough issue - it seems that all of us have been in situations where friends or family members have hurt us in some way.  Some of us have what seem to be good reasons to be offended.  Why should we forgive?  In this message, Rod Loy talks about the eternal importance of forgiveness.

Conflict between people is inevitable - in marriages, in families, at work, and even at church.  The true test of our faith is - how will we conduct ourselves and how will we resolve those issues?

We all fear something.  For some of us, though, fear dominates our thinking and controls our lives.  Whether it's the fear of failure, rejection, sickness, or intimacy, there are many fears that can consume us.  So, how do you deal with fear?  What does the Bible say about overcoming it?

 

What makes you mad?  Is it traffic?  A relationship? The person in front of you with 15 items in the "10 items or less" line at the grocery store?  What really makes you angry? 

It's funny, isn't it?  We should learn from other people's mistakes and failures.  We should be able to apply those lessons to our own lives.  We should, but often we don't.  We are most likely to learn life lessons when we are forced to learn them, not unlike Jonah in the Biblical story.  In this message, Pastor Rod Loy looks at the story of Jonah, and what it tells us today about running from God.

There are many people who are spending their lives running from God.  Maybe you know someone like this.  Maybe that someone is you.

A runner is not physically sprinting from God, but they've made a decision to run away from God in their whole life, or in a particular area.

In this message, Rod Loy talks about a predictable pattern that develops in the lives of people who are running from God.

What do you do when you survive a storm?  Whether it's a storm in your marriage, your finances, or your health, you have been in survival mode.  What happens when the storm is over?  Survival mode doesn't work anymore. What should you do now?

Storms in nature can be frightening.  Equally frightening is a different kind of storm, the kind that comes in life.  Your marriage is breaking up, you lose someone you love, your finances take a turn for the worse, or your health takes a sudden downturn.  When you find yourself in a storm, it seems like there is no way out.  What should you do in the middle of a storm?

When we ask people about the challenges they face in living for Christ, one of the biggest is living for God and representing Jesus at work, school, and among their friends. It's not easy, is it?  How can we stay true to faith while living in a world that becomes increasingly hostile to it?

Because we live in a world that evaluates amounts, we have developed some wrong ways of thinking about giving.  In this message, Rod Loy looks wraps up this series on what God says about giving.

Set for life.  For some of us, that's a goal.  For others it seems like an impossible dream.  Set for life.  What does that mean?  How much money does it take?  In this message, Rod Loy continues his look at a different way to think about money and possessions.

 

When you give to God, generosity is not amount the amount you give, it's about your attitude.  In this message, Rod Loy explores the different attitudes and approaches people take to giving and talks about a better way to live.

Often misunderstood and sometimes controversial, the Holy Spirit is an intergral part of a strong life of faith.  The Bible has a lot to say about the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives and the ministry of the church.

In this message, Rod Loy looks at the main roles the Holy Spirit plays in our lives.

 

What is the purpose of meeting together in church?  It's for two reasons - to lead people to Christ and to grow our faith strong enough where we will lead people to Christ.  That's why the Church exists.  It's not to make Christians comfortable. Rock Solid faith replicates itself.

Has this ever happened to you?  You are talking on a cell phone, when all of a sudden you realize the person on the other end has been dropped.  You are doing a lot of talking, but nobody is listening.

Do you ever feel that way about God?  Are there times when you are praying, but it doesn't seem like it's getting through?

Luckily, we don't have to use cell phones to talk to God.  There aren't dead spots in His coverage of the world.

In this message, Rod Loy talks about the importance of another building block of strong faith: prayer.

A lot of people think that worship is just the part of a church service where you sing.  Worship is more than music, however.  Singing is an outward reflection of an inward attitude.  That inward attitude is worship.  Worship is a way of thinking about yourself and God.

In this message, Rod Loy looks at what worship is, what it isn't, and what happens when we worship God.

 

If you are going to be a Christ follower - if you are going to follow Him for life - through the good times and the bad, even in the storms, you need a solid foundation.  You need rock solid faith.  The starting point of rock solid faith is a personal relationship with Jesus.  What does that mean?

Church should be a safe place.  When you walk in the door of a church, when you see Christians interact with each other, you should sense and see love, forgiveness, and understanding.  That's it -- the central message of the gospel -- love.  What's love got to do with it?  Everything!

In this message, Rod Loy tells the story of J.W. Tucker, an Arkansas missionary to the Congo who gave the ultimate sacrifice while working to share the love of Jesus.  His legacy and its amazing repercussions are changing a troubled nation, but there is still much work to be done.

We sing love songs, we watch romantic movies, and over time culture forms our views on love - what it is, what it isn't, and how you express it. Our views on love are largely determined by our culture -- the influences around us.  We were designed by God for relationship, to love and be loved. We search everywhere, looking for love.  Why do we so often look in the wrong places?

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, how are you different from those around you?  The Bible tells us that we are to be different from our society, but it also says that we should be "light" to our world.  How can you be both?  Where's the balance?

 

 

We are all familiar with courtroom dramas on movies or television.  The judge is stern and intimidating.  The lawyers are slick.  The jury listens intently, waiting to render their decision--the verdict--guilty or not guilty.

In the courtroom of life, we don't have to wait.  We get to choose the verdict.

Dads are very important to their families.  They are much more than just a paycheck.  They are integral to the relational and spiritual development of their families.  The absence of a father is the most significant factor in the breakdown of the family in America.  In this message, Rod Loy challenges fathers to be everything they should be.

Preventive maintenance is less expensive in the long run than having to fix a problem.  It's always better to check your car's oil than to end up on the side of the road with a non-functioning engine!

Wouldn't the same approach to our marriages and families make sense? Why do we wait until there is a crisis to act?  There are steps you can take now to prevent problems down the road.  In this message, Rod Loy looks at preventive maintenance for marriages.

 

We all say we like change, but if you really get down to it, change makes us uncomfortable.  That can be dangerous.  Our comfort zones can keep us from experiencing all that God has for us and can hinder us from growing in our faith.   How do you break out of a comfort zone so you can continue to grow?

 

If your car breaks down, you don't wait to see if it fixes itself.  You take it as soon as possible to a mechanic.

Trouble in your family?  It makes no sense, but we often decide that we can't tell anyone.  We have to figure it out on our own.

Isn't your family more important?  In this message, Rod Loy talks about what to do when you are faced with conflict in your family.

 

Freedom.  Politicians promise it.  Patriots cherish it. Soldiers fight for it.

Prisoners dream of it. What is exactly is freedom?

 

What does Jesus need today?  What does He need most of all?  He needs us.  He needs us to be His hands and feet - the demonstation of His love in a desperately hurting world.  His mission on this earth is going to be accomplished through you and me.  That's not always what the world defines as "normal."  It might even seem weird.

 

 

Sometimes you hear people who say Christians shouldn't have problems. If people had enough faith, they wouldn't have difficulties.   We know this isn't true, though, because Jesus said that we would have problems in this world.  He also said He would be with us during our problems.  But what happens when we feel like we go from one problem to the next and everything seems to be getting worse? 

 

 

Forgiveness is a huge issue.  We have all been hurt at different times, and it seems difficult to forgive.  We usually don't want to forgive the person that hurt us. Why should we forgive?  What's the point?

What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

 

American Christians seem to believe that anything that puts us in difficult situations must be wrong -- it must be of the devil.  We think difficulty is because we have a lack of faith, an attack of the enemy, or have caused the wrath of God.  The fact is, sometimes doing right puts you in the fire. How should you react? 

In this message, Rod Loy looks at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, people who had faith even when it was challenged with the threat of death.

It's one of the most famous stories in the Bible.  Daniel is thrown into a lion's den by evil men.  We all face lions in our lives.  No, not literal hungry beasts trying to eat us, but we all face impossible situations, illnesses, addictions, disease, or lies from people who mean to do us harm.

Rod Loy looks at how Daniel survived his night with the lions and what it has to tell us today as we face our lions.

There is a common theme in the Bible.  People reject God and the Word of God.  They don't want to hear any warnings or know that they are wrong.  They want to do their thing, their way. 

The same pattern is apparent in people today:  people fail and walk away from their relationship with God.  How can you make sure that you stay close to God?

Pride is a dangerous sin.  Pride is the underlying sin that causes many people to fail.  It's easy to spot in others, but hard to admit in our ourselves. What happens when we let pride take over our lives?

 

If you are a parent, you've heard the excuse at one time or another:

"But Dad, Mom, everyone is doing it."  Every parent has a standard answer to that! 

But even if everyone is doing it, does that make it right?

Unfortunately, this peer pressure is not limited to students.  Everyone faces it at some point.

In this message, Rod Loy looks at what you should do when "everyone else is doing it."

 

 

We are all born with names.  But society, and sin, put different names on us. Liar, drunk, disappointment, rebel, junkie, loser.  There are many names we can be tagged with in our lives.  What name are you known by?  By what name do you want to be known?  God can give you a new name.

 

Fitness and health are topics not normally mentioned in church.  After all, how we treat our bodies is a "secular" issue, right?  It doesn't have anything to do with God or church.  Or does it?

 

 

We live in a world where people are measured by what they have.  If you drive the right car, wear the right clothes and have the right things you will be loved and accepted.  That's the message our culture wants us to believe.  We all know, however, that when you get caught in that mode, you can never escape.  No matter what you have, you want a little bit more.  But stuff doesn't make you happy.  Isn't there a better way to live life?

The primary reason so many churches are struggling in America is that they are unhealthy.  We hear a lot of talk about people concerned about the state of the church in America.  What you don't hear is a lot of people saying "I am committed to changing.  If the church is going to be healthy again in America, it starts with me.  I am going to be a healthy part of a healthy church."   In this message, Rod Loy looks at what it takes to be a healthy church.

Are you ready for change?  Are you ready to find and fulfill God's purpose for your life?  We're not talking about a New Year resolution - with God's help, living according to His Word and its principles, you can be radically changed - a brand new you!