What does being content mean to you?  What makes you discontent?  In today's society, marketers play on our tendency to want the newest, best, and shiniest.

In the final message from the Gift series, Pastor Rod Loy unpacks another of God's gifts to us: contentment.

A lot of our destructive behaviors, inappropriate actions, and a lot of negative circumstances are because we are searching.  We don't have peace.  Peace is not something we need every once in awhile.  We need it every single day.  Everyone needs peace.  How can you find peace?

Pastor Brad Russell wrote a special song, "Stay Right Here," for our message about peace.  The song is available for download here.  For lyrics, go to http://www.firstnlr.com/peacesong

What is joy?  It is an inner feeling of contentment that is far greater than a temporary happiness.  It's a life outlook -- a different perspective.  It's hard to explain, but easy to spot in others. True joy is a gift from God! 

But how do you get joy?  Can you maintain it?

How do you know what something is worth?  You know what it's worth by what people are willing to pay for it.  Jesus paid the ultimate price for us.  What does that tell you about our worth to Him?

You can't buy it, you can't earn it, but you can have it.
In this message, Pastor Rod talks about wisdom.

Pastor Randy Jumper talks about another of God's gifts:  Freedom!

Grace:  You can't earn it, you can't buy it, but you can have it. 

So far in this series, we've talked about how we can forgive.  In this message, we come at it from the other side. What do you need to know and what do you need to do when you are the one who requires forgiveness, when you are the offender?

You are going to be hurt in life.  It's inevitable.  When it happens, though, our response is our choice.  The Bible says we should forgive.  Great - now how do we do it?

We have to learn to forgive.  People who decide not to forgive are consumed, held captive, and defined by the hurt they refuse to forgive. But how? How can we forgive?

Why is forgiveness one of the hardest things we have to do?  A lot of times, we don't really understand forgiveness.  In this message, Rod Loy uncovers what forgiveness really is, and why it's important to forgive.

Another myth we sometimes carry about God is that he can't use us, and doesn't have a plan for us, because we aren't perfect.  Only "perfect" people can do great things for God.  Well, a short look through the Bible shows that God used plenty of imperfect, and sometimes plain messed up people, for great things.  You feel messed up?  Join the crowd!

We believe a lot of myths.  Sometimes, our myths are formed from our attempts to understand difficult situations.  We can't find a logical reason why we haven't been healed or helped,  so we reach incorrect conclusions about God.  We decide that we are too small, and God is too busy, to care about us.

You can convince yourself of almost anything.  What starts with a feeling can become a fact.  We sometimes talk ourselves into a self-concept, and even a God-concept, that has no basis in fact.  Are you really hopeless?  Is anyone too far gone for God to care about?

Many people view God as angry and unforgiving.  But in the Bible, we see a different story.  In this message, Rod Loy looks at how Jesus dealt with betrayal.

One of the challenges of so many religious systems being taught today is too much emphasis on ourselves:  if we accomplish enough, if we do enough good, we can obtain miracles or salvation.  Even many Christians feel that if they don't have enough faith, God may not provide miracles.  Is there a formula?  Does your healing or your miracle really depend on what you say or do?

Have you ever felt like you don't matter?  Like you are worthless, insignificant, and overlooked?  Sometimes people think God sees them that way, too. 

People believe a lot of myths about God.  One of the biggest ones people struggle with is "I've messed up too many times. I believe in a loving God, but I'm beyond that. I don't think God would want someone like me.  I need to clean up my life before I can go to church."
In this message, Rod Loy looks at this myth and talks about the truth of God's love for everyone.

Life in a family is often a lot of fun. But, challenges can arise and hard times come.  At some point, every person and every family will find themselves facing an unexpected crisis.   What do you do?  What role does your faith play in how you deal with life's unexpected problems?

People don't like to talk about death and loss.  But when someone close to you dies, you are forced to think about it.  In this message, Rod Loy covers what happens when we grieve and what to do if you or someone you know is going through grief.

In this message, Rod Loy talks with six couples from different stages of life about the challenges and lessons they've learned from their marriages.

It's easy to have opinions and theories on raising kids if you don't have any.  One thing parents find is that no one formula works for their kids.  The Bible says, "train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."  That's a great passage, but how do we do that? 

In this message, Rod Loy looks at some thoughts about what's important when you are raising kids.

It's not a popular topic on Christian TV, and it doesn't sell many books, but the Bible deals constantly with the topic of suffering in a believer's life.  How should a Christian respond to persecution, hard times, suffering, and hardship?

All too often, when Christians encounter opposition from the world, they freak out, busying themselves with forwarding e-mails, and getting angry at the government, or whatever is the target at that time.  What if Christians took all the time they spent being angry and instead spent that time praying?  In the book of First Peter, Peter gives us strategy about not how to react to the world around us, but how to influence it through love.

Living for Jesus and demonstrating your faith is easy at church.  It's accepted and popular.  But it's not so easy everywhere else.  Like it or not, we have to live out our faith in the real world.   So, how do you do it?

Unresolved conflict -- broken relationships between people who claim to be followers of Christ -- is the reason many unchurched people want no part of church.  We often try to pretend such conflict doesn't exist.  What does the Bible say about conflict?  What should we do when this happens to us or to other Christians?

The church should be a hospital for the broken - for people with a past, for people who have messed up.  It is a place where people can be restored.  Too often, though, the church is known as a place where they shoot their wounded.  How should the church react to people who've messed up?  What is our role as Christians in helping broken people get whole again?

How could a loving God allow me to hurt like this?  Why haven't I been healed?  Why hasn't God answered my prayers?
Rod Loy looks at these and other questions in this message.

Just like the ill-fated egg of the nursery rhyme, sometimes it seems like we will never be able to put it all back together again.   In this message, Rod Loy looks at how to get your life back together when everything seems broken.

There are studies that indicate that the average American household carries between $8,000 and $10,000 balance on their credit cards with interest rates in the high teens.  Many owe much more.  Being in debt is like being in chains: your decisions are based on how much you owe on your cards.
In this message, Rod Loy challenges some commonly-held attitudes about credit and debt.

Most Americans are crisis-oriented.  We wait until there is a problem, most likely a major problem, before we take action. We say "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," but we don't live that way. When a problem comes, we want a quick solution, a bail out, when we should have been working to prevent the problem all along.  It's especially like that with our finances.    In this message, Rod Loy looks at "preventative" measures with our money.

TV, newspapers, and the Internet have been filled with bad news about the economy.  As economic pressure increases, people are becoming increasingly worried.  Why does it make us worry, and what can we do about worry in uncertain times?

Re-start. Reboot. Control, Alt, Delete.  The answer to every problem in the computer world is to re-start.  And when you do? Miraculously, when the computer comes back on after re-starting, everything works again.  That's all it takes.  A re-start wipes out your mistakes - like they never happened.

What if life was like that?  Have there been times in your life you wish you could just re-start?

We say it all the time, "Every Soul Matters to God." But do we really believe that? Did Jesus really die for everyone's sins? Are there some people who are just too bad for God to forgive?

In our world, we want everything right now. This even applies to answers from God to our prayers. God works on a different time scale, however, and in the end we always see that He has perfect timing.

Nobody likes it when life is like a roller coaster - filled with high highs and low lows, and frightening twists and turns. We'd prefer that things sail along, always getting better. But that's not how it usually works! In this message, Rod Loy looks at what we can learn from both the highs and lows of life.

Are you in a storm? Not a weather event, but has something happened in your life that has completely rocked you, whether its health, financial, or relational problems? In this message, Rod Loy shares some observations about what to do when you find yourself in a storm.

We all have a past. Sometimes people are afraid to come to church, because they think they will be condemned for their past. This was not the model Jesus showed us though. In this message, Rod Loy looks again at the encounter between Jesus and the woman with a sinful past. The way Jesus transformed her life is the way He can transform your life!

The gospel of Luke records that one of the Pharisees invites Jesus to his house for a meal. This was not a friendly gesture, as the Pharisees meant to question Him, and try to trip Jesus up and put Him in His place. Why would Jesus even go into such a situation? Because he knew someone would be there who would need her sins forgiven. Rod Loy looks at the story of this meeting between Jesus and an "unclean" woman.

It's a famous story in the Bible. Some men bring their friend, who can't walk, to Jesus, so He will heal him. The crowd in the house is so thick that they actually lower their friend down from the roof. Jesus did something that nobody expected, though. In this message, Rod Loy looks at the greatest miracle that happens in an encounter with Jesus, which often receives little notice.

There are people in the world today that other people don't want to think about. If you see someone with a "Will Work for Food" sign, you try to ignore them and hope they don't see you. There are many people that society considers invisible. Maybe you are made to feel invisible by the people around you. In this story, and today, Jesus sees the the "invisible." And He sees you.

Does it seem like life is falling in on you? Things may seem hopeless, but Jesus sees not only your need, but He sees you. In this message, Rod Loy looks at the story of Jesus and the Blind Man.

Maybe you sit in church, watch a Christian television show, or listen to a podcast. You may even go through the motions of being a believer, but deep down, you just aren't sure about the whole thing. You are a doubter. Maybe you want to believe, but you still have questions. It's okay to have questions. Doubters are welcome. In this message, Rod Loy looks at one of the most famous doubters in the Bible: the disciple Thomas. Through him, we can learn what to do when we doubt.

In this message, Rod Loy looks at the Biblical story of Jesus and the woman who was caught in adultery. His reaction to her speaks volumes to us today. It's sometimes hard for us to understand, but God offers us grace, and will transform us from our old lives into something new!

A transformation is a significant, all inclusive, life-changing moment. You move from something to something else. A transformation is a God-enabled, supernatural shift in your nature or character. Where is the best place to start a transformation? A healthy church! In this message, Rod Loy examines the traits that make up a healthy church.

There are some things in life that you can "sort of" do. If you go swimming, you can actually jump in and swim, or you can sit on a raft, or just put your feet in the water. That way, you're "kind of" swimming. But there are things in life that you can't "kind of" do. Following Christ is one of them. In this message, Rod Loy looks at the problems we can face we don't give every part of our life to God.

At the beginning of every year, a lot of people make resolutions. They are usually about exercise, family time, getting out of debt, and so on. These are all good things! But what if you need more than a resolution? What if you need a total transformation?

This is the concluding message of the Lift! series.