Did you know that you can go to church and read your Bible all of your life and still not understand how God see you, how He operates, and how He thinks. Yet, He wants us to know!! In the message "Branded: Marking the Heart of a Believer," Pastor Marc draws from the Word of God and his years of pastoring and counseling experience to bring us three things that need to be branded on the heart of every believer.

Ben Bonner kicks off the "Accepted In the Beloved" series with a bonus message entitled "His Cause - Our Response."

Series: Accepted In the Beloved

Children, eager to please their parents, or their friends, or their teachers, make decisions based on what they think will please others. And, who can blame them? Which of us does not want to be loved, valued, and appreciated. We all need a certain amount of the approval of others in order to function in this world. But, as we begin to think "Grown-up Thinking," we have to distinguish between the need to please God and the desire to please man. In the message, "Fearing God" we will look at some of the reasons that we are torn between the two and the cures for the fear of man.

From childhood, we learned to protest when we felt that someone wasn't playing fair. We were saturated with the idea, "You treat me right and I'll treat you right." And, that kind of thinking has permeated our lives and practice ever since. But the calling of the believer is a much higher calling. As we will see in the seventh message of the "Grown-up Thinking" series, God has called us to "Rise Above" the idea of playing fair and offer something way better. way better.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

The word "hate" is a strong, often offensive word. People who know the God of love understand that love should be our highest aim. Love is a beautiful word and hate seems ...well ... ugly - as it often is. But did you know that, sometimes, hate is exactly what the situation calls for? The key is in knowing what to hate and what not to hate. In the sixth message of the "Grown-up Thinking" series, we'll take a look at "Hating Appropriately" and the benefits that come with it.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

Children love to play. In fact, that's often ALL they want to do. We understand that, because they are children. But, as they mature, we expect them to be increasingly productive and fruitful. Unfortunately, some adults are still children in their thinking and adolescence is lasting longer and longer. That, coupled with the mindset of our "instant" society, produces individuals that have lost sight of some important issues involved in real progress. In the fifth message of the "Grown-up Thinking" series, entitled "Gaining Ground," we'll examine these issues and, in the process, learn from one of nature's best examples.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

Responsibility is a BIG word. In fact, it is a GROWN-UP word and only "grown-up" people understand it. Children are not held accountable legally or spiritually in the same way as adults. Unfortunately, we have many adults in our culture that still think like children. Their motto is "let somebody else do it for me" or "let somebody else help them." In the message "Taking Responsibility" from the series "Grown-up Thinking," we talk about everyday heroes...the kind that DO take responsibility and the difference that they make.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

Most of us could tell stories about decisions that we have made and later regretted. One of the traits of immaturity is to make choices that offer immediate reward but often result in long term disadvantages. Fortunately, most of us could also tell stories about good decisions that we made that, in the long run, have resulted in much joy. The conventional wisdom of "look before you leap" may have been around for a long time but is far from outdated. Today's choices have great bearing on tomorrow's outcome. In the message "Looking Ahead," we'll see how "Grown-up Thinking" leads to better decisions.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

It's possible to discover what you're supposed to be, know what you're supposed to do, commit to it wholeheartedly...and still not get it done. We have the best of intentions and yet the next step to our destiny always seems to be just around the corner. Our life is so full and our time is so limited that our dream sits on the shelf collecting dust. When this happens, there are two major categories of energy wasters that need to be considered as the possible culprits. In the message "Saving Energy," we will see that "Grown-up Thinking" requires that we find out what they are and deal with it before our dreams are lost.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

Many people wrestle with the feeling that there is something they are supposed to do or be that is going unfulfilled. Truth be told, they're probably right. When we step into (or even near) our God-given destiny, our hearts begin to resonate with a very satisfying sound. Until then, we just seem to stumble around wishing for more - not even knowing what we want more of. Like the miners of old, we know there's gold out there somewhere but we don't know where to find it. In the message, "Finding Yourself," we talk about how to identify and hit the vein of destiny that has our name on it.

Series: Grown-up Thinking

Pastor Marc speaking on State of the Union for Christ Fellowship. Looking back on the past, present and toward the future.