Connexus Church Audio Podcast

So, God gives you a word or a message but then what? Jonah didn’t want to hear the message God gave him at first, so God again spoke to Jonah with the same message for a second time. God gave Jonah a second chance to live out the purpose He had called him to. What about you? Have you ever felt like you’ve needed a second chance with God? In the final part of this series, Mark challenges us to remove the distractions and refocus on the mission God has called us to; to share the hope of Jesus.

Ever think that God is done with you? That it's too late to start over? You aren't the only one who has thought that. In this message, Mark Clark walks us through a turning point for Jonah in the Book of Jonah.

Jonah was going about his life, just going through the motions. He lived with fears, doubts, insecurities and even ran from God when He called out to him. What about you? If you inserted your name where Jonah’s is - how similar would that description be of your life currently? The good news is that God wants to use you in spite of who you are or what you’ve done, not because of you.

To realize your calling seven days a week involves something the  culture doesn’t understand. Rather than making your life about getting, the Gospel will challenge you to make it about giving. 

Our culture is more divided than ever—vaxxed versus unvaxxed, masks versus no masks, conservatives versus progressives, church attenders who gather versus attenders who don’t.  Even Christians are at a loss to know how to respond. Enter the radical idea of the church.  Going to church produces a group of people who reflect culture. Being the church produces a group of people who change culture. 

One of the challenges of being alive today is that information comes at you from every direction 24/7. You know too much.  And yet you also don’t know enough. Because the most helpful information is being forgotten or lost. All of this takes us back to the Garden of Eden. This week, you’ll discover why having the knowledge of God without the wisdom of God can kill. And you’ll also see how knowing the wisdom of God can change everything for you. 

If you’ve ever started watching a movie halfway through, not only is it almost impossible to figure out what’s happening, but it can look like there’s no hope for the end. But then you get to the end of the movie, and things resolve...often beautifully. Life is like that because the gospel is like that. God wins in the end. And as hard as that seems to believe, that means he’s winning now.

God’s plan for our lives is that we would “run and not grow weary, walk and not faint.” Sometimes we struggle to step into all that he has planned for us due to the weight we carry from our past. There is a better way. Because of what Jesus did at the cross, God has made a way for us to live our lives unburdened.

Every generation of Jesus followers is responsible to ensure the news of the Christian faith stays true to the original. So are you good news? What if you’re the only news someone gets?

The original message of Jesus was so compelling that everyone who heard it wanted it to be true. Maybe the version you’ve heard isn’t as captivating. If Jesus truly offered an invitation that left no one out, would you consider it really good news?

People close to Jesus were convinced they had met good personified. So they documented the story. They were convinced it wasn’t just for a nation or for a generation, but for all nations and every generation. This was good news, great joy, for all people—perhaps especially for those of us who aren’t all that good.

Like many people, you might find the Holy Spirit to be a bit of a mystery, however, scripture teaches that the Spirit can be the source of power in your life; an opportunity to experience God and even live supernaturally. But many of us don’t live that way. So where do you start? 

Like many people, you might find the Holy Spirit to be a bit of a mystery, however, scripture teaches that the Spirit can be the source of power in your life; an opportunity to experience God and even live supernaturally. But many of us don’t live that way. So where do you start? 

Like many people, you might find the Holy Spirit to be a bit of a mystery, however, scripture teaches that the Spirit can be the source of power in your life; an opportunity to experience God and even live supernaturally. But many of us don’t live that way. So where do you start? 

“In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”.  You’ve probably heard this phrase to describe God as some part of a ceremony or service. You know what a father and a son are, but what is a ‘Holy Spirit’? How do you even relate to God as a ‘Spirit? Is it a transcendent encounter, an emotion you feel, or a weird ghost or aura?    Like many people, you might find the Holy Spirit to be a bit of a mystery, however, scripture teaches that the Spirit can be the source of power in your life; an opportunity to experience God and even live supernaturally. But many of us don’t live that way. So where do you start? 

The deadly sin of sloth will affect your life physically, intellectually, and spiritually. It can find expression in laziness and idleness. Be intentional with your time and energy on the mission of loving and serving God and others to enjoy Jesus now, in daily sacrifice.

Lust is a strong passion of longing, especially for sexual desire, when we objectify another person for our own personal pleasure. It is not a private sin but also destroys the lives of others. Fight this sin actively and help one another pursue the ultimate pleasure/fulfillment found only in Jesus.

Anger is a desire for vengeance, an emotion of resentment toward others or circumstances that arise out of self-preservation and one’s life or ego being challenged or threatened. Anger is not inherently evil. Recognize when it is sinful, placing one’s life or ego above all else, and learn how to fight it. Be challenged to take on a righteous, holy anger that helps correct injustices and expresses God’s righteousness.

Envy is an emotion that occurs when another person’s success or excellence overshadows your personal well-being based on our comparisons. The sin is rooted in believing that God is not good enough in your own life. Counter this vice with kindness, and taking on the posture of Jesus - desiring the happiness of others instead of their harm. How do we fight it? Envy is countered with kindness. Kindness desires the happiness of another person, not their harm. Kindness is composed not of heroic acts of virtue, but small, daily, regular acts of goodness towards another.

The conversations you have most often are the ones you have in your own mind. And if you are honest, they are likely more negative than positive. Sometimes what you hear comes from your past, while other messages are lies you’ve picked up over time, and others show up as anxiety and self-doubt. Here’s what’s critical: How you think tends to become how you live your life. What if it were possible to move towards internal freedom and win the war in your mind?