Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy Pastor Sam started the message by reviewing each of the previous messages in this series. We started with Roll for Initiative - How God is our DM, the second message Level Up! - How we can grow stronger through salvation. Third, The BBEG - Who satan is from scripture. Fourth, Ready for Battle! - How we can be prepared for spiritual battle. Fifth, Don't Split the Party - How we should get along with one another. And sixth, New in Town - How we need to be salt and light. And now that you are caught up you are ready for the ADVENTURE! It’s a running joke that most table-top role-playing games begin with the group starting their adventure in a place that sells food and beverages. It is at this location that the party finds out who they are going to meet, and/or what they are going to do for the adventure. Their quest-giver may have them go rescue a cat from a tree, find some kind of special object, or even slay a dragon. In real life, we too, have a quest-giver. His name is Jesus. He has a quest for us to go on that is life-changing for us, and for those that we meet along the way.  3 things we must do while questing for Jesus. (Acts 1:6-11)

We’ve all had experiences where we went to something for the first time and hoped to be well received by others. Wherever that was we wanted to matter and make a impact where we went.  Background: After sharing the “Beattitudes” during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it a point to tell the Christians who are listening that they need to be like salt and light in the world around them. He wants them to understand that this is the way that they can make a difference where they live.  Big Idea: We make the biggest impact with others by being salt and light. (Matthew 5:13-16; Luke 14:34; Mark 4:21)  

Just as splitting the party can be hazardous to one’s health as well as impede your goals or objectives, the same can be said in the Christian life. Our enemy Satan LOVES when Christians struggle to get along and try to go it alone. It is when we are most vulnerable to spiritual attack. Getting along with others has always been difficult, even since the days of the early church, but it has also always been worth it. Because good relationships are so vital to the Christian life, Paul addresses them in Romans when he shares some of the identifying qualities of what it means to be a true Christian.  Background: Penned by the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome, it was written with the intent of unifying Jewish and Non-Jewish Christians as one body, through sound biblical theology and practical Christian living.  Big Idea: Three “go-to’s” for getting along with others. (Romans 12:9-21)

It can be very easy to go through life, and many people do, feeling like no one recognizes nor appreciates who you are nor what you do. This can be especially true at times for mothers, especially those that are engaged and involved in growing a family. Cooking, cleaning, driving, counseling, budgeting, “nursing” etc are all things done by moms that are taken for granted. Today in Scripture we will see one such mother who is used, mistreated, and discarded believing that no one values her nor “sees” her. Background: Earlier in chapter 12 and reaffirmed in the previous chapter, God establishes a covenant with Abraham promising to give him a great nation through him. When things don’t progress on that front according to Abraham’s timetable, Abraham and his wife Sarai decide to take matters in their own hands.  (Genesis 16:1-15)

Join us for this special backyard church service and enjoy the ambiance of barking dogs, an ambulance and wind chimes. :D Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy Website Last week we learned about the enemy that we face, Satan, and how he is portrayed in Scripture. We also learned some strategies for victory over Satan’s schemes. God wants us to not only know how we can have victory; He also wants us to know what weapons and armor we have for the battle.  Big Idea: 3 Basics that prepare us for spiritual battle.  (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy Website The best stories and games have the strongest villains. While fiction might have some truly terrible villains, we have the most dangerous villain of all, in real life – Satan. Because he is so strong, God wants us to be prepared, to know something about who he is so that we can have victory over him. Today, we will look at 3 symbols of Satan from Scripture that reveal to us what he is like.  Big Idea: 3 symbols of Satan that show us who he is (Ge. 3:1-4; 1 Pe. 5:8-9; Re. 12:7-12)

Our capture card was going out, so we apologize for the audio quality. Next week the audio quality will be back to normal! Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy Date: 4/22/2023 Website Part of the fun of Dungeons and Dragons is getting stronger and unlocking new abilities and powers. And just like last time when we looked at 3 ways that God is our Game Master, God is also the one who gives us gives us the opportunity to get stronger spiritually by accepting His Son and receiving His Spirit. When we become saved, we get access to a few different benefits through our relationship with God. Today, we will look at 3 ways that we grow stronger through salvation.  3 ways that we grow stronger through salvation (2 Co. 5:16-17; 2 Ti. 1:6-7; Ro. 12:6-8)

Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy Website We apologize for the slight echo in the audio! Next week should be back to the regular beautiful audio you are used to! Dungeons and Dragons as a game has surged back into popularity the past decade. A DM (Dungeon Master or a GM (Game Master) is in charge of creating, running and ruling the game. And just as the GM is responsible for creating, running, and ruling the game, so to is God responsible for doing those things in our life. In the earliest parts of the Bible, we see God do all these things with creation as well as with Adam and Eve.  Background: Written by Moses, Genesis is the book of beginnings. We see God beginning his relationship with man and man beginning his relationship with sin.  Big Idea: 3 ways that God is GM (DM) of our lives (Genesis 1-3)

Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy ⁠Website⁠ “Nobody cares about how much you know, until they know how much you care” - Theodore Roosevelt.  Caring is vital when ministries seek to be conduits of God ‘s truth and love for people. We often hear the world expects believers today to lead with religious agenda, when in fact, God calls his children to lead with love. As it turns out, this cart before the horse mentality is nothing new. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus encountered a man who too focused on law rather than love. He makes the opportunity to help this man understand that the foundation of the spirit life is not merely compliance to code, it is instead caring. In the text, we too will see the importance of choosing to care as “Caring” is our final value to be explored in this series. Big Idea: 2 choices that make our ministries Caring  (Luke 10:25-28)

Speaker: Pastor Sam Murphy Website When you hear the word “committed”, what is your first thought? According to Websters, the first definition might surprise you... When it comes to ministry, we do not do what we do because we feel like we are confined to it, rather we do the ministries at Christ Centered Community because we have made a pledge to Christ and his people. “Committed” is our next value to be considered in this series. In Scripture, the early church was committed to several of the same things in their ministry that we are, and we will see these in the book of Acts. The book of Acts actually follows the gospel of Luke as a continuation of the story, both written by Luke. While we typically think of Acts being about the Apostles starting of the NT church, and it is, it is far more importantly about Jesus and the Spirit of God establishing the church. This shows a model for the foundation of local churches and ministries to be centered on Christ. [refer to last week’s message Big Idea: 3 practices that make our ministries Committed (Acts 2:42-47)