In Joshua’s day, God commanded the Israelites to establish places where people could go who were in trouble or needed help. These cities served as beacons to those who would run into them and find refuge and solace. Church, small groups, and Christian connection should function the same way. This is especially true for small groups. They have a unique ability to uplift and edify believers while connecting them to the church. The title of this weekend’s message is “Cities of Refuge.”
Church-Autopsy: Earshot by Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend, we are celebrating communion together. This is a family meal, reminding us of what Christ has done and who we are in him. The churches in Revelation missed this principle. Communion unifies us and refocuses us on the truth of the gospel. We cannot afford to misunderstand or misrepresent the Lord’s Supper and risk going the way of those seven churches. The title of this weekend’s message is “CHURCH-AUTOPSY: EARSHOT.”
Anastasis: Moral Order by Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend, we will continue through our series on the resurrection. It is much more than just a past truth or a future reality. The resurrection has implications for our life now. It changes the way we approach life and our understanding of God’s plan. The resurrection is not just about us one day. It’s a life-changing truth for today! The title of this weekend’s message is “ANASTASIS: MORAL ORDER”.
Sufficient: True Vine by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we come to the final “I am” statement of Jesus in the book of John. Jesus states that he is the true vine. This is imagery that would have resonated with his listeners, but the implications here are so much greater than we might initially see. The only way for us to bear spiritual fruit is to be connected to our source, Jesus Christ. The title of this weekend’s message is “SUFFICIENT: TRUE VINE.”
Sufficient: Light of the World by Abidan Shah, PhD
SUFFICIENT – LIGHT OF THE WORLD by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC Introduction: How many of ya’ll have ever been to a cavern? Back in 2009, Nicole and I took our kids on a cross country trip, and we stopped at the Fantastic Caverns near Springfield, Missouri. It’s the only ride through cavern in America.... Continue Reading →
Ordinance by Abidan Shah, PhD
As we dive further into the life of Abraham this weekend, we will learn about his encounter with a man named Melchizedek. In this brief encounter, the Bible describes Melchizedek as a priest of the Most High God. We will learn more about this mysterious man of God and how this encounter became a precursor for our celebration of communion. The title of this weekend’s message is “ORDINANCE.”
Lampstand by Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend marks the conclusion of this series on evangelism. We are called by God to be the light of the world. Light is integral in eliminating darkness and drawing attention to something. We are able to shine a light, but not because of anything within ourselves. The title of this weekend’s message is “LAMPSTAND.”
Sheepfold by Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend, we are continuing to examine the pictures for evangelism that Jesus gives his listeners. Jesus refers to himself as a shepherd and extends that metaphor to evangelism by talking about bringing sheep into the fold. What are we doing to reach the lost and bring them to our shepherd, Jesus Christ? The title of this weekend’s message is “SHEEPFOLD.”
Connection: Part 2 – Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend, we come to part two of our series on “CONNECTION.” It is our responsibility to be discerning when it comes to the opinions and beliefs of those around us. It can be easy to be swept up into popular thinking, but we must remember that this church family is a blessing and not something to be taken for granted.
Connection by Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend, I will begin a two-part series on the importance of being connected to our church family. This is more than simply attending service and listening to the message. This is serving in a ministry, attending Sunday School, and joining a small group. The title of this series is “CONNECTION.”
Parenting IQ: Identity by Abidan Shah, PhD
This weekend, we will be focusing on adolescence. These years are a time of determining one’s identity and questioning the world around them. We’ll be taking a look at some common questions and misconceptions regarding student ministry and be reminded of the importance of reaching our teens. This weekend’s message is titled “PARENTING IQ: IDENTITY.”
Parenting IQ: Introduction by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we will lay a foundation for our understanding of brain development as a whole. Much more than just parenting, we as believers should work toward a biblical understanding of how our minds grow and mature. This will help us be better parents, mentors, counselors, and followers of God!
Operation Restore by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we are beginning a very special two-part miniseries on marriage. We see in Genesis that God created marriage to be a beautiful union between a husband and wife, but very quickly things begin to fall apart. In this series, we will examine what went wrong and how we can work to get back to God’s original design for marriage. The title of this weekend’s message is “OPERATION RESTORE PART ONE.”
Re-Created: Part 2 by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we are continuing our study of being created male and female. Gender dysphoria, gender identity, and transgenderism are big topics of debate in society. The push is to regard truth as subjective and relative to each individual. But it matters that God has designed us as male and female. The title of this weekend’s message is “RE-CREATED PART 2.”
Re-Created by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we are diving deeper into God’s creation of humanity. God made us male and female. The world around us is trying to blur the lines of being male and female, pushing the narrative of gender dysphoria and identity. As we learned last week, we must rely on the truth of God’s Word to guide our thinking in this discussion and to recapture God’s original design. The title of this weekend’s message is “RE-CREATED.”
The Age of Paradoxes by Dr. Abidan Shah
In today’s message, we will look at Peter’s usage of a paradox in the reality of both suffering and blessing for his listeners. The Bible is filled with paradoxes that pertain to the Christian life. Graduates and believers in general need to understand how to navigate this new age in which we find ourselves. The title of this weekend’s message is “THE AGE OF PARADOXES.”
Misstep by Dr. Abidan Shah
In our message this weekend, Peter begins to quote Psalm 34, relating David’s words to his listeners. In order to understand Peter’s use of Psalm 34, we must first understand the context of David’s life as he was writing. He made a series of poor decisions that left him to deal with the consequences. The title of this weekend’s message is “MISSTEP”.
Family Resemblance (Part Two) by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we will spend time going back through the same passage and exposing areas of wrong thinking that we may have picked up from our parents or loved ones related to marriage. Peter’s letter will help us course correct and develop marriages that honor God and bless each other.
Family Resemblance by Dr. Abidan Shah
In this first message, we will focus on Peter’s reminders to both wives and husbands regarding how they ought to treat one another. Peter wants his readers to understand that they ought to model themselves after their forefathers, Abraham and Sarah, rather than the world around them. As we are living in exile today, this message is true for us as well.
The Servant by Dr. Abidan Shah
This weekend, we are continuing our study of Isaiah and his use of the term “servant.” In these verses, God is describing His Servant and how he will justify many people ultimately by bearing their iniquities. This shows the perfect plan of salvation that has been on God’s heart since the beginning of time. The title of this weekend’s message is “THE SERVANT.”