The Branch Church

<p>A NEW SERIES BEGINS TODAY!<br><br>This weekend we kick off a new series that will carry us through a chunk of the summer: “By Faith.” Chris Seidman brings us the first message in a tour through the great “hall of faith,” Hebrews 11. This series isn’t a history lesson. His name is I Am, not I Was.<br><br>There is wisdom and inspiration to be drawn from the lives of people distinguished by their faith in that great chapter. It’s there to be walked through so that we might come out different on the other end of the tour.</p>

<p>In the last message in our “After-Life” series, we'll ask the question: What do you do when you “hit a wall” in your spiritual journey – even after you’ve walked with the Lord for some time? <br><br>This theme arises often in Scripture. So what do you do when you’ve hit a wall?</p>

<p>Of all things, it’s like a virus.<br><br>Today we consider another common theme Jesus and the rest of the New Testament writers often addressed in the lives of those who were already following Him and experiencing the “after-life.”<br><br>Sometimes you don’t know it’s operational in your life until after you see symptoms of it. Paul acknowledged it as the reason some “wander from the faith” after they’ve had an encounter with Jesus. And yet, both Jesus and Paul give counsel as to how to inoculate ourselves from such a virus. Most of us have probably dealt with it at one time or another. What is it?</p>

<p>Intermittent Explosive Disorder. That’s what some therapists call it. We read of soldiers being injured or worse by IEDs overseas. Some of us have been taken out by a different kind of IED over here.<br><br>Someone wise once said, “Speak when you’re angry, and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” I think a lot of us have been there. Acting in anger can often lead to more regret. Over and over in Scripture, we find the subject of anger being brought up. In fact, it’s a theme in Jesus’ teaching to His disciples and Paul’s writings to believers. This weekend in our “After-Life” series, we’ll consider how to handle anger before it handles us. It’s actually the fruit of something else. To deal with it, we have to get underneath it.<br><br>Of course, not all anger is wrong. The Scriptures tell us God is slow to anger and we are called to be slow to anger as well. Love isn’t easily angered. But nowhere does it say that God is never angry and that we are never to be angry. But even anger when it’s “right” can quickly go “wrong” when it’s not processed appropriately.</p>

<p>We’ve all had “What was I thinking?” moments in our lives. It’s striking how much Scripture speaks to this trap. Jesus spoke to this often, as did the apostle Paul in the rest of the New Testament. <br><br>Walking in the freedom found in Christ involves addressing the desire for approval/fear of rejection dynamic in our lives. Walking in freedom doesn’t mean we don’t regard what others are thinking or how they are responding to us. In fact, loving people for their sake and the sake of the gospel involves those very things. But the reasons why we do these things are different. And the “why” is transformed by the “who” – Jesus. John 5:42, John 12:42, 2 Corinthians 5:7-9, and Galatians 1:9-10.</p>

<p>Today we consider what Jesus meant when He talked about God pruning our lives so that we might be more fruitful. He doesn’t stop working on us after we’ve found life in Christ. The idea of pruning shears and “cutting away” things doesn’t leave us with warm, fuzzy feelings. But there’s such a thing as “shear grace.” John 15:1-8</p>

<p>“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.” This is powerful revelation found in Galatians 2:20 is very much the essence of the “after-life.” So what does it look like to live by faith in Jesus while occupying these bodies that we have and in the variety of contexts we find ourselves in?</p>

<p>Of the more than 31,000 verses in the Bible, Galatians 2:20 would be one of my candidates for a “life-verse.” It’s dense with powerful revelations for what it means to live “the after-life.” The gospel tells the story of two of the greatest substitutions there have ever been. Christ dying in our place upon the cross, and Christ living in our place within our hearts. This week, we’ll consider the significance of this phrase: “but Christ lives in me.”</p>

<p>What in the world does it mean that we’ve been “crucified with Christ?” It's all over the New Testament, but most of us probably don’t think about it much. <br><br>You’re not just “raised with Christ,” you’ve “died with Him.” Really? When did this happen? And what difference does considering myself a “dead man” or “dead woman” make practically in my life today?</p>

<p>The gospels are full of some powerful before/after stories... And in every one of those before/after’s Jesus is the difference.<br><br>When you read the rest of the New Testament, one of the most common phrases the writers use to talk about the life of a Christian is the phrase “you’ve been raised with Christ.”<br><br>Raised from what?</p>

<p>The after-life isn’t just about heaven.<br>It’s about the resurrected life HERE and NOW on earth. When Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, is on the scene in someone’s life – get ready for different.</p>

<p>It’s one thing to be spiritually lost or “off-course.” It’s another to realize it. One of the first steps to us being “found” is when we become aware that we are off-course and ask for help. The Spirit of God is often involved in bringing about this awareness. John 15:26-16:11</p>

<p>This weekend we're exploring what Jesus has to say about the “help” that the Spirit of God brings into our lives. John 14:15-27</p>

<p>In week three of “Until Then” we’ll be in John 14:15-31.</p>

<p>In week two of “Until Then,” we’ll be in four verses that are “ants in the pants” of my faith. They can be uncomfortable and challenging, yet they keep it moving. Our journey continues through Jesus’ parting words to His disciples in John 14-16.</p>

<p>A new series begins this weekend at The Branch!<br><br>If you had a few days left to live would you want to know? Suppose you weren’t given the choice as to whether or not you would know it. You just knew it. How would you spend those few days? What would you want to say to those you were closest to? <br><br>This weekend we kick off a new series that will take us all the way up to Easter. We’ll be spending some time in the last extended conversation Jesus has with His disciples before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. You could consider this conversation His “parting words.” This is the stuff He wants His disciples, including us, to know and to live out until He returns. We’ll be walking through passages from John 14-16 over the next five weekends.</p>

<p>The final message in a series that has become an increasingly appropriate series with every week that rolls by in 2021. This week has been a terribly difficult week for so very many, all over the state and in the communities where we live. <br><br>In the midst of it all, we’ve heard story after story of many who’ve been able to open up their homes and share their resources with strangers and neighborhood acquaintances.<br><br>This message shines a light on how there are always opportunities for the love of Christ to be shown.</p>

<p>This weekend we’ll explore the one question that’s not always at the top of our minds when faced with a decision. It’s a question that represents counsel that Scripture gives us repeatedly from the Old Testament through the New Testament.<br><br>Decision-making isn’t simply about determining whether something is right or wrong. Nor is it about having enough information. And no, the question isn’t “What will glorify God?” (Good guess, though!) Asking this question will, though, often bear fruit that will give you an opportunity to point to God, no doubt!<br><br>So what’s the question?</p>

<p>Think of your conscience as like an organ in your body that has a sense of right and wrong... like a red flag that waves back and forth telling us we’ve done something wrong, or are about to do something wrong, or that something is wrong in the situation we’re in.<br><br>It’s a reflection of us being made in the image of a holy and just God.</p>

<p>Some decisions you see coming from miles away. Other decisions, not so much. Have you ever found yourself in the middle of something that you didn’t see coming, but now you’re faced with having to make some decisions?<br><br>We’ll explore this challenge this weekend and draw from the story of a person in Scripture who faced one situation after another – and he didn’t see them coming! The decisions he made in the midst of those situations became part of a story worth telling for generations.</p>

<p>When decisions are being made, we often hear the phrase:<br><br>“What’s your heart telling you? Follow your heart.”<br><br>What is a biblical perspective of this? It may not be what you were expecting!</p>

<p>Where you are today has something to do with the decisions you made yesterday. And where you will be tomorrow has something to do with <br>decisions made today. <br><br>This weekend, Chris kicks off a new series through some passages of Scripture that will serve as a guide to helping us make better decisions. This week we focus on Galatians 6:7-8.<br><br>As a helpful and practical partner resource for this series, we recommend the book, “Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets” by Andy Stanley.</p>

<p>This weekend at the Farmers Branch campus, Hunter Wheatcraft brings us a message out of 2 Thessalonians.</p>

<p>This weekend, Josh Brake brings us a poignant message from Mark 5:25-29.<br><br>The power of Jesus is available to those who come to him in faith. When we come to Jesus desperate for Him AND confident He is able, His power is unleashed in our lives.</p>

<p>This Sunday, Chris brings us the message from his home to yours.<br><br>Many are wondering what we’re in for in 2021. But it’s important to clarify WHO we’re in it for. This determines our response to whatever comes our way.</p>