The Branch Church

<p>Resilient: (a) capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture. (b) tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.<br>There are times where we will suffer for God’s will – sometimes it’s tied to us denying ourselves and sometimes it’s tied to how others are responding to us. Whatever it may be – don’t back off – commit yourselves to God<br>who is faithful and continue to do good. Let us be resilient.</p>

<p>You’ve probably heard someone say of another “He/She’s been to hell and back.” We’ll touch on one of the strangest passages about Jesus in Scripture this weekend. <br><br>We’ll be walking through 1 Peter 3:8-22. There’s so much more than this strange verse that will speak into our lives this weekend!</p>

<p>This weekend in Strangers, I Peter 2:11-3:7 has something to say to all of us this weekend. Of all things, it's about our relationship with our governing authorities. We’ll talk about far more than that this weekend because Peter covers a lot of ground in this next chunk of his letter.</p>

<p>The opening words of this week's passage in 1 Peter are, “As you come to Him....” <br><br>We don’t ever stop coming to Him. <br><br>As our Strangers series continues, we’ll be in 1 Peter 2:4-10.</p>

<p>In week three of our journey through 1 Peter 1 Chris talks about growing older and growing up. A lot of people are born again in Christ but don’t grow up in Christ. They grow older, but they don’t grow up in the most important of ways. We’ll explore what this means and why it matters in 1 Peter 1:15-23. Let’s continue to grow together!</p>

<p>You're not from around here, are you?<br><br>This weekend, Chris shares with us how our Living Hope is going to empower us to live strangely – we’ll make some different choices and have some different values than the world we live in.<br><br>Joy, peace, and hope are available for you today.</p>

<p>There will be times, as a disciple of Jesus, when we will feel like a stranger in the culture we occupy.<br><br>It’s not fun feeling out of place.<br><br>There are times when we feel like a stranger because our surroundings have changed. And then there are times when we feel like a stranger because we have changed. <br><br>Some pull back from the culture, some fight back, some blend in, and some stand out.<br><br>With the letter of 1 Peter as our guide, we’ll learn how to live with the tension of feeling “out of place,” without it stealing our joy or intimidating us.</p>

<p>Have you ever reacted in a way that you later regretted? We all have. Reacting in anger when we are "on the spot" is a trap we all fall into from time to time. How do we guard against it? It has something to do with what we do when we're "off the spot."</p>

<p>We’ve all made a name for ourselves in one way or another. Many times these names are not something to be proud of. So what does Jesus do with those names? In today's lesson, Ryan Rainey helps us understand what the word sanctification really means. Through the story of John, the "Son of Thunder," becoming John, an "Apostle of Love," we hope you'll hear Jesus telling you, “I am not done with you.”</p>

<p>Exodus 13:17-14:31<br><br>This weekend we arrive at the end of our Way Maker series.<br><br>Scene: What’s estimated to be around 2.5 million Israelites leaving a land they’ve been in slavery in for more than 4 centuries.<br><br>“There will come a time in everyone’s life when they think everything has come to an end. And that will be the beginning.” - Louis L' Amour</p>

<p>Exodus 12<br><br>This weekend we arrive at the part of the story where 400 years of the Israelites being in bondage to Egypt comes to an end...<br>In.<br>One.<br>Night.<br>And what they do on that night gives a whole new meaning to the term “eat and run.”</p>

<p>Exodus 7-11<br><br>Returning to the story that we were in just prior to COVID, found in Exodus 1-14. Of all things, our services were first canceled on the very weekend Chris was going to walk us through the plagues. This story is the first of three in this section of Exodus; all three have much to teach us about our God who makes a way, and who foreshadows Jesus the Way!<br><br>We are living in a time in which we all could benefit from a renewed vision of God as our Way Maker.</p>

<p>In the final message of our “Finding the Strength” series, Chris brings us part 2 of teaching on the wonder and mystery of how God strengthens us through prophetic moments in our lives. We'll hear a couple of testimonies of this as well.<br><br>Learn some tips on how to discern if God could be speaking through someone, and how to discern something in your own heart and to what degree it could be from the Lord.</p>

<p>Returning to “Finding The Strength” this weekend, Chris explores one of the most wonderful and mysterious ways that God strengthens us -- and how God uses us to strengthen others!<br><br>Have you ever had an experience in which you felt like God was speaking to you through someone else? When what was said and the way in which it was said gave you pause and made you, at the very least, wonder? Perhaps it did far more than that! Have you ever had an experience in which someone told you they experienced God speaking through you?<br><br>It happens!<br><br>Addressing this particular way God moves, which is identified in scripture is not without its challenges. We’ll talk about those as well.</p>

<p>It’s been nearly six months since so much of our society was disrupted – from work, to school, to church, etc. This weekend, Chris presses pause on the 'Finding the Strength' series to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are as a church right now.<br><br>Anchored in Psalms and Hebrews, Chris will also address a few common questions he's been asked, and share with you some encouraging things happening among us that you may not know!</p>

<p>Have you ever asked God to do something about a situation and He did it, but in a way that you never would have imagined?<br><br>This weekend we’re spending some time with the story of Habakkuk and what it has to reveal to us about finding strength in the Lord when the ways of the Lord and unfolding events in our lives or world leave us confused.<br><br>“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” - Habakkuk 3:19</p>

<p>What’s your strength-building plan? This week, Chris identifies some places of strength-building as referenced in Psalm 84:7. They’re varied. He leads us to them, but He won’t make us drink from them. Choices must be made. Every day. <br><br>"They go from strength to strength, till each person appears before God in Zion." - Psalm 84:7</p>

<p>We weren’t created to be strong apart from God. This week we're considering life as a road trip and the strength needed along the way. We also talk about finding water in dry places and wind our way thru Psalm 84.<br><br>"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." (Psalm 84:5-7)</p>

<p>Part of finding our strength in the Lord involves identifying ways our strength is being sapped! Chris identifies “strength-sappers” that often siphon off a lot of our energy.</p>

<p>How do we strengthen ourselves in the Lord during seasons of prolonged uncertainty? It helps if you are cultivating & LIVING in a culture of strength.<br><br>Josh Brake walks us through the first part of Deuteronomy 6 to help us take a few simple steps toward building and maintaining a culture of strength in our families and our church.</p>

<p>A series from the life of David in 1 Samuel 30. Prolonged uncertainty has a way of weakening us. There’s something to be said for learning how to strengthen ourselves in the Lord.</p>

<p>Sunday June 7, 2020</p>