Author: Chris Hankel
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Remember Where You’ve Been
This week begins our summer-long study of the Book of Deuteronomy called Choose Life. Deuteronomy was written by Moses at the end of the wilderness journey and on the eve of the conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land, which is precisely forty years after the exodus from Egypt. But before Moses tells the Israelites what…
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Who Is the Holy Spirit?—God Through Us
Have you ever wondered: Why am I here? What purpose does my life have? Why did God create me? Does He have something for me to do? The answer is yes. He does have something for you to do. Both specifically and generally. He has things for you that are specific to you. Things that…
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Who Is the Holy Spirit?—God In Us
I would like to ask you all to do something this morning, but let me give a brief explanation first. Some of you came to Christ when you were young, and your life has been a steady trajectory towards becoming like Jesus. That is an incredible blessing. Some of you may have made a decision…
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Who is the Holy Spirit?—God with us.
Have you ever felt alone in a really difficult circumstance? Maybe you were sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for the doctor to come and give you the news about a loved one. Maybe you received a really difficult phone call with bad news that left you spinning. Or maybe you have a really…
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Designed for Discipleship—Worship
Don’t raise your hand, but how many of you have a gym membership? Here is what I think most of us know about gym memberships: A lot of people have one… Fewer people actually go… And even fewer people are actually transformed by it. Honestly, some of us are paying monthly just to think about…
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Designed for Discipleship—Silence and Solitude
In 2012, Willow Creek Church in Chicago, Ill., wanted to know how to be most effective in helping people grow in their faith. Willow Creek used to be one of the largest churches in the U.S., with about 25,000 people attending prior to the pandemic. They were pouring thousands upon thousands of dollars into programs…
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Jesus is the Answer
You all look pretty amazing this morning! How many of you took a picture of your family or your kids before you left the house for church this morning? When I was a kid, there was always a picture before church because we looked good, and mom wanted a record of that moment. She spent…
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Who is Jesus? — Jesus the King
Human beings are wired to love the idea of a king. Not the boring constitutional monarchy kind, where the king mostly cuts ribbons and waves from balconies, like King Charles of England — but a real king. A strong, decisive, rides-in-on-a-warhorse, fixes-everything, defeats-the-bad-guys kind of king. We love stories about good kings riding out to…
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Who Is Jesus?—Lord or Liar?
Have you ever known someone who, if asked, “Who is Jesus?, might say something like, “He was a great teacher. Very wise. Very loving. Kind of like… Buddha, or Gandhi, or Oprah.” The problem with that answer is Oprah has never said, “Before Oprah Winfrey was, I am.” Oprah has never claimed she would return…
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Jesus, the Teacher
One of the things we rely on constantly today is reviews. We check the reviews. Five stars? Great. Two stars? Probably not. You read comments like: “Amazing food! Best tacos ever!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Terrible service. Waited 45 minutes for water.” ⭐⭐ And sometimes the reviews are completely contradictory. “Best place I’ve ever eaten!” Right next to……
Chris Hankel 