Santa Maria Foursquare Church

Lost & Found Pt 4 – When Loss is Permanent

When we experience loss in our lives, many things are restored by God — even things we thought were hopelessly gone. But there’s other kinds of loss that is permanent and painful. Where is God in that? Today we look for answers in Scriptures and in the hope-filled story of Dennis and Debbie Jordan who lost their young son to leukemia.

Lost & Found Pt 3

When Jesus told stories about things that were lost and found, he was talking to two groups of people: those who knew they were lost (the "sinners"), and others who didn't think they were lost at all (the "religious" folk). And what both groups learned through his stories was revolutionary. God isn't angry — he's filled with love and absolute readiness to bring restoration to lives! Which group do you think was happier with that message? 😎

Lost & Found Pt 2

In the stories Jesus tells, we find that God never gives up on us and that he celebrates when we are found! Yes: we have a God who parties (really good parties...with music and dancing!). Why? Because he delights in us. He's not angry with us, even when we're lost because of our own foolishness. He longs to rescue us and fully restore whatever has been lost. And when that happens, he celebrates!

Lost & Found Pt 1

All of us experience loss. Sometimes it’s self-inflicted and other times it’s just life taking a hard left turn. But God cares about it all! In Luke 15 Jesus tells three stories about loss and restoration — and in them we can all find hope for our stories, no matter how painful the loss.

Anchored in Community

Being Anchored in Community really means to be Anchored in Relationship. Pastor Mike shares with us how important community was in the bible and how important it is to be in relationship with others now. Fellowship allows us to share out of our abundance when there is need and being Anchored in Community is exactly this – it is being able to share what you and others have in common otherwise known as Salvation.

Anchored in Mission

As we grow connected to God, it’s never meant to just be about us. God isn’t interested in our “project self!” But he consistently and passionately invites us to join him on a mission of redemption in the world. This week we’re taking a closer look at God’s mission, and discovering how serving others anchors us to Jesus like never before.

Anchored in Prayer

Prayer is an incredible way to commune with God — and every time we pray, we're dropping a faith-anchor. Today we're looking at a story Jesus told that's all about prayer, and why we should always pray and never give up!

Anchored in the Word

The storms we've faced over the past years — they're not going away any time soon. But good news! Jesus promised we can build solid lives, even in storms, as we're anchored in him! Today we're discovering how we can be anchored to God through his word, the Bible. Plus, we're launching a new Bible reading initiative — SM4 260 — that will take us through the entire New Testament in one year. Cool fact: there are 260 chapters in the New Testament, AND 260 weekdays in a year. So, we're reading one chapter a day, Monday - Friday. More info and our reading plan here: https://sm4.org/260

Unwrapped: Unending Joy

Christmas is over — all that remains is to drag the dead Christmas tree out to the trash and pay the bills that stacked up in December. Was it worth it? Absolutely! In fact, the JOY of Christmas isn’t meant to be experienced just once a year. Christmas is over — but Christ remains! And the joy we have in him can stick with us through every season, even the hard ones.

Unwrapped: Unshakable Faith

The first Christmas came at a time of incredible upheaval in Israel. There had been 400 years of conflict and silence from God. Nearly all hope was gone when God broke his silence by speaking to Mary. And faith arose as she believed what God said about her life. This Christmas we can join with Mary and declare to God: we want EVERYTHING you have for us!

Unwrapped: Unrelenting Love

What if there had been no Christmas? What if Jesus had never come? We can barely imagine the catastrophic loss that would have been to humanity — whether people believe in him or not! His powerful influence has shaped all of our stories and has held back darkness from completely overtaking the earth. Much of that has to do with his unrelenting love. He came to the world because of love, and he embodied love, even to his death on the cross.

Seeing the Invisible: the Way of the Future

At the end of Hebrews 11, we find both stories of victory and of suffering. It's easy to have faith when we feel like we're conquering and victorious — but it's much more challenging when we're going through the pain of suffering. Today we gain insight into our faith as we learn to SEE what God is up to in our stories, especially when they are hard.

Seeing the Invisible: The Way of New Life

What changes in someone's life when they see the invisible? Everything. And it causes people to go all-in with their faith — giving it all in exchange for the treasure they've found. Today we see this played out in Moses' life, as seen in Hebrews 11. He went all-in, exchanging life in the palace to go after the promise. Why? Because he saw the invisible God.

Seeing the Invisible: the Way of Prophecy

What we speak over others and over ourselves will be life giving or death delivering. Today, Pastor Gary shared with us how important it is to build up and speak encouragement and comfort over others and how what comes out of our mouth can effect and impact our lives.

Seeing the Invisible: the Way of Perseverance

In the series, “Seeing the Invisible,” we’ve been going through Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. Today we looked at how Abraham’s faith was tested and how he persevered in faith even in the midst of doubts. While he didn’t receive the fulfillment of the entire promise of God in his lifetime, he remained secure in God’s plan and promise. We can learn to do the same!

Seeing the Invisible: The Way of Promise

Throughout Hebrews chapter 11 we find a number of very short stories about men and women who are the HEROES of our faith — people who persevered despite all odds, because of their confident assurance in what God had revealed to them. Today we will hear about how their stories illustrate how God speaks PROMISES to help people begin to SEE the INVISIBLE and come to FAITH.

Loving our Neighbors

Jesus is really clear — it's impossible to love God fully without loving our neighbors fully. To make his point, Jesus tells a story about a man beaten and robbed. The one who came to his rescue shows us what being a loving neighbor is all about. Today we also share a number of ways our church family is actively caring for our neighbors!

Seeing the Invisible: the Way of Faith

In Hebrews 11 we're reminded of men and women of old whose very lives teach us about faith — what it looks like, how it works in our lives, what it requires of us, and how God rewards it. In this first message in this series, Pastor Tim breaks down verse one, an important introduction to our understanding of faith.

Dumb Things Smart Christians Do: Tunnel Vision

Any of us can get trapped by tunnel vision — only seeing a tiny bit of life and missing so much of the world around us. Today, pastor and missionary Joel Arreola, talks about tunnel vision and what we can do to break out of it.

 

SM4 is committed to our partnership with the Arreolas and their work in southern Mexico. To learn more their ministry, and to join Team Arreola, check out: https://sm4.org/arreolas

Dumb Things Smart Christians Do: Getting Stuck in the Past

It's easy for any of us to get stuck in the past. Whether it's from the loss of good things, or the distress of painful life experiences, we can be held hostage by our histories. But Jesus made a way for us to become unstuck, able to live life fully free.