Santa Maria Foursquare Church

Rekindle Part 3

Who is the "kindler" in our lives? It's God, the Holy Spirit! In this message we take a look at who Jesus said he'd be sending to be both WITH us and IN us. The Holy Spirit is an ever-present help, available to us at all times, no matter what we're going through.

Rekindle Part 2

Whenever we face discouragement or despair, we run the risk of losing confidence in the true Jesus. We may still believe he loves and forgives us — but become less certain that he is still the all-powerful, miracle-working God. But he IS the Lord of all, and even today, nothing is too hard for him! His goodness and his power are inseparable! Dive in with us as we allow God to REKINDLE our expectation for God's miracle-working power in our stories.

Rekindle - Part 1

Jesus is described as one who won't break off a bruised reed or put out a flickering flame. In other words, he mends and rekindles. It's what he does. None are too damaged or too far gone for him! Today we look at a miracle rekindling story that reminds us what's happens when we put our trust in the Lord — even when we're at the end of our rope.

When I Can't Take it Any More! - Part 3

When you're stuck — feeling paralyzed and unable to move forward — how can you get free? We've been looking at a story about Paul and his friends who were in just such a place. In today's concluding message, we're looking at a twist in the story. Just when you'd have thought it was over, they went to prayer. And how they prayed for breakthrough informs how we can also pray for God to make a way.

When I Can't Take It! Part 2

When we feel stuck in difficult and stressful situations in life it can be difficult to creatively find ways to get unstuck. In the Bible, Paul goes through something similar, but he is able to find creative workarounds in order to accomplish the goal. These steps to finding creative workarounds can also help us to get unstuck from the difficult situations in our life.

Can't Take It

The Apostle Paul and his friends found themselves in what felt like an unwinnable situation. And they came to the end of their rope! What they did next can truly help us when we feel stuck. They used three spiritual strategies that moved them out of their despair and allowed them to accomplish their mission.

Easter: Living and True

Have you ever felt like your faith was small? If so, you're in good company — including all those who were followers of Jesus on that very first Easter. They were stuck in their pain and hopelessness. But...something changed that made all the difference in their stories. And it can make all the difference in your story as well. Easter changes everything!

Growing in Jesus

Have you ever met someone who calls themselves a "Christian," but they act nothing like Jesus? Way too common! It's what happens when people become "converts," but never step into a life of discipleship. Today we're double-clicking on the three words we use at SM4 to describe what discipleship is all about: Discover, Develop and Deploy.

Strong at Home: Finishing Strong

At the end of the book of Nehemiah, everything fell apart! All the strong things he'd put in place were forgotten during a season when he'd traveled away. The people lacked self-leadership. They lacked the maturity to take responsibility for their own lives. Nehemiah put things back in order — and the steps he took give us a master class in self-leadership.

Strong at Home: Faith

All the areas of our lives are interconnected — but their not all equal! It's only our faith in Jesus that will bring order to our lives today AND bring us eternal life. Our faith is vitally important for strong lives, and Nehemiah 8 gives an incredible picture of what it looks like to grow as spiritually strong people.

Strong at Home: Physical Health

We tend to put God in a box -- a "spiritual" box. But Jesus showed that he wants to be the Lord of our whole lives, including all that's natural and physical. Today, with the help of "Coach Moss," Brennon Mossholder, we take a practical look at rebuilding our physical health after a year that's been hard on our bodies.

Strong at Home: Relationships

Gary and Kathy Howse continue in the series titled STRONG@home, learning from the Book of Nehemiah. We will take a quick look at chapters 5 and 6 this morning regarding Relationships Inside Our Homes and share ways to overcome the challenges we all currently face.

Strong at Home: Kids

When their enemies were planning an attack, Nehemiah gathered the people and encouraged them with this: "Remember the Lord...and fight" (Neh. 4:14​)! And who did he say to fight for? Their families. Today we continue tracking the story of Nehemiah as we look specifically at how to fight for our kids — and we're joined by Ralph and Kathleen Hernandez, founders of BStrongLife student ministries.

Strong at Home: Emotions

God cares about your emotional wellbeing! Today we continue tracking the story of Nehemiah and learn how his enemies worked to bring confusion and fear to God's people (using the exact same tactics our enemy uses against us today!). We're also joined by therapist and university president, Angie Richey, to gain insight on how to rebuild emotional strength.

Strong at Home: The Mind

God has given us incredible minds to help protect us from becoming overwhelmed with the arguments swirling around us. But for some, the number of things they've had to process over the past year has been like rising floodwaters — just too much. How can we rebuild strong minds after they've begun to crumble?

Strong at Home: Inspection

The walls of our home (and our life!) are critically important. When they are cracked or lie in ruins, our strength is gone, our enemies can rush in, and even the good things we do have will leak out. But before we can rebuild, we have to do some home inspection to find out what needs rebuilding. Download your "inspection worksheet" here: https://bit.ly/sm4-home-inspection​

Strong at Home

We've all found that home is the new hub for our lives! But if home-life isn't strong, it negatively impacts everything. In this new "Strong at Home" series, we're tracing the story of Nehemiah, who was used by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Along the way, we'll be discovering how to inventory our homes, then restore and rebuild anything that's started to crumble around us.

Distracted or Directed

Life is full of distractions — especially over this past year! But God doesn't call us to live distracted lives. And he's given us his word to provide us with the direction we need to live on purpose. Pastor Gary unpacks five questions to help us see if we're directing our lives around God's word.

Unplugged: The Spiritual Power of Fasting

When faced with painful hardship — like a gut-punch to the soul — the temptation is to give up or give in. But the way of Jesus is to get after it in faith. And one of the most consistent ways believers over the centuries have chosen to "get after it" is with prayer and fasting. Fasting is a season of unplugging from other power sources to more fully plug in to Jesus.

This message is a call to join the Santa Maria Foursquare Church family in fasting and prayer for the next 21 days, from Monday, January 11 through Sunday, January 31. More resources are available on our church website: sm4.org.

The Lord's Prayer

At the start of a new year it's always good to ask: What should I be focused on now? Today we're asking that question through the lens of the Lord's Prayer — looking at what Jesus calls us to, and what he richly provides.