Santa Maria Foursquare Church

Godly Sorrow

Have you ever been asked "How are you?" and you are feeling sorrow and in pain but answer with "I'm good, thank you." Well, today, Pastor Kaelyn helps us understand the difference between feeling godly sorrow and feeling worldly sorrow. We look at ways we can develop and be transformed when we have Godly Sorrow that helps lead us to true repentance.

Life Beyond Belief

Today, in this message, Pastor Mike Foell shares how we can have faith and discover profound truths ingraining insight into what it truly means to live a life beyond belief.

Parenting in the Ways of Jesus

What we believe about Jesus will directly impact how we live for Jesus. And how we live for Jesus will directly impact what others believe about Jesus. We are carrying others along who are watching our faith to see if it’s real and trustworthy. And this truth is most critical when it comes to our homes and how we're reflecting Jesus to our kids. Today's message inspires us to live in such a way that the next generation is better able to recognize and follow Jesus.

If Jesus... is Lord

In this series we've been talking about three main attributes of Jesus: He is here, He is good, and today, He is Lord. But is one of these more important than the others? Yes! Everything else about Jesus flows from his Lordship. He has all authority over all things, and nothing is impossible for Him. So this begs the question: If he's all these things, why don't more people surrender to Jesus as their Lord? Because if there is any Lord other than ourselves, that Master will require things of us. And we tend to run from requirements as they can restrict how we want to live our lives. And what's the problem anyway? Can't we just love Jesus as our Savior without fully surrendering to him as Lord? Today we're diving into these issues. What does Jesus require of us, and what are the problems with rejecting his Lordship while still trying to connect with Jesus as the center of our faith? NOTE: For those who were with us on Sunday, February 4, you'll notice that this message contains an "alternate ending" to what you heard that morning! Let it bring new challenge and understanding to this conversation.

If Jesus... is Good

When you hear that "Jesus is good," you're actually hearing a code phrase that means much more. It's a statement declaring that EVERYTHING about Jesus is good – his nature, his mission, and his message are completely good all the time. And in today's message we're looking at one story, just a few minutes from Jesus' life, that demonstrates the reality of his goodness in so many ways.

We're going to discover:

He sees us and knows us.

He's compassionate toward us.

He acts on our behalf – not based on religious protocols, but based on His love. | He works miracles to fix what's broken.

He is working to bring restoration – restoring any parts of our story that have been damaged by hell.

Jesus is good. He is for you, not against you. And because he's the same Jesus now that he was when he was on earth, he is completely reliable and worthy of our trust.

If Jesus... is Here

God’s mission has always been to be present with us in continual, life-giving relationship. We see that throughout Scripture — from the start to the end. And Jesus' promise is that he would be with us ALWAYS. But though Jesus is here with us, we're not always aware of his presence. Today we look at ways we can develop our awareness, practices that help us experience his presence in powerful ways.

Thinking About Jesus

We all have two columns in our minds: one for WINS and another for LOSSES. When you think about this past year you’d be able to put lots of things into one of those two categories: relationships, your health, your finances, emotional and mental health, etc. This kind of list is what we use to determine whether we’re ADVANCING or LOSING GROUND in different areas in our life.

Securing My Future

We've reached the end of our journey through the 260 chapters of the New Testament, and are in the final chapters of Revelation. Today we learn about heaven in an incredible description of its size and beauty — plus we discover what's in and what's out; who's in and who's out. And there's an amazing invitation to ANYONE who wants to secure their future and join God in this eternal home!

A Christmas of Rest

Rest is always seen as God's blessing. From Genesis through Revelation, including the Christmas story, rest is a deep, complete and lasting peace that brings calm not only to the storms around us, but the storms within us. Today we're looking at God's vision of rest, including how we can receive it this Christmas season!

The Mystery of Christmas

Sometimes when reading a mystery you need to check the end of the story to make sure it ends well — then you can jump back into the intrigue. That's what we're doing today! In Revelation we find the "mystery of God" being fulfilled — the we flip back to the Christmas story and discover it's a central part to mystery of the gospel.

Great Joy to ALL People

Can Revelation have anything to do with the Christmas story? Absolutely! It's in Revelation 5 we find that Jesus died to ransom ALL PEOPLE! That's the very same message the angel proclaimed on the night of Jesus' birth: that his coming was good news that will bring great joy to ALL PEOPLE! Hell's plan is always to divide people. God's plan is always to unite them. And our church — in a small but important way — is working God's plan in our community. That's why we are ONE church with TWO congregations, and why today we all together for a beautiful bilingual message of God's love.

The Next Advent

As we enter this Christmas Advent season, celebrating the first arrival of Jesus into the world, we are mindful of his promise that there will be a second advent, when he'll return again. Today's message is the first of our Christmas series through the book of Revelation, and we're reintroduced to Jesus — not as the meek and mild baby in a manger, but as the righteous and all powerful king!

In the Middle of the Fire

In the five chapters of 1 Peter, one thing is talked about 17 times. What is this one defining theme of this short book? Suffering. While human suffering was never God's original intent, when people chose a path of sin, suffering followed, and it now marks all of our lives. But because God will use anything and everything in our stories to work toward his good purpose, Peter tells us how suffering plays a role in our lives. It's the fiery test that proves our faith is genuine. Today we're looking at four things Peter says should mark a genuine faith that's in the middle of the fire.

A Beautiful Thing

There's a showdown in Bethany: Mary VS Judas. Mary has anointed Jesus in an extravagantly generous act of worship, and Judas is having none of it. That's when Jesus steps in declares that what Mary has done is a beautiful thing. What we see is that Mary and Judas had very different beliefs; which led to different choices; which led to entirely different outcomes — which is always the same pattern in our own lives. How can we live our lives in such a way that Jesus declares them beautiful? It all starts with what we believe.

Give Me What I Want

Often times, we think we know what is best for our life and we want Jesus to give us what we want when we want it. However, Pastor Gary shares with us how the disciples had a similar experience; they had a question that caused great conflict between them and we learn that Jesus had a lesson to teach the disciples and you and me.

The Fight is in the Middle

As believers when we are walking through our journey of life, we will constantly find ourselves in the middle of something. It can be something as simple as the middle of a work week or it can be something as difficult as being in the middle of a storm. Today, Pastor Lisa shares how we should battle in the middle of what we are in when it takes longer than we would like.

The Harvest

In Matthew 9, Jesus told his followers that the "harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Why aren't there enough workers — those engaged with Jesus on his mission of redemption? What's stopping his followers from partnering with him in his work? Those are the topics we explore in today's message.

Two Roads

Based on the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we learn that everyone has to choose to walk down one of two roads – the wide, broad road that leads to hell or the narrow, difficult road that leads to heaven. We all have the choice to make, but our decision will have consequences.

Election Year Discipleship

We're about to enter a year-long election cycle — sure to be filled with angry rhetoric, accusations, and divisions. Unfortunately, many good people get drawn into this "death spiral" of hostility. Could there be another way? Today we're looking at Scripture that speaks directly into our cultural moment. It answers: how can our political engagement reflect the transforming work of Jesus in our lives?

Growing in God’s Word

There is something inseparable about God and his word — because the Bible is the primary place where we discover who God is, what he's promised, and how he invites us in to his story. Reflecting on this, Pastor Tim states: "I am not convinced we can grow in relationship Jesus if we’re not growing in his word." But how can we grow in our understanding of God's word? Paul talks with Timothy about this and says two things we're reflecting on today: the power of REMINDERS and REFLECTION. We not only need consistent reminders of what God has said, but we need to also consider these things deeply. These two practices are at the heart of our 260 Bible reading plan which you can learn more about here: sm4.org/260