Mill Creek Church

The Holy Spirit empowers us to live the life Jesus bought for us. He is like a power source to live as God’s children on the earth. Many of the early Christians were known as people “full of the Holy Spirit”. They were described as people of courage, a willingness to follow Christ regardless of the cost, and effectiveness. How would people describe Christians today? Do we have the fullness of Jesus?

For those who maybe grew up in a tradition where the Holy Spirit was tragically neglected, we may feel a little intimidated about learning who this person of the Trinity really is. But we should be encouraged that we already know him: any experience we have had or will have with God on earth is actually through the Holy Spirit. We might not have recognized that he was the one at work, but if we are following Jesus, our history with God is saturated with experiences of the Holy Spirit.

What is the Holy Spirit? Who is the Holy Spirit? Most of us know something about God. We know a little more about Jesus. But what about the Holy Spirit? Is it a ghost? Is it a force? Is it even an “it”? Jesus said it would be better for us for the Holy Spirit to come than for Jesus to remain on earth. Yet the Holy Spirit can often be erased from our version of faith.

Every human being has a thirst that needs quenched. Even if we are blessed to live in an area with easy access to fresh, clean drinking water, we still understand how important water is to life. But what about the thirst of our souls? How do we quench our deepest longings for real life? In Jesus we don't just find he HAS something, we find he IS something. He is exactly what we need for life and vitality.

It will be almost impossible to have a positive life when our mind is full of negative thoughts. Where do these negative thoughts of worry and anxiety come from? Paul helps us see a better way than the worry that can overtake our minds. We don't have to be anxious about anything but instead can find peace!

It’s all in your head. But what if that’s a good thing? Too often we’re prisoners to our thoughts: those voices telling us to worry, that we aren’t good enough, or that we can’t ever change our behavior. We need to shine a light on the strongholds that hold us down and discover the tools we need to shatter them. We can refresh and renew our brain to become the person God designed us to be. ** Head to the "Connect" section of the website for affirmations to refresh your mind.

The promise of Jesus to offer rest from our burdens and rest for our souls is powerful. But how does that happen? One way is seen through some direction that Paul gives to a church. Jesus might not walk into our office tomorrow but we are and maybe we can be the conduit through which Jesus helps carry burdens.

The concept of rest is contained throughout the Scriptures. God rested. God offered his people rest. The Sabbath, a day of rest, is still celebrated today. How does that apply to the followers of Jesus today? Can a day of rest change anything for us? Jesus offers us something better. It's more than day, it's rest for our souls.

Have any type of electronic device or modern-day technology and you will quickly learn how important it is to periodically "refresh" or "restart" it. But what about us? How do we refresh us? Life can be hard. We can get discouraged, frustrated, hurt, depressed, down. We are emotional and spiritual beings that can sometimes need to be refreshed. As we begin a new year, join us on a journey of finding the opportunities and habits God calls us to in order to be refreshed.

There is a certain wonder and mystery to Christmas. What will be under the tree? What's in all those boxes? But as we get older, life tends to steal that wonder. As we ponder what Christmas might offer us this year, we find the gift of grace that changes everything.

God’s grace to us is an invitation to be amazing. It’s our chance to extend to others what God has freely extended to us. But while most of us are full of something . . . it’s usually not grace. So what are you full of? And what would it take for you to give someone what they don’t expect? Or deserve?

The kingdom of God is characterized by unsettling generosity—the kind of generosity that gives the undeserving what they don’t deserve and, regardless of how unright we’ve been, makes us right with God. So what do we do when we’re faced with this “math” that doesn’t add up? And how do we respond to this unfair, unsettling system that Jesus came to invite us into?

There is an unsettling solution for just about everything, and we can sum it up in one word—grace. It’s the undeserved, unearned, unearnable favor that Jesus came to offer us. So why wouldn’t we want Christianity to be true? And where should you start if grace was never part of the equation for you?

Most of us have people in our lives who have done a lot for us - to make life better for us - to faciliate forward progress. How often do we take the time to thank them, to honor them? It might be something simple or profound but it's important for us to not just feel thanks, but to express it as well.

It's appropriate at Thanksgiving to consider the attitude of thankfulness. When taking an inventory of our lives, we probably have a lot to be thankful for and it's good to be reminded of that. But thankfulness is so much more than just politeness and good manners and a holiday for family and food. There is real power in thankfulness, especially when it's based on who God is not on where we are!

Be rich in good deeds, be generous and willing to share. It's more than a directive, it's a way of life. We never look more like our Heavenly Father than when we are generous. But we aren't called to just be rich, we have to be rich with a purpose. We have been entrusted with an incredible story of grace and love. Are we purposefully sharing that story with the choices of our lives?

Once a year Mill Creek undertakes an extravagant generosity campaign where we give away all of our financial gifts for one week to better our communities. The motivation for this comes from Scripture where we are called to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and willing to share.

Life has its inherent risks. It's why we buy insurance and it's why we spend time with a financial advisor learning the ins and outs of investing. High risk can yield high rewards but it also brings the possibility of high disappointment. Being generous brings risk but that risk is often an issue of the heart and it really boils down to trust. Do I trust God?

Generosity changes things - it changes people - it changes situations. It makes the world better. Generosity also changes us. It gives us pleasure and opens the door to God's favor and blessing. Would it be selfish to know that? Would it be selfish to be motivated to give for the reward that comes from God? According to Jesus, this is exactly what should motivate us - knowing God blesses those who live generously.

Being a generous person is not something that comes naturally to a lot of people. Most of us are trained to look out for ourselves rather than the needs of others. But few people would deny how important it is to see generosity in the world. While we know how much generosity can help others, it also does something for us! As we kick off our annual generosity campaign, we find beauty in giving.