Dr. Randy Willingham from Harding University was with us this weekend to lead our Men's Workshop. This is the second of his two part presentation about biblical leadership, the use of power, dealing with difficult people and church life.

God desires a relationship with us. In return, He wants us to make a choice about who we will follow. Are we all in?

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Most of us heard that phrase in childhood. We have enough life experience to know that words can hurt, whether intentional or unintentional. James encourages us to think more about our words and the effect they can have on others.

This week we share "good news of great joy." God was not content to stay distant. He did not walk away because sin separates us from Him. He sent His Son into the world to live among us to so that we could one day live with Him. God is with us.

James 1:19 says that, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." This week we talk about getting a better handle on our anger and doing what the word says.

As we continue our series on James, it is clear that the values of our culture and the values of Christians are very different. This week we look at how God defines high and low positions and how our desires lead toward good or bad actions.

This week we begin a new series on the book of James. Trials come our way frequently. Have you ever taken the time to consider that our attitudes about those trials are under our control? In James 1, we learn that God can use those trials to develop our perseverance.

After learning about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, we see what the fruit is like at work. As we do life together as a church, a big part of our job is to do good.

In Galatians 5, Paul writes about the freedom we have in Christ. Even though we have been set free, we often return to the things that made us slaves. In the case of the church at Galatia, it was traditions that they tried to bind on each other. What keeps us from truly being free?

Between his resurrection and ascension, Jesus made several appearances to individuals and groups. As we close our series on the life of Jesus this week, we will talk about some of those appearances, the reasons they may have happened and the job he left for us to do.

Twelve apostles would follow Jesus for three years of ministry. Near the end, one would betray him and another would deny him. In those watershed moments, they each had to decide what to do next. The paths Judas and Peter chose could not be more different. In the aftermath of our greatest mistakes, we have the opportunity to choose the direction our stories will turn.

In John 13, Jesus and his disciples are at a table preparing for a meal, when he begins to make his way around the table and washes each of their feet. He gives them and us an incredible example of what it means to be a servant.