Messages - Area 10 Faith Community

What if the people we overlook are the ones God sees most clearly? In this message, we explore Jesus' parable of the lost sheep and His challenge not to despise the “little ones”—those on the margins, the quiet ones, the forgotten ones.

We're obsessed with life hacks. We are eager to learn the latest shortcut or way to cheat the system, but sometimes trying to get ahead quick can lead to a domino effect of disaster. In this message, we will look at the story of two disciples who wanted to cut in line for positions of power, damaging their relationships along the way, and how Jesus set things straight.

What if the greatest moral ethic isn't just “Do no harm,” but “Go do good”? In this message, we'll look at one of Jesus' most famous commands, The Golden Rule, and how it flips our entire approach to relationships—from passive decency to proactive love. If you want to create goodness in your home, workplace, or church, this is how it starts.

Relational intelligence means recognizing that saying “no” isn't about rejection—it's about redirecting toward God's best for us and others. Learn how the word “no” becomes a powerful tool for healthy boundaries and purposeful living that helps us connect with others, manage our emotions, and communicate more effectively.

In a world full of spin, filters, and vague communication, Jesus offers a better way. In this message, we explore how Jesus teaches us to speak with clarity, courage, and integrity—and why your honest words might be the most powerful thing you can give someone this week.

We all long for freedom, belonging, and meaning—but modern culture tells us to chase freedom at all costs, leaving us disconnected and empty. Join us this Sunday, April 20 for EASTER AT THE BYRD as we celebrate how Jesus' resurrection restores our relationship with God and gives our lives eternal meaning, inviting us into a story bigger than ourselves—one where we are fully known, deeply loved, and truly free.

Sometimes, it's the little things that we do that add up to so much more. The daily routines and practices that we sometimes take for granted prepare us for something much bigger than ourselves. What if communion isn't just a ritual but a rhythm that shapes how you live, love, and follow Jesus?

When Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15-17), He wasn't just looking for words but calling Peter to action. Each time Peter answered, Jesus responded with a command. Why? Because when we love God most, we love people best.

The proverbial clock is ticking, and we are all slowly but surely running out of the time we are allotted here on earth. We can never add more minutes to the day, or more days to our year. So what are we doing with our one wild and beautiful life? How will we choose to spend the limited amount of time that God has given us?

Fear isn't your enemy—it is actually a signal pointing you toward where you need to learn to trust God most. Join us this Sunday as we explore Jesus' surprising words about fear and discover how shifting your focus from people to God can release you from your fears and lead you to true freedom.

"Leave No Crumbs" is a call to live a life of bold faith, unwavering commitment, and spiritual excellence. In a world where people settle for half-hearted efforts and unfinished business, Jesus calls His followers to shine brightly, fear nothing, stay watchful, serve others, and fully embrace His mission.

What we put first shapes everything else in our lives—our time, our priorities, and, ultimately, our purpose. This Sunday, we will explore Jesus' answer to life's biggest question: What matters most? If you've ever wondered how to live a meaningful life that honors God and transforms your relationships, this message will challenge and inspire you to put the right thing first.

It's a whole lot easier to burn bridges than mend fences. In an age where we unfriend people easily online, some people have taken to unfriending their own parents online and in real life. We are sometimes quick to label almost anyone toxic and remove them from our lives, but at what cost?

Does marriage even matter anymore? Fewer people are getting married in our culture, and it might be easy to believe that marriage isn't all that valuable anymore. On Sunday, February 23, we examined marriage and saw its true purpose, how we can still live into that purpose today, and what happens next when a marriage fails.

We have a bizarre relationship with our bodies in modern America. We either hate them and try to do everything we can to fix them. Or we love them a little too much and almost worship them. What is a healthier way forward?

What does it mean to truly honor someone or something? The word "honor" is not one we use much in our culture, but it's a good word that we should probably rediscover. In this series, we will examine different things that Jesus challenges us to honor and consider practical ways we can do so.

Life typically presents us with options: We can either take the safer path, or dare to walk the riskier path. We can choose to take the low road or the high road. Jesus challenges us to live in a way that seems, to us, not all that safe. He calls to take the road less traveled. In this message, we look at his challenge and see how we can follow his guidance on the narrow, risky road of life.

If only God would show up for us like a G.P.S. - That voice that tells us exactly where to go in life. Although God doesn't actually use Garmin to guide us, that doesn't mean he doesn't speak to us and help keep us on the road following him. In this message, we examine what it means to follow Jesus on the journey and how to be better followers.

Let's assume that you or someone you know is interested in learning more about what it means to truly follow Jesus. Acts 2:38 tells us that our journey of following Jesus begins with three elements: believing, repenting, and being baptized. Of those three, baptism is perhaps the most controversial and misunderstood. What is it? Why should we do it? Why does it matter?

New Year's resolutions are great, but what happens when our foolproof plan for a “new year, new me” goes off track? 2025 has already presented unprecedented challenges for us as a city and as individuals, so how do we stay on course when we feel stuck in the mud? How can we possibly make progress when it feels like the world, Satan, and even our own flesh are actively working against us?

If life is a journey, where is it going? And what is the best way to get there, and how do we know when we've arrived? Put another way, what is life about, and what should we be about with the years we have on earth? In this message, we will look at how Jesus answered this question thousands of years ago and see how it is relevant for us in 2025.

In a world that seems never truly to be at peace, Jesus shows up on the scene and offers peace to us.  But what does that mean?  Is it world peace? Is it some personal sense of peace?  In this message, we will look at Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and how what he brings is still very much needed today.

Jesus, the son of God, came as a 6-pound baby boy in Bethlehem. But his arrival was foretold 700 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah, who called Jesus an Everlasting Father. But what on earth does that mean? How can the Son of God be an Everlasting Father? In this message, we will dive into how Jesus represents the best kind of father, with eternal implications.

While the Christmas season often brings joy, it can also remind us of the things we've lost or the things we don't feel strong enough to bear on our own. The prophecies of Isaiah declare that a child—Immanuel, God with us—was born to bear our burdens and bring peace to our chaos. By trusting in Him, we can face uncertain futures with the certainty that the Mighty God walks beside us and transforms our despair into hope.

We celebrate the fact that Jesus moved into our neighborhood during the Christmas season. But what is he actually like? What does he bring to our world? In this series, we will look at four ways the Old Testament describes Jesus and consider how each of those ways matters to us, even in 2024.

King David was many things: a warrior, king, poet, shepherd, and more. However, the one role he could have handled better was that of a father. In this message, we looked at the tragic and uncomfortable story of what happened between some of David's own children.

David was a man after God's own heart. But that doesn't mean he was perfect.  In one chapter of the Bible, he manages to break almost all of the Ten Commandments. And it costs him dearly.

We all know people who seem so confident about hearing God's voice or knowing God's will for their lives. Meanwhile, we feel out of the loop. Why do some people seem to hear God so clearly while we struggle to feel His presence?

What do you do when your world comes apart? When your worst fears come true, how do you handle what writers have called "the dark night of the soul"? In this message, we will look at King David and his mindset as he was on the run from a son who was trying to kill him, and we will learn some strategies for how we can handle our darkest days.

Some people believe showing mercy is a sign of weakness, but is that true? In this message, we will look at a time when the future King of Israel, David, had every opportunity to get back at his worst enemies but chose to do the most unexpected thing and show mercy instead.

It's one of the most famous stories in the whole Bible: David and Goliath. We love the story of the little guy taking on the big, bad guy. It's a popular narrative that we love to retell, but is this story just about the courage of the underdog?

One of the most famous people in the Bible is King David. David was a poet, musician, shepherd, warrior, and king. Although none of us are kings in ancient Israel, many things about him are incredibly relatable to our modern day. This Sunday, we reflected on the frustrating experience of being in a "waiting season" of life and feeling like God is not doing anything.

Have you ever asked yourself this question as friends, colleagues, family members, and even fellow church members argue? In a politically divided culture, how do the people of God stay united? In this message, we examined how Jesus was concerned that his followers maintained unity despite competing views.

This week, we looked at what the Bible says about a Christian's response to Government and how we can engage in politics without losing our perspective on Jesus as our ultimate authority.

In our world of 24/7 news cycles, is it possible to consume too much news? And what does that consumption do to our hearts, our minds, or our souls? In this message, we looked at how media affects us in a political season and considered Apostle Paul's advice to an ancient church about how to keep your mind right during crazy times.

The political season is upon us; this is when people get very heated about who will hold political power in our country for the next four years. But for the people of God, should this season get us worked up? Jesus stepped into a politically divided world, not unlike our country today. Rather than putting his influence behind a particular candidate, he advocated for an entirely different kind of kingdom. In this message, we will look at that kingdom and how that informs us as we enter America's political season.

We all need a core group of friends who walk through the hardest parts of life with us. But what would it look like to actually be that kind of friend for someone else? In this final message of this series, we will look at the call for all of us to raise our hands in support of others.

How far will your friends go to help you? How far will you go to help them? Do you have a core group of friends who will do whatever it takes to come alongside you in crisis? In this message, we will look at a friend group that took extreme measures to bring their friend to Jesus and learn some qualities that we can emulate with our friends.

Many of us have friends who will be there when things are good, but do you have the kind of friends who will show up for you when things are terrible? In this message, we will examine how a core group of friends can show up well when we are in crisis by looking at the tragic Old Testament story of Job.

We all long for deeper and better friendships. We want to have that core group of friends who are with us through the ups and downs. But statistically, most people in America struggle to find those people. In this message, we will look at how Jesus spent his time with his closest friends and learn about the 200-hour rule and how it applies to our friendship-building efforts. This will be useful to us as we use our time to build lasting relationships!

Connecting theory to practice can be tricky. You might theoretically understand how to fish, dance the samba, make friends (and influence people), or split atoms, but actually doing them is a very different thing entirely. The same goes for worshipping God. How do we go from worship being something that we logically understand to something that we intentionally practice?

Money can fly out of our pockets in many ways. Sometimes it seems like we don't even know where the money goes. In this message we will look at different ways to use money and how we can align our usage of money with God's heart for the world. We will also look at some ways we can avoid becoming greedy in a world that encourages us to constantly acquire more.

Do men have a role in the modern world to be providers in their homes? What does that look like for the modern man? In this message, we will look at how men can still be providers in various ways and how doing so helps them feel a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

In 2024, what difference does it make if men are strong? Do we even need strength anymore? It's not like we have to hunt for food or build houses with our hands. So, what is the value of strength in men? In this message, we will look at the warrior who wants to fight inside every man and how Jesus channeled that energy for good.

We've heard so much in the last decade or so about toxic masculinity, and we can all think of examples where men go off the rails to a toxic place. But does it have to be that way? What is a better way for us to express masculinity in today's age? In this series, we will look at the narratives men are given around masculinity and how the New Testament can help men live and lead well in our modern world.

Do you ever feel like you have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, each whispering in your ear and vying for your attention? What does it mean to have a conscience, and do we have any control over what it suggests?