Salem Fields Weekly Audio Message

In this message, our guest speaker Dr. David Bowser speaks to us about giving, vision, and how Bruce Springsteen ties into both of those.

In this message, Pastor Tim talks to us about communion and the importance of meeting others at the table.

Dr. Jack Connell, President of Eastern Nazarene College and our guest speaker for this message speaks to us about relationships and how to show compassion, humility, and patience to those around us.

In this message, Pastor James gives us an update on Vision.

In this message, we continue to dive into the "Real Relationships" Series by looking at Paul and Timothy.

In this message we are digging deeper into our Real Relationships series by exploring how to find your mentor.

The question of who is investing in you and who are you investing in is really a command. Jesus was always investing in his followers and commanding them to do likewise. The story of Elijah and Elisha gives a really good example of how the REAL-RELATIONSHIP INVESTMENT works.

In this message, we continue to dive into the "Real Relationships" Series by looking at Paul and Timothy.

#REAL-Relationship investment leads to life change. When someone invests in you and you invest in others lives change, purposes are discovered and we move into God's plan and place for our lives. Who are you investing in and who's investing in you?

The question of who is investing in you and who are you investing in is not new. Jethro (Moses' father-in-law) invested in Moses and in turn he invested in Joshua. God, used their investments to rescue a people and bring forth a new nation. Your investment in others and others' investment in you can transform the world.

REAL Relationship seems impossible in our social media “friends” driven culture. Yet we were created to do life together through relationships. During his time on earth, Jesus modeled relationships well, and he makes REAL relationships possible. #GotRealRelationships?

To understand the Book of Revelation and WHAT WILL BE, you need to Start at the Throne. The Throne is where the MAIN THING resides, it's where the main thing is modeled, and it will be where the main thing in life will be rewarded and/or judged. Don't miss this peer into the throne room of Revelation... for Salvation awaits you there.

Have you ever ordered your food or beverage lukewarm? Most folks, except for Goldielocks of fairytale fame, would answer that question no. Most people like to consume their food and drinks hot or cold. Likewise, we are encouraged to possess a hot faith in Christ because lukewarm will not do. What's your spiritual temperature?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when doing all you can to live for God? God wants you to know that He knows your situation, He is still in charge. So you can find your strength in Him.

In this message we continue our "Revelation" Series by looking at the church of Sardis and discovering what Jesus says to a dying church...don't give up...wake up!

We hear the word tolerant tossed around with great pride these days. The question is tolerant of what? The key to Christian tolerance is balancing tolerance with Truth. In doing so we remember our allegiance to Christ and love for others.

Buying the lies of popular culture can trip you up and distract you from the MAIN THING. It's important to know and live the truth of the Bible. The real truth will set you free. KNOW TRUTH?

This week's message deal what how we respond under intense pressure and persecution. What happens when you are squeezed? How do you respond to the tough stuff in life? Jesus' revelation/messages to the suffering church in Smyrna is a message for all of us. He is near to those hurting, no need for fear and don't quit. Sounds like good advice to me.

James begins the Revelation series proper with the theme Start At Home. We are encouraged to reach out at home, self-improve at home, so Jesus begins His reclaiming, recycling, renewing, reusing recreating, and renovating at home. What's Home? —The Church in the middle of tough times, the Church that has lost it fervor; and a church seduced by false teachings. Jesus' message to the church in Ephesus... Rediscover your NUMERO UNO Love. What or who is your 1st Love?

It's been said that we live in an unfocused culture and that many of us who actually focus, only focus on our needs, wants and desires. So it makes sense that when someone read the book Revelation they read into it their worldview. So Revelation becomes whatever the reader want to to be. Focus in the key to understanding the prophecy of John the revelator. This week James will help you focus on the main thing of Revelation... and its not a number (666) not a beast, not a war, not destruction, but worship of the Lamb who was slain.

We wrap up CROSSFIT looking at the top 4 lessons from growing as Belongers. Growth just doesn't happen by accident it takes Prayer, Power, Persistence to get the Payoff.

We don't like the “S” word. What's the “S” word? SUBMISSION. We don't submit to anyone. Our culture tells us submission is for losers. But in the spiritual realm the “S” word— submission is the key to winning. Submission is the last exercise in our Crossfit spiritual workout. Come discover how you win by loosing.

In this message, we wrap up the State of the Church series with a look at how "Teamwork Makes the Dream Work." God has great things in store for you and SFCC, and it takes a team to make it happen.

Regardless of your stage in life, there's one thing we can all agree on about this past year: Life has been disrupted. That also includes the Church-- SFCC and beyond. In this message, we will track a biblical story that aligns with how many of us are feeling; desiring things to return to "normal" but realizing we must also face the changes head-on. Perhaps for each of us, and for the big-C Church, it's time for a Holy Shift.

Have you ever been knocked down by life and found it hard to bounce back? Being knocked down is something that we all face at some time or another, but for some bouncing can feel like an impossible task. In this message, we talk about building resiliency learning to bounce back. We will learn how R.A.W. (Resiliency Among Warriors) has been created to provide our military community with the services need to be Resilient Warriors.

Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” The worst kept secret in the world is that modern slavery exists, and it is capturing more and more innocents every day. Every year in the Philippines, an estimated 1 million men, women, and children are needed to meet the demand of the sex trade. 1 million of our brothers and sisters are enslaved in utter darkness. Find out how Jesus dealt with those he encountered that were enslaved by the sex industry and learn what we are called to and can do to help stop it.

The world is littered with mission and vision statements. However the difference between words spoken in sermon, written on paper and websites is strategy and engagement. As we move into new vision at SFCC we want to engage Belongers in fresh, and exciting ways. We believe that increased mission and vision engagement will not only change US the church, but also the culture and the globe.

In life workouts just don’t happen they take intentional planning and discipline and they do the body good. The same in true with WORD-workouts. Bible study—working out in the Word take intentional planning and discipline and they do both the body and soul good. But both are really tough until we get into a habit of working out. Our physical bodies will eventually give way to decay but our souls will live on for ever. How’s you “Workout in the Word” going?

Prayer is not for the faint of heart. It takes real faith and discipline to engage in prayer. Prayer is not a give-me wishlist exercise but rather an exercise of heavy lifting. But the good news or God-news is this, ”Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." -Max Lucado

This week's spiritual discipline is the exercise of solitude. Theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer once wrote, “We are so afraid of the silence that we chase ourselves from one event to the next in order not to have to spend a moment alone with ourselves, in order not to have to look at ourselves in the mirror.” Maybe you can relate. But did you know that silence and solitude were a regular pattern of life for Jesus? Jesus found time for silence and solitude – even in the busyness of His life.

Easter was God’s Rescue Plan executed for us once and for all. Everything about EASTER points to transformed CROSSFIT living. Until the cross is more than jewelry, home decor and symbolic iconography we will never understand its transforming power. The cross changed everything for a group of first-century Belongers. It can do the same for you. Does the Crossfit in your life?

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to be rescued? That was us—all of humanity was in a bind of our own making without hope of rescue. The Good News of Passion Week is that God had a plan. And not just any plan. But a plan of rescue for all time and eternity. When Jesus rode in to Jerusalem for the last time you and I were on his mind and so was THE PLAN. Come discover the genesis of God’s Amazing Rescue Plan.

Today's spiritual discipline is the exercise of Confession. Confession is so misunderstood in the protestant evangelical modern church. We think of it as something that harkens back to our catholic roots. Something that is in the pass or not necessary due to Grace. But we couldn’t be further from the truth. CONFESSION IS THE P90X OF THE SOUL.

This weeks exercise is worship. Is your worship just going through the motions or do you have an authentic connection—a “walk in to cool of the day” relationship? It’s not about your desired music style. In fact it’s not about you or music. Worship is a 24/7 heart relationship with The Spiritual Trainer- Jesus.

We begin our exercises this week. Our first Crossfit exercise is meditation. Meditation is chewing on the Word of God so it gets inside of us and transforms our thinking, walk, talk and actions. The old adage is true: "you are what you eat." Are your CrossFit?

Spiritual Fitness is all about growth. God’s will is for Belongers to grow up and become just like Jesus. In most cases we have barriers to growth in our lives. Lack of growth happen when barriers to knowledge, motivation, accountability, nourishment, and commitment spring up in our lives. God can help remove growth barriers in your life so you can be CrossFit.

Physical trainers tell us that physical fitness begins with assessment. Spiritual fitness is no different. Before we can know where we are headed, we must evaluate our present situation. How is your spiritual fitness going? Where do you see the need for growth, and what is your plan to get there? When Paul encouraged his protege Timothy toward eternal fitness, he said: “workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.” I Tim. 4:8 (MSG). Spiritual Fitness begins when we are CrossFit. How do we become CrossFit? I’m glad you asked!

Why is it that there always seems to be that one chocolate in a box of chocolates that you expect to taste amazing, but it ends up tasting stale or doesn’t meet your expectations? Love and relationships are similar. We have an expectation of what love and our relationships should be like, but we find them falling short on the taste test. In the the final message in our two-part “Sweet Tarts” series on relationships, we explore how our views of what love is or isn’t forms how we interact within our relationships, and how we can ensure that the love we give and receive will be authentic and stay sweet.

Sweet Tarts. Next to chocolate, they’re one of the most famous Valentine candies. You may love ‘em for their sweetness or hate 'em for their tart. Our relationships with others can be like that—one moment sweet, the next moment tart. But what does love look like, especially when you're navigating tartness?

An Emerged New Year of Reaching is totally possible. The problem is that we feel like we must be experts to reach others. We say things like: "I’m not an evangelist, Bible scholar, pastor or counselor." That’s great because Jesus’ plan is about regular people reaching other people. Are you REACHING?

Have you ever wanted to be a kid forever? Well there’s a place for child-like faith, but as Belongers in the Kingdom it’s God’s will that we GROW up: in humility, discipline, love, and unity. He wants us to recognize the beauty in our diversity and begins to move and groove together as one. Emerged New year growing is Growing Up God’s way.

What are people always saying about you? Do they say "he laughs all the time," "she’s funny," or "he talks too much?" What if they said, "he/she is always serving?" In this message, discover what it means to live an EMERGED NEW YEAR life of service.

Balance is important in life. Balance in our spiritual, physical, and emotional lives is of utmost importance. But balance is also important in our giving and finances. Because finances follow the law of the Harvest and not the law of Pinocchio.

It’s a new year with new opportunities to embrace EMERGED New Year Living. How do you leave 2020 behind and move triumphantly into 2021? The Apostle Paul tell us to: 1) be very wise, 2) make the most of the time we are given, 3) live with purpose, and 4) know what God wants. With these four actions you will experience Emerged New Year Living. Beware, it’s harder than it sounds.

A new year is coming and most of us are glad to be saying goodbye to 2020. But, what are your goals in 2021 and what will you accomplish? Answer this question… Next Year, I want to do ______________? Do you have a plan of action? The Story of Nehemiah is the story of a man with a plan who EMERGED with Hope. Discover the plan of Hope God has for you in 2021.

Even though it's dark outside, Christmas is coming. We've hung our lights, sent our cards, and are hopeful that the Light is on his way. But the story of Christmas doesn’t end at the manger-- because Jesus sure doesn’t. And neither do you. In this message, we discover how God has strategically sent you to share his Light. Welcome to the neighborhood!

There is a certain amount of excitement and anticipation in the air when you see a new neighbor moving in. You start to wonder why they moved in, where they came from, and what type of neighbor they are going to be. I can imagine there was a similar excitement and anticipation in the air with the announcement of the arrival of Jesus the Messiah coming to the neighborhood. The difference between Jesus moving in and just some other person is that Jesus is moving into the neighborhood for a who. In this message, we continue our series “Welcome to the Neighborhood” as we learn just who the who is.

Darkness is pervasive in our world and even in our lives. The result of living in a fallen world is that darkness by way of storms, disease, death, and consequences from bad choices catch up with us. The good news is God is always pursuing us and at just the right time the WORD became flesh and blood and Moved into the Neighborhood--turning on the light. John the Apostle says, The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out. The Light has come to our darkness, but will we embrace the LIGHT. In this message, we rediscover the long-awaited for Light. Welcome to the neighborhood!

God’s great move into the neighborhood is set during the darkest of days for his people. Every great rescue story has a dark time—a time when it seems that hope is lost, evil reigns supreme and the enemies can not and will not relent. But in the middle of neighborhood darkness a green shoot sprout up from the chopped down stump of Jesse. A shoot that will bring light. The story of Christmas begins with a shoot in darkness… light is coming. Welcome to the neighborhood.

This week our nation celebrates Thanksgiving. One way that we celebrate Thanksgiving at SFCC is through our participation in the Thanksgiving Offering. This special time of giving enables us as a church to achieve our mission of taking Hope to anyone everywhere while also helping us meet our World Evangelism Fund responsibilities. Our special speaker is Larry Bollinger missionary to the Philippines. Come help us change the world through the Hope that Jesus gives. Will you PRAY, GIVE & GO!

True Belongers are called to give thanks. In fact the Bible says Thank God NO matter what. Despite COVID19, changed school and works schedules, layoffs, and election results we are called to give thanks. There are two types of people: the grateful and the ungrateful. Which one are you? In this message, discover the secrets of an attitude of gratitude.