The Church at Severn Run - Messages

Dr. Abraham Shanklin, our friend and pastor of New Life Fellowship International Ministries, joined us this week to offer some words of wisdom on preparing for what God has next for our lives.

The early church was driven by the joyful power of Jesus' resurrection story. And so should we!

Jesus expects us to live boldly expecting Him!

What happens in life when we begin surrendering our lives to God's ideas?

Many times in the New Testament, Jesus tells us we will do "greater things than these." So if that is true, how can we see it and experience it?

We are a culture constantly on the move. But what happens when we slow down and wait for Jesus to speak?

The Church is in a critical time of rediscovering itself. And at Severn Run, we are forming a vision of what this local body looks like moving forward. To do that, we are going back to how the Church began in the book of Acts.

The Church is in a critical time of rediscovering itself. And at Severn Run, we are forming a vision of what this local body looks like moving forward. To do that, we are going back to how the Church began in the book of Acts.

With the new school year fast approaching, we thought it was a good time to check our basics. No, not math or English or science. But the basics of our faith and why we come together as a gathered body each week.

As we approach a new school year, we are going to take some time to reconnect with the basics of our faith. First up, does our faith have a firm foundation? Join us for worship as we discover what solid ground looks like!

Your Father has said to you, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” This week we want to challenge you to be that love and kindness to the children in your life. But first you have to accept that love and kindness too.

Most of us are busy working the wrong job. Not professionally. But in our home life. We spend our lives trying to transform our spouses and our children. But transforming or changing people isn't our job—it's God's.

It's week two of our new series and today we're going to learn more about what it means to become God's child so we can love God's children!

We often say at Severn Run "Be Loved and Be Love" and now we are turning that same phrase toward parenting. In this message, we hope Pastor Drew reminds you that you are a well-loved child of God, and because of that, you can reveal God's love to the children in your life.

t is a special Sunday for us at Severn Run. After nearly nine years of serving on staff, our friend and Communications Leader Bonni Mace is stepping away from her position to start a new adventure. We are excited for her and hope you are too! Before she goes, Bonni is going to share with us how she has been changed by the church and how you can be too!

In so many stories in the New Testament, we see Jesus enjoying a meal with people. But to Him, the food and drink on the table often had much more significance than anyone else could see. Join us this month as we explore the deeper meaning of some common stories about food in "Eat, Drink and Be Merry."

In so many stories in the New Testament, we see Jesus enjoying a meal with people. But to Him, the food and drink on the table often had much more significance than anyone else could see. Join us this month as we explore the deeper meaning of some common stories about food in "Eat, Drink and Be Merry."

In so many stories in the New Testament, we see Jesus enjoying a meal with people. But to Him, the food and drink on the table often had much more significance than anyone else could see. Join us this month as we explore the deeper meaning of some common stories about food in "Eat, Drink and Be Merry."

We live in a competitive culture that loves to takes sides. But God has never been a fan of taking sides. And in the same way that He has always been for us, we can turn the "Us vs. Them" mentality we see around us into "Us For Them."

Have you ever felt insecure about sharing your faith? Starting today, we are starting a new series that we hope will help you feel confident about sharing Jesus with others.

Have you just spent some time in gratitude this week? After such an amazing week of service last Sunday, we felt like the right response was to express gratitude.

Life will be forever crazy until you follow the cross to an empty tomb. Why? Because the cross and the resurrection are the only things that make sense of everything. This Easter, let's celebrate redemption together.

The crucifixion and claimed resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most profound fork in the road event of human history. It's an event that cannot be reconciled with natural human reason. The truth of the story of Jesus is that it is either manifestly true or manifestly false. We decide who is crazy when we choose who to follow

It is really easy for us as humans to get caught up in everything that we can see, feel, or touch. It's what the writers of the Bible often refer to as "the flesh." But today we want to remind you that you are an eternal being, created in His image and for His purpose.

In our second week of the rediscovery of baptism, we take a look at the call to rise. The first part of baptism is a death to our old selves. But the second is a rising to walk in the newness of life. Join us for a deep look at this call to rise.

As part of our focus on returning to the basics this year, we want to spend a couple of weeks on baptism. Baptism is one of the first ways we are to publicly show our trust in Jesus. And we do it because He did. Jesus gave us the example. So join us as we rediscover the meaning of baptism.

Remember how we've said in this series "money is never about money?" Well here is another example. Today, we dig into how our willingness to be generous traces all the way back to our willingness to let Jesus change our hearts. And we hope you walk away asking Jesus to begin a generosity revolution!

What we desire, spend money on, and pursue reveals a lot about the true nature of our hearts. We don't like to acknowledge it, but Jesus does talk about money. And what he reveals is that the more we trust Him, the more generous we become!

Most of us live as lost as the lost. We feel more God-forsaken than fovever loved. The truth is, our hearts are never really with God until we're with Him joyfully on mission.

Following Jesus isn't always comfortable. Today, we're having an uncomfortable conversation. And it means calling out an idol in our lives, one that is front and center in our national conversation right now: Christian Nationalism.

In 2021, we want to focus on getting back to the basics of our faith. That means recognizing some foundational truths about God and ourselves.

At some point in life, we've all been lost. And the reality is the grand story of humanity is one of lost and found. Everything is lost without God. Everything can be redeemed and found in Christ. Join us for a four-week series, Lost and Found.

Last week, we took a look back at 2020 and started to look forward to a new year. Now, we are faithfully reimagining what this year could look like. And we believe it all starts with a commitment to grow spiritually. So join our Executive Pastor John Smith and Communications Leader Bonni Mace for a conversation that will leave you asking more questions than finding answers.

Can you write a love letter to a year like 2020? Maybe not. But we do believe you can write some thank you notes. Join us as we look back on the year that's been and begin to reimagine what the year to come could look like.

This Christmas season, we've talked about seeing the darkness around us and choosing to leave the darkness. Now, it's time to understand that you have been given a sacred task on Earth: to be the light!

It can often feel like darkness surrounds us. This world can seem dim. But this Christmas season, you have a choice. You can leave the dark for the love of God's light!

This Christmas, we want to Light the Night! But before we can do that, we have to recognize that we live in a world of darkness. And that the only source of true light came in the form of a baby. The only source of true light is Jesus.

You are here for a purpose. His purpose. And you've been designed especially for it.

Gratitude. You'll hear a whole lot about it in the next week or so. But do you practice it? The Bible explicitly tells us to, yet today we'll discover there are three major roadblocks to enjoying and experiencing gratitude on a daily basis.

There is a whole lot of uncertainty in life right now. But God is still speaking and calling us to act on his behalf. So how do we find clarity in the noise? Obey him! And it all begins with being born again.

This year has been a challenge. You could even call it a test. Not a test that you pass or fail, but a test that is designed to strengthen and prepare us for success. It's through that lens that we are looking ahead to 2021 and the exciting things God is preparing us for now as we move towards a new year.

It seems like we live in a world filled with enemies. Fear breeds enemies and we are a nation living under fear. But your fellow American, your neighbor, humanity is not your enemy. To understand that, we have to change what governs our lives. We have to believe in the politics of love.

There are lots of people right now who want us to see things "their way." Political parties, pundits, Facebook friends. But we are called to adopt the values of the Kingdom above anything else.

We've talked about how God has called us to life-changing salvation and world-changing service. So what do you do with that? Well, living in the call is a constant pursuit that ultimately reveals Jesus to those around you!

Since the day you were born, God has been calling you into relationship with Him. It's a relationship built on love that has been embodied in Jesus Christ. And it's a relationship that isn't stagnant. God calls us to listen deeply and then do His loving work in the world!

As Jesus-followers, we should have already let God work in us. This is what we call life-changing salvation. But once He has begun that work, we are called to go to work FOR Him in the act of world-changing service.

The call of God can be seen throughout the Bible. But what we're those biblical heroes, and what are we, being called to? We believe the answer is life-changing salvation and world-changing service.

God's call is on your life. It is the center of reality and it's dynamic, never stagnant. So, to answer God's call on our lives, we can't be stagnant either. We have to listen, have faith, and then move. And in that movement, you'll make all the difference in the world.

Purpose can be one of those elusive things in life. But it doesn't have to be, because we have a God who defines our purpose. All we have to do is answer the call.

Last week, we talked about our calling as a Church to shine the light of Jesus to the next generation. But doing that takes some intentionality and a move to bring kids and students close to that light. This week, we hope you walk away with some practical ways to help the next generation hear and see our savior.

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world." But how seriously do we take that call? In our new series, Student Pastor Matt Gardner asks us if the next generation really matters. And if it does, are we willing to be the bright lights of Jesus to them?