The season of Lent is when we’re invited to anticipate the victory found in Jesus because of His resurrection. Through March and April we’re focusing not simply on giving something up but turning our attention towards God and those things that bring us life. We invite you to join us on this journey as we examine this practice further each week.
Lent | Mar 6, 2022 - Installation Service
This Sunday marked a new season in Calvary's history as we welcomed Pastor Dale Gustafson as our new lead pastor. Pastor Dale gave a short message to begin our new series anchored on Phillipians 2:3-11. Today we looked at the condition of our hearts, how Paul says the condition of our hearts should represent the deposits put there by God. Pastor Dale's encouragement to each of us, as we begin the Lent season, take time with the Lord and seek His guidance on the following questions: 1) What have I allowed to take residence in my inner life? 2) Is there a lie replacing truth in my heart? 3) What have I added to what it means to follow Jesus? We encourage you to take time with our Father this week and ask Him to speak to you about the above. Write down what you hear and seek our Father on the next steps he wants you to take. If we can be praying for you as you walk through this process, we'd be honored to do so. Simply click here.
Lent | Mar 13, 2022
Today Pastor Dale taught on mindset. As we studied Philippians 2:2, "make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind." God's desire is for us to be unified in what's informing our thoughts, like-minded in the source of our thoughts, and for the source of our thoughts to be Him. The challenge we face is inviting God in to do the transformative work of transforming our minds. The enemy would like us to think it's extra work. Something we must do to earn God's favor. And yet it's the opposite. God is not looking for more work from us. His desire is less work and more shalom. How do we do this? Practical steps Pastor Dale offered: 1. Identify what you're in disagreement with others about. Write it down. 2. Identify thoughts. Are they harmful or helpful? If they're harmful, stop feeding them. Anger or bitterness need fuel to be maintained. Release them. 3. Start by listening. In service, we were given the opportunity to begin the conversation with God by entering into listening prayer. We encourage you to continue the conversation with God this afternoon. Grab a paper and a pen and write down what you hear, the people and thoughts God brings to mind.
Lent | Mar 20, 2022
Today we took a closer look at Philippians 2:5-6, with a focus on verse 6, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage." As Pastor Dale unpacked the verse, we were shown the generosity of Jesus in it. Generosity is choosing to give something you have to someone else for a benefit outside of yourself. Jesus, who was God, chose to come and take human form, and sacrifice himself for us. It was a choice of unmatched generosity that has forever changed all of our lives. As we look to gain the mindset of Christ, we were encouraged to spend time in listening prayer with God. Practical questions to ask in prayer: 1) Ask God to bring to mind something that you are hanging on to, maybe because it’s just convenient, and that is actually working against you. 2) Ask God “Is there something you want me to Choose to Change?” 3) Ask God “How can I practice the Generosity of Jesus?” We encourage you to grab a paper and a pen and write down what you hear, the thoughts and revelations God brings to mind. If listening prayer is new to you, or you'd like some resources on how to hear the voice of God, we'd be happy to help. Simply email us here.
Lent | Mar 27, 2022
This morning Pastor Dale took us through Philippians 2:5-7, with a focus on verse 7, "rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." As Pastor Dale unpacked the verse, we took a closer look at Jesus' life and what being made in human likeness meant. Jesus was as God intended man to be - fully dependent on God and every part of him under control of Holy Spirit. And yet we see in Jesus' life, a life lived without any sin, that Jesus suffered tremendously. Deep struggles, inner pain, loss, disappointment. And yet, he trusted His father. The hard questions we have to ask ourselves, what are we counting on God for, and did he actually make that promise? Or is it something we've added on to our faith in God? In our response time, we were given the opportunity to have our Father speak into those questions. If you weren't able to join us this morning, we encourage you to enter into conversation with Him now. For those who were with us, we encourage you to continue the conversation. To begin, we encourage you to first pause. Identify what you are thinking about… ask God for a unique experience with him right now…something real and personal and unique. Confession is telling our Heavenly Father what’s true about our thoughts, actions, expectations… take a moment to tell Him what’s true about you. Two questions to ask: 1) Father, am I basing my faith on beliefs that are true about you? 2) Father, will you bring to mind what is true about you? Praise him for those truths. We encourage you to grab paper and a pen and write down what you hear, the thoughts and revelations God brings to mind.
Lent | Apr 3, 2022
This week, we were so happy to welcome back Pastor Dave Tieche who continued our series on Philippians 2:5-9. Our focus today was on verse 8, "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Pastor Dave unpacked the hard truth, that our human nature is self-focused. Our plans, our dreams, our ways. Jesus teaches us that a humble and obedient heart is what he's after. "For even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus does this in his life and instructs those who love and follow him, to do the same. To do this, to live with humble hearts in service of others, requires guidance and help from the Spirit. We can not do it alone. We invite you to enter into a response time with the Lord and allow Him to speak into your life. To begin, we encourage you to first pause and take a few deep, calming breaths. Inhale the breath of life that comes from our Creator. Ask God to meet you in this moment, to experience Him uniquely and tangibly right now. As you pray, ask the following questions: 1) Father, is there an area in my life where pride has sunk in, any place where I'm trusting in or relying on my own strength and understanding? 2) Father, is there any part of me that is seeking validation from those around me rather than you? Will you reveal that to me now? 3) Jesus, I want to be more like you and less like me. Will you show me what it would look like for me to operate from a posture of humility and a heart towards service, just as you modeled in your life? We encourage you to grab paper and a pen and write down what you hear, the thoughts and revelations God brings to mind.
Lent | Apr 10, 2022
It was a joy to be together this morning as we welcomed back Pastor Dale and entered into Holy Week with Palm Sunday. Our focus today was on Philippians 2 verse 9, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name." We spent time focusing on who Jesus is, where he sits, and what he's doing right now. Jesus Christ, Jesus the King, is sitting at the right hand of our Father at this very moment. He is interceding. He is advocating. He is talking to God about you. His voice is not one of judgment but one of forgiveness and of love. Pastor Dale gave us an opportunity to enter into prayer and hear for ourselves what Jesus has to say. We invite you to do this right now. To begin, we encourage you to first pause and take a deep, slow breath. Allow yourself to concentrate on the filling and exhaling of your lungs. Ask Jesus to meet you in this moment, to share his heart for you as you share yours with him. As you pray, we invite you to picture Jesus sitting on the throne next to His father. Picture the worship that is happening in heaven right now. See Jesus as King, as your advocate, as your friend. Picture Jesus and our Father talking about you. The good things they are saying about you. Things like "My child I love you. There is no need to fear, we are with you. How can we help?" Pause and give time for Jesus to answer. What would you like to hear from Him? We encourage you to ask him and to share your heart with Him. As you listen, we encourage you to write down what you hear, what Jesus reveals to you, what He says about you.
Easter Sunday | Apr 17, 2022
This Easter Sunday, we wrapped up our series on Lent by focusing on Philippians 2:9-11. Over the last forty+ days, we've looked inwardly at our lives, our hearts, our minds. Things we want to change. Things we want to give back to God. As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we also celebrate our reconciliation with our Heavenly Father. As followers of Jesus, we no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again. Reconciliation is bringing dead things to life. Today we'd like to invite you to sit with our Father and allow him to speak into your life and any areas where He's inviting you into reconciliation. To begin, we invite you to take a moment and posture yourself before him. Take a deep breath. Maybe place your feet on the ground, your hands in your lap, and open your hands in a posture of receiving. As you sit before our Father, ask him, Father, what are you asking me to respond to today?
