North Way Live

You’ve just accepted Jesus as your savior. Now what? The steps that follow your simple acceptance are explained by Paul in this week’s study of Ephesians. Pastor Scott Stevens ties these messages to his own story that he may help you relate to your own experience. Speaker: Pastor Scott Stevens

Do you think there are things starting to happen at the church? Are we becoming something we aren’t supposed to become? Paul gives us a vision of what the church should be in this chapter of Ephesians. He is encouraging us not to settle, knowing that we have been graced for more. Paul teaches us the calling for the church is gentleness, humility, patience and selflessness. This is the complete opposite of what today’s society would teach. Today, if we don’t agree, you get get cancelled....

The Bible is a Valentine’s Day card to us. It is literally a love letter to His people. We see so many passages that illustrate God’s love and instructions on how we should love each other. That is where we are in our study of Ephesians. This text shows the depth of His love for you. One of the ways He demonstrates His love is through the Holy Spirit. Do you have strife with someone? Do you desire better choices from someone you care deeply about? We challenge you to pray. Even if you don’t...

Paul doesn’t lack for confidence. He makes bold statements! Yet, in the letter to the church at Ephesus, he says he is the “least of all the saints.” This isn’t false humility. He says that his confidence comes only from God. Specifically, he claims he is gifted grace from the Lord. What gives him confidence is that God “graced him” with it. Paul is most confident and sure and bold when he is doing what God graced him to do! What fuels your confidence? When you were a kid, where you bolder?...

Is there someone in your life against whom you have unending hostility? It’s not hard to find it in our world right now. It’s everywhere. Even in the church. Hostility is everywhere. It’s extinguishing our light. As a church, we’re meant to be a light. Unfortunately, division, hate and hostility are abound and many within the church are putting up “keep out” signs rather than signs of welcome and love. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul shows us that Jesus is the path to peace. Where sin...

Whether we admit it or not, we care so much. We might express it differently, but we are all looking for someone, or something, to show that we matter. Is it in your family? In your career? In the knowledge you’ve acquired? What if worrying and trying so hard to prove to someone or something that we matter didn’t have to be an option? The Gospel tells us that we don’t have to work harder, achieve more, or prove ourselves to find acceptance or love. That’s given to us, by grace, when we...

Paul wrote his letter to the church in Ephesus because he heard that the people who lived there loved the Gospel. He was giving thanks to the Lord for them. He prays that the Lord gives them wisdom and hope. Don’t you think we all need a little of that right now? A preacher’s role is to "feed the sheep". Most of the time, all a pastor is doing, is trying to get you to your “next meal.” Each sermon isn’t supposed to solve every issue you face. God often does new things within the difficult...

For the next several weeks, we’re going to take a deep dive into the book of Ephesians. There is so much happening in our nation right now. Regardless of where you stand, you’re probably feeling a wide range of emotion. Yes, reform is needed in a number of our institutions, but we’re focusing on fixing the problem in the wrong place. The way we act is derived from the way we think and the way we think comes from the status of our hearts. The evil we see and experience stems and starts in our...

2020 was a lot like an escape room, everyone's goal is just to "get out". Let's be honest, almost all of us just wanted it to be over. The bible has a really unique word for what we've been through… life. The words of Jesus about tribulation in the world are as true today as they were 2000 years ago. Is there a way for us to find our way out? To make sure 2021 doesn't look like 2020? The short answer is: no. We still live in a fallen world. But, if you're familiar with the scriptures, you...

In the bible, the scriptures that refer to Jesus' early years are often referred to as the "infancy narratives." They're very familiar to almost everyone as the Christmas story. Today, Pastor Scott Stevens will be digging into one of the narratives that is not typically preached about. In fact, this is the first time he will be preaching on this text. You're invited to join with us as we turn a bit from Christmas and start looking toward the new year and explore these three movements: 1) Are...

You probably have a lot of Christmas Traditions! One of those traditions may be driving around and looking at Christmas lights. This year, lights were hard to find at the store - many were sold out. It seems as though everyone went over the top to light up the darkness. Despite the incredible lights all over the place, there are many homes decorated with just a single candle in each window. What is the meaning behind this way of decorating? There is more than we see on the surface....

Have you ever received a gift that you didn’t want, anticipate, or expect? It may have been the opposite of what you hoped for. We then become disappointed. Expectations are unmet. We start to doubt the plan WE had for our lives. But what if, instead of being disappointed in the plan we had for our lives, we found a fresh perspective in the plan that God has for our lives? If we stay in a place of disappointment, we might end up dis-appointing ourselves, and removing ourselves, form the very...

Everywhere we turn, people are promising us so much. From stores selling us stuff, to weight loss apps, to the government, but how do we know who and what to believe? What about God? What is your sign from God that when “this” happens, you can believe He will come through for you? When we believe God’s promises we’re transformed. But that is much easier said than done. God’s promises transform the way you see your circumstances. You can look at your circumstances through His promises or...

We need Christmas more than ever, because when Jesus was born - he brought light into the darkness. When we’re focused on something we want, we miss what is present. Do you do this with the Christmas story? After doing it over and over and over again, is it possible you are no longer open to something fresh and new: seeing what God is trying to show you? If you dig into Matthew’s text, you’ll notice the surprises that God gives us about Jesus and the Gospel. They’re similar to the “Easter...

Forgiveness is a difficult topic for most of us. At any given moment, you may find yourself standing between two opposing forces and you feel the pressure to pick a side. These forces can come from the inside, when we're torn emotionally or from the outside in our relationships. The most challenging ground is oftentimes the place in the middle: the radical gap. It is the place where Jesus lived. Walking in the radical gap is what He did. Navigating between tension and vulnerability. How do...

God is looking for someone to stand in the radical gap. For most people that gap is between where we stand spiritually and where we ought to be. How do these gaps develop? We often look to money, sex, drugs, and other vices. But they always fall short, leaving us feeling disappointment. When we do not turn to God to fill the gap, we will always be left helpless. How do you fill that gap? How do you find hope? This week, our guest speaker dives into this enigmatic question. Speaker: Matt...

This week we hear from Will Ford and Matt Lockett, two men living in this place. One the descendent of a former slave owner, the other a descendent of one of the slave owner's slaves. Will Ford is the Director of the Marketplace Leadership Major at Christ For The Nations Institute and is the co-founder of 818 The Sign. Matt Lockett is the Executive Director of Justice House of Prayer DC. Together, Matt & Will have authored: The Dream King Is the dream of equality Dr. King envisioned still...

Maybe your candidate won? Or lost? Or is contesting? This election is just another way 2020 has brought uncertainty into your life. The gamut of emotions we are all experiencing is vast. We’re all wondering, what’s going to happen next? Whether your candidate won or lost, we can’t believe this is actually happening. We’re feeling fear, frustration, fatigued… or, perhaps, full of hope. At this point, most of us don’t even know what to say. All of us are looking for a word of inspiration or...

Is your heart sold out to your political party or in the Kingdom of God? Do you believe you can have peace under the person you want to be elected? “It’s the most important election of your life time.” We’ve heard this phrase everywhere. But this phrase was created to drive the narrative of fear. 2000 years ago, real hope arrived in Jesus - not a political candidate. Fear is crushing almost everyone. You may not even be aware that you have had fear peddled to you non-stop for a long time...

Your home shapes who you are and how you live. But what do you if you wake up one day and realize that you may have been operating out of the wrong home? Have you heard the phrase: “be in the world, not of the world”? It’s actually not a verbatim phrase in scripture. It’s not specifically written in the Bible. Jesus said our home is not this earth, it’s in Heaven. He asked God to make us holy. He teaches us how to live from the home of heaven, not the home of earth. Because home shapes who...