Marysville Nazarene

We often approach prayer as words or thoughts we express TO God, or maybe ABOUT God. But if prayer is not a conversation WITH God, then we never really understand or experience all that God has for us. Especially when we presume that prayer begins when we speak first.

Reflecting on the message from a couple of children's movies regarding who we are and WHOSE we are.

The act of worship is a significant part of who we are as a church. We experience worship in community with others. We discover worship in our growing. We express worship through compassion and generosity. Worship is all over our values! And we worship best when we are poured out. It's what we strive toward--what we are compelled to DO in response to who God IS.

Jesus invites us out of whatever state of "emptiness" we find ourselves, and doesn't ask us to do anything He hasn't already done. Therefore, we find life in community, in growth, in compassion, and in generosity. We are FILLED UP to be POURED OUT.

It's easy to discuss generosity in terms of money, thinking of it as only what we "give." But while giving is an important expression of generosity, a much broader understanding of what it means to be generous involves sharing all that we are and all that we have. Discipleship requires us to be generous with our service, talents and gifts, resources, assets, and money... but also our with our story--our witness--and with the Gospel of hope. Giving might be what we do, but generous is who we are. We are filled up to be poured out!

Compassion captures the motivation and result of discipleship, and is an essential value for us as The Well Church of the Nazarene. But to say we care and not act is to not care at all. Caring is not just a feeling--there has to be a response. True compassion demands action... even when it interrupts our schedule, our plans. It's the fuel behind God-glorifying moments in our everyday lives, the link between loving and serving one another. Don't miss out on divine opportunities to truly care for others... and for God to care for you!

We are commissioned to be disciple-makers. Jesus intentionally multiplied Himself by loving, inspiring, teaching, and training His disciples to do what He did. We do the same by equipping and empowering one another to follow Jesus, allowing ourselves to be changed by Him, and by joining Him in what He is doing in the world. As disciples who make discples, we are intentionally multiplying. So... where do we grow from here?

We want to cultivate a church others want to be a part of, not just go to. It's not our programs or personalities that matter, but rather what God is doing IN us, TO us, and THROUGH us. Our mission extends beyond ourselves, and because He first loved us, we are to love one another. Together, we are a faith family--adopted children of God. This is us... and you have a place here!

Recognizing where we've been as a church as we celebrate where God is taking us as we officially begin a new chapter as The Well Church of the Nazarene.

Dave & Cindee Johnson share a piece of their story with our congregation.

When we take the transformation that has happened within us and try to bring about the Kingdom of God in a way that Jesus describes throughout the Sermon on the Mount, we're bound to face persecution from those who think we're doing it wrong. But having encountered Christ, and experienced His righteousness and resulting transformation in our life, we are called to take that message into messy places even though we risk our "nice, neat" way of doing Church. And when that happens, Jesus says you're living the good life! His way is a better way.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to be obedient to God in submitting your will to Him and then allowing Him to mold and shape you into who He wants you to be. God alone can remove our character defects, but it's a process. And we don't have to have successfully completed the transaction of righteousness to be blessed. Instead, it's a "long, slow obedience in the same direction.

Celebrating four baptisms, two new local licenses, and one incredible testimony!

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals to us what we truly need to be in relationship with him--to walk with him, to be who he created us to be. The blessing of a pure heart is that we SEE God. We understand grace. And we SEE because we get what God is calling us toward and willingly let go of what blinds us. "Seeing God" is evidence of the change grace makes in our lives--what a pure heart leads to. 

Happy (or blessed) are those who have surrendered themselves to Christ’s care and control, for they are living the good life. And as difficult as this concept of committing and surrendering our life and will to Christ is, it’s been the call of Christ since the very beginning. Have you accepted that you are accepted? Are you ready to relinquish control? 

Mourning was a constant theme for those in exile, yet God promises to comfort those who mourn--replacing their mourning with joy.  But what is the source of mourning that leads to being blessed in this way?

Our world is filled with competing voices and value systems that seek to guide our lives, and these messages often prioritize our control, comfort, safety, and convenience. But Jesus gives us a different reason for living--a new direction through life's detours and delays. Because of Him, we have the ability to know who we are (and whose we are) and that our lives have purpose and meaning.