Seneca Community Church Messages

Who doesn't love the idea of having a morning where you can sleep in? Nothing to do but sleep. It is especially great on a cold, rainy, and snowy morning. But what happens to this concept when "sleeping in" is code for not being engaged? In our next installment of Seeking, we find an environment where everyone is sleeping except one boy. His lack of sleeping in is used by God to change the direction of a nation and actually world history. What if our lack of sleeping in could affect some life change in our lives and the lives of those around us? It might not change the world, but I can guarantee, it can change your world!

It can feel like it is impossible to come back from being crushed in our soul - when there doesn’t seem to be answers for our hurt, when there seems to be nothing that could make us feel better. When we read 1 Samuel 1:10, we can almost feel the helplessness and hopelessness of Hannah. Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried—inconsolably. 1 Samuel 1:10 MSG Why? Because most of us have been there and some of us are still there. A few us may not want to talk about it or even think about it - we want to live as if we will never be there. Hannah, whose name is tied to the idea of God’s favor, lived inconsolably crushed for quite some time. Join us this Sunday to find out how she survived and what we can do the next time we find ourselves in a similar place. I really don’t want to say it, but there is a day coming in all of our lives when we will have to deal with being inconsolably crushed in spirit. Let’s let Hannah’s life speak to ours as we continue with our new series: Seeking: Hope

11/06/2022 - Seeking - Part 1: Helpless and Hopeless by Dave Spencer

10/30/2022 - Can't Touch This - Part 6: Feeling Lucky by Dave Spencer

Why is it that some of the tastiest foods are highest in calories? Why couldn’t a loaded cheeseburger be as healthy as broccoli? It’s just not fair! How do you balance healthy food with the tasty food? And don’t say healthy food is tasty food - especially anything with kale in it! For most of us, the unhealthy and healthy (kale-yuck) conversation has a lot of fun and innocent teasing in it. But make it about alcohol or any kind of drug use and the conversation can go from fun to uncomfortable. At first take it seems like this is one of those subjects Christians can't touch!

Join us as we have a conversation with our Difference Maker Partners (Missionaries) John & Amanda Herrick. John will also share a message with us: A Heavenly Perspective for an Earthly Journey. This is certain to be a special Sunday!

There are parts of our world that are just so complicated with so many options. As we have seen, some have no wiggle room, but with others we just don't honestly know. When was the last time you genuinely asked, not because you were trying to get away with something, but you really wanted to know, how you can please God with your options? In Part 4 of our series, Can't Touch This, we are going to look at The Matrix. No, not the movie, but a process that will help in those optional areas that can at first glance seem complicated.

10/02/2022 - Can't Touch This - Part 3B: Overconfidence by Dave Spencer

In our world today, there are many subjects it seems we can’t touch. Subjects that are taboo and have to be kept in the shadows, whispered about, or not talked about at all. That is just not true! They can be touched, they can be spoken of, in the light of God’s Word. Join us as we look at what culture may think can’t be touched. We are going to see not what society or even tradition has to say, but what God has to say. We will touch that, but with God’s touch, and we won’t be the same as we live out the Apostle Paul's God-inspired letter.

Last weekend was a starting point for dealing with subjects it seems we can’t touch. We began by discussing the difference between a Commandment, a Conviction, a Matter of Conscience, a Conjecture, and a Choice and how to use the options we have. In this installment of Can't Touch This, we will see how "option overload" can set us up for confusion and how it can set us up for impact. Remember, taboos don't have to be kept in the shadows, whispered about, or not talked about at all. They can be touched, they can be spoken of, in the light of God’s Word.

For the first few weeks of our new message series, we will unpack a Jesus-centered approach for subjects that can seem too hot to touch.

9/04/2022 - Seven - Part 8: The Lukewarm Church by Dave Spencer

Have you ever felt like you were “just keeping your head above water?” What kept you going? Or maybe you just couldn’t do it anymore - what happened when you couldn’t keep your head above water? Where was God in either situation? It is ok to feel like He was absent. How do you move forward after those kinds of events in life? Do you feel like it has left you walking with a limp? By the way, we all walk with limps.

This may seem like a personal question, but how good are you at waking up? How would your family answer that question about you? Has anyone ever gone to extreme measures to wake you up? How did that go? Another question: do you normally wake up excited for the day or dreading the day? We all respond differently to waking up. Often what we have to face has something to do with it. This week we are going to apply the idea of waking up to our spiritual lives. This is not an original idea. Jesus had something to say about waking up spiritually to a church at Sardis. Some would say the application to the church of today is just as poignant. We will try to unpack the idea of being fully awake as a church and as individuals as we resume our series: Seven: Hear What Christ is Saying to You. We will have some fun with it before it gets serious, but my hope is that by the time we are through, we will all look at waking up spiritually as a dream rather than a nightmare.

The temperatures are getting cooler (which is great), the days are getting shorter, and plans are being made for the first day of school, but let's not wish the end of summer away! Not only is there more fun to be had and more memories to be made, but summer is a wonderful time to pause and think about where you are in life. Where would you say you are spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically? How do you feel about your answers? Often the answers to questions like that are overwhelming, but the good news is “faith imparts power” to make us strong and courageous to change. Just look at Gideon! ...I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and... who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice... in their weakness their faith imparted power to make them strong! Faith sparked courage within them and they became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Hebrews 11:32–34 NIV, TPT

8/07/2022 - Faith Heroes - Part 3: Abraham and Sarah by Dave Spencer

She had every reason to be insecure. Her past was shameful. But in a moment of crisis, she revealed herself to be the bravest person in her city. Her actions resulted in a history altering victory for God’s people. She was just a sinful foreigner, but she would go on to be part of the lineage of Jesus and be included in the Hall of Faith. Her story proves that anyone can become a hero! Join us as Justin Bleuer from Berean Bible Church continues our shared series with a message about this unlikely Faith Hero and what her story means for us today.

Most of us feel inadequate: "God can’t use me. I’m not good enough. I have too much baggage. I’m a failure." But what if God delights in using imperfect people to accomplish his perfect plan? In this shared message series with Berean Bible Church, we will walk the Hall of Faith and watch God turn unlikely people (just like us) into Faith Heroes.

When have you felt strong pressure to compromise? The church at Thyatira was under extreme pressure to compromise when a teacher came up with a work-around. Some gave it try and it seem to be working, but then Jesus inconveniently sent a letter which short-circuited the work-around. Jesus' inconvenience continues today when He calls us out on our inadequate answers for compromise especially now when that pressure seems to grow each and every day. How can we hold onto intolerance when Jesus calls us to accept people where they are at without approving what they do? Join us for this very relevant letter to the church, our church, for the year 2022

None of us like the idea of being judged, especially by someone who we don't think knows us. On the hand, all of us, I hope, would welcome some grace and truth-filled advice, especially if it would keep us from making a huge mistake. That is exactly what Jesus in doing for these seven churches - just a local group of Christ followers trying to live out their faith in community - and in each letter there are significant takeaways for us as Christ followers even thought the letters were written close to 2,000 years ago.