Calvary Chapel Lake Stevens

In Acts 21, we encounter a profound question that resonates through every believer's journey: when God calls us forward, how do we discern between warnings meant to prepare us and those meant to stop us? Paul's determination to reach Jerusalem despite repeated warnings from the Spirit reveals a critical truth about faithful obedience. Three times he was warned of impending trouble—by disciples in Tyre, the prophet Agabus in Caesarea, and his own friends—yet Paul remained resolute. This wasn't stubborn disobedience; it was Spirit-led conviction. The disciples weren't wrong to warn him, but they were interpreting the Spirit's revelation through human concern, wanting to protect Paul from suffering rather than prepare him for it. This teaches us that God's will often includes difficulty, and trials aren't detours from His plan but pathways through it. When we shelter ourselves or others from every hardship, we might actually be preventing the very growth God intends. Paul's declaration—'I am ready not only to be

This powerful message takes us deep into Acts 18, where we witness the Apostle Paul's transformative ministry in Corinth—one of the most morally corrupt cities of the ancient world. What stands out immediately is Paul's shift in approach: after attempting to impress the intellectual elite in Athens with sophisticated arguments, he arrives in Corinth determined to know nothing except 'Jesus Christ and him crucified.' This radical simplicity becomes the foundation for explosive spiritual growth. We're challenged to examine whether our own faith rests on human wisdom or the power of God. The message also explores the beautiful partnership between practical work and spiritual calling—Paul made tents with Priscilla and Aquila while simultaneously building God's kingdom. This reminds us that our workplaces aren't just where we earn income; they're mission fields where we spend roughly 90,000 hours of our lives. The Lord's encouragement to Paul—'Do not be afraid, for I am with you'—speaks directly to our own fears a

Guest speaker Marty Anderson shares a message surrounding the idea; do we take lightly the riches of God's kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4)? He, dives deep into the unstoppable, grace-upon-grace power of God—its priority in Scripture, Jesus as its endless source, its purpose to bless and make us a blessing, a real-life example that chisels our flaws into beauty, and an encouragement to let it abound in every corner of your "all."From Paul's prison plea in 2 Timothy 2:1—"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus"—we unpack why grace trumps vision, doctrine, family, or any other strength. It's God's relentless favor through Jesus, pouring out like Peter's prayer in 2 Peter 1:2: "Grace be multiplied to you!" We'll trace it from John's eyewitness awe in John 1:14-16 (Jesus, full of grace and truth, giving us grace upon grace), through Paul's everything-by-grace testimony (calling, ministry, sufferings—you name it), to Genesis 12's covenant promise: God shows, makes, bl