Seneca Community Church Messages

3/05/2023 - Seeking - Part 4: God in a Box by Dave Spencer

Everyone longs for a leader they can trust to give them prosperity, stability, and security. We might call them a “knight in shining armor” or, it may sound corny, even a hero. Yet, that’s what we hope for in every election, in our job, in our relationships, in a crisis - you get the idea. It is also what the people way back in the Old Testament longed for in a leader. However, no matter what leader they had, eventually they were disappointed. Even King David, who was the best king they could have hoped for, let everyone down. The silver lining in all of this is that when human leaders overpromise and underdeliver, they point to the perfect leader and king. This week we return to our series Seeking: Hope For The Future King. In each story, mainly based in 1&2 Samuel, we will see a king that never disappoints. Join us this Sunday for Seeking: Hope for the Future King - Part 3: Good Luck!

When was the last time you had to walk the fine line of accepting a person while not affirming a behavior of a person? What happened? Why do you think it is so hard to live in that tension? What is at stake when we get it wrong? Join us this Sunday for the last installment of this segment of Can't Touch This! Part 13: Alternative Lifestyles. We will see what the Bible says about homosexuality and how to respond with Grace and Truth. We have given this message a PG rating meaning parental guidance is recommend before and after the message.

Being alone and/or feeling alone can be so hard to bear. This can be heavy lifting for the single person and sometimes even the married person. Join us this week for Can't Touch This! Part 12: Alone & More Than OK. Paul writes: ...God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others. 1 Corinthians 7:7 MSG Wouldn't be great to see single life and married life as a gift? We will see if we can unwrap the gift Paul speaks of.

2/05/2023 - Can't Touch This - Part 11: Love Broken by Dave Spencer

You want to talk about something that can be too hot to touch? How about raising kids? Everybody has an opinion on that and it's easy to be silenced. This Sunday, we will be talking about influencing the kids in your life. This isn't just for parents, it is for all of us.

This Sunday we might find that love can be as hot too touch as submission, but when the two are combined and held well, you will never want to let go of them.

In our message this Sunday, we will be trying to unpack a concept that can be just too hot handle and too prickly to pick up for anyone, but especially Christ-followers. Yet, you can't be in a successful relationship, especially a marriage, without trying to figure what this topic means for a Christ-follower today. That topic is Submission. God inspired Paul to write these words: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NIV Next Paul applies it to married life: Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Ephesians 5:22–25 MSG Join us this week as we continue with our series, C

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 Sunday as we jump back into our series, Can't Touch This, and 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. "I have the right to do anything," you say—but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"—but not everything is constructive. 1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV This week's installment will focus on expectations for and in marriage as we unpack "Fit To Be Tied." That expression is often negative, but it can be positive.

1/01/2023 - The P-R-P Project by Dave Spencer

Did you have a nickname growing up? What was your least favorite? Why did you get it? Did you have a favorite one? So where are we going with this? Sometimes a Ghost of Christmas Past can show up in the way someone expects us to act and we get a nickname or a label. Sometimes those labels are positive, but the ones that most often would stick to our hearts were the negative ones. In our next installment of Ghosts of Christmas Past, we are going to be relieved to discover that our past labels don't have to limit God's future plans for us. The Apostle Paul, inspired by God, wrote: 17…Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT, MSG Hope you can join us as we each find how the old labels don't have to stick and a new life can begin. God offers all of us a fresh start!

Did you ever steal anything, cheat, or get in some serious trouble as a kid? What happened? (If the answer is no, you might not be telling the truth.) Because of this mistake, or other circumstances in your life, you may have felt or still feel shame ("I did bad, so I am bad"). Join as we look at the story of the shepherds of Jesus' day, the shame they felt, and how the truth of Christ can set us all free.

12/04/2022 - Ghosts of Christmas Past - Part 1: The Ghost of Past Offenses by Dave Spencer

Join us as Pastor Lynn Kent shares a message about Holiness, our God's most prominent attribute, based on Isaiah 6:1-8.

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!