Azure Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church

God Names You | Minute to Thrive

You are known. There is a God who sees you, loves you, and names you. Take a minute to thrive with Pastor Tara VinCross. 

Squeezing Praise Out of Pain | Psalms of Summer, Pt.6

Did David have a bad week? Psalm 69:3 in Today’s English Version reads, "I am worn out from calling for help, and my throat is aching. I have strained my eyes, looking for your help.” Did David have a good week? He continues in verse 30, "I will praise God with a song; I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks.” This Sabbath we are reminded that wherever we find ourselves on life’s continuum, we can end the day with praise.

Dive into God’s word with Pastor Steve McHan as he continues our Psalms of the Summer series with Psalm 69: Squeezing Praise Out of Pain.

God Is There | Minute to Thrive

God is with us even in the most unlikely places. Take a minute to Thrive with Pastor Tara VinCross.

Taste and See That the Lord is Good! | Psalms of Summer, pt.5

Taste and See that the Lord Is Good!

 

What do you do when you feel like the walls are closing in and you have nowhere to turn? That was David’s experience. He had saved the king’s life and reputation multiple times. Yet, he was still hunted, an outcast, a man without a country. He couldn’t fight for his country. He wouldn’t fight against his country. And he knew he couldn’t run any longer. It was enough to drive a person crazy—which, for David, seemed to be the only option. 

 

What can we learn from David’s experience? When everything in life goes sideways, how can we taste and see that the Lord is good?

Growing Good Fruit | Minute to Thrive

Sometimes growing spiritual fruit takes time. Will you trust the process? Take a minute to thrive with Pastor Tara VinCross!

This is My Story | Psalms of Summer, Pt. 4

This Psalm shifts from trial, to deliverance, to impending trial, all declared or sung in the community of believers. Both praise and lament belong in the Christian community. But is that what we expect to find in church? Hearing authentic, vulnerable stories about challenges God delivered us from and first-hand experiences of trials we have not yet made it through. What if what allows us to make it through the hardships of this life is God working through the community? What if the solid rock under our feet is not only Christ the Rock, but the firm foundation of others who believe with us in God’s deliverance?

We are invited to gain courage and hope from the praises we hear on the lips of those around us in the gathered community.

Pastor Tara VinCross will preach a sermon titled, “This is My Story” in the series Keep a Song in Your Heart: the Psalms of Summer.

All Things Made New | Minute to Thrive

There is a day coming when all things will be made new. Take a minute to Thrive with Pastor Tara VinCross.

Dirt, Seeds, and Tears | Psalms of the Summer, pt. 3 | Pastor Tara VinCross

Are you growing a garden this summer? Or even a tomato growing in a pot on your doorstep? It takes work! Dirt, plus water equals soil. Soil plus seed equals life. We want to cut out parts of the process or oversimplify. Yet we don’t get life (ie the taste of a juicy tomato) without dirt or tears or seeds.

Daniel knew this from personal experience. The fruit of God’s Spirit grew in his life as he demonstrated courage in captivity. Right in the midst of the challenge, God turned his tears into songs of joy, his seeds into full-grown sheaves. This is the story our kids have been focusing on all week during Vacation Bible School, and the story that will shape our reading of the Psalm. We will discover, like Daniel, that through it all, our God is growing good things in our lives.

Pastor Tara VinCross will preach the next sermon titled, “Dirt, Seeds, and Tears” in the series Keep a Song in Your Heart: the Psalms of Summer.

Freedom in Jesus | Minute to Thrive

In Jesus Christ, there is freedom! Take a minute to thrive with Pastor Tara VinCross!

Who’s Winning? | Psalms of the Summer, pt. 2 | Pastor Tara VinCross

Have you ever been in a hard place? Feeling like the “enemies” against you are multiplying? That there is no way out? Wondering if God is listening to you? David is in that place. He is fleeing. He’s on the run from his own son. This journey shapes the language of this lament-turned-psalm-of-praise. Even before David knows how things will end, he can’t hold back his adoration.

 

Pastor Tara VinCross will preach the next sermon titled, “Who’s Winning?” in the series “Keep a Song in Your Heart: the Psalms of Summer.”