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Happening Now @ The Olive Branch

What we believe series pic

Sunday January 5 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

HEY! I'M A BELIEVER... kinda

In our world, belief gets a bad rap - at least in some circles. There are people who believe that all truth claims are power moves. There are some people who think that sincerely believing something makes it true; as in, "This is MY truth, that is YOUR truth." And that is especially true when it comes to faith and spirituality. Maybe the real question should be, "is there any real basis for belief of any kind?"

Sunday January 12 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

GOD IS...

Most of us know by looking at something whether is just happened - you know, by natural forces - or if there is intelligence and craftsmanship behind it. If there is intelligence and craftsmanship behind it, then that gives clues about who that person is and what they’re like. We don’t have enough time in a single lifetime to do a thorough personal investigation of everything before we trust, that is jump, place our bet. And that means we sometimes we have to trust others, their thoughts, their perceptions, and their experiences.

Sunday January 19 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

JESUS WAS AND IS... (Part 1)

You may be surprised to know that you don’t have to know and prove the authority of the Sacred Writings or the Scriptures and all that implies. All of those who doubt God’s existence and everything else would like to debate creation, the Jewish Scriptures and the law, the historicity of Jonah and the big fish, the splitting of the Red Sea, Noah and the flood, and God’s miraculous intervention in those accounts. The real question, the core question in believing anything about faith is - did Jesus come and did He rise from the dead?

Sunday January 26 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

JESUS WAS AND IS... (Part 2)

The death and resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of Christianity - and therefore, the most controversial fact in history. Jesus said it would happen, all the witnesses said it happened - and it has been poked, prodded, and pounded for 2000 years. Why? Well, that’s because Jesus said that His resurrection would prove whether or not He had the authority to rearrange the future for billions of people. And that makes it the most important fact in history. I say fact because if it never happened, that changes everything. But it did happen - and that changes everything too! 

Sunday February 2 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

THE RECORDS ARE TRUE...

Every major religion or faith/belief system has a set of Sacred Writings. For Judaism, it’s the Torah and Talmud. For Islam, it’s the Koran. For Buddhism, it’s the sayings of Buddha. For Mormons, it’s the Book of Mormon. For Hinduism, it’s the Bhagavat Gita. For atheists and agnostics, it’s The Origin of the Species. For Christians, for Followers of Jesus - for us - it’s The Bible - the Gospels, the letters of Paul, Peter, John and James - and the other genuine accounts of God’s activity among humans.

Sunday February 9 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Jeremiah Vijey

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS...

Here are the facts; the problem of sin in us and in the world system is too deeply ingrained for us to change it ourselves. We can’t change our own hearts - and we have absolutely no access to anyone else’s heart - even those of our children. And we have no real understanding of the dark forces of this world. We’re called by Jesus Who Is, to love God with all we are and love others as ourselves. That is a kind of love and behaviour we cannot muster up on our own! The answer? Jesus said it would be The Holy Spirit! God at work everywhere and in everyone - giving us the immense power of God for what we face! Jesus said that the Spirit would carry out His mission.

Sunday February 16 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

THE PROBLEM

The core reason that most people give for not believing in God or trusting Him is the suffering and evil in the world. Why do some undeserving people have food, health and prosperity - and why do good people suffer horrible things? Why do thousands of children die from polluted water and preventable diseases? And how does that happen in a world rich enough, but too selfish to solve the problem? Why do smart people destroy their own lives? Why can’t we keep the standards we set for ourselves? And why can’t we - why won’t we solve our own problems as humans?

Sunday February 23 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

OUR SALVATION IS SECURE

We make promises all the time - sometimes to just get what we want. Sometimes we keep those promises, but sometimes we don’t. God keeps all of His! Right after our ancestors defected from truth, reality, and everything they wanted most, God promised that He would make a way back and crush the head of the enemy. Through His prophets God spoke again and again about how He would do this! What He didn’t reveal is that He would be the rejected, suffering servant who would carry our sin and our pain. Jesus, when He came, seemed to attract all the broken people (called bottom-feeders by the religious leaders). And He forgave them on the spot!

Sunday March 2 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

JESUS' GATHERED PEOPLE

Every gathering of people has power. That’s what countries are all about; that’s what makes unions strong; that’s what has helped eliminate corrupt systems from our world - and that’s what helps governments to represent the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong - and what helps hospitals to be effective, orchestras to work, and the military to be effective. That concept is not something we humans have devised on our own! It’s what God did with the nation of Israel and it’s what Jesus did with His people when He placed His mission of changing the world in their hands.

Sunday March 9 @ 10 AM
Speaker: Ken Davis

HOME... AGAIN!

Jesus taught that at the end of time - and there will be an end, everyone will end up somewhere - with Jesus and all He gave His life for, or without Jesus. He’s the Good Shepherd and He’s our hope for anything good in the ultimate sense of that word. And it’s simple; those who want to be with Him, will be, and those too proud to receive the immensely expensive gift He offers - Himself as the way, the truth and the life - will not be forced to receive a gift they do not want. How that ultimately works out is God’s business. But, make no mistake about it - Jesus is coming back for His own!