Stapleton Church

338. That’s the number of ‘friends' a Facebook user has on average. Yet many of these ‘friends’ are mere acquaintances—people you went to high school with, or were on your dorm floor, or simply attended that one conference. How many true friends do you have? In this message, let’s get wise about our friendships. Let’s learn to find and be true friends.

Did you know that kids spend less than 15% of their time in school? Too often people blame teachers or the other students for a child’s problems. But do you know who can make the biggest impact in a child’s life? Parents. So let’s get wise about parenting.

$26,720. That’s the average cost of a wedding in the US. Couples spend $1,628 on attire, $1,568 on flowers, $792 on invitations, and a whopping $11,908 on the venue. It’s not amazing to me that we spend so much on one day, it’s that we assume that for THE REST OF OUR LIVES marriage will just come super easy without any effort. But marriage isn’t just one day, it’s a lifetime. In this message we focus on the other thousands upon thousands of days and get wise about marriage.

“If you read Proverbs over and over again and understand it, you’ll have a master’s degree in finance.” Elite business schools won’t tell you that secret, but it's what Dave Ramsey asserts about the Proverbs. And he’s right. So let’s learn from the Proverbs how to get wise about managing our money.

Each week Christians spend an hour or two in a church worship service, yet we spend 40+ hours working. What we do on Sunday mornings is vitally important, but God has something to tell us about those 40+ working hours too. From the Proverbs, we will get wise this Sunday about that thing that takes up the largest portion of your waking hours.

"Closeness without conflict only exists in the cemetery.” We all have conflict in our lives. We will until we die. Whether it’s with an angry boss or a disgruntled client, a spouse who keeps doing that same dumb stuff or a neighbor whose barking dog wakes up your new baby, we all have conflict. So let’s get wise about it. Let’s learn how to handle conflict, because it ain’t going anywhere.

Proverbs 18:21. 'Sticks & stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.’ Sorry kids, but that’s bull. Words have immense power. In this second message in our Get Wise series, learn how to use your words for good.

Proverbs 4:1-9. Do you want to be respected as wise? Some of us assume that when we are older we’ll somehow just magically be wise. Some of us foolishly think we already are wise (when we aren't). Most people don’t really understand what wisdom is, and even fewer of us know how to become wise. As we tipoff our new series into the book of Proverbs, join me as we learn how to Get Wise.

Galatians 6:11-18. Sometimes it’s because we want to leave behind the mistakes of our past. Other times it’s because we want to become someone new. But we all long at points in our life to have a new identity. Instead of trying to manufacture a new identity, discover this Sunday how we can be completely changed as we wrap up our series through Galatians.

Galatians 5:25-6:10. “It’s not about you!” This is the famous opening line of The Purpose Driven Life. Rick Warren’s book has sold more than 32 million copies to date and is considered one of the bestselling nonfiction books of all time. Isn’t it astounding that a book beginning with this line sold so well in our self-centered world? Perhaps we desperately need to be reminded it’s not just about us. In this second-to-last message in our series through Galatians we learn the personal and life-on-life application of the Gospel.

Galatians 5:13-25. The Christian life is not simply what we’re set free from. Yes, that is vital. We’ve talked about it for two weeks! But there is a second aspect. We are set free from something, but we are also set free for something. This week we examine the famous fruit of Galatians.

Galatians 5:1-12. Nathan Hale. Nelson Mandela. William Wallace. Freedom is something to be fought for again and again. We see this throughout history, but we don’t realize that our freedom in Christ must be fought for as well. Last week we learned where to find true freedom: in the Gospel alone. This week, we'll learn how to stand firm in that freedom.

Galatians 4:8-5:1. Some are surprised Christians could even talk about a subject like freedom. They think of Christianity as the farthest thing from being free. But here’s the thing: it's not. This Sunday discover the only way to true freedom.

Galatians 3:26-4:7. Family is everything. Blood is thicker than water. But many of us here in Denver are far away from family. We’re transplants. Some of us don’t have the best relationships with our biological families. Yet we still long to be part of a loving, caring family. Thankfully God wants us to join his family, and it’s way better than our biological ones. In this message learn about the amazing benefits of being a child of God.

Galatians 3:15-25. Most people think Christianity is just another religion. But it’s not. For every religion in the world says, ‘Follow this law: Do these things. Don’t do those.' Judaism has the Ten Commandments. Islam has the Five Pillars. Buddhism has the Eightfold Path. Every religion says follow the law and you will be accepted by God or made right with the Universe or something along those lines. Christianity says something completely different, because Christianity is about grace, not law. It’s not religion. It’s the Gospel. 

Galatians 3:1-14. In our culture we’re taught to be self-reliant--to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We idolize the self-made man or woman. And this attitude seeps into our spiritual journey too. We feel like we need to be better, to try harder, to do it all—all on our own. But there’s a better way, from start to finish.

Galatians 2:11-21. Everyone seeks justification. We want to be accepted. We want to be thought of as a good person. When we do something others don’t approve of, we quickly rationalize it and explain why we are in the right—why we were justified to do what we did. But the Christian teaching of justification runs counter to all this. Learn in this message how to be truly justified.

Galatians 1:11-2:10. Can we trust the Gospel? Is the message we have in the Bible true and accurate? In this message, Pastor Matt examines Galatians 1:11-2:10, looking at why we can trust that the Gospel we have is trustworthy because of its source. Also, he looks at where we got the rest of the New Testament.

Galatians 1:1-10. There is only one Gospel, but there are many counterfeits. Learn to distinguish the truth, which will change your life for the better, from the false gospels, which will mess you up.

We all fear death. It is the great enemy. It comes for us all. And yet because of Easter, all of that can be changed for us. Discover how the Resurrection can means for you the death of death.