The “elephant in the room” = an important and obvious topic, which everyone present is aware of, but isn’t discussed because it’s considered to be uncomfortable to talk about.
Join us for Elephant in The Room – a two-part Sunday PM class (with Q + A to follow) September 14th AND September 21st at 5p. In this class we’ll explore the biblical view of sex, highlighting God’s purpose and design of sex. We’ll also discuss our culture’s distortion of sex, the issues with pornography and speak about the grace available for the fight. Maybe you feel trapped, taken advantage of or confused. Maybe you’ve never explored what the Bible has to say about sex and God’s purpose for it.
For more info and to RSVP click HERE.
Whether you are brand new to the observance of Lent or you have practiced it for years, our hope is that this guide can bring significance and joy to the Easter season. We will use this guide in our House Group gatherings beginning the week of March 9th. It’s also a helpful resource for your own personal time of devotion or family devotions.
We had the privilege of hearing a Local Story from Zach Thomas.
Zach grew up around faith, but for years he drifted, chased his own truth, and ran on self-reliance.
“I adopted the idea that I was special and I was here to make a difference but only to glorify me. Not to serve others and glorify God. The less I loved God, the less I was the person He called me to be. The less I surrendered to His will, the more I submitted to the enemy. You see, without God we create a trend of relying on our own strengths to overcome the many adversities life has to offer.”
After losing his mom at 16, Zach’s life spiraled—addiction, dangerous choices, and deep pain. Yet even in his darkest moments, God never stopped pursuing him. He placed people in Zach’s path, kept knocking on his heart, and led him to the moment he finally surrendered and declared Jesus as Lord. Christ pulled him out of addiction, gave him community, brotherhood, purpose, and a new life.
Today, God is still forming Zach—teaching him obedience over impulse, humility over pride, and how to be faithful right where he is. Jesus saved Zach’s life, and he prays his story points someone else to Him.
You can listen to Zach’s full story on our podcast
HERE.
Join us for Equipped and Empowered, a series in the book of Acts.
When someone is equipped and empowered they receive all the necessary resources and authority to accomplish a given task. Jesus told his first followers to wait for the Spirit, the “gift my Father promised” – and they would receive what they needed to be his witnesses.
Imagine the personal presence of God enabling you to speak the truth about Jesus in St. Pete. Imagine all the authority of heaven backing you up as you do it. In this series, we’ll explore stories of the early church, found in the book of Acts, that show us what it looks like to be equipped and empowered by the Spirit. Stories that remind us Jesus’ mission remains, his strategy hasn’t changed and his empowerment is now ours to walk in.
Gathering // 8a, 9:30a + 11a (Livestreaming our 11a gathering)
Listen to the latest Talk on our podcast HERE.
Sometimes we need a hope-filled chorus to sing at the top of our lungs, as our hearts ache. Other times, a refrain of peace, put on repeat, as we wait for answers. Advent is a season of waiting and anticipating that acknowledges the longing of every heart. We’ll turn to the songbook of the Bible and explore psalms of hope, peace, joy and love. For generations these songs have brought deep assurance and comfort, and now they’re ours to sing.
Join us this Sunday for Songs of Hope – a new Advent series
Listen to the latest Talk on our podcast HERE.
“This Time Tomorrow” segments are snapshots that highlight the intersection of faith and work in those who are a part of Local Church St. Pete.
This past Sunday, we had the joy of hearing Dr. Clayton Nylund share about his work as a physics and engineering teacher and how he’s devoted his career to increasing STEM opportunities for students in urban, lower-economic communities. What brings him the most joy in his field of work is challenging his students’ understanding of the universe and encouraging them to think critically.
It’s our hope that conversations like these would inspire us to live out our faith in Jesus every day of the week, viewing work (our vocation) as an opportunity to reflect His character and give Him honor and praise.
You can visit our Local Church St. Pete podcast to stream This Time Tomorrow, HERE. We pray it is an encouragement to your day!
Join us this Sunday, October 13th for either of our updated gathering times:
9:30a (Local Kids is able to offer: Nursery 0-23 months BUT feel free to worship alongside your kids in the main gathering)
11a (Local Kids is able to offer: Nursery through 5th grade)
Livestream: no internet at building so we will record 11AM and post Sunday afternoon.
As we look to where our hope is found – we’ll fix our eyes on Jesus through song, prayer and the Word of God. We are praying our gathering will bring great renewal and encouragement.
Though Helene and Milton have passed, let’s remain prayerful and intentional to stand together and love our neighbors. The first thing we can do is pray for those impacted by the storm. Pray for comfort, peace, discernment, restoration, hope and provision.
Many in our community will also need our tangible help in the days and weeks to come. Simply checking on friends and neighbors or making sure those who live alone are cared for is a simple expression of love and a sweet opportunity to bless those around us.
House Groups and Serve Teams – this is a time to communicate what real needs there are within your groups and to serve each other in love. Camaraderie and community are so important as we begin cleanup and restoration. Those who have been impacted by flooding will need a place to stay, those without electricity may need somewhere to charge devices or help with a load of laundry.
Let’s stay connected and serve each other with simple acts of kindness and mercy. We’ve heard many reports of this already happening and are so thankful!
Please click HERE to share prayer requests and needs.
If you have skills that can be used in relief and recovery, please email [email protected].
God is aware of all of this, none of it is catching him by surprise. He’s with us and will see us through it.
Resource List:
Hurricane Relief Resources – St. Petersburg
We had the joy of hearing a Global Mission Update from our very own Liz DiPietro, who serves with the Jesus Film Project. Since 1979, Jesus Film has been sharing the hope of the gospel around the world—now in over 2,000 languages. Their mission is simple yet powerful: to ensure no one has to learn a second language to hear Jesus speak. By creating media in people’s heart languages, they’re helping everyone, everywhere, encounter Christ in a personal way.
The Jesus Film Project is doing life-changing work around the globe and it’s a privilege to partner with them in their mission. We will be holding an interest meeting for individuals seeking to get more involved with The Jesus Film Project on Thursday, October 9th from 7-8:30p at the building.
Listen to the full update on our podcast
HERE.
LOCAL Kids has the privilege of serving over 100 children each Sunday, and we are growing! That’s 100 hearts and minds learning about Jesus and what it means to follow him, and it’s central to our mission to be disciples who make disciples.
In order for us to have a healthy team, we are urgently needing an additional 10 team members to begin serving at our 8 AM gathering. Additional team members will allow us to offer Chapel (1st-5th grade students) at this service so we can accommodate more families across all three of our Sunday gatherings.
Please consider how you can participate in this need as we partner together on mission, making disciples and growing in community. Would you be willing to serve at the 8 AM gathering, one time per month?
Click HERE to get started!
Questions? Email Summer Smalley at [email protected]