Fusion City Church

"It's not as good as the original" is a common phrase. Currently, remakes of older great movies is a common practice, but most if not all are stamped with the aforementioned phrase. Food taken as leftovers from a restaurant, also not as good reheated as it was originally. What is true of food and movies can also apply to our modern practices of Church and worship. In a lot of cases, our modern "remakes" look and feel very dissimilar to the early church. It is important, then, that we regularly evaluate and compare our modern expressions of church to what was initially established. In our new series starting today, we'll discover what it looked like to be part of the initial Everyday Church.

Is it not terribly frustrating when you spend your hard-earned money to have the best of something, only for them to release the newer model just a short time later? Does it always feel like others are getting ahead when you are stuck where you are? Do you find yourself wishing for what others have? The good news is you are not alone, it happens to all of us. The bad news is, all of us are guilty of the unholy habit of envy that is offensive to God. So, what do we do about it? We'll find the answer together as we close out our series Unholy Habits.

CS Lewis said, “A little lie is like a little pregnancy it doesn’t take long before everyone knows.” It is always joyful to find out about a friend that is pregnant. Not so joyful to find out a friend is lying. Lying is one of those things that everyone knows is wrong except for when it isn’t. What kind of lie is acceptable and which lies are off limits? Join us today for week 4 of our series “Unholy Habits” as we discover what the Bible has to say about lying.

The Bible is quite clear that desires are a good thing. And the Bible is also quite clear that desires are a bad thing. It can be confusing to decide which desires to pursue and which ones to abandon. Today we are going to take a look into the early life of Adam and Eve to see how LUST can sneak into our life and what to do when it does.

Avoiding the sins we have no interest in is easy. Avoiding the sins we WANT to do is much harder. Avoiding the sins we WANT to do, that comes with a blurry line of when am I actually sinning may be the hardest to avoid. Gossip falls in that third category. If we are honest, we want to do it. Most of us do not know when we are doing it, or maybe even do not really know what is gossip and what isn't. In today's message, we'll clear up all of the blurry lines around this very dangerous Unholy Habit.

A fire IN your home makes it cozy in colder months. A fire ON your home is pretty much a worst case scenario any month. Much like fire, anger when controlled and pointed in the right direction can be a powerful force for good. It is however, nearly always dangerous. So we should be careful when we use it and how. When it is out of control, it is destructive and harmful. Does that sound like you when you get mad? If so, we are going to unpack the right and wrongs regarding our anger, and other topics in our series beginning today called: "Unholy Habits"

With the sweltering temps over the last few weeks, today we turn our focus to colder days ahead, specifically Christmas! Christmas at Fusion City Church also means our annual missions effort called Operation KCS. Every year Fusion City Church gives a gift to every elementary school student in Kannapolis City Schools. To facilitate that, everything collected financially, or pledged, today will go to fund that ministry opportunity. Join us for a fun Christmas style celebration, an opportunity to hear from a Kannapolis City School representative, and an opportunity to invest into the lives of the students in our city. You can give online at: http://fusioncity.churchcenteronline.com/giving

We have all met people who refuse to acknowledge what is really going on even when the truth of the matter is painfully, clearly, and completely obvious. Well, according to the Apostle Paul the most important parts of God's perfect law is painfully, clearly, and completely obvious. Yet, people all over the world are choosing to claim that it isn't clear, and that it isn't law. If you are wondering right now if perhaps you have missed what God says is obvious and want to know what to do about it, then you need to be with us today.

The 10 commandments are back in the news, and debates are popping up all over the place: in school board meetings, in Christian circles, and certainly on social media. There is confusion about how we understand and apply these commands in the Old Testament to our modern expressions of worship and followership of Christ. Over the next two weeks at Fusion City Church, we'll discover the value and application of these 10 directives that Moses brought down from the top of Mt. Sinai.

Milestone years are always great opportunities to reflect on all the years that make them a milestone. Join us today as we celebrate some of the amazing things we have seen God do in and through Fusion City Church since its inception 10 years ago.

When we are intentional to stop, reflect, rest, and enjoy what God is up to in our lives we are certainly the better for it. We talked a lot about why that is true last week. The problem many of us face is HOW to stop, reflect, rest and enjoy what God is up to. If the thought of stopping, or slowing down feels more stressful to you than constant, non-stop working or going, or doing...there is a problem and we want to help. We will close out our series Trending in the Right Direction today with some practical how-to's of a weekly Sabbath.

Often times the practices and habits that are best and healthiest for us are the hardest to implement into our lives. In the list of things that would benefit us, but few people do is the practice of a regular rhythm of rest. While it is a "good idea," and sounds to some like, "it sure would be nice," it is also a command...and more than a command, it is a function seen in and built into creation and nature itself. The Bible calls this rhythm, this practice, Sabbath. What if the new normal of constant low-grade exhaustion is not merely not what's best, but actually against the design of creation? Would it be worth investigating a change for your family? If so, we'll start the conversation of why that should be the case in Week 4 of Trending in the Right direction.

What we learn about the practice of prayer in the Bible and how the church, for the most part, has come to actually practice it looks quite different. Perhaps, more of us would pray passionately and consistently if someone actually taught us how to do it. Is that not what the Disciples asked Jesus; to teach them to pray? If you've never been taught HOW to pray, then this is your opportunity to find some help. Join us for week 3 of Trending in the Right Direction as we investigate the practice of effective prayer.

Have you ever had the frustration of an itch you cannot scratch? It seems as though nothing you do effectively causes relief. Have you ever felt the same frustration regarding situations in your life when it seems as though nothing you do affects any sort of change in the situation? When we try all of the solutions except the only right solution we're left not only with the problem that remains, but also the frustration of numerous failed efforts. The Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that our fight in this world is not against things we can see, but forces we cannot. He added, that only one solution exists while all others are doomed to leave us frustrated. If your wits have found their end, perhaps today would be a great day to join us to find some help.

In the most tense of moments, how we behave is nearly instinctual. What we say and do in those moments is a revealer of who we truly are. If we would hope that our lives are honoring to Christ it is necessary for us to evaluate what pours out when there is no time for filters or facade. Simply enough, what pours out is what has been most taken in. Therefore, our intake can change our output, even our instincts. So, we must decide what we want that to be and of what quality it should be. If you need some help in determining what should go in, and of what quality it should be, join us as we begin our new series: Trending in the Right Direction.

When you are in trouble, where you turn for help matters. You may find something that actually helps, or you may find something that adds to the trouble. In other words, when we look for help in the wrong place, it adds difficulty to the situation we are trying to fix. In a country with lots of division, tension, and questions our solution is not on the left or the right, but above. Join us and learn how to shift your focus on the only thing that can really help.

Have you ever misheard something that was said and ended up lost, confused, or angry? In His most famous sermon, Jesus opens with a list of things that would increase our joy for living. We call them the Beattitudes. They all start with "Blessed are the..." One of resolves in that list is "Peacemakers." We read, "Blessed are the peacemakers," but many of us heard: "Blessed are the peacekeepers." The difference makes, well, all the difference. Join us and we'll talk about that difference and what to do about it.

Every tense political season in our country provides a remarkable opportunity for the Church to be and do what Christ called us to be and do. Almost every time, we fail or have very limited success in taking advantage of that opportunity. Here we are again: a divided country, polarizing candidates for President, moral issues creating debate, and for most of us, no clear way forward. What are the followers of Christ supposed to do? Lucky for us, Jesus saw this coming, and gave us some instructions. Actually, He prayed for us to follow some instructions. We'll look at those today. Wouldn't it be cool if we could be the answer to Jesus' prayer?

The adage says: "You can't know where you're going until you know where you've been." That was certainly Moses' mindset after seeing and experiencing the consequences levied on his generation for their behavior. Like any good person, Moses instructs future generations, including ours, to learn from their mistakes. His retelling of the events, and his warnings comprise the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. If you have any interest in learning something the easy way (instead of by making the same mistakes) join us at Fusion City Church this morning as we continue to Binge the Bible

Chances are, if you have tried to read it, Leviticus is not your favorite book of the Bible. Or, it has been weaponized by a naysayer of Christianity to debunk or devalue your faith. Either way, no one would be excited about a message about Leviticus. However, when we understand its purpose and how it factors into the larger story of the Bible, its message is a powerful one. Come hang out with us today at Fusion City Church and let's see if we can trade all of our bad experiences with Leviticus for new perspective as we continue to Binge the Bible.