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June 13, 2026 • 13 Minute Read
The Dangers of an Unrenewed Mind: Break The Mold
Download Sermon Notes Scripture Text Romans 12:1–2
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Opening Thought You can love God in your heart, but still be limited by old patterns in your mind. Romans 12 tells us that transformation does not begin with behavior alone. It begins with surrender, and it continues through the renewing of the mind. Paul is writing to believers, not unbelievers. That means a person can be saved, gifted, called, and still be thinking from an old mindset. The danger is not only sin in the flesh, it is also agreement in the mind. 1. God Wants the Whole Person Presented to Him Paul begins by saying, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” This means our lives are not our own. Our bodies, decisions, habits, relationships, emotions, appetites, and ambitions must be placed on the altar before God. A living sacrifice means I do not just come to God when I need Him. I belong to Him daily. Before the mind can be renewed, the heart must be surrendered. Biblical Key: A surrendered life creates the environment for a renewed mind. 2. The World Is Always Trying to Shape Us Paul says, “Be not conformed to this world.” The word conform means to be pressed into a mold. The world has a pattern, a sound, a rhythm, a value system, and a way of thinking. If we are not intentional, we will begin to think more like culture than Christ. The world teaches us to think through fear, pride, offense, self-preservation, comparison, greed, lust, bitterness, and independence from God. But the kingdom teaches us to think through faith, humility, forgiveness, obedience, holiness, love, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Biblical Key:
If the Word of God is not shaping your mind, the world will gladly do it for you. 3. The Danger of Not Renewing the Mind An unrenewed mind can keep a believer bound even after they have been set free. The children of Israel left Egypt physically, but Egypt was still in their thinking. They were delivered from bondage, but they still thought like slaves. That is why they murmured, complained, feared, and wanted to go back to what God had delivered them from. This is one of the greatest dangers of an unrenewed mind: you can be out of Egypt, but Egypt may not be out of you. An unrenewed mind can cause us to: 1. Misinterpret God’s process
We see delay as denial. We see correction as rejection. We see wilderness as abandonment, when God may be preparing us. 2. Resist transformation
We want comfort more than change. We want blessing without surrender. 3. Repeat old cycles
Old thoughts produce old reactions. Old reactions produce old habits. Old habits produce old outcomes. 4. Live beneath our identity
We may be sons and daughters of God, but still think like orphans, victims, slaves, or survivors. 5. Miss the will of God
Romans 12 says renewing the mind helps us prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. If my mind is not renewed, I may not recognize what God is doing. 4. We Must Put On the Mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “But we have the mind of Christ.” The mind of Christ is not natural thinking. It is Spirit-led thinking. It is a mind submitted to the Father. Jesus did not live from human reasoning alone. He lived from divine alignment. The mind of Christ says: Not my will, but Yours be done.
I only do what I see the Father do.
I forgive because I have been forgiven.
I serve because greatness in the kingdom is servanthood.
I overcome evil with good.
I trust the Father even when the road includes suffering. The renewed mind does not deny reality. It simply refuses to make reality bigger than God. 5. Transformation Comes Through Renewal Paul says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation is not behavior modification. It is inward change that produces outward fruit. The Greek word for transformed is where we get the word metamorphosis. It is the picture of a complete change from one form to another. God does not just want to improve us. He wants to transform us. And that transformation happens as our thoughts come into agreement with His truth. 6. How Do We Renew Our Mind? 1. Through the Word of God We cannot think like Christ if we do not know what Christ has said. The Word washes us, corrects us, strengthens us, and realigns us. 2. Through Prayer and Surrender Prayer is not only where we talk to God. It is where God changes how we see. 3. Through Taking Thoughts Captive 2 Corinthians 10:5 teaches us to cast down imaginations and bring every thought into obedience to Christ. Not every thought deserves a seat at the table. 4. Through Obedience Every act of obedience breaks agreement with the old mind and strengthens agreement with the Spirit. 5. Through the Holy Spirit The renewed mind is not produced by willpower alone. It is formed by the Spirit of God working in us.Subscribe To These Posts When Your Family Has Failed You, God Has Not Abandoned You The most remarkable thread running through Genesis is this: God's love is not dependent on your family's dysfunction. God made a promise, and no amount of generational brokenness could nullify it. Abraham failed. God was still with him. Jacob was a deceiver. God was still with him. Hagar was cast into the desert by the very people who used her. God showed up and said, "I am with you." Joseph was betrayed, enslaved, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. God showed up and said, "I'm still with you." Your family background may explain who you are, but it does not have to define who you become. When you read the genealogies in Genesis, name upon name, generation upon generation, God's faithful, loving covenant remains. When God makes a promise, not even your family's dysfunction can rob you of it if you lean into it. God even changed the names of these patriarchs to reflect His transforming work. Abram, meaning "father," became Abraham, "the father of many nations." Jacob, "the deceiver," became Israel, "one who wrestles with God." When you let God do His work, He transforms what looks broken into something beautiful. The Soil of Your Heart Think of it like gardening. If the soil of your life has been deeply compacted by the weight of what happened to you, if it's been stripped of nutrients because no one ever told you "I love you" or "you matter," if toxins have been poured in through words that poisoned your heart, then no wonder nothing grows. Maybe you've been trying to grow really good things. You want to be a good parent, a good provider. You want to show up when it matters. But the soil has been hardened by circumstances you didn't choose. The good news is that God is the great Gardener. If you let Him, He'll begin to till the soil again, softening it so that air and nutrients can be poured in, so that light can penetrate the dark places, and good fruit can grow. The Crucible That Refines You Joseph's story reads like a crucible. A crucible is a container that withstands intense heat. You place raw ore inside it, ore covered in debris, dirt, and impurities. As the heat rises, everything melts. The pure metal sinks to the bottom while the impurities rise to the surface. A skilled refiner scrapes away everything that doesn't belong until only the pure design remains. You and I were created in the image of God. The circumstances of life may feel like they've buried that image. But God uses the crucible of experience not to destroy you, but to refine you. The heat turns up not to break you, but to reveal who you were always created to be. If you skip the process, you get a weakened version. It might look like gold on the surface, but under pressure, it crumbles. Joseph grew up in an environment of survival of the fittest. But he chose generosity. He grew up surrounded by rivalry and pain. But he chose forgiveness. When he stood before the brothers who had sold him into slavery, now the second most powerful man in Egypt, he had the opportunity to continue the family curse or break it. And he looked at them and said, "What you intended for harm, God intended for good." Healing Must Interrupt What Dysfunction Repeats The patterns in Genesis are unmistakable. A father favors one son. Rivalry erupts. Deception follows. Manipulation takes root. And then the next generation inherits it all. The question every generation faces is the same: Will I repeat the pattern that was passed on to me, or will I, with God's help, break it? No matter your family background, there are things that happened to you that should have never happened. But if you let God heal you, He can transform it. That's the story of Joseph, and it can be yours, too. As you look at your own family experience, consider: What did your family teach you about conflict? About love? About generosity? These things may explain who you are, but they don't have to define you. And the harder question, especially for parents and grandparents: What patterns am I carrying forward, and where might God be inviting healing? When my wife and I were first married, we had to work through a lot of crucible experiences. We dealt with conflict in completely different ways. My way of dealing with conflict is to say it straight up. You're not going to have to guess what I'm feeling or thinking. Hers was the opposite. She saw conflict as something negative to be avoided. You can imagine how well that went until we made a decision: How are we going to define, as a family, how we deal with confrontation? How are we going to handle generosity and parenting? We had very different ideas, and we had to work through them with God's help to create a new way forward. How to Build a Healthy Family Today If you recognize these patterns and you want something different, here's what I've learned practically in my own life about becoming the parent and family member God has called me to be. Choose Presence Over Perfection Your kids don't need you to be perfect. They need you to be present. It's in being present that the beautiful transformation takes place. You can't script it or plan it. You're just there. When my kids started playing sports, I made a commitment to coach them. Not to be overbearing, but so we could experience everything together. Dance recitals, awards, birthdays. Sometimes it was around a dinner table where we chose to be present, no phones, looking at each other, talking about things we maybe didn't want to talk about. Sometimes it was at bedtime when we would just pray, not out of religious obligation, but out of inviting the presence of God into that moment. "Train up a child in the way that they should go" (Proverbs 22:6). It's embedded into what family is. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be there. Speak Blessing Instead of Cursing Many of you know the pain of words that were spoken over you. You're dumb. You're ugly. You'll never amount to anything. You're worthless. When those words are spoken into a child's life, they plant seeds that harden the soil. It is never justified to curse your children. Never. Instead, learn to speak blessing. Maybe you'll be the first one in your family line who actually expresses "I love you" on a regular basis, not because someone earned it, but just because. Maybe you'll be the first to speak truth that isn't visible yet: "I see something in you that you don't see in yourself. You are worthy. You are loved. You matter." If you don't know what to say, read the promises of God over them. You are a child of the living God. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God has a plan and a purpose for your life. When you begin to speak life instead of death, it will break a curse. Practice Repentance and Forgiveness Some of you might need to stand in front of a mirror and say the words: "I was wrong." That is not weakness. That is breaking a curse. I do this now as a grandfather. My grandkids call me Papa. And sometimes I'll say, "Papa shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry." You're modeling something. You're breaking something. You're building something. Invite God Into Everyday Life It doesn't have to be weird. Just begin to talk about what God is doing in you and how you're trying. That was maybe the greatest gift my family gave me growing up. They invited God into most everything we did. And inviting God into everyday life begins to shape and form the people around you. You Don't Have to Come From a Healthy Family to Create One You don't control what happened to you, but you do choose how you see it. And that choice shapes everything that follows. In a world that's increasingly lonely, where abandonment and rejection are common experiences, we need to fight for each other. We need to create spaces of belonging, not spaces where you have to think a certain way or behave a certain way before you're welcomed in. You belong because you were created in the image of God. Jesus said, "They will know you are my disciples by how you love one another" (John 13:35). No one has ever been won over by a slick argument. But people have been transformed because someone chose to love them. Today could be the day of transformation. The day you decide, with God's help, to believe that He is present with you and that you will be present with your family. You can't fix what's broken on your own. Only God can do that. But you can keep showing up, keep loving, keep speaking blessing, and keep inviting God into that space. You are loved. You belong. Your family story, however broken or beautiful, is not beyond God's redemptive grace. And with His help, you can create a different kind of family, one marked by presence and blessing, repentance and forgiveness, belonging and hope.
Karon Smedley
Associate Pastor
June 29, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Women's Ministry Update
ImageBearers Ladies, I was honored to host you for breakfast this past Saturday at Maple & Rye. It was a much needed time of fellowship for everyone present. Those who could not join us were missed. We have a couple of volunteers who have agreed to help schedule these ongoing meetings every 4-6 weeks. Sharon will host the next one at her house in Surprise (Aug) and Virginia has volunteered in September. Date and details to come! Pastor Karon
June 16, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Sermon Sun 6/14/26
Introduction Believers are transferred into the Kingdom of Light. We do not come under the dominion of darkness, curses, or man made doctrines. Instead, we stand bold like Paul, Moses, and Joshua, trusting the finished work of Christ.Download Sermon Notes COMPARISON TABLE: KINGDOM OF DARKNESS VS. KINGDOM OF LIGHT Spiritual Dominion = “Rule” Under Satan’s dominion, authority, jurisdiction, right to rule (Greek: exousia). Includes occult powers, idols, sorcery. We we’re rescued and transferred out. No longer under darkness’ rule. Colossians 1:13– “rescued us from the dominion (exousia) of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19) burned magic scrolls. Moses confronted Egyptian sorcerers (Exodus 7). Jesus spoke, “Be still!” to the storm (Mark 4:39). Identity & Position If we are born again we were once living in spiritual darkness, subject to fear, and dark influence. Now that we are “saved” we have light in the Lord, we are a chosen, royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are now living in the Kingdom of Light, not darkness. Ephesians 5:8 – “You were once darkness, but now you are light.” 1 Peter 2:9, called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Paul stood boldly in Athens and Philippi. Joshua declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Curses & Negative Declarations Many are under the false belief that others can place curses on them, or that others can speak words that block God’s promises in their lives. That would make the person speaking such things stronger than God, and stronger than our faith and trust in the Lord and His promises. However, Christ has redeemed us. No curse can stick or light that is undeserved, so there can be no effect of the curses of others, they have no effect on us unless we place our trust and belief in their words. Galatians 3:13, Proverbs 26:2, Isaiah 54:17 Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you.” Paul never feared Elymas. Moses stood un-compromised in the face of Pharaohs magicians. Power of Words There is personal responsibility for our words that must be our concern. Our words matter and governance over our life, but others’ negative words do not override God’s promises in our life unless we trust in and believe their words are more powerful than God’s. Matthew 12:34-37, Proverbs 18:21, Deuteronomy 30:19 Jesus cursed the fig tree under divine authority. The disciples obeyed Jesus and still encountered a storm. So the presence of a storm does not constitute “a wrong turn”, yet it may indicate opposition fromhe enemy to discourage and distract. Storms & Trials Often viewed as punishment or curses. Storms come even in when obedience is present. Yet God’s promises prevail. Mark 4:39, Acts 27 Paul’s fourteen day storm. The disciples sent into a storm. Moses at the Red Sea. Joshua in battle. Response to Idolatry & Occult Practices Compromise, fear, and accommodation. No fellowship with darkness. Bold confrontation and manifestation of light. 2 Corinthians 6:14, John 1:5 Paul confronted idolatry in Athens and Ephesus. Moses confronted the golden calf. Joshua destroyed pagan altars. Purpose & Calling Oppressed, hidden, defeated by darkness. Manifest light, declare praises, turn others from darkness to light. Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 26:18 Paul preached, performed miracles, and delivered captives, he did not come under their false power. Moses led the Exodus, in spite of the forceful interference of Pharaoh; He could not stop God’s people from be led out to worship God. Joshua conquered giants and armies larger than Israelites. Jesus calmed storms and walked on water. Outcome & Victory Light overcomes darkness, the darkness cannot prevent the light. Complete rescue. We are more than conquerors, because Jesus already conquered. Romans 8:37-39, John 8:12 Burning of sorcery scrolls in Acts 19 after the anointed preaching of the Apostle Paul, depicting another example of a child of God demonstrating power of the darkness. Survival through Paul’s storm. Paul did nothing to cause the storm but yet the storm came. God rescued him from eh storm nevertheless. Red Sea victory occurred miraculously and God drowned his people’s enemies in the sea. PRESUMPTION THAT LEADS TO SIN Presuming upon God’s grace while living carelessly is warned against in Scripture. Psalm 19:13 “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.” Numbers 15:30-31 “But the person who does anything presumptuously… that one brings reproach on the Lord…” Presumption is not faith. Faith obeys. Presumption assumes. DO NOT FOLLOW CUNNINGLY DEVISED FABLES AND DOCTRINES OF MEN 2 Peter 1:16 “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy…” The believer must reject teachings rooted in fear, speculation, and human tradition and remain grounded in the authority of Scripture. THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” True victory is looking to the finished work of Christ. Because of the cross: · We have been transferred into the Kingdom of Light. · We are redeemed from the curse. · We are seated with Christ. · Darkness does not have dominion over us. · We do not fear occult powers, idols, or negative declarations. · We stand in the victory Christ has already secured. CONCLUSION: STAND IN THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT Darkness cannot overcome the light that shines in us through Christ. We are not called to fear darkness. We are called to manifest light. We are not called to obsess over the enemy. We are called to fix our eyes upon Jesus. We are not called to follow cunningly devised fables. We are called to stand upon the Word of God. The Kingdom of Light has already overcome the kingdom of darkness through the finished work of Jesus Christ.Subscribe To These Posts