We’ve all had times when we wondered what God was doing or NOT doing. We’ve all struggled “When God Doesn’t Make Sense.” Noah's Ark is a story that children in churches know well, and you are probably familiar with the basics of the story, even if you’re not a church person. But it’s a story we probably haven’t actually read or studied in depth. In…

The church is not just an organization. It’s not a business or even just a ministry. It’s a collection of people who are finding where they are meant to function in the “Body." And the “Body” won’t work right without you. And you won’t find your God-given design if you don’t find your purpose in it. In this series, we've been addressing the questio…

God is free and our human freedom is a part of His image which we bear. But you can give up that freedom. In fact, your entire purpose is wrapped up in the idea that your freedom is meant to be given up for something better. And if you don’t, your life will be incomplete… VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Kv7H7RmEBpU Learn more about Mountaintop Church at ⁠h…

We were made for a relationship with God, and that’s amazing because the God of the universe wants a relationship with us. But we were never intended to follow Christ alone. We were also made for community. We were meant for relationships.Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mountaintopchurch.com VIDEO: https://youtu.be/wzhNs8Dl7ss…

"What was I made for?" Every single one of us has asked that question. You’ve been in a job you didn’t like, a relationship that wasn’t going well, switched majors for the third time... And, what’s worse, you scroll through Instagram and see amazing people do amazing things with their lives. And you wonder, "Why am I here? What is my purpose on thi…

Mountaintop was founded on a vision FOR Birmingham. It would be "a church that reached unchurched people." That's because the founders were convinced that Jesus loved them and that His love was FOR the whole world, FOR Birmingham and FOR our local community. We still believe that the local church is the vehicle that God has chosen to share the mess…

Everyone, regardless of age, desires to find a place where they can belong. If we look long enough, we might just discover that belonging beings with seeking Jesus. In the Kingdom of God, you don’t have to do anything to be accepted. And once you find that you belong, the presence of Jesus begins to transform you. No matter who you are or what you’…

Desperate times call for desperate measures... In today's message, our Special Guest, April Farmer, tells the story of a desperate woman who turned to Jesus as a last resort and was healed by her faith! By turning to Jesus, she finds healing and freedom, and same opportunity exists for each of us. Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://moun…

As the United States barrels toward November elections, the topics that we've talked about thus far in this series are going to be used to divide us. Someone is going to try to convince us that THEY are the problem. “THEY” being the other side. And they are going to demonize the other side. Here’s the problem with that: When we demonize someone, we…

Gender Identity is complex because we’re often not sure where the line is between God-given gender and cultural stereotypes. And right now, it's a part of our national conversation in regard to ethics, morality and sexuality. It can be easy to make generalizations, but the truth is, every story is unique. And the stories aren’t just stories. Every …

Abortion is an incredibly complex issue. It’s a topic that is culturally and politically explosive, and it will be weaponized in a few months to try and sway your vote one way or another. But we’re not interested in political perspectives. We want to know what the Bible says about it, where the Bible says it, and what else the Bible says. We want t…

When people sit down for a conversation and fundamentally disagree about what the Bible says, a complex conversation can get even more complicated. Perhaps there’s no issue in our modern culture (and even in the Christian church) that people disagree about more than homosexuality. It's complex. Truthfully, no one has all the answers on this side of…

Humanity bears the image of God. Not just one of us, but all of us. You have never looked into the eyes of someone who did not bear the image of God. Every nation in creation shares this image-bearing mark. This is a core, foundational belief for people of faith. However, this understanding creates some complexity. When it comes to disagreements, p…

You’ve probably got some strong opinions about these complex issues: RACE, HOMOSEXUALITY, ABORTION, GENDER IDENTITY AND POLITICS. That's OK. This series, Complex Conversations, is not about what to think but about how to think, especially about the Bible and our mission as Christians. We aim to present a faithful and honest interpretation of God’s …

The resurrection is the reason that we can experience the joy of the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean life will always be easy or feel like a party; it just means that God will always be with us. The resurrection launched a New Life that is available to all who believe. And it’s available to you. So, the question, kids (an…

How many times in your life, have you ended up somewhere for the 100th time and you don’t even remember getting there. You don’t even know why you are there at that same empty well, confused about why it’s not fulfilling you… Maybe, right now, you can feel a fresh wind blowing or a new fire burning… Maybe you're wondering, “What's next? Where do I …

Today, we’re going to see Paul experience a different world than every other town he’d visited. Paul had a strategy with every town he visited. He would go to the Synagogue & talk to Jews first, and then to God-fearing Greeks. He was speaking in a religious setting to religious people who respected the Hebrew God. But when Paul arrived in Athens, h…

There are no promises that the opposition will quit. There are no promises that there won’t be adversity. There are no promises that problems won’t chase you down. There are no promises that it will ever be EASY. In fact, it won’t be easy. And that is a lesson Paul learns. Paul is sent away from the town where he's preaching the Gospel for his own …

More than ever, as a society, we are really good at drawing lines in the sand. After all, a distinctive trait of the modern world is that WE ARE DIVIDED. It's us versus them. It's the way we do it versus the way they do it. It's what seems right to us versus what seems right to them. We draw lines about behaviors, political platforms, cultural ideo…

About 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul ventured out on a road trip, and it changed the world. It is not hyperbole to say that The Apostle Paul changed the world more than any other human besides Jesus. In fact, you could say Paul amplified Jesus’ impact on the world. He let the world outside Jerusalem know who Jesus was.Paul is doing what he’s bee…

Do we really want God in our marriage? Or do we only want God in our marriage if it's comfortable? Because God's design for winning in marriage is a lifelong exercise in losing… Marriage, at its best, is a picture of Christ and His church. Jesus died for the Church, surrendered, deferred, put us above himself. And our response in loving him back is…

Every sermon I heard on sex growing up was pretty much: Don’t do it. That seemed to be targeted at teenagers and single folks. Those sermons seemed to center around the dangers of sex to our society. But I remember the day that our youth pastor said that sex was a good thing, a beautiful thing meant to be enjoyed by a husband and wife. Sex was not …

While there’s not a ‘marriage’ book in the Bible, God’s Word says a lot about marriage, sex, relationships, commitment, and God’s design for marriage. Marriage is God’s idea. Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mountaintopchurch.com

Sometimes it can feel like our situation on earth reveals our sitting in eternity. If life is good, then God must be good with us. But our situation has nothing to do with our eternity. Our fortune has nothing to do with our eternity. Our luck has nothing to do with our eternity. How blessed we feel has nothing to do with our eternity. Our DECISION…

Today we will lean into one of the most famous stories from the Gospel of Luke, and it's about a young man who was seeing green – greener pastures and dollar signs! But it turns out that when he got what he wanted, it wasn't what he had hoped for… Download the Study Guide: https://mountaintopchurch.com/events/jesus-a-research-project/ Messages from…

I think we all need a reminder to be humble from time to time. Jesus says that our reflex should be to put others first, to practice humility and selflessness. And I need that reminder because I am really good at putting ME first. But humility and hospitality capture the heart of God. So how do we live that out on a day-to-day basis? This series, J…

In this series, JESUS: A Research Project, we’re studying teachings, miracles and parables of Jesus that are found only in the book of Luke, and it’s amazing how many of them have to do with material possessions and money. I think those stories resonated with Luke, who was a well-to-do Greek Physician. He didn’t know Jesus personally, but he thorou…

What is love, really? People seem to have different definitions of love. People seem to say it and not show it, or they have funny ways of showing it… And who gets to decide what love is? That’s a really important question if love is one of the fundamental traits of following Jesus and being his witnesses in the world.This series, JESUS, is part of…

Have you ever had dinner turn into a disaster? A date that was an absolute dud? An friendly gathering that turned into a political debate? A nice night that turns into an awkward evening? In this message, we'll look at a dinner at a Pharisee's house that absolutely did not go to plan. And I think the host had high hopes for this dinner because it w…

Luke wasn’t a disciple of Jesus, but he was a disciple of someone who was: Peter. So, when you read Mark, you’re hearing the stories Peter told him. Mark was written first, which makes some sense given Peter’s prominence in the early church. Most scholars believe the other gospel writers had access to Mark as they were writing their accounts. When …

You are not the only one who struggles. We all struggle. And when we begin to follow Jesus, we grow and mature, but we'll continue to have a nature that steers us in the wrong direction. But there is hope. The heart of our faith is that we believe in a savior who came to Square One to take us to the finish line through His grace, mercy, and forgive…

What is a thing worth? Well… the market decides. It's worth whatever someone will pay for it. The price tag doesn't really matter if someone won't pay that price. So what does God say that YOU are worth? What's your true value? What price is God willing to pay to make you an heir to His Kingdom? Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mounta…

We are not Born Christian. Jesus came that we might be Born Again. And that takes a realization about ourselves that can be easy to miss, especially in the Southern United States, where Christian ethics still permeate everyday public life. But our good deeds do not give us access to God. Our rule following does not give us access to God. There is n…

The New Year is a time that many of us feel like we are “Back at square one.” Many of us start over with good habits, regular exercise or new resolutions that we hope will give us a fresh start. Maybe you've even approached your faith the same way. You know you could do better, but with every step forward, you seem to follow it with two steps back,…

We make New Year's resolutions because we want to see a change in our lives. We want to start a new hobby, say yes more, say no more, start a habit, stop a habit… All for the purpose of experiencing a more full life. But over time, we often find ourselves falling short. The same thing happens when we first decide to follow Jesus.We might not think …

If you want God to do something amazing in your life, it might require a leap of faith that doesn’t make logical sense. In fact, I guarantee it. There is an assumption that obeying God will make your life better, but it’s possible that it will make life more complicated. That's certainly how it happened for Joseph... Learn more about Mountaintop Ch…

History is full of heroes and legendary risk takers who did what seemed impossible. But, whether it’s generational social change, an athletic feat or a musical anomaly, when we say the word ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ what we really often mean is ‘IMPROBABLE.’ In other words, the math can make sense. There’s a path to possible, and even if it’s astronomical, it’s…

What if your purpose is not about you? What if it's not about your success, family, portfolio, retirement, recognition… What if your life is not actually about your life at all? This is especially hard in the Holiday season because sometimes, we make the season all about ourselves. But what if it's not about me? “He must become greater, I must beco…

When it comes to diet and exercise, everyone understands and accepts that: Unhealthy behaviors lead to an unhealthy me. But is it possible that the unseen you is similar? Is it possible that your outward behavior impacts your inward spiritual health?Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mountaintopchurch.com…

Self talk. The things that we tell ourselves that, though they may not BE true, they FEEL true. And we believe ourselves more than we believe anyone else, even when that self talk is self destructive. We wouldn’t purposely lie to ourselves, would we? This kind of self-talk is creating real problems. But today we're going to give you a strategy the …

All of us have a gravitational pull toward conforming to this world. And I’m not an anti-this world guy, but listen, this world can make a lot of money off of you if you will be conformed to it. I mean, the algorithm is designed to conform you. “People who bought this also bought” or “suggested for you” or “you might also like.” The problem with it…

The you everyone sees is not the real you. You are not your physical traits, skin tone, hair color or hairstyle. You’re not tall, short, young or older. You’re not even how your voice sounds. The real you is unseen. It’s the conversation you’ve had with yourself in your head and heart. In this series, we want to start a much-needed conversation in …

How do you measure trust? Trust is often intangible, especially when it comes to God and faith. And our trust is often hard to quantify. We're going to finish this series called Trusting God by looking at one of the final challenges Moses gives to the Israelites in the Book of Exodus. And their trust will be measured with time and money. Learn more…

Trusting God can be difficult. It's easy to do the right thing when we know the why and we know the how. It's much harder when we don't understand the path forward. But it's in the unknown that we encounter God. Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mountaintopchurch.com VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Z-x1ywVeL4Q?si=Kp6-yMre8wJW-CId Study Guide: …

Trusting God won’t always make sense. There will be times you’ll wonder if God is on your side. There will be times you doubt. REMEMBER, God is faithful. He has been good to you. He’ll be faithful again. God can make a way when it doesn’t make sense.Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mountaintopchurch.com Carter McInnis Lead Pastor…

God’s plan doesn’t always go according to our plan. It's an uncomfortable truth. But you can embrace it. Embrace the messiness, the brokenness, the zig-zagging roller-coaster of emotions. Because our God is a God of purpose, and who you stand with is greater than what you stand against. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pk1Zic0MOtQDownload the series Study G…

There is a God. He has called you. He will go with you. This is going to be the message to Moses and the people of Israel. But these statements of truth leave us with a choice that lands one what this series and Moses’ story seems to be all about: Will you believe in God? Will you obey God? Will you trust God? Those statements don’t do much good wi…

Am I going to trust God? Every single one of us has to decide what we’re going to do with this question. At some point, what God says takes precedence in our lives or something else does, and I believe the decisions we make over and over again are what shape our character and create our destiny. Study Guide: https://mountaintopchurch.com/wp-content…

People think that they don’t belong with Jesus because of their behavior. They don’t look, talk or act like a Christian, and that stops people from coming to church because they don’t consider themselves church people. They can’t get over what they see when they look in the mirror. We have a hard time believing that we could ever be anything other …

Jesus wants a seat at your table. Your past, history, name, occupation, reputation, or character does not intimidate him. You belong here. And you belong with Jesus. Learn more about Mountaintop Church at https://mountaintopchurch.com Carter McInnis Lead Pastor