There's a question that quietly shapes everything about how we live, love, and follow Jesus — Who do you think you are? Not in the sarcastic sense. In the most important sense. In a recent message at The Connection Church, we dove deep into what Scripture says about the identity of every believer — and the answer is

When Feelings Aren’t Facts: Why God’s Goodness, God’s Word, and God’s Spirit Belong Together A lot of spiritual confusion starts in the same place: we build our lives on the wrong foundation. We let feelings, opinions, preferences, or even powerful experiences define what’s true—then wonder why we feel unstable, stuck, or unsure of who we are. In this message, the pastor lays out a clear progression: you don’t really know who you are until you know who God is , because “we’re created in his likeness and his image.” From there, he walks through a core belief that shapes the culture and mission of the church: our precepts are rooted in Scripture —not in performance, not in hype, and not in whatever feels right in the moment. Here are the key insights, along with a few memorable illustrations from the talk. 1) Identity Starts With a Rooted View of God’s Goodness Early on, the pastor makes the point bluntly: if we don’t get rooted in our hearts that God is good—and that his goodness is for us—we’ll live confused. Why? Because without that anchor, we default to performance. We start “trying to operate out of performance to get his approval,” forgetting the core of the gospel: “He loved us when we didn’t know how to love ourselves… while we were yet sinners, Christ died.” This isn’t framed as “warm, fuzzy Christianity.” It’s presented as essential doctrine that affects everything: how we relate to people, how we dream, what we contend for, and what we believe is possible. The pastor references the idea that God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above” what we ask or imagine—and highlights that it works “according to the power of God that works within… us.” The practical takeaway: your view of God shapes your expectations, your confidence, and your behavior. If you believe God is good, you’ll stop negotiating for approval and start living from belovedness. 2) Repentance Isn’t Just Feeling Bad—It’s Changing How You Think One of the most helpful clarifications in the message is about repentance. The pastor emphasizes that repentance is not merely emotional regret. It’s transformation—“to change the way you think.” He ties it to the renewing of the mind: “God doesn’t want you to check your mind at the door… I just don’t want you to leave it the way that it is.” In other words, spiritual growth includes your intellect, your thinking patterns, and your assumptions. God’s goodness, he says, is what transforms the way we think—and as thinking changes, behavior changes too. Key takeaway: repentance is a mindset shift that leads to a lifestyle shift. It’s not ignoring reality; it’s learning to interpret reality through God’s truth. 3) Scripture Is the Final Authority (Not Feelings, Preferences, or Opinions) The third core belief is stated plainly: “We are a church whose precepts are rooted in Scripture.” And the pastor doesn’t soften what that means: “If the Bible says you must do it… you must do it.” “If the Bible says don’t do it… you don’t do it.” If Scripture gives direction without full clarity, it may be permissible—as long as it’s not against the Word—and you “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” The big idea is that God’s Word is revealed truth , and without it, we drift. Feelings and opinions can lead us “in all sorts of ways” to conclusions that may not even be for us—but “God’s word is for you.” He also drops a line that’s both convicting and freeing: “My feelings are not my facts.” He admits he doesn’t always feel secure or righteous—but what God says is still true. “Truth is truth whether you see it or feel it or not.” If you’ve ever felt spiritually whiplashed—confident one day, crushed the next—this is why. A life led by feelings will always be fragile. A life led by truth becomes steady. 4) Word-Heavy Without Spirit Gets Dry. Spirit-Heavy Without Word Gets Weird. One of the strongest sections of the message is the pastor’s critique of extremes. He describes one camp that’s “very word-heavy” but has “aborted any dependency upon the Spirit,” resulting in people who “know a lot about God, but… don’t know how to encounter God.” Then he describes the opposite: circles that are big on “the move of the Spirit,” where “all this stuff” happens—but when asked what God is doing and how they know, there’s confusion because it’s “not rooted in Scripture.” The result: encounters without sound doctrine that can send people “way off in left field.” His solution isn’t a “balance” (as if Word and Spirit compete). He calls it a marriage : “The move of the Spirit will never contradict the word of Scripture.” That line is a safety rail. If you want to know whether what you’re experiencing is trustworthy, he argues, Scripture sets the “parameters,” “guidance,” and “signpost.” 5) The Word Is Meant to Shape How You Live, Not Just What You Know This is where the message gets intensely practical. The pastor quotes James 1:22: “Be doers of the word… not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” He explains it with the mirror metaphor: the Word shows you who you are, but if you walk away and don’t do it, it’s like forgetting what you look like—“in other words, you don’t know who you are.” He takes it further: “Knowledge without obedience will always lead to a hardened heart.” That’s how people become religious, routine-driven, and resistant to God—like the Pharisees who could speak well but had hearts “far from me.” He frames lordship with another sharp line: “Lordship is not just a confession. It’s actually submission.” 6) A Seed, a Jalapeño Plant, and the Power of the Word One of the most memorable anecdotes is about his mother—who “was not a gardener,” and whose plants came to their house “to die… a sad, gruesome, lonely, crunchy death.” But she could grow two things: jalapeño peppers and banana peppers. The point isn’t gardening advice—it’s spiritual formation. A seed doesn’t need you to manufacture fruit. The fruit is already in the seed—if it’s planted in the right environment. “That’s the Word of God,” he says. “You don’t need to add to the Word… you don’t need to subtract… the Word of God is perfectly powerful to produce the fruit of its kind.” Our role is to create the right environment: a surrendered heart and obedient life. 7) Scripture Shapes Culture—and Culture Shapes Everything To close, the pastor argues that God’s Word isn’t just personal inspiration; it shapes a whole way of life. He references Deuteronomy 6:6–9: keep God’s words on your heart, talk about them at home and on the way, write them on doorposts. That’s not about having a “snark reply to every coworker’s opinion.” It’s about God’s truth being present in “every crevice” of life , shaping attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and ultimately the culture of a home and community. He challenges the tendency to let problems define culture—staring at bank accounts, arguments, disappointment—until we “can’t find God anymore.” But he insists heaven’s culture can invade earth, echoing Jesus’ prayer: “Thy kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven.” Final Takeaway If you want clarity, stability, and growth: Get rooted in the truth that God is good . Treat Scripture as final authority , not a suggestion. Let the Word and the Spirit work together: truth revealed + truth experienced . Move from hearing to doing—because obedience is where maturity forms . If you’re rebuilding your faith, your home culture, or your inner life, start here: stop letting feelings lead, and let truth lead instead.

A message from Pastor Anthony Hall | Connection Church Core Values Series - At Connection Church, we believe that the foundation of everything we do—how we worship, how we serve, how we relate to one another—is built on a few core values. Last week, we kicked off this series by talking about being a presence...

For many Christians, faith has quietly drifted into a posture of delay—waiting on God to act, to heal, to restore, to move. But the New Testament reveals a radically different Kingdom reality: Jesus has already won, and He has already delegated authority and power to His people.

Why presence matters - Presence is the primary distinction of God’s people. It shapes identity, steadies obedience, and makes transformation possible. Without God’s manifested presence we can build programs, achieve goals, and still miss the mark because what we produce looks more like us than like Him.