Is God at the center of your life, or is He just one of the things you've added to it?

Pastor Anthony kicks off the church's annual six-week core-values series with Value #1: a God-centered life. He starts with a thumping washing machine and a bike wheel to make a simple point. A wheel only works when the hub holds the center and every spoke pulls inward. Move something else into the middle, and everything starts to wobble.

From there he works through the difference between a God-centered life and a God-added one. He looks at Matthew 22:37, Proverbs 3:5-6, Colossians 1, John 16:33 and Joshua 1:8, and at the prodigal son in Luke 15. Anthony names the things that quietly take the center: success, money, kids, approval, even politics. He explains how drift happens gradually, like a Camaro with one lug nut per wheel that looks fine until it isn't. The heart of it is the difference between working for God and walking with God, and the reminder that the goal is direction, not perfection.

The episode closes with a panel Q&A on how to check where your center really is. The panel suggests looking at your checkbook, your calendar, your close friends and your spouse, and talks through the difference between shame and conviction. Communion is next Sunday, and Pastor Michael will preach on loving people first before the church returns to Genesis.

Key topics: A God-centered life | Core values series | Idols and drift | Working for God vs. walking with God | Shame vs. conviction | Direction, not perfection

Church of the Cascades | Bend, Oregon | Values series