Lead Pastor Matt Nickoson walks us through the book "When People are Big and God is Small," in a five week series.

Matt is convinced this issue gets to the root of everyone’s major problem in this world, and that’s a big thing to say. 

“If you’ll commit the next 5 weeks to coming to KCC or going online to listen, we will do our best to help you understand why you are the way you are, why you act the way you do, and what to do about it.  Seriously, we’re talking about 7 or 8 hours of your life – it’s a small investment to find out some things you’ve always been wondering."

Step 1: Recognize that the fear of man is a major theme both in the Bible and in your own life.

Step 2: Identify where your fear of man has been intensified by people in your past. 

Step 3: Identify where your fear of man has been intensified by the assumptions of the world. 

Step 4: Understand and grow in the fear of the Lord. The person who fears God will fear nothing else.

Step 5: Examine where your desires have been too big. When we fear people, people are big, our desires are even bigger, and God is small. 

Step 6: Rejoice that God has covered your shame, protected you from danger, and accepted you. He has filled you with his love. 

Following the outline of Timothy Keller's book, The Meaning of Marriage, we will examine marriage through numerous Scriptures passages. We want every single and married person at Kingsway to have a healthy, godly perspective on marriage as a whole.

We will work to save marriages that are broken, equip singles who are considering marriage, strengthen healthy marriages, encourage singles who don't want to be married, and help men and women understand their unique roles.

Through it all, we want to be a gathering of Christians who support one another in love.

Note: Sermon discussion notes for this series are not available. Click the "series resources" link to download a small group/individual study guide that corresponds with this series.

Self control is choosing to do what you should do, not what you want to do.

I want that bowl of ice cream but I should probably take a walk. I want to buy the newest game console but I should probably save a few dollars for a rainy day. I want to shade the truth to make myself look better but I'd better be honest.

None of us have mastered self control. But, we can all take steps to follow Jesus more closely when it comes to what we choose to do and not to do.

Throughout this Big Idea Series, which kicks off with Family Central Sunday, we're going to take at look at the biblical theme of self control. We will look through the lens of Joseph's story in the book of Genesis. We'll be following the outline of his story and making some big applications from his life to our own.

So many people believe that you have to be perfect, that you have to have the perfect house, the perfect car, the perfect job, the perfect spouse and the perfect family. Perfection is unattainable. There is a lot that (un)Real Families can learn from one of the Bible's most imperfect - most real - families: the family of Jacob.