There are many reasons the church has failed. In a sermon series titled: “I Love My Church,” Pastor Mike Signorelli lists seven reasons the church fails.

For the Christian, Jesus is the ultimate leader but it is also imperative to know that leadership in the church, with Jesus as the true leader, is very vital to a believer's development.

Followers of Christ need to return to the authentic practices of the early church. We must advocate for a revival and true Christianity rooted in biblical values.

Followers of Christ can see the importance of perseverance through the story of Job. In the series “Parallels” V1 church NYC campus Pastor Jocelyn Perez used the story of Job to emphasize the character building that believers develop through suffering.

Confrontation is often painted in a bad light but confrontation is also necessary for growth.

As we get to know the real Jesus, we learn that God desires us to continually commune with Him.

To people, Jesus is usually God or just a man but scripture is clear that He was 100% both. The real Jesus was and is a real human. He has a physical body and has a plan for your physical body. That plan is also eternal.

When you first meet someone you learn their name but you only know who they are and the significance of their name once you get to know them.

Sometimes we have doubt and lean in the direction of unbelief but God is challenging us to really believe Him and know how good He really is. Whether you are a leader in ministry for many years or a new believer you must believe God is who He says He is. He is a healer, deliverer, provider…etc.

Jesus is not invited to a pity party. It’s the only party we throw where we do not invite anyone but ourselves. Many prophets battled self-pity and no one is exempt, so it is important for believers to keep their focus on God.

We live in a microwave generation where we want everything instantaneously. Unfortunately, that is the antithesis of what our Christian walk requires of us. In a recent sermon series titled Fast Food, Pastor Mike Signorelli taught about the dangers of ingesting the culture around us.

People tend to love partaking in tradition and ritual but God challenges us to take it further into surrender.

On Ash Wednesday people apply ashes on their heads but believers of Christ are challenged to become the ash. For some Christians, the ashes on the forehead is a symbol of repentance of sins and a sign of humility before God. The tradition dates back to the Old Testament where wearing ashes was a common sign of repentance. During a message preached on Holy Week, Pastor Josh Hamstra of V1 church encouraged Christians to take it a step further by laying down pride, preferences, and comforts, asking Jesus to take everything.

Restoration is a well-known popular theme in Christianity but so is being set apart. Many times we find ourselves in the wrong company and what is sometimes needed for growth is actually separation.

You are in this world but are not supposed to be of it. In the series “Fast Food” we learn about the stance that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took while they were held captive in Babylon. Everything around them pressured them to conform but they never bowed to the pressures of society and never forgot who they really were.

It's possible to be in this world without getting caught up with it. “No ship sinks because of the water around it but it does sink because of the water that gets inside of it.” – Pastor Mike Signorelli

Similar to Babylon, secular society shows no mercy and if you are susceptible you will be infected. But as Pastor Mike teaches, Daniel was the perfect example of how to carry yourself when thrust into a culture and custom that is not in line with your beliefs.

When we consecrate ourselves and seek the Lord we become set apart. Holiness becomes a part of our lives and we no longer carry on how we used to. It is impossible to describe God’s glory truly, but we know that God longs to reveal His glory to us and in us. Our job is to position ourselves through prayer to receive it.

So many people treat prayer and worship as they are one and the same but Christians must learn how to pray without an emotional music experience. In our time of prayer, we receive instructions needed to break down walls and defeat giants. It is where we press in and position ourselves to keep our lamps full of the oil that will burn brightest in these times of such darkness.

People often think God and science are at odds but science always corroborates the supernatural. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray because they knew prayer worked. We may not always understand how the prayers get answers and the science behind it but it is important to know the method.

We grow up and life tends to harden our hopes and dreams because of the sins of those who came before us. We either become so disenfranchised that we turn to sin ourselves or we just defer hope because there are no examples to hope in. The beauty of being a child of God is that we get a chance to start brand new with God, as our father and our hopes and dreams have a chance to live again in His grasp.

Sometimes when things are going haywire in your own life it is difficult to find something to be grateful for. God, in His infinite mercy, does not hold it against us. He still wakes us up and amazingly enough even allows for us to use the very breath that He’s breathing life into us with, to sigh in ungratefulness. Nevertheless, even when you do not feel like praising God, you can praise Him for what He’s done in the generations before you because it’s the reason you are here today!