(November 15, 2020) “Christ’s Kingdom: One Small Step in Humility”

from John 13:1-17

As we approach the season of Advent, we approach a season in which (among other things), we consider the significance of the Kingdom that was inaugurated in His birth and through His ministry…but what does it mean to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom? What should mark our lives?

In His final moments with His disciples before His Passion, Jesus set an example of what posture in His Kingdom should look like. It is a posture of humility and self-giving love that is bent toward forgiveness and reconciliation.

Imagine how this could change not only your life but the lives of those around you.

w/ Vern Collins

(September 29, 2019) “Ambitious Church: Service”

from Matthew 20:20-28

What is your ambition in life? That thing, or those things that you so desire to see happen, that you are willing to work diligently toward making it a reality…

In that pursuit, do you find that your ambition in competition with the ambition of those around you?

What if the lens through which you saw those around you led you not to think, “I need to be better than that person,” but instead led you to have the ambition of serving them in a way that reflects Jesus?

w/ Vern Collins

“Framework for Faithfulness: Christ at the Center” (September 23, 2018)

from Luke 10:38-42

We are conditioned, many of us, to compartmentalize our lives as a means of surviving the pace at which we tend to operate.  We can call it self-preservation, and while it might help us feel like we are keeping our heads above water, when that mentality creeps into our spiritual life it becomes dangerous.

Without realizing it, it means that define what is at the center of our lives by determining what Christ can touch and what He must leave alone.  We set aside time to connect with Him, and often in doing so, try to decide the parts of us that He gets to connect with.

What if everything we do is meant to be an act of worship, and act of placing and keeping Christ at the center of who we are?

w/ Vern Collins

“Foundations: Serve” (November 15, 2015)

from Joshua 24

Options.  Many live in a culture full of options.  Options for clothing, cars, the way you spend your time…upgrade options, warranty options, media options, options for the way you connect with others…it is a culture that caters to the consumer.

What if, however, we have become so accustomed to crafting this life to be the most comfortable it can, that we have made optional things that should not be?

Take serving and loving others for example…Jesus never presented it as an option…even in our Old Testament passage from Joshua, we see that amidst the options of lesser gods, Joshua makes it clear that those options are no option at all, really.

What if the way you served was a life style, not simply another option on your list?

w/ Luke Edwards