from 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-12
What does being the church in a world that might be fed up with the church look like? How do we not only proclaim who Jesus is to the world, but also reflect Jesus in this world?
w/ Vern Collins and Laura Byrch
(August 23, 2020) “Reimagining Church: Jesus”
from Ephesians 1:15-23
What is the foundation upon which you are building your life? What is the foundation upon which the church is to be built?
What if aligning your life and the life of the church under the Lordship of Jesus isn’t about stifling life, but about finding freedom and purpose. Looking at the early church in the disruption it experienced, one of the things that Paul and apostles sought to continue to uphold, was the headship of Christ as the catalyst for life to the full and a church that is flourishing.
w/ Vern Collins
(August 16, 2020) “Reimagining Church: The Scattered Life”
from Acts 11:19-30
In a time of such uncertainty and disruption, many of us find ourselves asking questions around what it means to be the church and what it means to be a part of the church.
The hope we have in the midst of this, however, is that this is not the first time the church has been through seasons of challenge or a time of disruption.
If the church is still meant to thrive, and we are still meant to thrive as a part of it, then there must be something we can learn from those who have gone before us.
For the next 10 weeks we will “Reimagine Church,” by looking back at how the church began.
w/ Vern Collins
(August 9, 2020) “Theology of Play: A Foretaste of the Future”
from Zechariah 8:1-8
While we long for God’s Kingdom to be made real on this earth, why is it that we have such a difficult time living like it is already present among us?
Perhaps we need to shift our understanding of what this Kingdom is meant to look like.
w/ Vern Collins
(August 2, 2020) “Theology of Play: As a Practice For Dealing with Anxiety”
from Psalm 126:1-6, Psalm 103:1-5, and Philippians 4:4-7
w/ Lory Beth Huffan and Vern Collins
“Theology of Play: Let the Children Come” (July 26, 2020)
from Mark 10:13-16
w/ Colette Krontz and Jeff McClain (and Rodney and Jana Duke introducing Godly Play)
(July 19, 2020) “Theology of Play”
from Proverbs 9:22-31
w/ Jeff McClain and Vern Collins
(July 12, 2020) “A Conversation on Race”
from Jeremiah 22:3 and Matthew 7:12
w/ Mike Sciascia and Lory Beth Huffman
(July 5, 2020) “Spiritual Awakening”
from: 2 Chronicles 7:14, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Romans 12:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:19 , Titus 3:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17
w/ Lory Beth Huffman and Patti Connelly
(June 28, 2020) “Is the Holy Spirit Always WIth Me?”
from Psalm 51
w/ Lory Beth Huffman and Jeff McClain
(June 21, 2020) “How Does the Holy Spirit Work?”
from Acts 16:9-15
w/ Laura Byrch and Jeff McClain
(June 14, 2020) “Why The Holy Spirit?”
from John 16:12-15 and Romans 8:14-17
w/ Vern Collins and Laura Byrch
(June 7, 2020) “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
from John 14:15-17, 15:26-27; Genesis 1:1-2; John 3:8
(partial message *lost audio for the first few minutes*)
w/ Lory Beth Huffman and Jeff McClain
(May 31, 2020) “Holy Spirit: Pentecost”
from Acts 2:1-12 and 2:42-47
More than simply being the agent that served as the catalyst for the birth of the church, the Holy Spirit is vital to the church continuing to live out God’s mission in the world today.
Perhaps more than ever, we need the invigorating, transforming, inspiring, leading, convicting, restoring power of the Holy Spirit to invade our hearts, and invade the church so that we might be an agent of hope in a hurting world.
w/ Vern Collins and Lory Beth Huffman
(May 24, 2020) “Stronger: Back to the Future”
from Joshua 3:9-17, 4:1-7
w/ Jeff McClain and Lory Beth Huffman
(May 17, 2020) “Stronger: Stop Surviving, Start Thriving”
from Galatians 6:2-10
Seasons of struggle naturally cause us to have an inward focus.
How am I going to get through this? Does anyone care what I am going through? How am I going to have what I need?
While this is natural, and while we know that struggle is inherent in life, and is profitable for our faith as Christ followers, God calls us to a focus that is not “self,” but “other.” In shifting our focus, we might just find that we begin to tap into that fullness that Jesus came to make possible.
w/ Laura Byrch and Vern Collins
(May 10, 2020) “Stronger: Avoiding Atrophy”
from Romans 5:1-5
w/ Lory Beth Huffman and Vern Collins
(May 3, 2020) “Stronger: Remember Who You Are”
from Philippians 3:1-14
While seasons of struggle are challenging for a number of reasons, perhaps the thing that makes them most uncomfortable, most unnerving…the thing that makes us want to be on the other side of those challenges, is that they challenge our understanding of who we are in ways that we are often unprepared for.
What if instead of fearing what is revealed about our identity in those difficult seasons, we saw it as an opportunity to examine that upon which we have built our lives? What if we saw it as an opportunity to consider that the fullness of life can only truly be found in Jesus?
w/ Vern Collins and Jeff McClain
(4.26.2020) “Stronger:Thriving in the Midst of Change”
from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Isaiah 43:1-3, 18-19, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
How might you walk through seasons of challenge differently if you knew that you were not alone? How might you do so if you knew that God was with you? What if the challenge of this season is not meant for discouragement, but for hope…hope that God is not done with you…hope that God is doing a new thing?!
May you fix your eyes in Him in this season of challenge.
w/ Lory Beth Huffman and Laura Byrch
(April 19, 2020) “Stronger Through the Struggle”
from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 and 1 Corinthians 9:34-27
While we have this tendency to try to avoid struggle…to avoid suffering at all costs, one of the things that we see consistently in Scripture is that God not only meets us in our place of struggle, but God is able to use our struggle to not only do amazing things IN us, but also amazing things THROUGH us.
As we begin this 6 week series between Easter and Lent, consider we invite you to imagine what God might be able to do if you are willing to be honest about your weakness and create space for Him to meet you there.
w/ Vern Collins and Jeff McClain