“Summer Reading-John: Prologue” (May 27, 2018)

from John 1:1-18

Do you ever stop to think of the power of your words?  Words have the power to create, and they have the power to destroy.  Words have the power to uplift and they have the power to tear down, to heal and to wound…

As we begin our “Summer Reading” series through the Gospel of John, we are invited to encounter the power of One Word in particular…the fullness of the wisdom, and knowledge, and purpose, and creativity of God wrapped up in the flesh…Jesus.

What does it mean that this Word was spoken into the darkness?  What does it mean that this Word is spoken into YOUR darkness?

w/ Vern

“Life Together: Community” (April 15, 2018)

from Ephesians 2:11-22 and Psalm 133

As we begin a new series inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic work, Life Together, consider what makes you unique?  Or what is one unique thing about you?

All of us…all of humanity possess some unique quality that distinguishes us from others.  The question is, how is it that our distinctions can become the things that divide us?

It is perhaps one of the greatest arguments against the church…that the Body of Christ is often as fractured as the world around it.  What if, instead of defining ourselves by the things that set us apart, we find our distinction in the One thing that unites us?  Christ.

w/ Vern Collins

Easter “Hope Beyond Fridays” (April 1, 2018)

from John 20:1-18

We have a great tendency to hope for things that will not last.  Sure, like the end of the week, they may bring relief or rest for a brief period of time, but ultimately they are as fleeting as Fridays.

What if, instead of hoping for temporary newness, and the wrong kind of resurrection…you dare to believe that Jesus brings lasting hope and a new life that will not spoil or fade?

Imagine the possibility.

Jesus is RISEN!

w/ Vern Collins

“Falling Into Goodness: Choose the Humble Path” (March 11, 2018)

from Matthew 5:1-3

As we continue our series through the season of Lent, we are invited to consider one of Jesus’ keys to the kingdom we have been talking about in recent weeks…

Humility.

What if, instead of the way we tend to think of humility, as what we stand to lose by choosing the humble path, we dare to consider that humility is instead about what we might gain?

w/ Vern Collins

“Falling Into Goodness: Imagine the Kingdom” (Marcy 4, 2018)

from Luke 17:20-21

We often speak of life with Christ as being a “journey,” but inherent in a journey is that at some point there is an end…a finish line.  What does the finish line with Christ look like?  How do we know when we’ve arrived?

On the 3rd Sunday of Lent, you’re invited to consider what Jesus means when He talks about this Kingdom that is coming or that is near…

Where exactly is this Kingdom breaking in?  Around us…or inside us? And if it’s inside you…imagine what that means for your life!

w/ Vern Collins

“Falling Into Goodness: Live From Your True Self”

from Psalm 42 and Ephesians 3:16-19

What if you longed for God, simply for Who God is, rather than longing for the things God can do for you?

In our second week in Lent, you’re invited to consider how life might begin to look different if you live from your true self, from your true nature as one created to be deeply connected to God.

w/ Vern Collins

“Falling Into Goodness: Dwell With God” (February 18, 2018)

from Matthew 4:1-11

As we begin our journey through the season of Lent, we invite you to consider Lent perhaps differently than you ever have before.

What if, instead of surrendering some habit you are trying to break, or feeling guilty about the things you can’t surrender or simply don’t want to surrender, you saw Lent as a time to rest?  A time to rest in the ground of God’s goodness, and allow God to speak to you about who you truly are as one loved deeply by Him.

w/ David Hockett

“God Is: Already and Not Yet” (February 4, 2018)

from Revelation 21:1-7

Many of us have a difficult time waiting…for anything.  In this world of immediacy, we have grown impatient and feel like waiting is a waste of time…

And yet, for far too many followers of Christ, faith is little more than waiting for some promise that is going to come at the end, when the reality is that promise of a future hope is meant to have bearing on the “already,” that is the life you are living right now.

w/ Vern Collins

“God Is: Compassionate and Just” (January 28, 2018)

from Matthew 18:21-35

week 3 of our “God Is” series…

while it would be easier to be able to define God as having ONE attribute, the reality is we will never see God for Who He is, and will never live pursuing the life He longs to give as long as we continue to limit our view of Him.

w/ Vern Collins

“Anxious: Mary” (December 17, 2017)

from Luke 1:26-56

How do you navigate the unexpected interruptions that come in life?  The phone calls, the turn of events, the changes that sometimes come without any warning?  Do you just get through them, try to survive until you get to the other side?

What if it were possible to navigate those unexpected interruptions and challenges faithfully rather than just trying to get through them?  What if God could change your worry into willingness or your pain into possibility?

w/ Vern Collins

“Anxious: Zechariah” (December 3, 2017)

from Luke 1:5-23

If we are taught anything about waiting, we are taught simply to be patient…we’re typically not taught anything about how to navigate the feelings of anxiousness that can arise when we find ourselves waiting for something.

Over the next few weeks we will look at how being anxious in our waiting can either be a hindrance to being a part of what God is doing, or serve as a catalyst that will propel us into deeper faith and more faithful participation in what God is doing.

w/ Vern Collins

“Jesus As: King” (November 26, 2017)

from Philippians 2:1-11

What determines your priorities?  What drives your life?

Is it Jesus?

Many who consider themselves Christians, while grateful for the saving work of Christ on the Cross, are still content to follow, “little kings,” as they work to establish their own, “little kingdoms.”  And yet, based on Paul’s use of what is likely an early church hymn, we find that there is really only One Who is worthy of being called King.

Imagine how your life might change if you not only looked to Jesus as Savior,  but submitted to Him as King!

w/ Vern Collins

“Jesus as: Priest” (November 19, 2017)

from 1 Peter 2:4-11

What drives your life?  For many wrapped up in whatever they may do is a search for an identity, or a means by which they are defined…

What if rather than working so hard to create an identity for yourself, you embraced the identity God longs to offer you through His Son Jesus?  And what if that identity called you to live your life on behalf of those around you…regardless of where you find yourself planted?  Part of a royal priesthood…that the world may know.

“Set Free: Patience” (October 8, 2017)

from Psalm 27

Eugene Peterson speaks of the Christian journey as a, “long obedience in the same direction,” and is quick to note that this world does not encourage such a view of anything, much less Christianity.  Impatience marks our interactions with others and with the world around us…and has seeped into our walk with Jesus.

And yet, Paul is clear: patience is meant to be one of the characteristics that marks our identity as Christ-followers.  With situations that we want to get to the other side of, or people with whom we have little patience, how is it that we can cultivate this fruit that exemplifies God’s attitude toward us?

What if instead of pursuing a hundred little things (most of which we grow impatient with), you spent the remainder of your lifetime pursuing the One Thing that can change your perspective?

w/ Vern Collins

“Set Free: Peace” (October 1, 2017)

from John 14:22-31

What keeps you awake at night?  What makes you nervous or anxious?  Is it a relationship, concern for a loved one?  Is it the state of the world right now, or our country?

How do you navigate that anxiety or unrest?  Where do you turn?  Do you just hope to survive it, or are you willing to believe that God is present in it?  Imagine how things might begin to change if you believed that not only was God present in your worry, but offers you peace in the midst of it.

w/ Vern Collins

“Set Free: Joy” (September 24, 2017)

from Habakkuk 3:17-19

In our series on the Fruit of the Spirit (from Galatians 5:22-25) we look next at the fruit of “Joy.”

What is joy to you?  Is it an intense feeling?  Is it momentary or is it lasting?  Is it the same as happiness or different?  Is it some religious outburst or something that resides quietly within?

What if joy were all and none of these things?  What if a response of joy had more to do with trusting God whatever your circumstances and offering a response of rejoicing as a result of that trust?  How might your perspective on this life change of you chose a response of joy in the midst of trials?  How might the lives around you be changed?

w/ Vern Collins

“Church: Outside the Walls” (September 10, 2017)

from Matthew 28:16-20

In our final week of our “Church” series, we are challenged with the work that the church was tasked with: making disciples.

What if making disciples weren’t the terrifying thing we believe it to be?  What if making disciples wasn’t about forcing something on people?  What if making disciples was not about what you do, but about who you become?  What if making disciples was simply rooted in relationship?

It can be.  And God can do amazing things in and through you simply by a willingness to say, “yes.”

w/ Vern Collins

“They’ll Know We are Christians: Out of Order” (May 14, 2017)

from Luke 7:36-50

Do we have any hope of reclaiming the adage, “They’ll Know We are Christians…by our LOVE?”

Christians are known for a number of things today…is love…the love that Christ offers us, the love that Christ modeled for us, and the love that Christ calls us to one of them?  Or are we known for our hypocrisy?  Are we known for our self-centeredness?  Are we known for our exclusivity, or our neglect of those not like us?

What if the church came to be known as a place for those no one else wanted?  What if all of the, “wrong people,” showed up?  How beautiful it might just become.

But how is that possible?

Only by allowing Jesus to re-order our lives…

w/ Vern Collins