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
from Jeremiah 32:1-15
It’s not that we don’t want to respond faithfully to the life-changing gift that God has given us in Christ…it’s that too often faithfulness feels just too inconvenient.
What if instead of thinking about what it might mean for us now, we begin to think about what God is calling us to in terms of what it might mean for God’s Kingdom in the future?
What if you begin to think of both the little acts of faithfulness and the huge leaps of faithfulness as something might God use to teach you about Himself now as well as plant seeds for growth in the lives of others in the future?
w/ Vern Collins
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
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
from Galatians 5:1, 13-25
This week begins an 8 week series looking at the Fruit of the Spirit Paul points to in his letter to the church in Galatia.
Living in the freedom that Christ offers is meant to look like something…the question is, are you living free or are you bound by things that have taken control in your life. To live freely means that God is able to bring things from you that are produced by the Life that is in you…imagine how different things could be!
w/ Vern Collins
from 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Saying yes to Jesus is saying yes to His Body…the church.
Saying yes to the church is an invitation away from a life of independence and toward a life of interdependence in which we are intertwined with one another, modeling in our relationship as the church, the love and care of Christ.
From independence to interdependence from isolation to connection, from loneliness to relationship…a call to step into the mess that is human life and watch as God redeems it and makes it something beautiful for the world.
w/ Vern Collins
from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
The foundation for our call to relationship with others is found in the relationship made possible by God’s willingness to look at our broken relationship with Him and move to make things right. Not because God had somehow wronged us, but because God is gracious to we who have wronged Him.
We are called to take up the cause of bringing the world around us to reconciliation with God…but in order to do that we have to be willing to step outside of our small worldview and live lives in response to the grace offered by God to us through Jesus.
When we view that sacrifice for what it is and what it accomplished, then our view of the world around us begins to change.
w/ Vern Collins
from Romans 12
Loving well is not like sleep well. IF things go smoothly during the night, if there are no worries, if kids don’t wake you up, if there are no nightmares then maybe you will sleep well.
But loving well should not be left up to such chance. God is not a God of luck, God is a God of intentionality…in the way He loves us and in the way He calls us to love others.
Paul gives us a model for how we are to achieve the kind of love that is a reflection of the relationship from which we were created…the relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It begins with grace.
w/ Vern Collins
from Philippians 2:1-16
The advent of social media makes our ability to share our opinion as easy as the click of a button…and at a time in our history such as this, there is plenty to have an opinion about. Unless you live this live in complete isolation it is likely that sometime in the past week…perhaps even at some point today, you have come across an opinion that you disagree with.
Sure, in the arena of internet we can unfriend, ignore, or keep scrolling beyond those comments and opinions with which we disagree…but what happens when the person you disagree with is sitting next to you in worship, or across from you in your community group…what do we do with the argument against the church that says, “I don’t want to be a part of a group who can’t even get along with each other?”
What if this life were less about winning an argument or proving a point…what if it were less about having the last word, and more about living as if Jesus has already had the final say?
w/ Vern Collins
from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
In a time in history (in our Western Culture in particular) when we are much choosier with the things we give our time and energy to we are finding that the church is not near the top of everyone’s list the way it once was…and if we are honest, who could blame anyone for choosing not to be a part of the church.
The argument could be made that the church spends too much time trying to police the world around it than it does carrying out Christ’s mission of loving the world around it, serving the world around it, and inviting the world around it into a life changing encounter with Him.
But what if the church were the Body of Christ that Paul talks about in his letter to the Corinthians? What if the church embraced its identity as the hands and feet of Christ in this world, and what if each member saw the incredible value of both their investment in the church and the investment the church might make in their lives?
As we open our “Questions” series, we consider that being a part of the church might just tell you something about who you are, how you should be cared for, and what you could do in this world…
w/ David Hockett and Vern Collins
from 2 Timothy 4:1-8
If someone were to observe the way you use your time, what would that tell them about your priorities in life? Too often, the way we use time is not an accurate reflection of what is important to us because much of our time is often dictated by others…employers, educators, children, parents, even friends.
Rather than allow ourselves to become frustrated when time doesn’t play out the way we hope, what if we began to see our time less about what we can acquire, accumulate, and accomplish and more about how we can leverage it for the sake of the Gospel?
w/ Vern Collins
from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Think about the amount of time you spend ensuring that you, “measure up,” in the eyes of those around you. Whether it is in the work place, in your relationships with others, as a student…or simply in the things you pursue.
We don’t want to be found lacking…we don’t want to be seen as weak…we often answer the question, “how are you doing?” with, “fine,” regardless of how we might be hurting.
Paul offers us encouragement in what just might be possible if we are willing to embrace our weakness rather than avoid it…perhaps we just might find that God becomes all the more powerful, loving, and full of grace if we are willing to offer Him those parts of us that we would hide from the rest of the world.
w/ Vern Collins
from Romans 1:1-17
What drives you? That question is best answered with the question, “what day is it?” Simply put-what drives us is often determined by the season in life, the predicament, or the circumstance in which we find ourselves. It is determined by the life we seek for ourselves or the goals we have in front of us.
What if all of those things were filtered through a central driving force? What if your life were driven by the Gospel of Christ? What if it informed and determined everything else that drives you?
Week 2 in our series on Paul considers a life “set apart for the Gospel of Christ.”
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 4:1-4 and 2 Timothy 3:10-17
You know the saying, “You are what you eat.” The idea being, what you eat affects your health and your life in general.
In Jesus’ temptation to turn stones to bread, He responds by saying that it is not bread alone that we need to survive…rather it is God’s Word that truly sustains us and gives us life…the question is, are we consuming God’s Word the way Jesus suggests?
Imagine what might change in your life if God’s voice began to overpower the voices that tend to vie for your attention…
w/ Vern Collins
from Ephesians 3:1-12
The season of Epiphany is about the hope of humanity being revealed in the birth of Christ.
Epiphany. Revelation. The Ah-ha moment. The time when things become clear…when there is knowledge of something not previously possessed…if knowledge is power, it begs the question , “what kind of power are you in pursuit of?”
Paul has experienced a deep revelation of Christ…and it has empowered him in significant ways…but perhaps not in the way we tend to think of power…
w/ Vern Collins
from 1 Timothy 6:11-19
Time, Relationships, Headlines, Money…these are just SOME of the things in life that overwhelm us. For the past four weeks, we’ve considered what it looks like to navigate those times when you feel overwhelmed by one or any number of these things.
What if the key was not just to navigate the overwhelming things, what if the goal was not just to get through them…what if the goal was to live an overwhelmed life?
A life overwhelmed by the reality of the goodness, and faithfulness, and love of God…present right in the midst of the rest that you are carrying.
Perhaps then you would find as Paul says, “the life that is truly life.”
w/ Vern Collins
from 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Whether it is the worry associated with not having enough, or the pressure of knowing how to steward if you have it, money continued to be for many one of the greatest causes of stress in many people’s lives.
While it is a necessary part of living in this consumer-driven culture, surely God’s intention was never for it to become the burden that it is.
In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul is telling of a group of believers who though they find themselves in the midst of severe persecution and poverty, are begging for the opportunity to participate in the offering for the Jerusalem church.
How is this possible, when many of us stress over paying bills for the roof over our heads.
Perhaps our problem is less a money issue, and more one of perspective…imagine how you would view the things in your life, money included, if you had a bigger view of God.
w/ Vern Collins
Ephesians 2:11-22
In the Creation story in Genesis we see that were not only born out of the relationship of Who God is in Three Persons, but we were created with relationship in mind. Add to that science’s understanding that physically and emotionally we have to have relationship (because without it both the mental and physical state of our bodies suffer), and we know we need relationship.
If this is the case, then why are relationships often one of the biggest burdens and largest source of stress in our lives? Because we are broken people trying to be connected to broken people.
What if you approached relationship differently based on the relationship God has mended with you through Jesus Christ?
w/ Vern Collins
from Philippians 3:3-16
What goals have been set before you? What are you chasing? What are your dreams for your life? Have you accomplished any of those goals? Are you in the midst of chasing them? What happens when you’ve completed them? What happens when you accomplish your goals?
What are you going to do now?
How does that accomplishment leave you feeling? Satisfied? Empty? Worn thin? Like you have purpose, or like life has been stolen from you?
What if you pursued the dream that Jesus and the dream He has for you with the same drive that fuels the pursuit of your own dreams?
What if the dream Jesus has for you was enough?
w/ Vern Collins
