This week in our Becoming Who We Are Vision Series, we anchored ourselves in Ephesians 4 and the call for our church to be matured in identity and mobilized in impact. But maturity in Christ doesn’t come through striving harder or building a life on our own strength—it comes through grace. The central question we were invited to wrestle with was: Where are you going, and how are you growing?

We learned that in the Kingdom of God, growth looks like descending before ascending—the way Jesus Himself did. Jesus didn’t climb His way to greatness; He emptied Himself, served, surrendered, and gave His life away. And the truth is: we don’t grow by grasping—we grow by God’s grace, and we don’t grow by getting—we grow by giving.

The invitation for our church this year is clear: don’t settle for a life powered by hustle, control, or self-preservation. Instead, make room, take a faithful step downward with Jesus, and choose the hidden, humble, surrendered way—the way that leads to true life. Because the life we’re looking for isn’t found by holding on tighter… it’s found when we give it away. 

In our hyper-connected world, we've mastered the art of feeling close to people we'll never truly know—celebrities, influencers, even AI chatbots. We know their pets' names, follow their daily lives, and feel genuine emotion when they experience milestones. Yet this phenomenon of 'parasocial relationships' reveals something profound about our spiritual lives: we can know about God without actually knowing God intimately. Ephesians 4:1-6 calls us beyond mere proximity to true intimacy, urging us to live worthy of our calling not through performance, but through embracing who we already are in Christ. The passage reveals that our identity flows from being 'bond servants'—not prisoners of obligation, but people who have found true freedom by being tethered to Jesus. When we're secure in being chosen, adopted, redeemed, sealed, raised, and seated with Christ, we stop grasping for significance and start living from it. The transformative invitation here is to move from trying harder to trying softer—to stop manufacturing worth and start receiving it. This journey from false identities rooted in what we do, what others think, or what we've experienced, to our true identity as beloved children of God, becomes the foundation for genuine unity in the body of Christ. When we know who we are, we can be humble, gentle, and patient with others because we're no longer defending a fragile sense of self. The Vision for 2026 isn't about doing more for God but becoming who we already are in Him—a shift that could transform our workplaces, neighborhoods, marriages, and city itself.

This documentary is a sacred reflection on ten years of God’s faithfulness in and through A Seattle Church. What began in living rooms and moments of uncertainty became a deeply rooted community committed to loving Jesus, one another, and this city. Through seasons of healing, growth, loss, and renewal—including the challenges of pandemic and transition—we see a church choosing depth over speed and presence over performance. These stories remind us that ASC was never built by strategy alone, but by people who kept showing up, trusting God, and refusing to give up on Seattle. On this Sabbath Sunday, we pause not to strive or produce, but to remember—bearing witness to what God has done and resting in the truth that He is still at work among us.

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This exploration of Revelation 12 shatters our cozy nativity expectations and confronts us with the raw spiritual warfare surrounding Christ's birth. We encounter a cosmic drama: a radiant woman adorned with sun, moon, and twelve stars—representing Mary, Israel, and the Church—standing vulnerable yet victorious against a terrifying seven-headed dragon. The passage reveals that images penetrate our hearts 60,000 times faster than words, which is why God chose to communicate through such vivid prophetic pictures. The dragon represents complete earthly power—wealth, strength, authority—yet this monster is defeated by a fragile newborn and a surrendered woman. This paradox becomes our greatest hope: surrendered weakness always wins. The accuser who prosecutes us day and night with evidence of our failures has been 'hurled down' six times over. His case is dismissed by the blood of the Lamb and our testimony. We're invited to survey our broken decisions and failures, then daringly declare, 'I am the disciple Jesus loves.' Between Christ's first advent and His return, we live in the gap where evil looks powerful but has already lost. Our calling is to remind ourselves and each other of what is 'true true'—not what appears true, but what is eternally real. When we know God's love is richer than our sin is strong, mercy can afford to laugh at judgment.

We all hear voices—some encouraging, some condemning, some tempting us away from who we truly are in Christ. This powerful exploration of 1 Peter 5:6-11 invites us into the reality of spiritual warfare, not as something sensational or terrifying, but as the everyday battle for our minds, identities, and hope. The passage reveals a crucial distinction we desperately need: the difference between conviction and condemnation. Jesus offers loving accountability that says 'you did wrong, but there's hope for restoration,' while the accuser whispers lies that say 'you are wrong, beyond repair, worthless.' Learning to discern between these voices becomes the battlefield where freedom is won or lost. Peter writes to scattered believers facing persecution, offering them seven practices for engaging spiritual warfare: embracing humility under God's mighty hand, casting anxiety on the One who cares for us, exposing the enemy's tactics, enduring through resistance, enlisting community support, employing the weapons of grace and truth, and experiencing the victory already secured in Christ. The message challenges our modern church's lack of discernment—we've become either obsessed with demons or completely dismissive of spiritual realities. Yet the truth calls us to a sober, steady faith that acknowledges the battle while remaining confident in the Victor. When we remember our identity as beloved children of God, when we confess our struggles to trustworthy community, when we fill our lives with worship, prayer, obedience, and Scripture rather than leaving empty space for darkness to return—we walk in the freedom Christ has already won for us.

This powerful exploration of James chapters 1 and 2 challenges us to move beyond passive Christianity into lived faith. We're confronted with a penetrating question: Are we merely collecting spiritual knowledge like unused gym memberships, or are we actually living transformed lives? The message cuts through the comfortable distance many of us maintain between belief and action, revealing that authentic faith isn't just intellectual agreement—it's embodied reality. James, the brother of Jesus who himself underwent radical transformation from skeptic to believer, refuses to let us settle for half the gospel. While we're saved by grace through faith alone, that kind of faith inevitably works itself out in tangible ways. The sermon uses the metaphor of signing up for guitar lessons but never actually playing—we didn't sign up for religious theory; we signed up for transformation. Through examining how we speak, how we care for the vulnerable, and how we pursue holiness, we discover that integrity is the intersection where our beliefs and our lives meet. This isn't about adding more religious tasks to our to-do lists; it's about becoming conduits of God's grace, allowing what we've received to overflow into action. The mirror question haunts us: What is the Spirit showing us that we keep walking away from? What would change in our world if we stopped debating 500-year-old theological arguments and simply lived out faith that works?

What if the greatest barrier to spiritual transformation isn't our city, our circumstances, or our busy schedules—but our own apathy? This profound exploration of 2 Timothy chapters 1 and 2 challenges us to reconsider what it means to be disciples who make disciples in a culture that tells us it's impossible. We're confronted with the reality that Jesus' final words—the Great Commission to go and make disciples—have often become our 'great omission.' The intimate relationship between Paul and Timothy reveals a beautiful pattern: discipleship flows in all directions. We need people to look up to, peers to walk alongside, and younger believers to invest in. The passage reminds us that genuine discipleship requires three essential elements that counter our spirit of timidity: power, love, and self-discipline. Like an acorn that must be completely broken open to become an oak tree, we're called to die to ourselves so that generations can find life through our faithfulness. The imagery is striking—for a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it looks like destruction. But this is precisely how the kingdom advances: through our willingness to let our shells crack, our insides pour out, and our lives become seedbeds for others to grow deep roots in Christ.

We all know what it feels like when life starts to wobble—like a Jenga tower losing its pieces. Colossians 1:15–20 reminds us why: Jesus isn’t meant to be just part of our lives; He’s the center who holds all things together. When work, relationships, or even good causes become our foundation, we end up unstable and exhausted. But when Christ is supreme—sustaining every moment and anchoring every part of our lives—we find a stability that cannot be shaken and a rest our souls have been craving.

In this sermon, Pastor Tyler reflects on the incredible generosity and joy evident within the community. Sharing stories of transformation and commitment, he emphasizes the theme of choosing joy in the face of life's challenges, drawing inspiration from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians. Tyler explores the concept of joyful partnership in the gospel, urging the congregation to see their role not as members of a church, but as active partners invested in its mission. He discusses the biblical significance of tithing and financial generosity, encouraging the community to trust God and prioritize giving as an act of worship. Through this message, Tyler calls the church to embrace a holistic, spirit-filled approach to life, rooted in generosity and contentment in Christ. Join us as we delve into the heart of joyful giving and explore how each of us can participate in the transformative work God is doing in our community.

What if the biggest barrier to experiencing God’s fullness isn’t our circumstances—but our unwillingness to reconcile what feels impossible? In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul writes to a divided church in Ephesus—a bustling, diverse city not unlike Seattle—and reminds them that Jesus has already torn down every wall of hostility.

This message invites us to take an honest look at the walls we’ve rebuilt between “us” and “them”—over race, politics, theology, or past wounds—and consider what it means to live as one new humanity in Christ. Reconciliation isn’t just being nice; it’s choosing to make peace. It’s stepping into the hard, beautiful work of building a spiritual home where strangers become family and difference becomes strength.

The question is simple: what walls might Jesus be inviting you to cross today?