Address The Mess // Nobody gets life right one hundred percent of the time. So, what do we do to address the mess we’ve already made and get life right.

Jonathan Shepherd // Life has enough unavoidable regret. The last thing we want to do is unnecessarily add to it. So, let’s avoid what can be avoided.

Every decision is leading in a direction. But too often we see decisions as a destination rather they a pathway. What if we paid attention to the direction our decisions were leading us?

Bryant Golden // There are two categories of people who have made a significant impact in your life: Those who hurt you and those who love you. Their theology didn't define you but their treatment of you did. That is what changed the world. That is what love demands. Specifically, that is what love demands of you. As we end the series the challenge for each of us is to embrace three commitments. 1. I won't do anything to hurt me. 2. I won't do anything that hurts those around me. 3. I won't be mastered by anything.

That's what love demands of us.

Bryant Golden // In the previous week, we talked about embracing Jesus' command to love others rather than looking for loopholes. This week we'll talk about how loving one another changes our motivation for what we do and eliminates any room for loopholes and workarounds.

Bryant Golden // Christians tend to love loopholes. Which ultimately leads to using the Scripture rather than obeying the scriptures. We know all the verses about other people's sin. But Jesus doesn't like it when we twist his Father's words to avoid doing His Father's will. Disciples apply the scriptures through the filter of love rather than looking for loopholes.

Bryant Golden // The brand of Christianity that many have been exposed to seems obsessed with moralizing society. We point our fingers and call out how other people should act and behave. People who never signed up to follow Jesus in the first place. Yet, Paul made it abundantly clear that we are to love others and stop judging outsiders. It's none of our business. Ironically, it's that brand of the Jesus movement that changed the world once.

Bryant Golden // Why does Christianity appear so angry so much of the time? Those who understand what it means to follow Jesus understand that God could not love you more and nothing you can do can cause him to love you less. Which means sin should always break our hearts not make us angry. And repentance should always stir our hearts.

Bryant Golden // The term Christian or Christianity is full of negative emotions for so many people in our culture. In many cases, people who claim to be a Christian look nothing like Christ. And many people who walked away from faith experienced a brand of Christianity that Jesus never intended. So, what if we just quit being Christians? What if we rebranded the brand to look more like Jesus? In part 1, we'll talk about how.

Bryant Golden // The Easter story is as disorienting as our lives sometimes. It begins with throngs of people anticipating the coronation of a king only to get a crucified criminal. From hopeful to despair in the course of days. It’s the same with our lives. Events that we didn’t anticipate can easily undermine our faith in God and lead to questions and doubt. But you aren’t alone. They did for Jesus' initial followers on Easter weekend as well. As we’ll discover, the message of Easter is that the coronation of a king came through a crucifixion that produced a resurrection. And with it the potential for our hope and faith to be restored.