Teaching Pastor Tom Johnson, Missional Life Pastor and Mariela Spejh Special Guest | www.thedoor.org

Tom is speaking from Matthew 14:22-33. Jesus sends His disciples across the lake in a boat, a terrifying storm blows up, Jesus walks out to them (also terrifying) and utters “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid”; Peter then walks toward Him on the water.

Tom has found much to bring us from this passage; and he will be joined by Mariela Spejh, the Regional Executive Director of MELA, the school with whom we’ll be sharing space this fall.

Teaching Pastor: David Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor | www.thedoor.org

Teaching Pastor: David Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor | Acts | www.thedoor.org

David will continue with “the older brother in us all” theme from ast week. We forget that the grace the younger brother received (and the workers hired late in the day in Jesus’ Matthew 20 parable) is the same grace that WE need – and we forget that we even need it.

Doug Glynn, Guest Speaker | Acts | www.thedoor.org

Doug Glynn speaks on the Prodigal Son parable and the Father’s heart for His children. This time Doug focuses on the older son’s responses, which reflect our own hearts of blindness, resentment, anger, and comparison that keep us from seeing the Kingdom celebration and joy we’re invited into over lost ones being found, people being restored.

Doug Glynn, Guest Speaker | Acts | www.thedoor.org

Doug Glynn will continue to consider the question “How big does the YES need to be, to come against that NO?” Doug brings us a message out of Luke 15, the Prodigal Son, that is straight from the Father’s heart.

Teaching Pastor, Al Schuck, Community Life Pastor | www.thedoor.org | Acts

Al Schuck continues to address the question Dave posed two weeks ago: “How big does the YES need to be to overcome the NO you have heard?” Al will focus on the importance of living in reality, in what is true about God, His kingdom, and His great invitation for us to live in His kingdom.

Teaching Pastor, David Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor | Acts | www.thedoor.org

Teaching Pastor: David Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor | Acts | www.thedoor.org

Teaching Pastor: David Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor | Acts | www.thedoor.org

Todays text: Acts 15:1-12, the Council at Jerusalem, where the Church elders had to decide whether Gentile converts needed to observe the Torah (particularly circumcision) in order to follow Jesus.

“God, who knows the heart” – better than we do! (Dave’s translation) – has a different response to all of the “No’s” we’ve heard all our lives, and which we’ve often projected onto God. God’s answer to all of us – those who think we belong, and those who don’t – is “YES, YES, and YES, you belong!”

Teaching Pastor: David Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor | Acts | www.thedoor.org

Dave continues in Acts, pondering with us how we can maintain our center when the pendulum swings, as it did for those early Christians – not into bad things this time, but into wonderfully successful things.

 Dave proposes that maintaining our balance during seasons of success is a struggle because it’s easy, when we’re “winning,” to believe that the name that needs to be known is mine, that the story that needs to be heard is mine, and that the power people think they see is mine – all of which are deadly lies.

Dave talks about how Paul navigated seasons of success – in part by knowing, that there’s a name that needs to be known, but it wasn’t his – and there’s a story that needs to be heard, but again, it wasn’t his.”