Matthew 6:5-15 – In this series we're looking at "the basics" of Christian living: Bible, Prayer and Communion. As Christians, we pray "in the name of Jesus". The early church we see gathers in "one accord" to pray (Acts 1:14). How are these two sentiments similar? How does understanding this Jesus-centered prayer, Bible reading, and community help us unite the practices of Christian living? And how does it help us treat the very act of prayer differently? Today we'll meditate carefully on the Lord's Prayer as a communal act of praying together as Jon preaches, exploring how the Lord's Prayer is not a mystical spell we say over things, nor is it simply words–but it is divine word, meant to transform our hearts and motivate us in our purpose as followers of Jesus.

Luke 24:13-35 – We're beginning a three-week series looking at the three basic elements of the Christian life: the Bible, Prayer, and Community. The unique and transforming power of the Christian life comes from a unity and companionship centered around these core expressions of our faith. Unfortunately, our faith feels more fractured than ever. We forget, we always need the basics. Today we'll talk about reading our Bible, by entering through Jesus as the door that unifies us in our Biblical understanding, instead of splintering us.

Colossians 2:1-3:17 – In the spirit of Summer get aways, Jon teaches on what the Bible has to tell us about play and rest. Drawing a connection between Colossians 3 and Genesis 3, he argues that Paul is telling us we are free from the curse of disobedience through faith in Jesus Christ. Though it may still apply to the world and the flesh, it is in our spirits that we live in the Kingdom of Heaven now, eden–a playful garden where there is no shame, under the rule and in the presence of our Almighty King and Eternal Father.

Romans 13:7-10 – We live in an era of cynicism, the idea that people are motivated purely by their own self-interest. We also increasingly live in an era of condemnation, believing that people don't change. But the Bible shows over and over again, that by the grace of God, people can and do change. Paul who pens this letter to the Romans, himself, is a changed man. First known as Saul, a persecutor of Christians, now their chief missionary. What does a man changed by Christ have to share about our neighbor? He says that we are to love one another. Why? Not because we are indebted to them, or not because it earns us any extra holiness, but because we are indebted to Christ forever–and he has a perfect love for all people. Every last one.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 – Famous beat-poet Jack Kerouac wrote "The Road is life", James K.A. Smith notes in his book "On the Road with Saint Augustine". But, he writes, the the idea that the journey is the destination is a thoroughly post-modern idea. Essentially, it is a secular notion that states "This" (the seen) IS the point. It's all there is. Discounting thousands of years of wisdom–this view seeks to reboot and build a new ethics and lifestyle but has no unified ground to stand on with which to do so. Ancient cultures, while they varied tremendously in ethic, all have had some image of the afterlife that informed the present life. To these cultures, the journey is not the destination, but a pilgrimage. From the Psalms of Ascent where the Israelites journeyed to Zion, to Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. As Christians, we believe the destination dramatically affects our journey. The Journey is NOT all there is, but it is a pilgrimage to a New Earth where we will live eternally. Today, we spring board off of Smith's idea and look at a biblical image of the hereafter. Where are we headed? How have we so often gotten it wrong? And most importantly: how does a new imagination for the next life impact our faith and practice in this one?

Psalm 145 –

Mark 10:35-52 – Work in our culture is both a means of survival and significance. This week we walk through a conversation around the "doctrine of vocation" or "calling": the nature of work in the Christian Faith. We find from Genesis 1 - 3 that we are beings designed to work, and that it looks very likely that on the New Earth we will continue to act in our created nature. However, since so much has been broken since Adam and Eve ate of the Forbidden Fruit, we would do well to ask the question freshly: What is God's Purpose for Work? And accordingly, how do we best discern and pursue these purposes in our own lives.

Matthew 5:1-20 – After Jesus healed crowds of people with "every disease and affliction...[of] pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics" these same great crowds followed him (at least those with the drive within them) up a mountain, where Jesus began to teach them how to live. Yet, it is this progression from being touched by Jesus, to listening to Jesus's teachings that so many Christians forget. We rush into the healing experiences and forget to follow his words, or we study and dissect his words, never having felt his touch. Matthew was intentional with his order however–and when we listen to the story, a new imagination for our entire lifestyle emerge in light of Jesus's promised healing of our deepest pains.

Ephesians 6:10-20 & Matthew 4:1-11 – By and large our culture has called the Devil and the very nature of evil a far-fetched and even manipulative rhetorical tool to demonize the LGBTQ community and women. The problem is, by and large, the morality American culture works with today has its origins in historic Christianity. Darwinism gives us many things, but it doesn't give us morality. Today, we'll reaffirm the historical and orthodox Christian view that the Devil is real. Then we'll ask the questions "What is he like?" in other words, "What are his methods?" Lastly, as Christians we'll ask, "How do we fight him?"

Romans 8:28-39 – God often asks each of us, like he asked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden "Where are you?" In this profound question he gives us great freedom to choose Him. This may be an act of swimming upstream from emotional and cultural currents, or even sometimes against the currents of friends and their advice (as the story of Job shows us). The bottom line is that the key to spiritual renewal is to, again and again, rest our gaze on Jesus. Alone, we come up with feeble solutions to cover our nakedness and brokenness. It is in responding to his merciful companionship that we witness the transformation of our hearts. This can be learned by the book, but it can only be known through the patient act of living. In this process of turning, release, and renewal we live minute by minute, the fulfillment of his promise that our life will radically change for the better. Not only that, but that our past hurts, present struggles, and future anxieties will dramatically change in their significance and meaning.