The message about Jesus isn’t that if we do enough good we might find our way back to God. Jesus has already offered us a perfectly restored relationship with him.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Christ followers often put unnecessary barriers between people and Jesus. But the heart of the earliest followers of Jesus wasn’t to add barriers for people. It was to remove them.

The ultimate development of spiritual strength comes when we set ourselves aside so that we might be fully present to serve and love others.

Physical strength requires us to be willing to mix it up, working new muscles in new ways. Listen to hear about some spiritual training practices that help us build spiritual muscles we didn’t even know we had.

Is the Bible reliable? Listen to this interview between pastor Carey Nieuwhof and Bible scholar Craig Evans to learn more about why you can trust in the veracity and integrity of Christian Scriptures. (Interview originally from April 24, 2016 at Connexus Church.)

Knowledge is important in growing spiritually strong. In the Bible, God has offered us all the knowledge we need to grow spiritually strong.

Prayer is the most personal way that we can communicate to God, yet many of us feel a gap between where we are and where we hope to be. Being spiritually strong requires us to pray differently.

We don’t think of it as a spiritual discipline, but Sabbath is a critical component in us becoming all that God desires for us to be. We were designed to work from rest, not for it. You've got to love a God who commands his people to take a day off.

God has a different end goal for our lives than we do. Tapping into that has the power to lead us to true happiness.

What if the belief at the heart of this cliche is the very thing holding people back from experiencing and encountering Jesus?