You've probably heard this before: "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." If that's true, how come this plan sometimes looks like arguing, coercing and filling quotas for new recruits? That's anything but wonderful. Jesus taught us repeatedly that before you figure out what to do, you must discover who you are. Do you really know who you are? Today, we're going to hear how Jesus answered that-and made wonderful inevitable.

Who are YOU? In our first week of this new teaching series, we tried to answer that question from God's perspective. You are beloved by God forever. Jesus said this would take some getting used to, some acclimating. In our second week, we ask another important question: Who are WE? Why did Jesus command his followers to acclimate together? Was it because we could compare notes, commiserate, make new friends. Maybe. But maybe there's more. In this message, we'll see the miraculous side effects Jesus intended by making us stick together.

Do you dread conversations with people that have a worldview entirely different from your own? We tend to either hide from or fight against our "enemies." Fight or flight. Or we try to assimilate but risk losing ourselves in the process. In this well-known parable, Jesus shows us another way to approach our neighbors.

If Jesus completely transforms who you are, then it's reasonable to expect some drastic changes. In other words, a new life means a new normal. But what's the "new normal"? Is it a life of restrictions? Is it a life confrontations? Is it a life in a bubble? All of us have certainly experienced people who probably assume one of these. But what if you discovered the new normal didn't isolate you from humanity, but helped you engaged the people around you more? What if you found out that Jesus actually calls you into relationship, not away from it? Today, we're going to see how Jesus wants you to live in the world, how it's done and why it's so wonderfully important.

The church is experiencing significant growth across Africa, Asia, and South America but seems to be dwindling in Europe and North America. Why is that? Could it be because the church in the West has minimized its view of Jesus, the work of Jesus, and the churches role? Let's discover what the church could look like if we got a glimpse into the greatness of Jesus, His great work, and how we fit into what He's doing.