Ethos Church

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

Do you ever look at what is going on around you and wonder how to escape the negativity? Maybe it’s not your circumstances that need to change—it’s your mindset. Most of life's battles are won or lost in the mind. The enemy knows this. The enemy will tell you that change is hopeless, that you are a victim of your circumstance and of your thought patterns. He will tell you to settle and find a way to just survive and be somewhat happy. He will urge you to accept that, “this is just who you are” and that your thinking is rooted too deeply in your personality or upbringing to ever make a shift. Your first objective is to capture the thought – to face that defining and destructive thought and interrupt it. Easier said than done, but with God’s help, it can easily be done.

"Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil."

-Ephesians 6:11 (NLT)-

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

I Have a Choice

In modern psychology a discipline has developed called cognitive behavior therapy. It teaches that many problems from eating disorders to relational challenges, addictions, and even some forms of depression and anxiety are rooted in faulty and negative patterns of thinking. Treating these problems begins with changing what you think. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, how we think, shapes our lives. Both science and scripture teach us that our lives are moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. That is why this is so important.

"We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."

-2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)-

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Heart of Our Habits That Matter Most

Obedience is central to Jesus’ form of discipleship, as it was to other forms of discipleship within Judaism. But Jesus calls his followers to adhere to the motive behind obedience to God, not simply to carry out external compliance. Motives. Why do we do the good things that we do.

"For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son…"

-Romans 8:29 (NLT)-

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

How Change Happens

92% of New Year’s resolutions fail by Valentine’s Day. 97% fail before the end of the year. You know that by now. But the desire to change, reset, make progress, and grow cannot be broken. We all desire to “get better”. There is something in the heart of humanity that wants another shot, to try again. But have you ever wondered, “Why don’t I do what I really want to do?” Well, you are not the only one. How do we change? That is what we are talking about in this teaching.

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect."

-Romans 12:2 (NLT)-

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Habit of Becoming

It is not difficult to get a person interested in the message of the gospel, it is however, difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. In the words of Eugene Peterson, “Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence of mature Christian discipleship is slim.” In the Western Church there is a great market for religious experience but there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of Christian character. Little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called Sanctification; the process of becoming like Christ. This process involves learning how to implement healthy spiritual habits. But what stands in our way? That is what this teaching will discuss.

"...And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."

-Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)-

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

 Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Week 4 Advent // Love

The work of advent is to believe that God loves the world enough to rescue it from oppression, evil, violence, and death. Many of us have been taught this in concept, and then heard Bible stories used to reinforce that the way God works is always – if there is enough faith or will – dramatic and immediate. We are taught to have faith and wait. But if you really have enough faith, we are told that you will see God move. This, while not ill intentioned, has convinced many of us that the everyday things of our lives are not spiritual enough to count as God “moving”. We may begin to believe that God is not with or for us in the less extraordinary moments of life. This idea has convinced us that our prayers are not spiritual or fervent enough, and that our spiritual activity is not up to par. It has told us that we are not enough because if we were, God would come. The “God-with-us” narrative of advent turns this on its head. The coming of Jesus is much more about a movement than a single spectacular moment. It is about everyday things converging with the divine to make it all sacred and holy. This is a way that God loves us. Allowing ourselves to be immersed in a story where God is making everything, every moment, every bit of growth and change, sacred.

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Week 3 Advent // Joy

Read: Luke 1:39-55

When Mary finds out that she is pregnant, she goes to spend her first trimester with her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, who is in her last trimester. It is likely they are both, given their ages, in the midst of the most challenging parts of their respective pregnancies. It is from this place that they enter into community with one another. We might expect Elizabeth, who has waited her whole life for a child, might approach her cousin with scorn, jealousy, suspicion, or a spirit of competition. But not so. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth literally cries out loudly to bless Mary and the thing that God is doing in her. These women, absent the voices of men in their lives, have a holy moment of honoring the thing that God is doing in both of them. This is an opportunity for them to share their stories, believe with each other, and be together. This community between the women is a gift from God to them for their health, their joy, and their belief in what God is doing in them. Our spirituality may be tied up in finding God in specific ways – reading the Bible, praying, and going to Church. We have been taught a lie that all things spiritual happen separate from community. But one of the greatest “joy gifts” in your life are the people who make you think, laugh, and celebrate your life with you.

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Week 2 Advent // Peace

Read: Psalm 4

The consumerism, romanticism, and hallmark-ness of our Christmas season can often leave us feeling less than fulfilled. We, in light of the “season”, often force ourselves to live outside of the present realties in favor of performing a merry or joyful Christmas. This does violence to our souls. It prevents us from moving through pain in favor of moving around it. As we disconnect from ourselves, whether by platitudes or coping mechanisms, we reinforce the need to perform a “spirit of Christmas.” The advent is an invitation to be real and human. It is an invitation to feel the full range of complex and conflicting feelings that may come and, in moving through them, discover a peace that goes deeper than anything we can manufacture. The advent is an invitation to be real and human. As Jesus comes, he does not erase the stories of our past, nor does he immediately reveal where everything is going. Instead, he invites us to hold onto an everlasting peace found only in him. An invitation to live as though a better and good world is yet to come, even when all hope seems silent. Jesus wants to give you peace, but it only comes when you journey with him through the emotions and struggles that are robbing you of peace.

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org