Being a dynamic follower of Jesus is not about doing great things or being perceived as spiritual. God is the one who does all of the heavy lifting. What we must do is cooperate with what God's Spirit is doing in our lives. This week we explore how Moses and the people of Israel learned this truth at Mount Sinai.

Religious people, Christians included, spend quite a bit of time and resources deciding who is "in" and who is "out." In these three stories from Matthew 9, we find a Jesus who welcomes and engages with some of the least likely people. it earns him scorn and ridicule. In the end, it is the power of God that triumphs over all.

Religious people, Christians included, spend quite a bit of time and resources deciding who is "in" and who is "out." In these three stories from Matthew 9, we find a Jesus who welcomes and engages with some of the least likely people. it earns him scorn and ridicule. In the end, it is the power of God that triumphs over all.

The earliest days of the Christian movement were ones filled with awe and wonder. Churches have been trying to return to this "feel" for centuries. Sometimes we get it dialed in and other times we are just a little lost. Sometimes the difference comes down to allowing God to do the work of awe and wonder more than us.

The earliest days of the Christian movement were ones filled with awe and wonder. Churches have been trying to return to this "feel" for centuries. Sometimes we get it dialed in and other times we are just a little lost. Sometimes the difference comes down to allowing God to do the work of awe and wonder more than us.

The beginnings of the church are not something clouded in secrecy and closed doors. The movement of God is public and open. God is openly at work in the lives of human beings. As a mission movement, Christians would do well to heed the lessons from this pivotal moment in the church's story. Faith is not a private matter.

We all obey others for a variety of reasons. Seldom do those reasons have to do with love. We are too often governed by power, guilt, shame, and control. Jesus offers a new way of being faithful which is by love leading to obedience. To do this remarkable thing, we need the gift of the Spirit to guide the way.