All. It's a short word. It's a word we use often. But I am not sure that we fully appreciate its meaning when it comes to our lives and our lives of faith . Instead, we have the tendency to separate things, pull things apart and compartmentalize. This tendency is not new, but dare I say, a part of human nature.

And therefore, a conversation about this reality of how we operate makes itself known in the book of Colossians. This week we will dive back into Paul's letter to the church in Colossae as we continue in our "Level Up," series. In doing so, we will discover and explore the words of a song that Paul included in his letter. We will find that the central message of this song and thereby much of the remainder of the letter is that Christ has bearing on and is the basis for all that there is. It is this all-encompassing truth that Paul hoped the Colossians would know, remember and live out. And it is this all-encompassing truth that gives us guidance about what it means to grow and mature in our faith.

The Power of All

This episode we will talk about the power and meaning of all, and how Christ has bearing on and is the basis for everything and what that has to do with our leveling up/growing in faith.

Colossians 1:15-20:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

How do you handle things that stop you?

Sometimes these are physical diversions. Like traffic, road construction or simply getting turned around. Other times, we all have emotional and mental things that can totally stop us in our tracks. We have fears, unknown outcomes or simple problems that can stop us.

But we all also have that thing. You know…that one thing. If you want to stop me from going somewhere…just dig a small moat and put average sized fish in it. Wide enough where I can't jump across. That'll stop me dead. Or I have this terrible fear of failure…it's plagued me for my entire life.

In our journey towards Christian maturity, we have to be willing to see what is stopping us. And this isn't just about spiritual maturity…because it is usually something that is stopping us in many different areas of our life.

On this episode we are going to look at a story of Jesus and how two different people encountered him. One of them was willing to see him for exactly who he really is and asked for him to heal him of what stopped him the most. You can read this in Luke chapter 18.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening.37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

39 "Be quiet!" the people in front yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord," he said, "I want to see!"

42 And Jesus said, "All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you."43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

Do you ever get frustrated with things just not going the way they should be? What about a skill you just can't get done, no matter how easy it seems to others? I often find myself trying to figure out what a silver bullet would be…you know, that one part of the puzzle that should put it all together?

Paul, one of the first Christian leaders, writes to a group of people to encourage them to finish things out well. In fact, the whole book of Colossians is him helping them take things to the next level.

This month, Foundry is looking at his suggestions, helps and encouragement. He starts his letter to this young church by simply telling them how he is praying for them. It's amazing how much prayer can help us when we feel like we are stalled or even stopped.

Paul breaks into an early pattern of movement for the church. It starts with having great hope, letting that then overflow into faith and love for others.

But the baseline is prayer.

Prayer Pours the Foundation for the Christian Life.

Listen to these words;

3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God's people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace.

7 You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, Colossians 1:3-13

So we are going to jump into what it means to order our life through prayer and consistently expect our vision for who God is to expand alongside of the circumstances we deal with in life.

Friendship gets complicated. It’s a fact of life. No matter at what stage of life we are in or where our friends actually live, friendship takes intentionality. The internet and social media complicate it even further.

People often complain that Facebook, Instagram and other forms of social media hurt friendship. This week we are talking about how the boundaries of true friendship transcend how we actually communicate with those we care about. Paul wrote a letter to his good friends in a town called Phillipi. He was in prison and they were learning what it means to be a Christian community living in the margins of culture.

Friendship is all about contact and love.

True Life Needs True Contact.

He wrote this to them;

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Phillipians 1:3-11

Paul talks about how friendship transcends time and makes our relationships even deeper. Join us this Sunday as we dig into what this looks like and the behaviors of friendship that can transcend where we live and how we stay in true contact with our friends.

We’ve all seen the post on Facebook. The normal reaction is “did they seriously just say/share that?”

It happens all the time. Social media has radically changed the way we communicate. It has changed the way we live our whole life (Mashable shares 5 ways right here).

While preparing for our #statusupdate series I asked folks about the behaviors they found frustrating on social media. Here is just a sample of the most common issues many people have with how others communicate.

• Frustration about the content of sharing.
• Stirring up the pot
• vague booking (yep. I learned that word)
• Airing dirty laundry in public
• baiting people for arguments
• being passive/aggressive

Our words are pretty powerful. In fact, little words can cause big reactions. We’ve all seen it happen. Someone says something and an instant verbal war starts.

But words have always been powerful things. This week we are going to look at James 3:1-12. It’s an ancient argument for realizing the power of our words and the ability our words have to do amazing things or terrible things.

Words matter more than we realize. Let’s talk about what it means to leverage our influence for the greater good.

It's Easter at Foundry (and all over the world).

Chad shares from John 20:19-23, when the disciples encountered Jesus after he rose from the dead. In the conversation Jesus had with them that night, we can learn this lesson.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to encounter a risen LORD without responding and going.

Jesus offers peace, breathes on his followers (yeah..that's kinda weird) and finally sends them out in mission. We only understand Jesus when we let him fully change us and we fully become part of his mission on earth.

There are some things that shouldn't be contained.

Chad shares about the vision of Foundry and the 4 assumptions of Jesus Foundry lives by.

1. Jesus is Here 2. Jesus is doing something 3. Jesus wants us to be part of what he is doing 4. Our greatest fulfillment in life will be found by participating in what Jesus is doing.

So we pull apart John 1:14 and talk about what glory is, what glory does and why glory should not be contained.