Asking For A Friend: Part 1 - What Is Jesus' Take On Politics?

Some people love talking about politics. Other people hate talking about politics. But pretty much everybody stays away from mixing politics and church. But… why? Both arenas affect our lives in practical ways so why do we stumble over ourselves in church? While we won’t all agree on every political talking point, there’s one thing the church must agree on.STUDY GUIDE

Kaleo: Part 4 - Called to Righteousness, Peace, and Joy Throughout the Bible, we are called to live in unity but that’s been difficult in the past few years with so many controversial subjects. But if this has been harder, maybe it’s supposed to be. Maybe God is using these tensions to teach us how to live as part of His divine plan to unite all people in Christ. So how can we share a community identity without losing our particular heritage? What differences disable and divide us, and which ones should we celebrate?STUDY GUIDE

Kaleo: Part 3: Called To Be GenerousGod is a God of generosity and as his children, we are called to be generous. Too often we allow our culture to define what it means to be generous. So what does generosity look like and how should we practice it in our lives. In Part 3, we’ll discover what Biblical generosity looks like and challenge ourselves to be generous. STUDY GUIDE

Kaleo: Part 2 - Called to Serve

Churches rarely get in trouble because of theological issues. They get in trouble over competing agendas and power grabs. That’s not what Jesus had in mind when he launched his church. In fact, when he prayed for his followers, he prayed that they would be one. It’s what we’re called to. But what does it look like for a church to be one?STUDY GUIDE

Kaleo: Part 1 - Called To Make Disciples

2000 years ago Jesus said He was going to build His church and then He told the disciples to “Go”. That command hasn’t changed. In Part 1, we’ll take a step back and evaluate our own personal involvement in “going".STUDY GUIDE

Life Apps: Part 6 - The Encouragement App

In the typical relationship, for every compliment or encouraging comment, there are six complaints or criticisms. Six to one! That explains why so many work environments are negative and dysfunctional. That explains why so many marriages are in trouble. Can a simple application of encouragement significantly improve the quality of our relationships?

Life Apps: Part 5 - The Rest AppIf you have a body, this week’s life app is for you. But please understand, this app is so overlooked, so underappreciated, that we underestimate the importance of it. When we think of the Bible, we think of spiritual things. That's good. But the body is spiritual. And this one application has a very real, practical spiritual application that applies to everyone, regardless of what we think about it.STUDY GUIDE

Life Apps: Part 4 - The Trust AppThis week’s app is easier for some than it is for others but it’s an absolute necessity for healthy relationships. It’s a must for healthy work relationships, community relationships, and even for a healthy national culture. In every relationship, there are unexplainable gaps between what we expect people to do and what they actually do. We decide what goes in that gap.STUDY GUIDE

Life Apps: Part 3 - The Confession App

The concept of “confession” conjures images of a veiled priest sitting in a confession booth ready to absolve you of your sins. Protestants have it a little easier; they can go directly to God and ask for forgiveness without involving a middleman. Regardless of the religious system, the outcome tends to be the same—a relieved conscience. However, “confession” doesn’t necessarily result in life-change. What happens if “confession” simply provides a license to sin again?

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Life Apps: Part 2 - The Forgiveness App

Holding a grudge is a guilty pleasure. We all love to think about how we would have just the right words to say at just the right time to make our enemies feel small in front of all the right people. But what if holding a grudge is more sinister than we think? What if the grudge is less about the other person and more about us? What if there is a better way to handle these kinds of situations?STUDY GUIDE