Journey Church

Elizabeth is full of thankfulness, full of joy, and full of praise. Pretty hard to complain when you are full of these. Elizabeth models for us how to avoid envy and rejoice in the blessing of others.

Zechariah desires two great blessings from God.  He never gave up asking.  In His time and in His way God answers and fulfills Zechariah’s dreams.

We often go through life thinking we are the authors of the great story of life.  It’s quite the opposite.  God is not a character in our stories, we are characters in his.  It’s a great masterpiece that has been scripted since the beginning of time and we get to be a part of it.  What would it be like if we put down the pens of our stories and let God sweep us up into His?

Throughout the bible we are given powerful stories of God’s people gathering around food.  The body’s need for sustenance reminds us that we are not self-sufficient.  We need something beyond ourselves.  When we gather with others and eat together we are reminded that we need not only food but one another.

Jesus tells a story about a father and two sons.  One older son is a legalist.  The younger one crashes and burns while trying to find life.  The young son, realizes the error of his ways, repents, and returns home.  When his father sees him, a long way off, he celebrates with spontaneity and freedom.  This is a beautiful story of hope and grace, set against judgment and jealousy.

What if Truth surrounded you?  What if the seeds of perfect love had deposited it in you?  What would it take for you to come alive?  What would it be like to bloom?

Just prior to the Triumphal Entry Jesus had a illuminating conversation with a young man of great influence. This conversation has much to say about life, privilege and the Kingdom of God.

Darkness causes us to lose our orientation.  Jesus entered the darkness so that we didn’t have to.  He is the light of the world offering rescue and direction from the darkness.  In Jesus we find our hope.

Jesus prays and asks that the Father would forgive those that persecuted Him.  The Father answers with immediacy.  The first convert happens within moments of Christ’s death as a powerful Roman officer has his heart turned toward truth.

Contrasting the lives of Judas and Peter we discover a disciple that came back to Jesus and found himself quickly restored and commissioned at the foot of the cross.