This week, as we continue our series in 1 John, we come to a passage talking about the last hour and antichrists. It's the kind of passage some Christians simply avoid while others seem to go down a rabbit hole. John intends neither of those options. Instead, he is writing churches with passionate concern for how they are struggling to stay focused on what matters most. While the culture outside the Church mocked much of what Christians believed, John seems much more concerned about threats from within the churches. He does not want them to walk away from their joy. And yet clearly some did. How might we have the same temptation? Let's talk about "Denying the Main Thing" (1 John 2:18-29).

Last week we saw that Biblical freedom is obedience. That is not at all how our world thinks today. If so, it invites a question: how do followers of Christ relate to 'the world'? We've already heard John talk about the darkness of the world, and now he is warning us "Do not love the world or the things in it..." But isn't this the same John who wrote "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16)? If God so loved the world, how can we be told not to love it? How can we love our enemies (as Jesus commanded) and simultaneously hate the world? If John is not being self-contradictory, what is the nuance he intends us to embody? Let's talk about this call to "Love the Brother, Hate the World?" (1 John 2:9-17)  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer popularized the term "cheap grace" in his book "The Cost of Discipleship" in 1937, but the idea is certainly much older (eg, Rom.6:1). His concern was for a hollow imitation of grace that extended forgiveness without repentance, love without truth, life without transformation - in short, a "Christianity" without Jesus' call to change. Last week we talked about Christ our advocate, who demanded grace on our behalf. This week we finish the thought. Grace is a gift, yet a gift with a goal: namely, our holiness. Let's talk about "the Demands of Grace" (1 John 2:1-11).

Woody Allen famously said, "the heart wants what it wants." Yet many do not know Emily Dickinson said it a century earlier, and went on to say "...or else it does not care." Ironically, Allen was using it to justify his personal choices, whereas Dickinson was warning that our hearts are often indifferent to reason. Either way, both are acknowledging a serious problem with the notion of "follow your heart." The Bible goes further, warning us that our own hearts often actively deceive us. (Anyone who has ever had their heart broken knows that to be true.) But it raises a serious question: what do I trust more than my own heart? If I lie to myself, who will fight for truth and hope in my life? Let's talk about having an advocate even when our hearts fail us -- "Grace Demanded" (1 John 1:5-2:2).

This week we return to our series in First John. When the Bible contrasts light and dark, it is not talking about skin color, intellectual capacity or even psychological inclinations - but rather our relationship with God. We can be well-adjusted, culturally savvy, or incredibly intelligent, yet still have a deeply distorted sense of self. It's almost like rain falling on a sidewalk chalk drawing; it might still retain some beauty, but the main meaning feels lost. Our lens for life is broken. That's because of a severed relationship with the Author of Existence. Join us as we talk about recovering the joy of "Walking in the Light" (1 John 1:5-7).

God's grace gathers us together in order to send us back out to share that grace. Let's hear the Good News that we are called to be "Gathered and Scattered" (Rom. 9:30-10:17).

We live in a complex, cosmopolitan society with a variety of beliefs and competing temples of worship. Christians are not called to isolate, but engage with our society. Yet the constant temptation will be to syncretize the various views we are hearing. We do it almost subconsciously. What would anchor us in the midst of such an environment, not only 'out there' but even within ourselves? If only there was a book of the Bible designed to address those realities... This Sunday we begin a new series in First John. And, as I hope you'll see, he could've written the above paragraph to his original hearers. Join us as we hear from John -- "What We Saw" (1 John 1:1-4).

At long last we come to the end of our series in the Gospel of Mark. And yet this passage raises so many questions: What do we do with this extra section of Mark in some of our Bibles? Is this really the end of the Gospel? If so, why does it end on such a downer note? How was this supposed to be encouraging - for the original hearers and for us? Let's talk about the irony of "They Said Nothing" and how it became the testimony that changed the world (Mark 16:1-8).

We are almost finished with our series in Mark. This week we come the burial of Jesus. What is striking in the New Testament is how much we hear of the death of Jesus -- and not just his resurrection -- as something for us to remember. Certainly the resurrection is our joy, but the death that precedes it (including the accompanying mourning) is a definite part of the Christian experience, especially in how we are practically changed. As painful as death and grieving are, something about it is radically transformative. It marks us. In our passage, you see Jesus' death actively changing a centurion, the women, and even a Pharisee. How does that happen? Let's talk about "Burying Jesus" (Mark 15:39-47).

Walk in Him. Walk by faith. Walk on. We hear these phrases often in Christian circles and understand the general premise of what it stands for. But what are we walking for? What holds it all together? We look to Jesus Christ who holds the cosmos, the church and everything together, or else it all falls apart. We can walk in Him because of who He is, what He has done, and what He will continue to do. Join us this Sunday, as we will look into Colossians 2:6-7, and learn what this means, as we walk in Him, the One who holds all things!