Mosaic Boston • Jamaica Plain

When Scripture talks about community, it doesn't talk about a social club of peers or a Meetup interest group. Godly community is Gospel-centered community on mission with God, for His glory! The early church committed (devoted) itself to gathering together corporately, and in small groups in homes for studying the Scriptures, prayer, and fellowship.

The question isn’t whether we are going to be worshipers. Rather, it is, what are we going to worship? To worship anyone or anything less than the all-powerful, all-knowing God, we sell ourselves short. But what does true worship look like in our daily discipline? Mosaic Boston Jamaica Plain Pastor Ivey Rhodes brings us the message this week to discuss a true life rhythm of worship.

During Rhythms, we’re looking at spiritual rhythms you can begin that will shape your life for now and eternity. They're simple but not easy, yet revolutionary. Ideas like prayer, Bible reading, and generosity. This week we look at what a victorious Christian life looks like and how we can attain it. Follow along in Philippians 3:7-14 as we examine Paul's win and see how it is also ours.

Often we equate Jesus with the small child in the manger, but we must be careful not to have a Jesus of our own making. The first Christmas happened long ago, but how it affects our life will have a lot to do with whether we leave Jesus in that manger or embrace the Jesus of all the scriptures. He grew up into a great teacher, miracle worker, and savior. Ask yourself this question: How grown-up is my Jesus?

We’ve probably all had Christmases that were “upside-down” to some extent. Christmas is always a pretty crazy time, but perhaps you can remember a particularly strange Christmas. Since the beginning, Christmas has always been rooted in being upside-down. This week we look at a world that was turned upside-down so the purposes of Christ's birth.

We find ourselves in the middle of the same story as Mary. A teenage girl lives under the rule of an oppressive government and the sword of King Herod. This is a story of chaos, pain, and suffering. Yet, in the middle of all this pain, there is a glimmer of hope. The great reversal is coming. Mary spontaneously writes a song for the ages that we call The Magnificat. Listen this week as we explore her song about the great reversal.

This week we look at the nexus of Mary and Elizabeth's stories. We join a newly pregnant Mary as she arrives at the home of her relatives Elizabeth and Zechariah in Judah. In today’s passage, Elizabeth has an incredible encounter with Jesus that overflows into worship. This week we look at Elizabeth's response to Jesus and see what we can learn from this faithful servant.

While we may have an exalted picture of Mary in our minds, the reality we find in the Scriptures is far from this. By any earthly standard, Mary was no queen. She was a basic first-century girl living an anonymous life. As far as her culture was concerned, there was nothing special about her. She was a nobody, but here is the good news. God has always been in the business of using nobodies. Listen this week as we look at Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would conceive and carry the Messiah.

When it comes to Christmas, this year, we're going back to the basics. Over the next six weeks we’ll talk about angels, the nativity, and kings from far off lands. It’s going to be a beautiful series to help us remember the true reason for Christmas. This week we look at a miracle baby, not to a virgin, but to a faithful and really, really old couple. We begin by looking at the birth of John and the couple that raised him.

We’re in our last week of The Final Word, and this week we’re taking a turn to the more practical side. Every week pastor Ivey has said that if the Scriptures aren’t God’s Word they’re of little importance, but if they are God’s Word they are of ultimate importance to our life and eternity. This week pastor Ivey gives some tips and tools to understand the Scriptures properly. He then uses these tools in Joshua to come to a fuller understanding of the text.