Jesus' mission is here and now. Some generations he will use to sow seeds and some to reap the harvest. Regardless, Jesus calls his followers to accompany him as he seeks the lost and saves them.

Worship is more than music. It is transformational.

How do we as Jesus followers love well during this election season?

What is mission and what is justice? Do they have to be at odds with one another? Living a deeply formed like of mission and justice means engaging every opportunity to give the love of God to the world.

Is it possible to have a calm and quiet soul as David claims in Psalm 131? Jesus is on a mission to transform our inner life so that we can naturally love him and other people. This process of spiritual formation is a lifelong journey in which our role is to intentionally create space for this inner transformation to take place.

How do we have a deeply formed inner and outer life? In other words, how do we become the kind of people that naturally love God and others?

The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman serves as a crescendo to the narrative that John is writing about in his gospel. The Samaritan people coming to know the gospel and Jesus' renewal reaching beyond the Jews is the beginning of a kingdom movement predicted by all of Scripture.

There is always a danger in reading assumptions into biblical stories. The question is, "Have we added to John’s gospel by making assumptions about the Samaritan woman?" To make it more personal, "How often do we do this to others in our lives?"

Although we do not have much information regarding John the Baptist, one thing is for sure: he was secure in his identity. Our primary identity is being fully loved by God. Seeking for our identity outside of the love of God will always lead us into confusion, lack of satisfaction, and insecurity.

The book of John describes "eternal life" as what the other gospel accounts call "the kingdom of God." Humanity is not in need of better morality, but instead need God to give us new hearts. This is what eternal life or the kingdom of God is all about.