Spark Cast

As we celebrate this milestone, our eyes are firmly set on what is ahead, to where the trail boss, scout, and buffalo hunter will lead and guide us.

What will it look like "to Spark Church" for the next generation, when its founders and day-ones have passed the torch?" We shall explore living out our Sparky vision of following Jesus in ways that last beyond us.

Rescue, one of Spark's five core values, is an outpouring of the freedom and hope we experience through Christ's sacrifice and Resurrection. As a people who have been set free, rescued from sin and death, we are called to extend that rescue and justice to all we meet.

Our tradition recognizes that the reputation of God through the reputation of disciples of Jesus is paramount to the Gospel. That reputation comes through a deep and profound understanding of our text and tradition that can only come through study, which is, according to some Jewish traditions, the highest form of worship. And as we study, we recognize that this world has been broken, and the right relationship with the divine, with creation, and with each other has been damaged. Through Christ, the great reconciler of all, we work to advance that ethic, to bring all back into proper relationship.

Of the 613 commandments found in the scriptures, for followers of Jesus, there really is only one commandment: Love God and love others. The rest is commentary. Why? "For God so loved the world." This covenantal love is the foundation for the entire Grand Narrative of the biblical story. When we see the world through the lens of God's indescribable love, our lives and the lives of those around us are transformed towards the way of Jesus. This is so high, so wide, so long, so deep, it is beyond our understanding.

Most people know WHAT a church does. Few understand WHY. In this series, we are exploring the core WHY of Spark, our mission, and our values and the teachings, perspectives, and texts that form the foundation of our community. To state it plainly, Spark exists to inspire people to live the Way of Jesus. In short, "Get Dusty."

History tells us that something revolutionary happened that transformed the moral and ethical landscape of Western civilization. That heritage is now encoded in the fabric of our society, and yet, we are unaware of its origins. As audacious as it may sound, we have our morals and ethics because of Jesus, a way of being distinctly contrarian to the Empire.

Since the beginning of humanity (and before), Nature has pushed us to look out for ourselves and our kin, at all costs. We reinforce that push in subtle and obvious ways today – “protect your peace”, “mama bear”, “you do you”. But Jesus draws us to a completely different way. Jesus causes us to do the wholly unnatural thing of loving others at enormous cost to ourselves.

Because of Jesus, we can live in a world of both answered and unanswered prayers, confident that in the end, the world will be put to right. But that hope doesn't always make it easy to navigate the ups and downs of our lives in the meantime. Our special guest speaker, Sparker and Stanford Law student, Karis Tai, shares her journey and offers thoughts on how she lives with the hope she has in Jesus amongst the trials of this world and these challenging days.