Spark Cast

The end of the book of Acts leave us hanging a bit. In this message, Omair shares why that might be, and what it calls us to do. This, as with all things in the Bible, was no accident.

Paul faced many storms in his travels, an illustration and metaphor for the challenges we all face as we journey with and for Jesus. In this message, Pastor Tom shares how we can be with one another, in and through the storms of our lives.

What is your metric of success? That question helps frame your responses to the experiences of your life. In Acts, there are immediate challenges, persecutions, etc. But these early followers of Jesus held to a "long view" of God's redemptive work.

This movement of Jesus is furiously committed to radically welcoming all. While we may not wish to accept the shortcomings of ourselves or others, the invitation of Jesus does not permit us to discriminate.

Each name and pronoun in our narrative highlights aspects of this early movement. In this study, we'll dig into the name Mnason, and the pronoun "we," and how that informs our practice today.

The story of Eutychus is a strange narrative in the middle of what appears to be a travelogue. What is this story doing in there? Drawing from Homer's Odyssey, we consider the possibility that Luke is doing something profound, which is retelling an ancient story in light of the new movement of Jesus, infusing the hearers with a new set of principles, lessons, and values. Really brilliant of Luke!

The early church wrestled with the question of who's "in" and who's "out," regarding their engagement with this community. As we discover, this has been a human expression since the beginning of time. The Jesus Way is one of radical welcome, that ALL are truly welcome, not just at the table, but at the PARTY!

Sparker, Tom Arrington, continues our series with an impassioned encouragement for followers of Jesus to actually trust, and then actually obey.

We are not to sit on the sidelines. Indeed, we cannot, because we ARE NOT on the sidelines. Engaging with the realities of our world, both the light and the dark, is simply an embrace of our true selves, our real identity, and our central calling.

What are the pathways from terrorism to truth, from fear to faith? A reexamination of Saul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus reveals blindness as a necessary component of that transformation. As it turns out, blindness is a theme we see throughout the biblical narrative. Rather than "I once was blind but NOW I see," this idea embraces "I once was blind SO I could see."