Spark Cast

Special guest musician Tyson Motsenbocker shares a special song, "Path in the Weeds." Visit www.TysonMotsenbocker.com for more on his music.

Pastor Mark Arevalo shares a wild and crazy teaching full of lots of interaction, making the case for Church as an intergenerational experience. We are reminded of how God has created each generation to serve the Church and how we need each other to experience the fullest expression of our faith.

Human dysfunction begins when a person feels unloved, and unworthy of love (shame). As a result, the ways in which we function in this world lead us to blame others and game systems in order to protect our hearts and souls. This is poignantly illustrated in the narrative of Genesis 3. But what is also there is God's redemption, speaking deep into our identity, grounding us once again in love and worth. In this message, we are reminded once again of the power of love to transform all human relationships, starting with our own identity.

The celebration of Palm Sunday was not a happy event, but rather one deeply imbued in the soul's cry for freedom. Just as Passover was being celebrated, commemorating freedom from Egypt, Jesus's entry during this festival evoked a similar cry for freedom, now from under the oppression of Rome. Through a variety of historical events, we see that this is actually a cry that is deeply embedded in soul of humanity. The question for us is simply, How shall we respond? How shall we explain to our children what we did to expand freedom in this world, God's freedom for humanity, and for each of us?

This audio clip includes the introduction before the sermon, "Encountering God," and then a brief Q&A after the sermon.

When Jacob encounters Esau, he says that seeing his brother is like "seeing the face of God," the same language used when Jacob wrestled with God. This story teaches us to not simply look for God in moments that seem "out of this world," but to recognize the human moments of relational reconciliation to be truly divine encounters. It is in a mended relationship, an apology, and a reunification of brothers where we too, encounter the holy. As Victor Hugo has written, "To love another person is to see the face of God."

Spark's ethic of wrestling is grounded in Genesis 32, the account of Jacob wrestling with both God and humankind on his way to meet Esau. This story challenges our disengagement from the difficult and often painful struggles in our lives, and exhorts us to never let go unless there is a blessing. This teaching will help us overcome the laziness, apathy, disillusionments, distractions, and certainties that keep us from being fully engaged.

As we look at this next chapter in the Jacob drama with Laban, chapter 31, we begin to unfold additional layers and complexities that are often missed by seeing only the major players. In this message we discover that there are always two sides of every story.

Have you ever been "stuck in a moment, and you can't get out of it?" The characters in our Biblical stories most definitely have. In this talk we are encouraged and challenged to "lift up our feet," and move on. There is another moment in this redemptive story that God is writing, and it's our privilege to journey towards it, in love, in joy, in hope, and in Jesus.

The story of "Jacob's ladder," in Genesis 28 awakens us to the Divine reality that is always around us, yet we are so frequently unaware. Here we discover that God is found in the everyday, mundane, and routine areas of life, in addition to the big and major moments. As we embrace this truth, perhaps the meaning and purpose we have in this world could be utterly transformed.