This week, Pastor Shayna moved us deeply with a talk that centered around the gift of Jesus coming to humanity to restore and redeem what was lost. In light of this, she shared with us the power of grace and gratitude. One of them depends on me and the other is a gift. Grace, we know, is a gift from God. Gratitude is a choice we get to make. It is a posture that life owes me nothing.

As we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus, let’s be people who walk in deep gratitude regardless of what is happening around us. This is the way for followers of Jesus to continually draw our attention to the story of Jesus’ birth and to place our attention on who He is to us.

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This past Sunday, Pastor Eric did a talk titled "To Submit or Not to Submit". The talk was designed to create a conversation and invite people into looking deeper at this passage of scripture, Ephesians 5:15-33. More specifically, the usage of the word “submit”, in relationships between people and between husband and wife.

What’s important to note is by the time we read Ephesians 5, Paul has laid a foundation for a new identity where we are loved, accepted, and we are His sons and daughters. This new identity moves us closer to how God views and interacts with humanity and relationships. The driving narrative of this new identity is God’s Love. This is vital to grasp as it sets the stage for what Paul's and God's intent is for what “submission” looks like in our lives.

So the question now emerges, what is Paul’s intent with the word “submit”? What does it mean for submission to happen in a marriage? Make sure you listen to this week’s talk to learn more about this. You might be pleasantly surprised.

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On Sunday, Pastor Eric continued the series of Live Above the Noise with a talk titled “Imitating Greatness”. Paul makes this statement in Eph. 5:1 Imitate God as dear children. Take a moment and think about the gravity of this command. In one of Paul’s other letters he says “Imitate me as I imitate God”. However in this letter he raises the bar.

One thing children are great at is imitation. Imitation is one of the quickest ways to develop, learn social skills, and grow in confidence. It is normal and natural to imitate someone you admire. In this letter Paul is drawing the attention of the readers to choose to imitate God. Let’s remember following God is not only for the purposes of admiration and observation, it’s a decision to move in the direction of God. When we imitate Him we are choosing to learn who He is, how He thinks and what is pleasing to Him. This is the essence of spiritual formation.

So this week, take a moment and dwell on this idea of Imitating God and seek to find out what is acceptable and pleasing to him. Let’s make it our goal to be a people who Imitate Greatness.

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On Sunday, Pastor Eric shared with us out of Ephesians 4 and the call Paul lays out to the readers of his letter. By the time we get to chapter 4, we learn the world around them told them, they were of no value. God said “You’re chosen”. While the culture around them rejected Christianity, God said “You are my sons and daughters”. While the society around them cut off all access and ability to become a citizen, God said “You are citizens of my Kingdom”. God is bigger than our story.

Then Paul drops a challenge to the Ephesians, “Stop acting like you used to be”. He is essentially teaching us now that you're accepted, loved, and belong to God’s family. You no longer need to act like you used to. He is pulling us out of our old identity and showing us our new identity. When you embrace your new identity from God, it changes the way you think, live, and act. Listen to this talk to learn that the one of the keys to moving into your new identity can be found in the feedback from the people around you.

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As we continued our series, “Live Above the Noise”, Pastor Rheva took us through the first part of Ephesians 4 and encouraged us to mature as believers in her talk, “Let’s Grow Up”. There is a lot of noise in our culture right now that is trying to divide us as the body of Christ. But Paul encourages us as followers of Jesus to, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Eph 4:2 NLT) This is a time for us to come together, to be united in the spirit and to be held together by peace. (Eph 4:3).

This talk challenges us to be a multidimensional community that finds beauty in our differences, commits to maturity for the sake of unity, and postures our hearts with humility to listen to one another.

We pray that this message equips us all to walk in maturity with one another. Take a listen!

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On Sunday, Pastor Eric shared pt. 3 of our Live Above the Noise series, entitled "Love & Mystery". The top 2 genres in literature are Romance and Mystery. This should not surprise us as these are indicative of some of the deepest longings of the human soul. We desire to be loved and accepted. We also are curious creatures and we long to know what is beyond what we know and experience.

Paul says in Ephesians 1:9 “He made known to us the mystery of his will…”

In this letter, Paul unpacks what the mystery was: It is that all of humanity, regardless of ethnicity, culture, and background would be chosen and loved by God. It was not only for a certain ethnicity or culture, but covenant with God was now meant for all of humanity. This was a game changer then and continues to be for us today.

We all have a story about ourselves and sometimes we use our story to decide if God can or should love us. What Paul is pointing out is that there is nothing, including our own stories, that can keep us from the love of God. Our desire is that each of us would move into this reality: The greatest mystery is that God’s love surpasses and overrides anything and everything. Listen to pt. 3 to learn more.

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Throughout our lives we are always moving in a direction. No matter what road that we find ourselves on, we are always heading in direction and the path we are on leads to somewhere.

Every thought, behavior, decision, and every step moves us further in a direction. Ephesians 2 highlights how we were going in one direction, but how dramatically it shifts when Jesus enters the human story. It reveals the great contrast and opposition of death and life.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. - Epesians 2:4-5

Jesus is the great pivot and when He shows up it all changes. This past Sunday pastor Candace shared part II of our Live Above The Noise series and focused on the centrality of Jesus in the story of humanity moving from dead to alive.

For more info you can go to our website and also check us out on instagram and Facebook. We are also on YouTube. If you want to support STUDIO financially you can do so here. Have a great week!

This week at STUDIO, we had the honor of hearing from one of New Spring Church's Pastor, Hykeng Paul. He shared with us the importance of understanding God's heart for humanity and standing in the middle of what's separated and divided and saying "enough is enough". We are designed to be people of reconciliation.

In 2 Corinthinans 5, Paul talks about reconciliation as to understand what is spiritually dead and what is spiritually alive. As we follow Jesus, our desire is to find ourselves in spaces and places to help bring reconciliation to what is dead and bring life to them. Listen to this week's talk to learn more.

For more info about STUDIO, you can go to our website, check us out on instagram, Facebook, and on YouTube. If you want to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

This week, Pastor Eric kicked off the series "Live Above the Noise". This message is about the fundamental key in being someone that can live above the noise: Embracing and accepting that you have been CHOSEN by God.

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight,”Ephesians 1:4

When a culture or a people believe they are chosen, they have a higher chance of succeeding than a culture that doesn’t believe they are chosen. It is no accident that in the first part of Ephesians, Paul emphasizes this truth: "We are Chosen". When we move our whole existence into this truth, we are ushered into all the promises, blessings, and inheritance that awaits us in following Jesus.

For more info you can go to our website and also check us out on instagram and Facebook. We are also on YouTube. If you want to support STUDIO financially you can do so here. Have a great week!

In response to Hurricane Helene hitting our region and it affecting so many. Pastor Eric shared how our Faith is Dynamic. We read in the scriptures:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourself are comforted by God.

II Cor. 1:3-4

You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have put off my sackcloth and clothing me with gladness,

Psalms 30:11-12

Our Faith is Dynamic.

Our faith is designed to enable you to be resilient, steadfast and comforting.

It is also designed to experience healing for yourself and not just others.

We should never reduce it down to one attribute or characteristic.

But rather expect ourselves to be dynamic in how we respond in moments like this.

In its best it brings healing to self and healing to others.

It brings courage to you and courage to others.

It is Dynamic.

It is our faith that will help us get through this.

For more info you can go to our website and also check us out on instagram and Facebook. We are also on YouTube. If you want to support STUDIO financially you can do so here. Have a great week!