Revelation 18

One of the biggest First World Problems modern US belivers face is blending into the culture around us. Unlike so many Christians in history and around the globe, we have been very sheltered from persecution and rejection. This has lulled us into thinking we can follow Jesus while also maintaining friendship with this world and its systems. We often slip into consuming the delicacies of the culture around us without discerning the difference between God's ways and this world's. Instead, we are called to join Him as creators of his Kingdom culture!

Mark 13

As we gear up for another year of faithfulness, service to God, prayer, and worship together, it is a good idea to ask God what kinds of things we should be prepared for. T/he truth is that Jesus gives us some pretty clear instructions for how we are to greet the uncertainty of the future, but the clarity is also wrapped up in mystery. The future is always uncertain; Jesus calls us to be prepared for bad times without losing our faith, hope, joy, or love!

Isaiah 59:14-60:6

Darkness holds sway over many hearts, but Jesus has come to bring the light of salvation and joy to us all! 

Isiah 43:1-13

This is a time of year where expectations, schedules, budgets, hearts, and minds all get stretched to the breaking point. Sometimes, in the midst of this chaos, life becomes so cluttered and threatened that people feel like they are drowning. They start to feel overwhelmed. This holiday hangover isn't healthy, and it can lead to people who feel completely fried, just at the time they are supposed to be spreading cheer, buying the world a Coke, and enjoying peace and bliss on earth. God calls us to reach out and soothe such hearts with love.

Isaiah 49:8-21

Like Eleanor Rigby, we may wonder where all the lonely, forgotten people even come from - they seem to be all around us! And yet, we live our lives in such a way that they are easy to forget. Forgotten people aren’t on anyone’s list, but God remembers. In this passage, he tells us that his people are ever before him and that he cannot forget them, EVER. This assurance is essential for our hearts; more than that, we are called to join God in finding and blessing all who feel forgotten.

Matthew 5:43-48

This is a time of year when "goodwill toward all" definitely gets tested. Seeing problematic people at times of celebration and fellowship can remind us that there is no easy fix for enmity. We don't always feel very christmasy when we are around others who have mocked, hurt, mistreated, or excluded us. If we look to God's example in the first Christmas, though, we find a pretty challenging example to live up to: When we were God's enemies, he spoke peace to us and sent his Son; Christmas is a time to offer reconciliation and healing, like he does!

Matthew 25: 14-30

This Advent, we'll look at some of the people in our lives who are hard to shop for, understand, and even love - including ourselves! We need to see how God handles these tough nuts and then pattern our attitudes and responses around his. This message is about a real challenge: the person who seems to already have everything! Sometimes, having everything is actually a handicap; it can lead to a trap where things own us! God knows that open hands and hearts grasp his gifts better.

1 Peter 4:7-9 Christian community involves hospitality! That ought to be an exciting thing to hear, but it isn't always, if we're honest. Fear, selfishness, past hurts, logistics, cost, and inconvenience often stop our hospitality before it ever gets off the ground. But opening up our homes and hearts to others has an amazing and God-ordained ability to change lives- it is worth it! Love that manifests itself as hospitality and generous life-on-life interaction is world-changing; it softens hearts, opens closed doors, and heals many hurts.

1 Peter 4:4-6

Community is built on the awareness that we will give an account to the One who gave us our lives and relationships. 

Message 1 in Community Builders Series

1 Peter 4:1-3 Philippians 3:12-20

When we become Christians, we say "hello" to many wonderful things. Whether we saw it coming or not, we also say "goodbye" to lots of habits, relationships, and friends who may not be compatible with our new faith and commitments. This is really hard, and God wants us to gain a new set of support structures to help us along. He provides the Church as a source of Christian community where we can process all this together. Once there, we find that part of what bonds us is what we've willingly left behind and what we have committed to pursue together.