The Gathering

What is Jesus calling me to do in the Great Commission?

Jesus tells his disciples, even though they were unsure and doubted, to go and make disciples. The great commission points the disciples to the people that they are supposed to impact. Faith is built by engaging those away from you. Yet, we tend to have a consumer culture in regards to church. The great commission is the birthing of a community on a mission. Rather than being a community that "comes and receives" we are called to be a community that "goes and makes". God wants us to invite and teach. We never really learn what Jesus is talking about until we ourselves begin to practice it. We learn as we teach and invite others to walk along side us.

Why does the Spirit give us each different gifts?
Spiritual Gifts. The lie culture tells you is the lie of autonomy - you can do it on your own. The lie the church tells you is lie of uniformity - everyone must believe and do the same things to be part of the community. Accepting either of these lies, affects the answers to "who am I and and what am I supposed to be?" Every person has a gift by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Church was never intended to be a place of uniformity. The gifts given to us were given for a specific purpose, for the building up of the common good. Each of us is essential to the church, not because we are the same but because we are gifted in different ways. God wants us to discover who we are in our uniqueness and where we belong.

How does God call us to live while we wait?

Living between wanting and having. Life lived in between. Life with God is lived, in large part, in between, in between the experience and the promise. Living in between means trusting enough to wait. In the waiting, God tells his disciples to pray and to be His witnesses. In the waiting, we need to be attentive to the presence of God/The Spirit. How is it with your soul? Need to be able to speak of the experience of faith. Holy Spirit is already at work in your life. The full force of what the Holy Spirit intends to do is still yet to come.

Can truth be found through searching?

Searching for Truth without really wanting to find it, not wanting to commit. Perpetual shoppers of something to believe in. Constantly searching but never finding. Idolatry is a misplaced devotion to something not truly satisfying. We want to believe in something bigger than ourselves. We search for meaning, clarity and purpose. Be careful where you are searching. Truth is given as a gift to those who love God. Jesus is meant to be followed. Relationship with God keeps us from turning our search into an idol.

What does it mean to be committed to following Christ?


Faith can be understood as something organic; it is impossible for it to be healthy if it is not actively growing. There is no real moderation of faith. If it is not growing, it will die. Jesus is either the cornerstone or He is cast aside. A stagnant faith is dangerous. Grow into salvation - a complete fulness and peace. Long for Christ. Commit to practicing your faith. Think about where your commitments are leading you, closer to God or further away? Complacency leads to death. Inaction saps the vigor of our faith.

Urgency requires one to recognize there is a distance between the way things are and the way things out to be. Urgency requires the sense that what could be, needs to be right now. Peter created a sense of urgency at Pentecost. Urgency is dangerous because it usually leads to a commitment of significant change. Urgency demands a response. Is God calling you to a new commitment? God is able to do extraordinary things through each of us. We are asked to feel urgent about the work of God.

Where do we see the Risen Lord in the midst of grief?

As people followed Jesus, they began to see things differently. No one expected Jesus to die, certainly not the way he did. Our experience of the world seldom suggests that God is at work. When we experience death, we experience the absence of order. Jesus is present even when unrecognized. Jesus remains abidingly present. In the church community we see the Risen Lord.

What role does the church play in encountering God?

Posture of fear vs posture of openness. Believing without seeing. Doubt is OK. Doubt does not disqualify us for encounter with God. The church is a gathered community, which is empowered by the Holy Spirit, to be the grounds for someone to encounter God. God has promised to be in the presence of a gathered community.

The Easter Story

How do we deal with expectations?
Expectations should shape you but not own you; expectations should inform you but not define you