The Gathering

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.

In Luke we see Jesus as he cares for the whole person as he heals minds and bodies. Maybe it’s because Luke is attributed as being a physician. Luke has connection to the book of Acts, which is the Holy Spirit book of the Bible. Acts is seen as part 2 of Luke when the people put into action through the spirit the Good News that Jesus preached.

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.

The Gospel of Mark is centered on the figure of Jesus who has an urgent message of good news: one that is available to the audience (and us!) right now! As the gospel for people in a hurry, we are met with a relentless pace for accomplishing good things based on love and grace and healing and hope for all people. While this does not offer us an opportunity to slow down, but it does provide us with opportunities to focus on the way of Christ and to reprioritze our own lives accordingly.

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.

In Matthew’s narrative, Jesus is presented with undeniable authority as the promised Messiah—the Son of God—and the ultimate teacher and King. He is depicted as profoundly compassionate toward those who suffer, yet also fiercely challenging towards religious hypocrisy. Matthew’s original audience consisted mostly of Jewish Christians. And we might label this part of Matthew’s audience as ‘insiders’.

For three years Jesus teaches and asks us to follow, to live like he does. And not only that, but he gives us all sorts of help. Manure if you will – gifts, abilities, relationships, resources – he gives us so much that we could use for the sake of God’s Kingdom. But it is up to us to do something with what we have been given, to bear fruit.

At some point your faith stops being an intellectual activity and starts to be something that you act out. Faith is not something you (just) believe but something you do. Reading, worshiping, studying, thinking will only take you so far. At some point, to grow you must go.

We are all here (literally and spiritually) because of others who came before us. They saw themselves less as consumers of faith and more as producers of faith. We too need to recover a sense that God calls us not to simply consume the faith given to us by others, but help produce that faith in new generations of people. Remembering our roots reminds us of our mission.

In a time where modern technology and social media promises to connect us and draw us closer and make us more friends, then why are we facing an epidemic of loneliness? People are lacking connectedness, closeness, and friendship more than ever. The disciples and their interactions with Jesus offer us some insight into how friends can show up, and how we sometimes show up as friends.

Singleness takes all forms. Some choose it, some don’t. Some want to find someone else, others enjoy being single. Whether you are young and still single, widowed, gone through a divorce, or just haven’t found a person you want to date – you are not less than or incomplete simply because you haven’t found that person. For those of you who choose to be single, you are honored. To those of you looking and frustrated, you are not alone. And God is doing work in you even now, that will prepare you for whatever relationship lays ahead.

It is true really of all relationships, but especially with marriage, you don’t just find the right person and live happily ever after. Strong marriages aren’t found they are built.

Like so many topics, there isn’t one scripture or section that is about marriage. Instead, to arrive at these principles, let's look at the various passages of scripture that talk about marriage and jump into 5 biblical principles to build a healthy marriages.

Today we are beginning a new series called We Just Click: God’s Design for Meaningful Relationships. This whole series could be summed up in a single verse, that comes at the beginning of the Bible. God says it at the end of creation “It’s not good that the human is alone.” – God (Gen. 2.18). In other words, we need others, we need relationships. So let's start by understanding why relationships are so important - and what often gets in the way.