In Acts 13 the Good News has new storytellers yet hits another speed bump. But each step is guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. What we're seeing is a community creating space through worship, prayer, and fasting to stay attuned to the Holy Spirit's voice. It's this guidance and power that will help them navigate the speed bumps they encounter along the way.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 13.1-12

// SERIES -- Acts is the story of how the Good News of Jesus is on the move to everyone everywhere.

// BIG IDEA 1 -- Who you are and what you do matters in God's kingdom. Your story matters because the Holy Spirit is partnering with you to write God's story.

// THE GOSPEL IN 1 WORD -- Jesus.

// THE GOSPEL IN 3 WORDS -- Jesus is Lord.

// THE GOSPEL IN 38 WORDS -- The Good News that Jesus—through his life, death, and resurrection—is the reigning Lord of heaven and earth and all people are invited to live in God's kingdom, filled with God's Spirit, free from sin and death.

// ...So the gospel is less of a gentle persuasion and more of a radical confrontation of sin, evil, & darkness.

// ...So the gospel isn't about making mean people nice but about making dead people alive.

We're diving back into the book of Acts. When we pick up the story in chapter 12, we see the church respond to violence and struggle with unity and prayer. While Peter sits in jail (again), his community stands alongside him before the face of God... until Peter appears out of jail and face-to-face at their front door! Can we expect anything like this in our everyday life?

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 12

// Acts is the story of how the Good News of Jesus is on the move to everyone everywhere

// We need more than "thoughts and prayers" but certainly not less. Intercession and action are the kingdom activities of Jesus followers.

// BIG IDEA 1 -- The Church meets persecution with prayer.

// To pray is to stand alongside your community, neighbors, and enemies before the face of God

// TNC PRAYER MANTRAS -- We pray believing God can, asking that God will, and trusting God loves us no matter what. // We resolve to involve God.

// BIG IDEA 2 -- So often we want to tame the wilderness, climb the mountain, or cross the sea when God just wants us to be led by Him through it.

// BIG IDEA 3 -- Don't miss or mistake the fingerprints of God on your situation.

// BIG IDEA 4 -- Someone in your life needs to hear "THAT" story of what God has done.

// REFLECT -- Who do you need to stand alongside? // What nudge do you need to lean in to? // What wilderness are you needing to be led through?

Whether you’re graduating or just living, we don’t know what we’ll face tomorrow. We will encounter situations and face decisions that need God's guidance even when we don’t have step-by-step directions. How can we know the way forward? In this message we explore Jesus' words to his troubled friends and find a God who guides us toward a good destination.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- John 14.1-9

// BIG IDEA -- Faith is what it means to trust God when you can't trace God or the way ahead (Pastor Chris Simmons). You may not know what's ahead but you can know the One who goes ahead of You.

// Ask questions. Embrace mystery. Be open to and hold on to God moments.

// How can we go when we don't know... The Way -- What Jesus would do... The Truth -- What Jesus would say... The Life -- What Jesus gives...

// HEBREWS 1.1-3a (NIV) -- In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

// Jesus is what God looks like . Jesus is what God has to say . Jesus is "The Kingdom of God in person ." (Origen)

// REFLECTION QUESTIONS -- Where are you troubled and invited to trust? Which of Jesus' statements resonate with you the most tonight? What next steps are you sensing?

This week we find a man at the end of his rope. He was confident and fearless one day, desperate and fearful the next. (We wouldn't know anything about that, right?) This man is in need of a word for the way forward. In this famous story from Elijah's life with God, we learn that we may not be able to control how God speaks but we can certainly put ourselves into a position to listen. If that's true then the question is not “Is God speaking?” but...“Are we listening?”

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- 1 Kings 19.1-5

// BIG IDEA 1 -- We can’t control how God speaks but we can put ourselves into a position to listen (It’s not a question of “Is God speaking?” but “Am I listening?”)

// BIG IDEA 2 -- Hearing God is both simpler than we often make it and deeper (more mysterious) than we often admit.

// OBSERVATIONS --

1. We can bring our whole selves to God

2. Prayer is less about getting God to do what we want, more about becoming who God wants us to be.

3. God loves asking questions

4. Prayer is “a soul at attention before God”

5. The “When” and “How” of God’s movement is often not what we expect.

6. God seems to repeat himself until we get it—to embody it.

// QUOTE -- “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world” (KARL BARTH)

// QUESTIONS -- What’s the disorder that prayer needs to rise against? Where’s your cave God’s sending you to this week? Is there anything you’ve been hearing/sensing/remembering?

Ever heard the phrase "Bless this mess"? Genesis 16 is an example of messy situation that God enters into. God sees an unseen woman and determines to intervene and bless her. How might "Being seen" by God transform us? How might this kind of vision transform the way we see others in need of blessing?

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Genesis 16

// We meet a God who seeks us, hears us, sees us, blesses us in spite of & the midst of our messy situations

// What name would you give God today? ("The One who...")

// QUOTE -- "A blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her Belovedness.'' (HENRI NOUWEN, The Life of the Beloved)

Jesus calls His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Only through the lens of the life and death of Jesus Christ can we understand what this means. After His resurrection, Jesus called His disciples to make new disciples in what we know as the "Great Commission". They understood the meaning because they lived it with Jesus, and we have that same calling today.

Scripture:

Matthew 16:24-28 "Following Jesus"

Matthew 28:16-20 "The Great Commission"

Questions for reflection:

What is the cost of following Jesus as his Disciple? Why not give our whole lives to his Kingdom, to his people, for his people?

If you were one of the disciples, what would you have thought and felt after hearing the Great Commission?

What would have been your next steps? How does this direct our actions today?

Our lives are like the first few hours of the first Easter. We hear Good News (He’s not here, he is risen!), we confront the Mystery (of life, death, and God’s work), and then we process what all this means for us and our world. The difference between us and those first followers is that they saw Jesus face-to-face that first Easter evening as he sat down to eat among them. So how do we live in between the tomb and the table?

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Luke 24.36-49

// BIG IDEA 1 -- Our lives are like the first few hours of the first Easter -- we hear Good News, we confront the Mystery, we process what all this means for us and our world. We live in between the tomb and the table.

// BIG IDEA 2 -- We have Jesus' words and works to help us process in between the tomb and the table.

// BIG IDEA 3 -- Doubters, deniers, worriers, wonderers...all are invited to process in the presence of the crucified and risen One.

// BIG IDEA 4 -- If God's story includes, endures, and even transforms crosses and tombs, what can and will God do with your story?

// QUOTE -- "Dear Child of God, it is often difficult for us to recognize the presence of God in our lives and in our world. In the clamor of the tragedy that fills the headlines we forget about the majesty that is present all around us. We feel vulnerable and often helpless…But we are not helpless and with God’s love we are ultimately invincible. Our God does not forget those who are suffering and oppressed." (DESMOND TUTU, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time)

// QUOTE -- "As I sat quietly in the garden I realized the power of transfiguration—of God’s transformation—in our world. The principle of transfiguration is at work when something so unlikely as the brown grass that covers our veld [open country in South Africa] in winter becomes bright green again. Or when the tree with gnarled leafless branches bursts forth with the sap flowing so that the birds sit chirping in the leafy branches. Or when the once dry streams gurgle with swift-flowing water. When winter gives way to spring and nature seems to experience its own resurrection." (DESMOND TUTU, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time)

As we gather to celebrate the biggest Sunday in the Church calendar, we need to remember that the vibe of the first Easter morning was actually shock and confusion. As the story unfolds, however, the surprise of the empty tomb eventually gives way to wonder. Join us as we let our hearts run wild with wonder on the other side of the world-altering, life-giving resurrection of Jesus.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Luke 24.1-12

// “While they were wondering about this…” (verse 4). When you expect the worst…you might find that God is already at work in the dark places.

// “He went away, wondering to himself…” (verse 12). When you think it’s too good to be true…leave your heart just open enough to run wild with wonder.

// “Eyes see only light, ears hear only sound, but a listening heart perceives meaning.” (DAVID STEINDL-RAST)

// You can go through life or let life go through you.

// When you believe that Jesus is Lord and follow Him, God’s eternal life, love, and Spirit abide in you. In other words, when you give your life to Jesus – God gives you His life in return. Now not even sin, death, and darkness can separate you from God.

In the Spring of 2000 years ago, two leaders processed into the holy city of Jerusalem. Both of them made a statement in their parades but that's about all they had in common. One rode on a warhorse, the other on a young donkey. One was making a statement of oppression and pride, the other liberation and humility. This tale of two kings is just as powerful now as it was subversive then. It begs the question, which procession will you join? And, if we really understand this story, how far are we willing to follow?

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Matthew 21.1-11

// A Tale of Two Kings...

// REFLECTION -- Which parade are we following? Who are we walking with? How far are you willing to go?

// BIG IDEAS -- Jesus has a way of upending our expectations. We want a conquering warrior and we get a co-suffering Savior. That's because God cares more about our formation than our expectations. We always forget that the road to life and resurrection passes through the death and crucifixion.

// God does not bring all pain into our life, but God will take it all and work it together for good.

// QUOTE -- "The cross is where God receives the most vicious blow of human sin, turns the other cheek, and forgives. The apostle Paul tells us that 'in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself' (2 Cor. 5.19). This should not be misunderstood as God reconciling himself to the world. It wasn't God who was alienated toward the world; it was the world that was alienated toward God.

Jesus didn't die on the cross to change God's mind about us; Jesus died on the cross to change our minds about God! It wasn't God who required the death of Jesus; it was humanity that cried, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' When the world says, 'Crucify him,' God says, 'Forgive them.'

At the cross we discover that the God revealed in Christ would rather die in the name of love than kill in the name of freedom. In Christianity the supreme value is not freedom but love. We can kill in the name of freedom, but in the name of love we suffer and forgive.

The cross is not a picture of payment; the cross is a picture of forgiveness. Good Friday is not about divine wrath; Good Friday is about divine love. Calvary is not where we see how violent God is; Calvary is where we see how violent our civilization is. The cross is not about the satisfaction of an omnipotent vengeance. The cross is about the revelation of divine mercy. In Christ we discover a God who would rather die than kill his enemies." (BRIAN ZAHND, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, 85-86, 87)

Our culture seems to be obsessed with fame, attention, and notoriety. We want to know who's number one and where we fit in the pecking order. Yet Jesus models a radical "downward mobility" when he took on flesh, moved into the neighborhood, and elevated others. Nowhere is this portrait and pattern more exemplified than at the table just before Jesus' crucifixion. Can we learn from Jesus to see all people as worthy and valuable? Can we follow his example to serve the lowest and least?

NOTES--

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- John 13.1-15

// SERIES -- Jesus shows us how we can decrease our stuff , self , and status so we can increase our communion with God.

// QUOTE -- Jesus fasted omnipresence and clothed Himself with flesh. He fasted being worshiped by angels and accepted the disregard of man. He fasted the Voice that birthed planets and submitted to the silence of thirty hidden years...We are duly thankful, challenged, and inspired by Jesus' forty-day fast from food in the Judean wilderness. Perhaps we should likewise be grateful, awed, and humbled by His thirty-year fast from praise, power, and potential in Nazareth. (ALICIA BRITT CHOLE, 40 Days of Decrease)

// 1. JESUS' PORTRAIT (What Jesus shows us)

// If "God is love" and "God showed his love by giving His Son" and if His Son is "the image of the invisible God," then Christ crucified is God's self-portrait. (1 Jn. 4.7-12, Jn. 3.16, Col. 1.15)

// QUOTE -- "While we look for him among priests, he is among sinners. While we look for him among the free, he is a prisoner. While we look for him in glory, he is bleeding on the cross." (GERALD O'COLLINS)

// QUOTE -- "Do ordinary things with extraordinary love." (MOTHER TERESA)

// 2. JESUS' PATTERN (What Jesus asks us)

// If you refuse to place yourself above others, then no one is beneath you. If no one is beneath you, then no one is unworthy of your time, attention, and service. (Phil. 2.3-4; Rom. 12.3, 10, 16)

// REFLECT -- What of Jesus' portrait is most captivating to me tonight? What does a "decrease of status" look like in my life? How can I follow Jesus' pattern of service in my life with others?

// BLOG POST -- https://www.missioalliance.org/the-healing-touches-we-need-now-more-than-ever/