Our road trip through the Psalms of Ascent brings us right up to the gates of God's Temple. With Psalm 122 as our guide, we explore a few answers to the question "Why do we worship?"

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Psalm 122 (NRSV)

// WHY DO WE WORSHIP?

1: We meet God

// Worship Gatherings are both a finish line for what's come before and a starting line for what's ahead.

// Am I meeting God with anticipation and expectation? Am I prioritizing this preparation for me and my family?

2: We meet Family

// Am I keeping my eyes open for reasons to sing and say thanks?

3: Heaven meets Earth

// We are grounded in God's story in worship so we can live God's story in between (formation for mission).

// Today we see the overlap of heaven and earth in part, one day we will see it in full (Isaiah 65; Revelation 21). Until then we worship, work, and wait for God's shalom.

// REFLECT --

How might we deepen our worship?

How might we prioritize and pass on the family tradition of gathering together?

How might we work for God's shalom now on earth as it is in heaven?

Nearly every verse of Psalm 121 is a reassurance for those of us facing uncertain terrain. No wonder it is one of the most beloved Psalms. But are these promises too good to be true? What can we be certain of in our uncertain journey through life?

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Psalm 121 (Common English Bible)

// 3 THREATS ON THE JOURNEY:

1. Your foot could slip (our plans go sideways)

2. Your body could overheat (our bodies give out)

3. Your worries could overwhelm (our anxieties get the best of us)

// 3 PROMISES OF OUR COMPANION:

1. God watches you

2. God covers you

3. God protects you

= God is our Guardian (6x in this Psalm!) on the pathway of our life.

// What verses are in your "promise rainbow"?

// Sometimes our experience leads us to think God is aloof and asleep (Psalm 7, Isaiah 51...) but the truth is that God is attentive and awake in every moment (v. 6) and every movement (v. 8).

// BIG IDEA: The promise is NOT that we'll never sprain an ankle. The promise IS that no power, problem, or pain along our path will ultimately overtake us because our Guardian God is our Companion each step along the journey.

// QUOTE: "No literature is more realistic and honest in facing the harsh facts of life than the Bible. At no time is there the faintest suggestion that the life of faith exempts us from difficulties. What is promises is preservation from all the evil in them. On every page of the Bible there is recognition that faith encounters troubles...the sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer is 'Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' That prayer is answered every day, sometimes many times a day, in the lives of those who walk in the way of faith." -- EUGENE PETERSON, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

// QUOTE: "Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing — but as people walk this way again and again, a path appears." -- LU XUN (1921)

// In every valley of shadow, a path appears that Christ has walked before us. If we keep our eyes open, we see that God our Guardian was and is our Companion each step of life and beyond.

Ever felt out of place? Ever been the subject of gossip? You can feel alone and attacked. Psalm 120 is a cry from someone who is sick of the lies, done with the hate, and longing for peace. It's a song for all of us who feel out of place and on a journey back to God.

SLIDES/RESOURCES--

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Psalm 120

// BIG IDEA: We have a choice: to complain about the world's sickness or to walk the way of God's wholeness.

// The Psalms remind us that 1) you are not alone and 2) God is not done.

// The Psalms give us permission to be real before God + others.

// The Psalms cover the scope of human emotion + experience.

// QUOTE: "Israel...became a pilgrim people, picking a path of peace and righteousness through the battlefields of falsehood and violence, finding a path to God through the labyrinth of sin...they worked and played, suffered and sinned in the world as everyone else did, and as Christians still do. But they were now going someplace--they were going to God." (EUGENE PETERSON, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction)

First things first -- no church is perfect (not even the one in Acts 11) but every church has what it needs to be healthy. So what does a healthy church look like? We see a glimpse in the Antioch church featured in Acts 11.19-30.

// What does a healthy church look like? Short Answer: It looks like Jesus.

// 1. A healthy church GOSPELS: declaring and demonstrating the Good News of Jesus.

// 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. -- A SUMMARY OF THE GOSPEL

// 2. A healthy church DISCIPLES: disciples form the church and the church forms disciples.

// We commit to be with Jesus to learn from Jesus how to live like Jesus. -- TNC CORE PRACTICE #3

// 3. A healthy church IMAGES:

we earn and wear the nickname of our Namesake.

// 4. A healthy church LISTENS: we pay attention to God and respond appropriately.

// "A prophet named Agabus does what a prophet is supposed to do--speak by the Spirit of where the church must be active, and in what the church must be involved, in this case, famine relief and care for the suffering... the Spirit always brings to the church specific knowledge of the world and the specific sites of divine concern. A church that knows not the particular needs of its time and place is a church that has not heard the Spirit speaking." -- WILLIE JAMES JENNINGS

// 5. A healthy church GIVES: we are a channel, not a bucket, honoring the kingdom impulse to share beyond ourselves.

// When it comes to this church, God has given us everything we need to do what God has asked us.

Sometimes we recognize divine activity in the present moment but most of the time we seem to recognize God's work in the past tense. When we stop and look back on our story we're able to find the footprints of God along our path and discern their direction moving forward. This is why Peter re-tells the remarkable movement of the Spirit in Acts 11.

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 11.1-18

// BIG IDEA -- Telling and re-telling your story helps you find the footprints of God along your path and discern their direction moving forward.

// Looking Back Is There A Time You Now Recognize...You avoided some disaster? You were carried through physical, relational, financial, mental, or emotional difficulty? You connected to someone or some community that brought new life and growth? You received some unforeseen blessing that appeared just around the corner? You landed in the right place at the right time?

// REFLECT AND RESPOND --

Where do you see God’s footprints in the path you’ve walked lately?

Which direction are God’s footprints headed in your life up ahead?

Have you had a "Crossing the Threshold" moment? A moment when you knew that the next step you take would be the beginning of something new, different, and even revolutionary? In Acts chapter 10 we look at 3 of those moments -- moments that sent God's people into new territory. In fact, these steps were so dramatic that we're still feeling the impact 2,000 years later all because a few people dared to step over the threshold.

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 10.23b-48

// The shift from "AnyTHING" (10.15) to "AnyONE" (10.28) sets the table for a whole new family.

// If the Holy Spirit hasn't shifted your language away from calling "anyone impure or unclean," you're not paying attention.

// GALATIANS 3.28 -- "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." = None of those distinctions hold any water or give you any leg up when you're in Christ!

// WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

In 1 word: "Jesus"

In 3 words: "Jesus is Lord"

In a summary: 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.

// ROMANS 1.16 -- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

There is always a next step to take toward life, love, and growth. In Acts 10 (the longest narrative in the book), we meet two different men from two different people groups who are about to take an enormous step. Who would orchestrate such a thing? The Holy Spirit, of course. God is on the move building bridges between people who would have never connected otherwise. The question is, will we take a step and walk across?

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 10.1-23a

//Acts is the story of how the Good News of Jesus is on the move to everyone everywhere. The way the Holy Spirit is orchestrating this movement is by building bridges between people who would have never connected otherwise.

// BIG IDEA -- Walking with the Holy Spirit means paying attention (to God and others) and responding appropriately. (Paraphrasing Eugene Peterson)

// If God is not challenging our prejudices, we are not paying attention and responding appropriately.

// Christians and the Old Testament -- The Law is NOT abolished but fulfilled and focused in Jesus. Israel is NOT replaced but extended and enlarged in Jesus.

// QUOTE -- "The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us." (RICHARD FOSTER, The Celebration of Discipline)

Sandwiched in between the dramatic conversions in chapters 9 and 10 are two stories with miraculous surprises that raise more questions than answers. We don't know all the "Why's" or "How's" but we know that the power and presence of Jesus is on the move. When you find yourself struggling or grieving, be encouraged by these 4 reminders from these surprising stories.

// FOCUS SCRIPTURE -- Acts 9.32-43

// REMINDER 1 -- Embrace mystery because you can't and won't have God and life all figured out

// REMINDER 2 -- You cannot out-believe the love of God (but keep trying)

// REMINDER 3 -- In the name of Jesus, life and transformation are a word away

// These grieving widows prove that every little gift and interaction rooted in the love of God can leave a big impact behind. What impact do you want to leave?

// QUOTE -- "Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you." (St. Teresa of Calcutta)

// QUESTIONS WORTH TALKING ABOUT --

1. What happens when we die?

2. What happens when Christ returns?

3. What happens at the end of time?

// REMINDER 4 -- Death is not the final word.

We just can't help but tell others about the great experiences we've had. This is true of Saul -- soon to be Paul -- in the aftermath of his dramatic conversion in Acts chapter 9. In this message we have 2 big ideas and 2 images that can inspire us to share our own stories as the Good News moves to everyone everywhere.

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 9.19b-31

// BIG IDEA 1 -- Every conversion is a commission.

// What experience, gift, talent, or dream can Jesus set loose in our life for the kingdom of God?

// BIG IDEA 2 -- Every group is a greenhouse.

// In what greenhouse are you growing? How's your home greenhouse?

We're back into our series in the book of Acts. Acts tells the story of how the good news of Jesus moves to everyone everywhere -- and in Acts chapter 9, we mean *everyone*! This is a story of one of the most famous conversions of all time. But what is the bigger story Luke (who wrote Acts) is trying to tell?

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 9.1-19a

// Why is Saul's conversion story included here when the rest of his story doesn't really pick up until chapter 13?

// BIG IDEA -- The Jesus way turns these "Others" into Brothers. The Jesus way turns strangers into family.

// Put yourself into the story...Where are you on your journey? What is Jesus saying to you as he calls your name? Is it a voice of redirection or affirmation?

// Put yourself into the story...What step is Jesus inviting you to take (even if it doesn't make sense)? Who in your circles needs the touch of God?