This encounter is the next-to-last healing Jesus will do. In our day, we pray for Jesus’ healing. We yearn for our friends and family members to be healed of pain and disease. What does it mean in our day to continue to claim Christ as the healer?

The line between a friend and an enemy; a brother and a brother-in-arms can be rather thin. Jesus offers us significant lessons in how to deal with relationships that have reached a hard place.

Relationships continuously evolve. One of the hardest points to deal with in a relationship is the point of change: Accepting a child who is now an adult; becoming the parent to your parents; divorce and death; every transition point is challenging. How can we faithfully allow our friendships, family relationships, and work relationships grow and change throughout life?

The nature of friendship is changing in our digital world, but if we want to cultivate deep, lasting friendships, we can learn a bit from two Old Testament friends.

What does it really mean to love someone? Always let them have their way? Being nice? This Sunday we explore love, what it is, and maybe more importantly, what it's not.

Up There/Down Here living means we join God on the pursuit--using the same tool God uses--love.

Too often we see the “spiritual life” as something we do that’s separate from our “work” life or our “family” life, or our “fun” life. Jesus presents a different picture to us. Experiencing Up There/Down Here means we mesh our life with the life of God. Living with Christ is an all-of-life spirituality--an active, ongoing engagement with the presence of God.

Experiencing Up There/Down Here begins for us with an intentional release. We have to throw out the junk that weighs us down--regrets, guilt, family issues, sin, pain. We have to intentionally hand our junk over and allow new life--the life of God’s kingdom--to become our life.

Wrapping our minds around Up There coming Down Here begins by understanding the heart of God. God doesn’t look at us with wrath, anger, or even pity. God isn’t out to get us. God doesn’t spend his time putting us through random tests to find out if we’re virtuous enough for Him. God sent Jesus with one purpose: to pursue us until we know we’re absolutely loved by the God of all creation and eternity.

For years we’ve dreamed and talked and planned. Now the moment is upon us to move into not just a building, but into a new journey. What will guide us? How do we orient ourselves?