What if Jesus’ words were serious? “Those who lose their life will find it.” Everything in culture tempts us to hold too tightly to what psychologists have called our “Ego” – and in the process of holding tightly to our inner life, we miss out on a life more rich with meaning and purpose than we even knew awaited with us. Jesus said, “The way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Often, it’s the injuries and trauma we face that signifies the pathway to our transformation. So, most avoid the journey. This transformative pathway was always cast as “the wilderness” in epic Bible tales. Without the wilderness, leaders like Moses and Elijah would not have become who they were destined to be. It’s through the pathway of the wilderness that God reveals our true selves. In this two-part series, we’ll learn about that path and how walking it is one the scariest, most important things we can do as Jesus-followers. So, get ready to go “Into The Wild.”

Many people in the American Church are taught to have a biblical worldview and how to practice what they have been taught…but what happens when we hit the proverbial wall in our spiritual life? Often what we learned in earlier stages of faith formation doesn’t work anymore once we hit the wall, so we do one of two things: get stuck or start the journey all over again. In this sermon, we will learn why the wall is a natural part of our faith formation, and how to make it through instead of being stuck or starting over.

Matthew 16:24-26, Matthew 7:13-14