This sermon by Greg Boyd focuses on the meaning of “The Lake of Fire.” Greg introduces the traditional meaning of eternal, conscious punishment, and then he expounds upon an alternative interpretation, one that is founded upon the reality that God is revealed in Jesus Christ on the cross.

In this teaching Greg Boyd explains the meaning of the 1,000 year reign of Christ, and shows us how this imagery is not a foretelling of future events, but instead instruction for how to live in the present, reigning with Christ in the midst of our everyday battles. 

The rider on the white horse appears in John’s vision, and it looks like God will conquer through violence. However, Shawna Boren explains there is more than meets the eye, and when we read at a deeper level, we actually see a rider who wages war like a shepherd caring for their flock.

Greg Boyd calls us to participate in the divine-human marriage relationship between Christ and his people. We are made to experience divine love and to live in love, which will be fully realized upon Christ’s return. Now we are called to make ourselves ready, embracing this love by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Don’t TRIP. In this sermon, Pierre Fulford invites us to understand how easy it is to TRIP (Temporal Reality Inverting Perspective) as we take the trip of life. We can allow the temporary to determine the way we live and miss out on what really matters, or can look beyond the temporary and see the eternal, walking in the present with an enduring perspective.

Greg Boyd calls our attention to the importance of forgiving one another. This practice plays a significant role in our call to live as God’s covenant community. We have received God’s “all-forgiven reality,” and now we are to emulate the love of Christ on the cross and extend this new reality to all.

Life in godly unity requires that the real you shows up. However, no one has it all together. We can either pretend we do and remain disconnected, or we can adopt the practice of confession and learn to love one another through the reality of weakness and even failure. Dan Kent shows us what biblical confession is, what it is not, and then points us toward practical steps to move into honest confession. 

We are better together and the way we use our tongues will either promote or destroy our togetherness. Greg Boyd shows us how Scripture views the power of the tongue and how it can be used for ill or for good. 

How do we experience the reality of being God’s family in practical ways? This question is especially crucial in a world that promotes judgment, division and isolation. Dan Kent addresses this by highlighting the instruction to “bear with each othaer.” Living in love does not mean only embracing those who are easy to love. Real love calls us to embrace those who require patient endurance. In this way, we reflect the love of the cross.

This sermon by Shawna Boren unpacks regarding people from a human point of view and then guides us to take practical steps to view people as God views them. This is the way that we live in love as Christ loved us.