2024
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:35
And Jesus said... “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples",
-if youfill a shoebox every Christmas?
-if youwatch the entire Chosen series on Netflix?
-if youstill own a Jars of Clay CD?
-if youfollow Sadie Robertson on Instagram?
No, Jesus said everyone will know you are my disciples if youlove one another.
The term“one another” occurs over 50 times in the new testament. The words following "one another" detail specific commands imperative to the life of a Jesus follower. They lay out how we function and live, forming the fundamentals by which Christian community is to be marked. Jesus’ words were not simply a new idea, a new suggestion, or even a New Year’s resolution to try on. They are a call so vitally important that He actually deems them His new commandment. In John 13,He proclaims “a new commandment I give you, love one another.” His words are simple and the message is profound, for the way we“one another”directly impacts our witness to the world. So, join us in the new year as we learn how to“one another” one another.
1/7- Members of One Another (Romans 12:3-21)
1/14- Caring for One Another (1 Cor 12:25)
1/21- Bearing with One Another (Col 3:13, Eph 4:2)
1/28- Serving One Another (Gal 5:13)
2/4- Teaching One Another (Col 3:16, Heb 3:3)
2/11- Loving One Another (John)
2023
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." -Col 3:23-24
It’s easy to spend our lives either working for the weekend or working for the paycheck. But what if there was a third way... one that brings dignity, meaning and rest to our work?
Join us over the next 6 weeks as we will dive into how the Gospel changes how and why we work.
This Sunday we will we are having a Worship and Prayer service! We'll worship, pray, and open the word together in an immersive experience that might feel a little different than a regular Sunday.
We hope that it will draw you in, and create space to engage with the Lord in a new way and listen for His voice. Hope to see you there!
Our culture loves performance and production and achievement. So we buy the latest book, listen to the next podcast, and learn the latest song, all in hopes of growing. Sometimes I can treat spiritual growth like a child, measuring my height against the door frame...convinced that if I strain hard enough I will squeeze out another inch. But Jesus invites us to a completely different way. He calls us to ABIDE. But how?
Join us this summer as we learn how these postures and practices of Jesus are meant for us in real life.
‘He is not here; he has risen!’ - Luke 24:6
Springtime might be the best time of year! The temperature rises, the flowers bloom, the days start getting longer, and there is evidence of new life all around us. As a church, we also get to celebrate the new life that happens IN US because of the finished work of the cross and Jesus' resurrection from the dead!
We hope you can join us Easter Sunday as we celebrate all that the Lord has done and is still doing today!
The Palm Sunday service will be a free flowing worship time with scripture and teaching sprinkled throughout. We hope that you will join us on Sunday, April 2nd at 10am to celebrate like the folks did in Jesus’ time.
2022
In a world full of knock offs, Jesus is the only one who brings real life to the full. Together we are CALLED to live it and SENT to share it.
Everyone is in the process of being formed. Few are becoming someone on purpose. In fact, at the beginning of each year, many make new year's resolutions that quickly begin to fall apart. What if there is a better way?
Rather than asking what are we doing, we can ask this question: Who are we becoming? By doing so, we can allow Jesus to form and transform us into purposeful people who are the best stewards with all that they have been entrusted with.
2021
Sometimes we "church-folk" seem better at division than we are multiplication. For one reason or another, when we lose track of the Gospel it becomes a lot easier to create obstacles than it is to create opportunities to see, hear, and respond to Jesus.
Don’t worry.. there’s hope! This week the book of Romans concludes with a final plea, promise, and praise that equips the Church with lasting priorities, perspective, and purpose.
Baseball-Card FAITH
When I was a boy I loved playing with baseball cards. I loved the smell of a freshly-opened pack. I loved the taste of that stick of gum that was so stale it would shatter like glass in my mouth. I loved the excitement I felt the first time I thumbed through the players' cards. My best friend and I would spend endless hours trading back and forth, reorganizing our binders, and putting all-star teams together. It was great.
One day my friend bought a magazine that catalogued the monetary value of every card we owned. Suddenly baseball cards stopped being a joy, and instead became an investment… something I would eventually need to cash out because they would “be worth money one day and probably pay for my college”. I began buying whole sets, careful to keep them in the wrapper so they stayed in mint condition, and kept them protected in a dark cabinet.
I think sometimes we accidentally treat our faith like I did baseball cards… instead of the thing we love to share most, we try to collect it and stick it away in a dark cabinet in order to someday “cash-out” and get into heaven. The thing is, faith like this, all pristine and unused, is never enjoyed by us or useful to anybody else. Nobody likes faith still wrapped in the package. As a matter of fact, if you come across someone who tries to convince you they have a faith that is in “mint condition”, run.
The thing is, Jesus isn’t upset when our faith gets challenged and the corners get bent a little bit. He actually loves it. Sure, the faith that Jesus talks about is one that’s meant to be cherished, but it's also meant to be used right here and now.
I found those baseball cards last year when my parents moved. It turns out they didn’t pay for my college and their REAL value was in the memories they brought me before I became “a collector”. So, I gave them away to a friend.
When We Lose Track Of Our "Why"
“Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God” -Romans 15:17
What happens when we lose track of our "why"? For me, realizing it causes the same feeling of ground-rush I get whenever I suddenly realize I’ve gotten turned around in the woods.
For one reason or another, the busyness of everyday life quickly preoccupies our focus and monopolizes our energy. Rather than the "INSIDE-out" way God created us to live, we end up living for the "what". It's an "OUTSIDE-in" approach to life that causes us to lose track of joy and misplace peace. Like a compass to a map of the woods, Jesus reorients us in who we are, why we’re here, and how we live.
