Posts by Alex and Steve

Sorry to flood your inbox, but I just remembered that I wanted to add something....

When we’re included in Christ, new bonds spring into existence between us and each and every individual who is connected with God....

Human connection is an essential element for Christian social engagement. It’s what makes Christian social engagement distinctly Christian....

Love doesn’t preclude passing laws, boycotting, protesting, or engaging in activism. Love shapes the way we do all of these things. ...

This week we’re going to be studying a whole book of the Bible. Sure, it’s only one chapter. But that still counts!...

Amazing things happen when we obey God....

Ananias needed to see differently before he could do differently. ...

The reason Jesus includes Ananias has little or nothing to do with Ananias and a lot to do with Jesus....

Comfort and Challenge with Jesus...

The resurrection changes everything....

Why might there be no needy persons in a faith community?...

When we forget the resurrection reality and treat Jesus as a dusty historical figure, our experience of connection and impetus for generosity begin to fade. We lose perspective. Our petty differences take on an exaggerated significance....

Unity precedes generosity. And generosity always follows unity....

As you read, allow the Lord to direct your attention to a word or phrase that describes this new community....

Saying “Yes” to Jesus’ challenges is our best path to peace and joy....

We’re hoping that each of us and everyone who visits a church would have a meaningful moment with Jesus this weekend. We want to experience that joy....

Use the negative image to grow your appreciation for what actually happened....

What would you expect Jesus to say to you if you met him today? Digging into that question can give you a flash of insight into a) how you see Jesus and b) how you see yourself....

Wherever you are, God can meet you there. He can meet you when no one else wants to listen to you. He can meet you even when you doubt....

One way we can lift our voices to glorify God is to talk to people about him. This could involve sharing your story of God’s work in your life, telling someone about something you’re learning about God, or directly inviting someone to connect with God....

In today’s passage, Jesus points to a very important truth: God is worthy of our praise. ...

When you’re swept into the worship of God, lifted to the heights of prayer, plunged into the depths of scripture, filled with zeal for justice … those are always the moments when the pharisaical voices begin to ring in our hearts....

This is not what the crowd expected....

It’s less than two weeks away. With forecasts of snow showers and promises of spring break, if you blink you’ll miss it....

Anyone can say the words. ...

What do you do when you bump into things Jesus says or does that you don’t approve of, don’t understand, or don’t enjoy? ...

We’re invited by God today to witness the friendliness of Jesus....

What we do in the face of emotional whiplash and deep disappointment makes all the difference in the world. ...

This week, as we explore Jesus’ interaction with the friends of the paralytic and the crowd that had gathered to hear him teach, we’ll have an opportunity to listen to Jesus for ourselves....

They would do whatever it takes to get their friend to Jesus....

These aren’t the only times or the only ways to bring people to Jesus. But some of us need a nudge....

When Jesus healed the paralyzed man in response to the faith of the man’s radical friends, a bunch of different people had a bunch of different decision to make....

In spiritual friendship, we connect in meaningful ways with another person and, ultimately, through that relationship, with God....

How might this influence our relationships with people with whom we might disagree? ...

Our view of who God is shapes our view of who we are and, consequently, influences all of our relationships....

Over and against bland or brutal or brief unity, Paul presents the unity of the Spirit....

A non-comprehensive yet challenging list of ways to live a life worthy of the calling we’ve received...

We’ve been invited, summoned, called into the life and mission and kingdom of God....

When we become who God invites us to become we benefit from the growth and we bless our broader community....

Rapid expansion doesn’t repudiate smallness. In fact, smallness is a necessary and significant element of the life of Christian community....

Growth brings change. Change brings challenges. Challenges bring choices....

God isn’t afraid to start small. That’s how he always does it. ...

What’s your willingness to wrestle with God as you come into this week? ...

Nothing can help us connect with difficult people quite like the presence of Jesus....

So often our hesitations about the people we distrust have as much to do with our own fears and pride as anything having to do with “them.” ...

Apart from Jesus, none of these disciples would have received an invite to Levi’s party … and none of these disciples would have had access to Levi’s social network....

Jesus packed a riot into a small group. And that small group changed the world....

Tax collectors in Judea in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry had remarkably complex jobs....

Healthy small groups will connect us to people we wouldn’t ordinarily connect with thought means we wouldn’t ordinarily use in ways that radically challenge us to mature and grow. ...

The remarkable thing about the men was that they had been with Jesus (see Acts 4:13)....

Did Jesus and the Twelve know some secret to group dynamics and community structure?...

From the very beginning Jesus’ small group had a mission. ...

He could share more with them by living life with them than by lecturing them....

Our participation in service gives us a deeper appreciation of the salvation that Jesus bought for us. That salvation works deeper into our souls as a result. And we’re transformed....

You’re more likely to find the truly great person by looking for someone serving. You’re more likely to grow into true greatness in your own life by looking for opportunities to serve....

We have an opportunity to practice the discipline of trust. We can relax into the watchful care of our wise God....

Imagine Jesus turned to you and asked you: “What do you want me to do for you?” ...

As we pour out our hearts to him, he hears us and responds in love. That doesn’t always mean giving us what we ask for, but it always means giving us his best....

God’s invitation to “together” is the only pathway to “better.”...

There’s no sending without authority and there's no authority without sending....

We need to be “together” in our pursuit of the “better.”...

Why didn’t Jesus send them out as one big group?...

As Jesus continued to faithfully visit town after town ...

Following Jesus does, at times, come with a cost. He doesn’t offer us cheap discipleship....

Jesus’ invitation to follow him requires us time and time again to leave our nets, to leave behind even the good things that will distract us from following him....

What do you do when you come to one of Jesus’ metaphors?...

Jesus flips the script. He calls uneducated fishermen. He initiates the relationship. And that changes how the whole thing would work....

Every movement has a starting place....

Don’t miss his purpose. Don’t miss his invitation....

The dance between his Father and his friends, between solitary prayer and community life, that created an environment that was primed for Jesus to discover and rediscover his purpose....

Jesus’ decision to move on to other towns and villages to preach meant that he wouldn’t be able to stick around to enjoy the honor and gratitude of all of the people he had directly and indirectly helped....

God the Son ...

How does the tug of popularity pull on your heart? ...

Our world is thirsty for “green grass,” for places where people can sit down together and connect with each other in meaningful ways....

Don’t ever think that your small loaf of bread and your few fish aren’t enough to make a difference....

Great Bible study involves letting your imagination roam through a text, seeking understanding and insight....

Watch out for God’s great compassion! His compassion will change the course of history. His compassion can transform your life....

There’s a rest that comes from quiet and a rest that comes from depending on Jesus. We, like Jesus’ disciples, need both....

A lot of us feel the speed of time as we close out another year. Where did 2017 go? ...

Anna’s story reminds us of much we already know but easily forget in the busyness of life....

In the presence of Jesus the ordinary power structures of the world get flipped on their head. ...

Something came alive in Simeon when he met Jesus....

Listen for any part of this story that warms your heart toward God and that sparks joy in your soul....

When you connect with Jesus, joy follows....

All too often we bump right up to the threshold of joy and turn back because we see rough wood and straw and very little gold. We need to pay closer attention to find joy, to find our Savior in the manger....

The shockwave of this good news wraps great joy around the world. Can you feel it? ...

Knowing that you may encounter opportunities to be terrified on your path toward joy allows you to summon your courage and look to the Lord for strength to stay engaged....

We can look back on this ordinary night and see that any ordinary moment is a moment that could be pregnant with potential for a miracle....

Taking a word or phrase like this and reflecting on it and meditating on it (like we did right here) can be a great spiritual discipline. ...

God invites us to be his children before he invites us to anything else. ...

Don’t miss the full picture of the salvation that God has for us in Jesus Christ!...

The presence of God in our midst is good news to us....

John was going to lead an extraordinary life. But he would be eclipsed by Jesus....

God can be at work in our lives that fit the patterns we’ve seen in the lives of other. But he can also break the mold....

Mary had a deep sense that God’s new work in the world at Christmas would turn the world upside down....

God’s work doesn’t start with us. ...

Rejoicing sparked by gratitude does something powerful in our souls....

When the emotion is too great to convey in mere words, characters in a musical will sing out. ...

Presence and affection. This is what love looks like....

For us to become a people of deep faith, we need to attend carefully to the stories of God’s faithfulness in the lives of the people around us....

In the virgin birth we see the extraordinary and miraculous lengths God will go to for the sake of a relationship....

“A simple translation correction,” we think, “could clear up all this confusion.” Except that it doesn’t....

God meets us in the real world. ...

How would it change your relationship with Jesus if you came to believe in him in the midst of a feast that had been marked by this miracle: turning water into wine?...

As Vanessa Williams sang a long time ago: “Just when I thought a chance had passed, you went and saved the best for last.” And that’s just what Jesus did....

Just as God can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary, he can take the sacred and make it holy....

Jesus kept the party going....

God wants to be present in every corner of our lives....

There’s so much packed into this one tiny verse. ...

Switchtracks reveal something about the person with whom we’re speaking. What we do with these switchtracks matters....

She had such a hard time seeing beyond her thirst. And so do we....

We don’t like to be vulnerable, to expose our needs to strangers, or to be the one asking for help. We’d much rather give answers....

Jesus’ need to go through Samaria had nothing to do with logistics and travel efficiency and everything to do with his mission to seek and save the lost....

Our obsession with being right keeps us from being loving and, in effect, keeps us from experiencing full and deep and rich intimacy with Jesus....

Doing this requires courage....

All too often our conversations across religious divides devolve into petty arguments....

People feel strongly about their gods....

In our time of need, we need to know that God is at work restraining evil. He’s not absent. He isn’t on vacation or taking a nap. He’s fully engaged....

Bad stuff can tempt us to bad behavior....

Jesus doesn’t just feel sorry for us; he shares our emotional state....

Centering our hope on Jesus and holding firmly to our faith allows us to reject the unhealthy options that present themselves to us in our times of crisis....

When bad things happen, we can find our faith shaken. We trust the Lord, but that trust gets tested. And that’s okay....

Even the most rational and intellectual among us sway under the weight of our hearts....

The Bible’s glory is a reflected glory: the beauty of the moon, not the beauty of the sun. But in these dark days, we can feel grateful for a full moon shining brightly and guiding our footsteps....

On Easter Sunday, Jesus had been raised from the dead, but his followers and friends were still deciding if they were going to believe the news. How would you help these folks believe that Jesus was alive?...

Throughout the Bible we see the story of God and his people told honestly, warts and all....

As followers of Jesus, we trust the Bible and allow it to guide both our lives and our community because we believe that the Bible speaks faithfully about Jesus....

Anyone can be your neighbor....

The good news in Jesus Christ is that God’s acceptance of us doesn’t depend on our performance for him....

Stories like these have the ability slip past our defenses. They challenge us without being obnoxious. They give us space to consider a different point of view....

We’re at our worst when we put our church or our family or our politics above our connection with Jesus. ...

Jesus desires to offer relationship and not just answers. ...

When we come to Jesus with our questions, we shouldn’t be surprised when he challenges us in return....

If Jesus answered the question but not the expectations underlying it, John’s emotional turmoil might continue....

Don't keep your questions to yourself, allowing it to smolder and burn up your insides. ...

Take some time today to listen to the questions people ask about God, faith, religion, and spirituality...

The God we see revealed in Jesus is a God who can handle our questions, a God who loves being asked questions....

Throughout your life you will encounter people who in moments of foolishness mean to do you harm. Don’t wrap your life around them....

We all have times in our lives when we slip through the garden and grab for forbidden fruit and play God. ...

Many of us couldn’t forgive others from our hearts except that God is at work in and around us....

In our relationships with God we’re the recipients of his radical and surprising mercy. ...

When in your life have you been the recipient of words of blessing, of someone with authority in your life commenting on your past, your character, or your potential?...

Everyone is surprised by mercy. ...

We need someone to rescue us from our slavery to anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and pride....

God can work in a thousand ways to transform the way we see the people who’ve hurt us....

Our past experiences of trauma can trigger strong reactions in us....

Justice doesn’t have to come at the expense of your soul....

This is a God who is worthy to be praised. ...

Don’t let anyone convince you that you have nothing to offer. And don’t let the spirit of comparison creep into your heart. Bring to the table exactly what God has given you and do so joyously....

We’ve seen time and time again how our community generously responds to neighbors in crisis and global needs. We’ve made sacrifices to help others. And it’s so worth it....

The myth of the self-made, bootstrap-pulling, hard-working, independent hero stumbles in seasons like these....

Tremendous pressures pile up to move the wheels of the world and of our lives....

Pause for a moment and thank God for putting the right people in your life in decisive moments. ...

The ongoing rumblings in Joseph’s heart foreshadow an upcoming work of God in Joseph’s life....

Joseph leaned in and was faithful to do the work God had given him to do....

Joseph wants to rely on God. And that’s what makes him extraordinary....

Don’t lose hope if you can’t chart a clear course from where you are today to where you hope to be....

Awareness of God’s activity can boost your God-confidence....

As you navigate difficult situations and relationships, God's presence can fill you with tremendous confidence....

Joseph’s past and his present collided. He had a decision to make....

All too often we get so busy doing our good work that we forget to connect with the people who God has placed in our path....

As God poured his blessings out on Joseph, the cupbearer and the baker benefitted as well. This can also happen to us in hard times....

What happens inside of us when we see people punished for showing integrity? ...

God gave blessings and God gave boundaries. Joseph knew that he couldn’t accept one without the other....

With success comes challenge....

The Lord’s blessing on the household didn’t remove Joseph’s challenges, but they did change his experience....

Your prospering doesn’t ultimately depend on your circumstances....

Though God is not mentioned once in Genesis 37, we later discover that he was at work all throughout this painful and difficult episode....

Let’s refuse to participate in the destructive practice of dehumanization....

Our dreams can reveal our areas of immaturity, as can our way of communicating them. ...

Favoritism is one of many broken relational patterns that separate us from each other....

We can’t rid ourselves of our automatic habit of capturing first impressions as we meet new people, but we can cultivate habits of attention that allow us to look beyond those initial judgements....

The Lord constantly works through communities. For every great figure in the story of our faith, we also find the Lord sending them friends....

As God’s blessings pile up in and around us, we need to share them with others. Only then will God’s blessings to us be complete....

God holds up his side of the covenant. Though his covenant purposes advance over rocky terrain, they advance nonetheless....

God's invitation stands. It’s our turn to respond. What will we do?...

The adventure of life with God gives us healing and joy and blessing, but it also stretches us. We leave familiar territory, relationships, programs, and narratives behind when we launch out into this adventure....

What if the craziness we feel when we’re crazy busy is due to having two different songs playing inside of us: the drumbeat of eternity and the roar of busyness?...

God has made everything beautiful in its time. Even us. ...

Without meaning, work becomes miserable and we lose our drive....

This burst of poetry reaches out and connects with our hearts. We’re given space to connect viscerally and emotionally with God’s truth about the seasonal nature of life....

God does huge things in our lives when we shift from Now-Or-Never Thinking to Season Thinking....

The Lord is the one who makes known to us the paths of life....

Contentment is the fruit of a soul who’s put down roots in the generosity of God....

We love hard work. We work hard. But the Lord is the one who holds our ultimate security....

Other gods make big promises if only we’ll worship them. They give us benefits in the short-term (sometimes). But over time these gods fail us. And we suffer more and more as a result of our bondage to them....

Lean more heavily on God when times get hard....

Calling out to God changes us for the better. ...

In order to pursue your God-given great work, you need to make more than just one good decision; you need to string together a series of good decisions....

Don’t give in to the temptation to compare your great work to others....

When you embark on great work in your own life, you probably won’t have people trying to get you killed. But it may feel like it....

When we live crazy busy lives, we miss out on the great work God’s given us to do....

Enter into this passage imaginatively. ...

You cannot go off by yourself and grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ....

Only love can hold us together. ...

Paul’s prayer for power which leads to strength isn’t focused on doing and achieving. Instead, Paul wants his friends to have the rich and beautiful experience of intimacy with Jesus Christ....

The special relationship you have with God gives you strong permission to open your heart to him in prayer....

The reflected glory shines brightly in the dark....

God’s choice to identify with us was, according to Paul, his way of making his wisdom known to the entire cosmos....

We don’t have to jettison our ethnic identities in order to fully participate in the body of Christ....

Paul didn’t want the Christian mysteries to be held in secret as copyrighted proprietary instruction. He wanted everyone to talk about these great mysteries....

Paul had a beautiful call from the Lord. What’s yours? ...

God has chosen to make himself know to the world through us, to meet with people through us, to identify with us....

If Jesus can stand alive on the mountain top, he can bring us there with him....

When Jesus brings us near to God and to other people, he does it in a way that challenges and changes us....

In God’s good goodness, he goes out of his way to connect with those of us who live as outsiders....

Our world is full of divides....

God pulls us into his activity....

Salvation is a gift, not a payment for services rendered....

God’s great love for us has the final say in our lives....

God changes the story of our past, but he doesn’t rewrite history. He adds new chapters. And each new chapter reshapes how we see the entire story....

A humble memory of where you came from ...

Christ will always be the highest authority. No one will topple him, surpass him, or overthrow him....

God is at the center of Paul’s vision and at the center of our lives....

Above all, Paul prioritized knowing God, so that’s what he asked God to do for his friends....

What are we missing when the focus of our prayer lives is only asking for things?...

You can’t have meaningful faith in the Lord Jesus without also having love for all God’s people; you can’t have love for all God’s people without also placing your faith in the Lord Jesus....

The Spirit is God’s very presence with us. He doesn’t just welcome us to ping him when we have a minute; he wants to spend time with us....

God’s good work in us invites us every day to both hear and believe....

Wouldn’t you love for everything that’s glorious about God to be on display in you? ...

Paul talks about something he calls “predestination” and treats it like good news....

Adoption is special. The child or person being adopted is chosen, wanted, added to a new family....

Jesus gives us access to every spiritual blessing....

God the father who welcomes you and Jesus the prince who loves you send grace and peace to you every minute of every day...

We become God’s holy people only in and with and through Christ Jesus....

God works actively, daily to shape us into the people he wants us to become....

This week we’re kicking off a new series out of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. And as we get started, it might be helpful for you to learn about Ephesus and the folks who received this letter....

God is doing amazing things in the world, unlooked for amazing things. We feel so grateful that God has taken the initiative to bless, heal, and bring about reconciliation....

The scope of the challenges that face us when we roll up our sleeve to engage the world for good can paralyze us....

For those of us who labor ...

Our tiny acts of service, performed with great love, link together into a great chain of progress. Pulled by the Lord, this chain of progress lifts our community a little bit every day, a little bit every year....

God will make all things new. He’s promised to time and time again. He didn’t promise this on a whim. He hasn’t forgotten his promise. He can do it. And he surely will....

Do you believe this is true?...

God’s cosmic new-making mission will radically change the way the world works....

Some days it feels like our sadness will last forever. But it won’t. It won’t. Our Father will stop the madness. He will make it stop. We will wipe our tears from our eyes....

Jesus has removed every reason for us to be terrified of God. So we can go searching for him without fear. And we can find him and discover that he’s been with us ...

God’s new-making mission takes place on a cosmic scale. It’s bigger than any of us. We’re so small, but so dearly loved. And this is good news....

The Christian life spills beyond Sunday morning worship, small group life, and quiet devotional emails. ...

These virtues function like clothing. They make it possible for us to be present and un-self-conscious, to feel safe and secure, to feel wanted for who we are and not just for our bodies … for what we can do....

You can’t put on your new self without also taking off your old self and being made new....

We have no life apart from Christ. We go where he goes and join him in what he’s doing. He’s not our safety net; he’s on the tightrope with us....

Right now we are called to set our hearts on things above, to shift our focus onto Jesus....

Jesus makes us new....

What have you written off as gone forever?...

Over and over again, in every situation, when Jesus reached out to touch someone who was unclean something remarkable happened. ...

Who wins? Spoiler alert: Jesus wins. Always. In the end, Jesus makes all things new....

We need to know that Jesus is no stranger to our ordinary places....

Let’s not slip into that place where we feel like our good behavior earns us a place in Jesus’ party. ...

So many people will say that they like or even admire Jesus, they just can’t stand his followers. ...

We throw our lives open in healthy and joy-filled ways and invite the people that God’s placed in our lives to join us as we connect with our Savior....

We must choose every day to follow Jesus....

Jesus changed everything for Levi, as we’ll see this week. ...

Being reconciled to God is both a once-for-all-time kind of thing and an every-day-I-live-and-breathe kind of thing....

The barriers between you and a healthy relationship with God have come down. You have no more reason to hide....

We have a role to play. God has commissioned us. What a blessing!...

Underpinning today’s passage is the story that tells us that something had gone horribly wrong between us and God....

Because the new is here, the old has gone. The old may remain for a beat or two, but it’s gone just as surely and securely as if it had already been eradicated....

Celebrate this. Sing it. Shout it. Write it on your walls. Christ has made us new....

The trickle-down effects of our relationship with Christ continue to unfold in today’s passage. ...

Death in all it’s forms ...

Love is not a finite resource, but our priorities do shape the way we express our love. ...

The love of Christ gives us the emotional and spiritual energy we need to carry on the life of faith....

They knew their message would seem like nonsense. But they shared it anyways....

If Jesus can come back from the dead, what is impossible for him?...

Why doesn’t God make this extraordinary circumstance more ordinary?...

Taking time to wonder doesn’t come naturally to everyone. And it’s tough to do in our frenetic, fast-paced, get-things-done culture. But it has an impact....

What they found at the tomb didn’t align with their expectations. The tomb was opened and the body was gone....

You are dearly loved by God. And he proved it on the cross....

The place where prayer and action meet is a place where we can connect with God....

Jesus did a great deal of teaching … but his teaching wasn’t what he was known for in his lifetime, what he was remembered for by his disciples, or what from his life has had the most significant impact on the world....

Jesus’ revolution is marked by Jesus’ character. His love, patience, compassion, and mercy will come stamped on his every action. He’s delightfully and maddeningly consistent....

Reflecting on your own decision-making process might help you to connect more deeply with Jesus in this pivotal moment in his story....

The church is more than a Sunday morning gathering for music, sermonizing, and donuts. It’s bigger than us. ...

Who are the great partners that God has brought into your life ...

Barnabas’ posture had a tremendous impact on his experience and on the way others experienced him. We’re at our most healthy when we cultivate a similar posture....

It took outsiders to reach outsiders....

Ethnic segregation, socioeconomic segregation, political segregation … left to our own devices we’ll surround ourselves exclusively with people who look, spend, and think just like us....

What might God do with your faithfulness?...

The Lord of all the cosmos has chosen to treat you as a friend ...

This gap between who Jesus really is and who people perceive him to be shows up for all of us....

Jesus isn’t just alive on the other side of the cross and the empty tomb, he’s present in the lives of his people. ...

Opponents to God’s work in the world today can appear in various forms. Some come equipped with little more than snide comments and teasing. Others carry knives, bombs, and the hammer of unjust laws....

Turn away and pray and it will be okay. ...

The Lord isn’t done with our transformation at the moment of our initial conversion. Every day we follow him he works in our hearts and souls to change the way we think, love and live....

No one is too lost to be found. No one is too stuck to be freed. No one is too evil to be loved....

Every inch of ground gained by the kingdom of God has to be taken from other little imposter kingdoms....

The miracles earned him a hearing....

How do we go from being unprepared to being prepared? ...

God’s power is put on full display when his followers cross racial, ethnic and cultural lines with the news and love of Jesus....

Philip will get more instructions later in the passage. All he’s given to start with is a direction. But that was enough....

In a world that’s clearly not the way it’s supposed to be, God has intervened....

God is wildly available to us in these seasons of disruption....

The arc of the universe bends toward celebration....

Take some time today to meditate on the strength-giving joy of the Lord....

The Lord’s work in our hearts is to turn us back toward community in healthy and generous ways....

The goodness of the Lord gives us a reason to celebrate....

What do you do at the end of a great, good project? We’ve talked about building and rebuilding families, careers, homes, churches, and communities. But what happens next?...

If we were going to draw it into something like a formula, it might look like this: Committed Community + Generous God = Remarkable Results....

The whole community is blessed when someone is willing to step in and do the work no one else wants to do....

Those daughters of Shallum, those strong women, worked as hard as all of the rest of the men. And their work was noted both by Nehemiah and by God....

There is an intimate connection between your willingness to get your hands dirty and your ability to bless people....

Your particular part in God’s good work has not gone unnoticed by him....

Nehemiah’s testimony about God’s gracious hand at work for him gave the people the faith they needed to actively move into the future....

“We” creates space for “us.”...

Sometimes you need someone to tell you when you’re in trouble....

A patient due diligence process prepares us to step into the work we’ve been given to do in a knowledgeable, prepared way....

We live in an age that struggles with secrecy....

As people of faith, we don’t have to be afraid of planning. The same God who speeds and catches us when we take our leaps of faith can inspire and guide us when we plan....

The active, rough-and-tumble, dangerous phase of the Jerusalem rebuilding project was peppered with prayer. Connecting with God in prayer filled the beats between moments of action. ...

We often are only in touch with the surface of our desires. We rarely dive into their depths....

Fear is not the absence of faith. Even the faithful feel fear. Fear can serve us well, pushing us onto the path toward wisdom. But fear makes a terrible master....

We believe that the Lord still does this: he positions people perfectly to pursue their destiny. ...

You also can store up for yourself a supply of conviction about the Lord’s willingness to keep his promises....

Nehemiah’s willingness to identify himself with his broader family and community in confession positions him powerfully to lead his entire community in mission....

The Lord is present in our lives and history, whether the news is good or bad. When his people practice prayerful engagement, they discover that their activist God is already deeply engaged: bringing restoration, resisting evil, and generating hope....

One of the things we love about Nehemiah’s story is that he manages to care both for people and structures. He doesn’t just have warm and fuzzy sympathetic feelings for his fellow Jews, he also cares about the state of Jerusalem’s walls....

Choosing to care does something in our souls. The Lord works with that choice, enriches it and expands it and nourishes it. Choosing to care slips you into the center of God’s great work....

Life in the church brings our vulnerabilities to the surface. This is perhaps never more true than when a church is growing....

The Lord delights to do the seemingly impossible....

Don’t encourage people to imitate your behavior. When they’re inspired by the Lord’s work in your life, encourage them to connect with God....

When the Lord grows a community, when the Lord grows a church, when the Lord grows a person … the blessings spill beyond that the life of that community, church, or person....

The political and military machinations of the world powers look like ultimate powers, but God is also at work. God’s work continues even in seasons of difficulty and uncertainty. And God’s work is the work that matters most....

There is good soil out there, soil that’s been prepared, hearts that are ready to hear and accept that word of the Lord. ...

Jesus insightfully lists 3 things that can keep the word of God from bearing fruit in your life: worries, wealth, and distraction....

Troubles and persecutions can come as a result of our faith. If we haven’t put down deep roots, our faith won’t survive....

The soil on the path has not been prepared to receive the seed....

God’s kingdom is marked by the reckless generosity of the king. ...

How will we respond to Jesus’ great act of service? Gratitude. Shame. Joy. Confusion. Worship. So many responses are available to us....

Will you choose to serve? This is a daily choice, a choice that goes against the grain of the world, a choice that God uses to transform us....

When do you find yourself feeling grumpy about the way other people talk to or about God?...

Our prayer requests fly to God, but we can’t pretend to fully comprehend the full impact of each flap of their wings....

James and John are comically transparent in their attempt to manipulate Jesus. Aren’t we all?...

The kingdom of heaven is available to both seekers and stumblers. Some of us searched high and low looking for a place and a community where what God wants done is done. Others of us went looking for friends, free food, and a little spiritual icing on the cake we call life and stumbled into this great and wonderful kingdom that God is bringing to fruition in our midst. God...

What do you consider to be so worthwhile that you’ll rearrange your life? This question can give you insight into your priorities, your dreams, and the challenges of your current life situation....

Great engagement with the scriptures begins with good observation of the text. As you read these parables, what stands out to you?...

The Kingdom of Heaven is worth it!...

How would you fill in this blank: “The kingdom of heaven is like _________.”?...

What would happen if we all committed to seek God’s kingdom first in 2017?...

Every resolution you make in this new year can contain a kingdom component if you are willing to seek it out. Losing weight, reading more, decluttering, taking a vacation, calling your kids … each and every one of these can be used by our heavenly Father to advance his kingdom in our lives and in this world....

This time of year many of us will ponder making resolutions to live life differently in 2017. The changes that take place in our lives might have a tremendous impact on our relationships and our participation in God’s kingdom. ...

Mary’s practice of treasuring what has happened and pondering them in her heart is a practice that can serve us well in our own lives....

Rest. Rest. The weary world rejoices. ...

Who can you surprise with a Christmas invitation this year?...

Our differences don’t go away; they just cease to keep us apart....

Wouldn’t it be great if all of us had our eyes fixed on Jesus and our hearts filled with joy? ...

It doesn’t take much to see that the problems of little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world...

Because Christmas is for everyone, Christmas is for you and for everyone you love....

Going home for the holidays can be difficult....

There’s no story that God cannot join....

Don’t go to Jesus expecting to find a king like Caesar Augustus. He has his own personality, his own priorities, and his own values. The kingdom in which Jesus rules and reigns differs tremendously from the empire of the Caesars....

God is not thrown by the twists and turns life throws us. He can leverage and redeem them. He can see to it that good comes about despite them. And this can help us trust him....

The ripple effect of one small decision can be felt throughout a community or throughout a lifetime....

Blessed are you if you believe the Lord will fulfill his promises to you....

Time and time again the Lord has empowered both women and men to speak up in the power of the Spirit and testify about Jesus. And he empowers us today....

Have you ever considered this possibility: God’s faithfulness to you may be used to bolster someone else’s faith?...

Crediting the Lord is a choice that we make. And it’s a choice worth making. ...

One of the Christmas surprises we have to reckon with this season is the surprise of disappointment. We have such high hopes for God’s work and intervention. But they won’t always be fulfilled....

When Joseph found out about the pregnancy, he went and took a nap. When Mary found out, she went to visit a friend and sang a song....

God connected with history in a new way in Jesus. He connects with us in a new way through Jesus today....

Through Christmas, Mary was pulled into God’s bigger story. And we are too. Through Christmas we’re invited to participate in significant ways in God’s subversive kingdom....

You are highly favored and the Lord is with you. ...

What resources do you think are necessary for things to change for the better?...

In those early years of Jesus’ life, his adopted father sheltered him from political powers that would gladly have taken his life and obstructed his saving mission....

Once Joseph received this bigger perspective, his reason for being afraid went away. When he chose to listen and believe, his life changed....

Joseph didn’t ask for this burden, but he did the best he could to navigate this difficult challenge in a faithful way....

Christmas came as a surprise for everyone involved. No one would have expected God to act in this way....

God wants to meet us in the real world. ...

Our generous God wants us to share his happiness. ...

Wherever you are on the spectrum, your relationship with the master makes a tremendous difference. ...

What are we doing with what God has entrusted to us?...

Not everyone starts from the same starting place....

Without gratitude generosity falls to the wayside....

Sacrificial gifts have a deeper significance than gifts that are given out of our surplus; the difference between someone giving you the shirt off their back and a shirt out of their closet....

Who gave more: the wealthy or the poor?...

Place your devotion on Christ himself: the one who made you, loved you, rescued you, and gave you purpose....

Jesus didn’t just pay attention to the large gifts of the wealthy; he also paid attention to the significant gift of a poor widow....

Healthy conversations about God and money can help us become generous-hearted people....

Jesus cares about your “treasure” because he treasures you and knows the impact that our resources have on our allegiances....

God has so much more for us than we could ever gain on our own....

You can’t separate generosity and trust....

What would happen if God’s people truly learned to trust him?...

The practice of generosity can be used by God to liberate us from the weight of worry....

God is God and we are not....

The Lord pays attention to the margins of our lives and those who live on the margins of society....

Preserving margin blesses both the people keeping the margin and their community....

Margin ain't easy....

Few things prove harder to maintain than healthy margin....

If we are made in his image, it should not surprise us that when we are living a generous life, it brings us joy, too....

God is so committed to being generous with us that he starts us out in paradise and secures for us eternal joy at the sacrifice of his Son....

God not only makes a wonderful creation, he generously shares it with people that they might tend to it in a way that he would....

You are uniquely and brilliantly designed by a generous God who has stamped you with his image....

God has given us signs and signals of his character in the generosity of the wonder of all that he has created....

Don’t let conflict with a brother or sister stop the overflow of God’s love in you....

Fear can motivate us to serve others. So can love. On the surface, you might not be able to tell the difference between the two. ...

God didn’t just say that he loved us. He showed us. He backed up his love with action....

Because God loves first, God gets to decide who we are to love....

This Sunday we’ll replace our regular worship services with a community-wide day of serving our community together. And this is directly connected to our belief that God is love....

The blessed life we experience when we obey God is actually the by-product of something else. Let’s circle around to take a look at it....

Faithfulness matters to us because we have a God who has proven himself faithful....

We may know what he will do, but the how stands beyond our comprehension. ...

The Lord often works in mysterious ways. That popular proverb prompts peace until you’re stuck in the middle of a weird “mysterious-ways” situation....

God promises to act and invites us to join him...

Our attempts at self-protection will, at times, interfere with our experience of God. He does amazing things in our lives when we’re willing to be vulnerable to him....

We respond to God with open hearts and are transformed by him. We humble ourselves. We need this more than he needed plans, guidance, or miraculous intervention. ...

God is always right and good. And that means that he’s always on his own side....

Whenever we find ourselves in highly politicized, highly charged environments, it’s entirely natural to want bright lines. We seek them out of instinct....

The same God walks with us from season to season but the way we see his provision changes....

If you compare your small pile of stones to the great structures that cast shadows over you, you’ll miss out. ...

Symbol and ritual will remain hollow, empty and dead unless they are articulated and explained. ...

We carry a responsibility to faithfully pass along what we’ve heard and seen of the Lord....

At times this “going back” experience comes to us for the sake of someone else: you go back into the fire because someone you care about is in there....

Have you had miraculous experiences with God?...

Perhaps God had the people cross over when the river ran at flood stage to make it clear to all who were willing to believe that he was involved in this endeavor....

God’s deliverance happens upstream. The miracles are decisive. The results are guaranteed. But it’s all happening upstream....

No matter where you wander or where you roam, no matter where your courage-journey takes you, you will never be beyond the reach or presence of the God who loves you....

When the Lord does amazing things in our midst, will we be ready?...

The Lord often leads us to places where our own courage can never be sufficient....

Jesus showed courage. We benefitted....

Engaging God directly is the best way to engage the tension we feel when we’re confused by God’s action or inaction. ...

Do whatever it takes to be aware of the Lord today. ...

The Lord loves to create unlikely alliances....

The path to the Lord’s promise is always paved with risk....

We all will struggle at times to believe the word of God that is spoke over us....

We can so easily overestimate the level of our obedience to the Lord. ...

When Jesus saves us and welcomes us into the family of God he begins to connect us with people who are different from us....

God’s generosity toward us motivates our obedience to him....

We all will have times in our lives when the Lord will call us to great adventures....

We may not know all the twists and turns that the path will take, but we know where it ultimately leads and we know who walks it with us....

Out of trust comes both strength and courage....

God’s presence fills us with strength and courage. ...

What could you do if only you knew the Lord would be with you?...

Moses was dead....

How can we grow in this discipline of confident waiting when we are in a season where waiting for the Lord is our most faithful option?...

Confidence and flexibility both stand as necessities when dealing with the promises of God....

In today’s psalm we encounter that primal fear that God might forget or reject us. ...

All too often we go to the Lord looking for safety or for victory, but have little desire in our hearts to be with the Lord himself....

David didn’t fear his enemies ...

Our trust in the Lord also has a direct impact on the people around us. ...

David wants to be remembered according to the great love of the Lord....

Those who trust in the Lord have a secure relationship with him....

God alone is worthy of our complete and total trust....

God’s people were always meant to live together in blessed unity. ...

The life God’s people live together is both good and pleasant. ...

An imposter has stolen Unity’s identity and attempted to pass himself off in her stead....

This too is worship unto the God who desires brothers and sisters to live together in unity....

The community that ascends the mountain of the Lord together is a community that values unity. ...

Sing the psalms...

When we praise our earthly leaders, let’s not forget to praise the Lord....

God has blessing and vindication to give in abundance....

How do we get clean hands and a pure heart?...

Have you ever considered the comprehensive nature of God’s ownership? ...

When we are attacked, he’s attacked. When we suffer, he suffers. And he takes the worst of it on himself....

Try asking for it!...

We drift away from the Good Shepherd when we stop paying attention to him....

When Jesus gives us boundaries and restrictions, he’s giving a gift to us, not taking something from us....

Four ways you can grow your familiarity with the voice of Jesus...

Humility doesn’t require us to beat up on ourselves; just to be honest about the areas where we make mistakes, fall short and hit limits....

People can doubt your testimony but they can never take it away....

All too often we find ourselves keeping hurting and suffering people at an arms’ distance and wishing in some corner of our hearts that we had the resources or skills to help them. ...

God is more interested in redeeming suffering than he is in explaining it....

A real blind man sat at their feet, asking for help....

Where will your freedom take you?...

Following Jesus isn’t easy, but it’s worth it....

Jesus is talking about three truths: the truth about ourselves, the truth about the world around us, and the truth about God....

If we know, remember, and obey Jesus’ teaching … if we hold to his teaching, then we’re his disciples....

Common beliefs pull us together...

Grapple with your beliefs about sin...

An awareness of our own sin moderates our response to sin in the lives of others....

All of our hopes hang on Jesus being not only just but also forgiving....

As we step forward into the next year, we know that Jesus will surprise us....

The person who hasn’t practiced self-examination will struggle to experience self-control....

Tomorrow will be Yesterday before we know it....

Self-examination leads to us to remember the saving sacrifice of Jesus....

Ignoring the past makes you susceptible in the future....

Guided by scripture and the Holy Spirit, we can encounter God in these moments of examination....

Let’s think about Jeremiah’s charge to pray to the Lord for the city....

Even though we don’t live in densely-populated, urban areas, we live in the midst of systems and structures that extend beyond individuals....

God’s people bring God’s blessing to the whole world, even at a cost to themselves....

Settling down feels like settling. But God has a purpose for us, a reason he placed us where he placed us....

God placed them in Babylon; therefore, there’s work for them to do....

With these words, James closes his letter....

The lost can be found. The trapped can be set free. The wanderers can be brought back....

We have to rely on God when we pray big, risky prayers....

We need to listen to what James actually says (instead of what we secretly hope he’s saying)....

James picks out several different reasons to pray and several different ways to pray....

The vast majority of the world’s population lives on less than $10 per day, making us some of the richest people living on the planet today (and in human history)....

Don’t delay the good you know you need to do today because you’re caught up scheming for tomorrow. ...

The Lord is free to exert his will on any and all of our plans....

Knowing that we are mist-people motivates us to cling to our solid God....

If we’re not careful, we’ll plan our lives without giving thought to God....

We are freshwater people. ...

We are made in God’s image and likeness....

Knowing that we’ll stumble prepares us to receive God’s helping hand as he draws us to our feet to try again....

Fire in the fireplace can give warmth to the house. Fire in a grill can feed a family. Fire in a lamp can give light to a community. But we must, must, must prevent forest fires....

This week we’ll be listening to James’ teaching on the importance (and difficulty) of taming the tongue....

Take a Holy-Spirit-led inventory of your faith and deeds...

What are some ways you can put your faith into action?...

Why would anyone claim to have faith without deeds?...

James believes that God can use the law to give freedom. ...

Listening is important work. But listening is not the same as doing....

How does favoritism connect with The Great Commandment? ...

We can find a dozen different reasons to justify our favoritism. But in the end, just like an unhealthy relationship, favoritism will hurt us....