The Local Church

In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus' disciples (of then and now) are sent out with a specific task. Examining the impact this mission made shows us that it takes many people performing several different jobs in different places to fulfill one commission. When asking "What is MY mission?", we must remember that: 1) we were created to know and enjoy Jesus, and 2) God then created a specific mission as a gift...

What we believe about God's character affects how we invest what we have. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 was a message to the Pharisees of the day, who were supposed to be the light of the world but we're hiding it away. What has God entrusted to you and how are you using it?

What is the faith of the next generation worth? Everything. In Judges 2, we see what happens when just one generation fails to teach the next about the power of God and their passion for Him. But Deuteronomy 6 provides hope and instruction to pass on what we know of God "...when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up".

Bonfires, brokenness and the stench of regret. It’s the story of Peter and Johnny and Amanda. It’s the question of every human heart. Can I still be loved once I’ve blown it? Can I still be used after I’ve failed? Is Gods grace available to even me? Once we’ve experienced this love and grace, this restoration and redemption, this freedom and forgiveness, we can’t help but want to share it with oth...

Are you laying stones or building a cathedral? In the early church, there was a woman named Tabitha who lived an extraordinary life. It's a life that reveals something for us today: we don't usually bear future fruit by doing great things with uncommon gifts or abilities. We bear future fruit by doing a good thing with uncommon faithfulness. If we are going to bear future fruit, it's going to be t...

The trees we plant, the golden rule and the silver rule. Join us as we look at the turning point in Johns gospel and explain why some Greeks wanting to see Jesus was such a big deal. This is the silver rule, the desire for future fruit. John 12:20-26

In the final chapter of Peter's letter, we get his "yearbook message": Humble yourselves towards God and one another, and cast your anxieties on him. In these instructions, Peter provides the command and the comfort of the entire letter and we are met by a God who will never let go. A God who wants to protect and care for us.  1 Peter 5:6-7.

Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him." This is The Message's version of 1 Peter 4:1, and it helps us see three truths about recognizing God's voice, serving others, and using time wisely in this "4th quarter.

Learning to drive a new vehicle, the power of harmony and what to do when your three year old tells you that "you no come to my birfday party!" If we live a life of unified love with our Family and return blessing for evil we will have the opportunity to share the reason for the hope we have in Christ. 1 Peter 3:8-16

1 Peter 3:1-7: Context makes a world of difference in understanding so what do we do when our worlds are two millennia apart? We do the hard work. To understand Peter’s comments to wives and husbands we have to understand the context if we have any hope of applying the truth of scripture to our lives today. And there is truth to apply…

One of the tougher sections of Peter's letter the fledgling Christian church is found in the verses we explore today. We have to come to the text with humility and a desire to understand and obey. God wants to transform society by transforming individuals, while we we in the West often want to transform individuals by transforming society. This is messier, harder, certainly more painful but ultima...

The Wimbledon Championships, building projects gone wrong, and living stones being built into a spiritual temple. In 1 Peter 2:4-10, it is made clear that when we come to Jesus, we become like him: a living stone that God is building into a temple, a place where heaven and earth meet. We participate in this reality not as individuals, but together as the family of God with all the blessings that c...

In 1 Peter 1 and 2, we find four key words that can really help us picture the scripture's application: Conformed, Holy, Redeemed and Crave. Which one might God want you to examine to help you find truth and growth?

A primer in fighting lions, the Battle at Kruger and the Lake Ann Camp diving team. Peter tells us to be alert and resist the devil, God told Cain to watch out for crouching sin that wants to destroy us, Jesus said we should take sin very seriously. Why? Because sin robs us of the very thing that Jesus died to give us. Life. The very thing sin promises is the what it steals. We can't stop fighting...

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus delivers what is often titled, "The Sermon on the Mount." This sermon could more appropriately be titled, "The Sermon on the Monarchy." Here, Jesus paints a picture of what life under his rule and reign looks like and delivers a challenge to his disciples that was wrapped in cultural significance; a challenge to "Go Two".  Matthew 5:38-42.

Before a house is built the architect determines the width and height and depth of the structure. This is what Peter gives us in the opening paragraphs of his first letter to the churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Peter's first letter is a beautiful letter to Christians everywhere at anytime who are experiencing suffering and need a dose of encouragement to Never Let Go.

Shaquille O'Neal undercover Lyft, the Road(s) to Emmaus, and how Jesus quickly becomes the host when invited as the guest. Eating a meal is one of the last things that Jesus does with his disciples before his death and it's the first thing he does after he is resurrected. It's at the table where Jesus breaks bread, blesses it, eyes are opened and lives our changed. Luke 24:13-35

Evangelize...just the word alone makes most modern Christians cringe, but should it? Jesus thought we would share the gospel wherever we went, and he certainly did. He just often did it in ways that we don't expect. "The Son of Man came eating and drinking." Jesus often shared the gospel by his invitations to eat and drink, he met people in their place of pain with love. It was the power of hospit...

Apple's commercial during the '84 Super Bowl has gone down as one of the best and most provocative commercials in the past 50 years. It asked people to think differently and was intended to make us a little uncomfortable. Today's look at the gospels we've grown up with in protestant America (the Evangelical gospel, Reformed gospel, Prosperity gospel and Social gospel) will probably do the same thi...

Fake 20$ bills, the gospel and why calling people who are far from God “lost” may not be as demeaning as it sounds. Today we dive into the calling of Jesus for every Christian to “preach the gospel” in an era where the American Gospels are leaving us with, as David Foster Wallace once said, a collective sense of “lostness”.

What it means to be thirsty and why the gospel is for anyone and everyone, and for all of the time. At the Feast of Tabernacles in John's gospel, Jesus makes a bold claim that he is the source of new life and salvation, and the only thing required to receive this is simple: thirst.  John 7:37-38.

There is an old adage that we often overestimate what can be accomplished in one year and underestimate what can be accomplished in five. God has done so much in our midst these past five years that we have to celebrate. Yet, while it's good to celebrate for a moment, there are five really important things we can't do if we want to celebrate five years from now. God comes where he is wanted...

Leon was taken from his mother at the age of two due to her illness, had a mental breakdown at the age of 12 and lost his father a few years later. Well on his way to becoming "just another statistic", the risen Jesus began to resurrect Leon's life. This is the hope of Easter, that no one is too far gone, that death no longer gets to have the last word and that sin no longer needs to determine the...

"The Shalane Effect", buying a house, and the good news of Jesus' arrival. Palm Sunday and Jesus' arrival is a critical moment in God's story from start to finish. Jesus' presence brings some promises along with it: the Kingdom of God is here. Yet at times, through the pages of scripture and the world around us, we are left asking like John the Baptist, "Jesus, are you the one, or shall we look fo...

The Gospel is a narrative with four key points. At Creation, God created a good world. At the Fall, creation (and humanity with it) became disordered. Just look at the reality of our world! It is broken and it is dark. We must take the time to understand just how DARK the darkness is, so that we can appreciate the goodness of the Gospel. Next week we'll talk about the last two points in the s...