Ethos Church

Every relationship forms you. The relationships you say “yes” to, and the relationships you say “no” to will both form you in one way or another. These relationships either wound you on the “operating table” or on the “battle field”. The operating table scenario heals, while the battle field scenario ultimately dominates. We need to want relationships that put us on the “operating table.” Who are...

Living a life faithfully following Jesus, means acknowledging God’s purpose, plan, perspective, and presence whether in a season of pain or a season of ease. During seasons of pain, it means not letting the storm cloud your vision and remembering that Jesus is in the boat with you. In seasons of ease, it means keeping in front of you the truth that you cannot do this alone and that no matter how g...

Pastor Jon shares about the difference between proclamation and application. Right now we are in a “Josiah like moment”. Josiah had every reason to not turn towards God, but something rose in him at the proclamation of God’s word that made him reform; made him change. God had given us each the opportunity to reform our legacy and our family. You can set the tone for your children, and your childre...

Generations after Israel had been freed from Egyptian slavery, they were hauled off into exile in Babylon, a secular country. In the book of Jeremiah, we see that Gods call to Israel was to retain their foundational identity as Gods people even though they were resident aliens in a foreign land. Despite their status as exiles .. God tells them to stay put. Put down roots, build houses, plant garde...

“There is a mean, violet streak in the true Christian life. But violence against whom, or what? Not other people. It’s violence against all the impulses in us that would be violent to other people. It’s a violence against all the impulses in our own selves that would make peace with our own sin and settle in with a peacetime mentality. It’s violence against all lust in ourselves, and enslaving des...

It is not hard to see why Christians would shy away from sin and judgement in our attempts to engage constructively in the debates and questions of our age. Our culture attacks sin and judgement as hate speech, leaving Christians confused, embarrassed and in denial about foundational biblical truths. We are told that doctrines of sin and judgement are not just misguided but downright dangerous or...

Neuroscience tells us - the human mind can actually resist truth about oneself. This phenomenon is called mutual pretense in the medical field. Everybody desperately needs to be covered - desperately wants to be covered - has to be covered, to keep people from seeing who we really are. What Adam & Eve used as fig leaves in Genesis 3, we use as social media, larger homes, smiling families, and...

We oftentimes ask ourselves, if God is so good why is there so much pain in this world. But the reality is, that Jesus’ promise of peace does not guarantee the absence of trouble or pain. Rather we are called to understand that life offers both still waters and valleys of death (Psalm 23). And in that, holding on to the truth that God is the connection point within those two places. And valuing Go...

Does anybody enjoy ‘waiting’? Red lights, long lines, commercials & ads during your favorite TV show or sports team, slow service at a restaurant. These are all a bit trivial in the grand scheme of life. But what about waiting on unanswered prayer, or a bad habit to finally be defeated, or a spouse, job, health? We don’t have a theology for waiting well. We certainly have an unhealthy and unbi...

In “Celebration of Discipline”, Richard Foster wrote, “God takes this ‘useless’ discipline, this ‘wasted time’, to make us His friend.” When we are quiet enough to hear God’s affirming voice, it becomes much easier not to fall under the spell of the opinions of others. The primary purpose of solitude is simply to be more present to God. In solitude we discover that the one who made us and loves us...

Scripture teaches, “don’t be anxious. Just pray.” Maybe we don’t because prayer comes with plenty of reasons to be anxious. Prayer itself makes us anxious because it uncovers fears we can ignore as long as we don’t engage deeply, thoughtfully, vulnerably with God.” Tyler Staten “This is the way it is with spiritual disciplines – they are a way of sowing to the Spirit. The disciplines are Gods way...

Practice > ‘New Year’s Resolution Spirituality'   When we think about the good news of Jesus, two approaches in the form of a question come to mind. There are two contrasting questions that form our shift today from making converts to making disciples. Question 1: In a ‘Conversion Centered Gospel’ one might ask “If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?” Question 2: In a disciple...

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

LOVE When Mary finds out that she is pregnant, she goes to spend her first trimester with her elderly cousin Elizabeth who is in her last trimester. It is likely they are both, given their ages, in the midst of the most challenging parts of their respective pregnancies. It is from this place that they enter into community. We might expect Elizabeth, who has waited her whole life for a child, might...

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference. EthosOH.com Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community ServeColumbus.org

The Kingdom of Heaven Among Us It is not up to us to build the kingdom, but we can build for the kingdom. As resurrection people who know that heaven and earth overlap, we can become agents of God’s beauty in a world that needs a song, a beautiful painting, a new dance, or a heart-touching poem. We can also stand for justice in a world where injustice seems to have a vise grip on so many people. T...

Paradise, Heaven, Resurrection, & Rapture Heaven will not be a boring place, off in distant space, where we play harps, sit on clouds, and sing the same stanza of the same song forever. Heaven is God’s space, filled with peace, justice, and beauty. Heaven and earth are overlapping realities, and the resurrection of Jesus has connected these two spheres more closely than we know. If we pay clos...

Christians have a hope that enables us to face anything. There’s an “unsinkableness” about us. There’s a stubborn buoyancy about us. You sink a Christian and they keep coming back up. No matter how much of the world seems to be on top of them. This is not the same as optimism. As a matter of fact, Christians have a hope that enables them to stop denying how much life stinks. There’s a tremendous a...

As we read Colossians 4, we are encouraged to embrace the power of prayer and to live in Christ-centered community. We are reminded to devote ourselves to prayer, and through prayer, we can experience God's guidance and strength in our lives. Paul also emphasizes the importance of wisdom in our interactions with those who we interact with every day, making the most of every opportunity to shar...

Following Jesus in a Post-Roe World Within the beauty of humanity, the image and likeness of Christ is stamped on every single one of us. Regardless of where we may differ, may we remember Christ’s unwavering love, compassion, and grace; striving to emulate and to live like the One who is our ultimate example of justice and sacrifice. In seeking to live out the image of God we become vessels of Hi...

Teaching. Maturity. Spiritual Circumcision The apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:28, “So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.” Paul establishes that his goal for preaching and teaching is to “present everyone perfect in Christ.” The Greek idea of perfectio...

The Awe and Supremacy of Jesus Christ In Colossians 1, we read how Christ is the image of God. And we are called to recognize Jesus as not only the Lord of Creation but also the head of the Church who is guiding us in our journey of faith. We are reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice of dying on the cross for us and how this is a beautiful act of reconciliation and an act of bringing peace between us and G...

Church: A Countercultural Community The church has often pursued relevance at the expense of reverence. However, the church was meant to be a counterculture, where “life to the full” is visible and welcomed to all. The church’s countercultural identity can be further categorized in several ways: Countercultural Presence Countercultural United Family Countercultural Change Countercultural Mission A...

God’s goal for every church is that the Holy Spirit would be the animating force behind all that we do; that every Christian community would be characterized by dependance upon the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Taking our cues from 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10, we see that a Spirit-filled community should be characterized by: 1)   Supernatural Power 2)   Abiding Love 3)   Evangelistic Urgen...