Spark Cast

As we celebrate this milestone, our eyes are firmly set on what is ahead, to where the trail boss, scout, and buffalo hunter will lead and guide us.

What will it look like "to Spark Church" for the next generation, when its founders and day-ones have passed the torch?" We shall explore living out our Sparky vision of following Jesus in ways that last beyond us.

Rescue, one of Spark's five core values, is an outpouring of the freedom and hope we experience through Christ's sacrifice and Resurrection. As a people who have been set free, rescued from sin and death, we are called to extend that rescue and justice to all we meet.

Our tradition recognizes that the reputation of God through the reputation of disciples of Jesus is paramount to the Gospel. That reputation comes through a deep and profound understanding of our text and tradition that can only come through study, which is, according to some Jewish traditions, the highest form of worship. And as we study, we recognize that this world has been broken, and the righ...

Of the 613 commandments found in the scriptures, for followers of Jesus, there really is only one commandment: Love God and love others. The rest is commentary. Why? "For God so loved the world." This covenantal love is the foundation for the entire Grand Narrative of the biblical story. When we see the world through the lens of God's indescribable love, our lives and the lives of those around us...

Most people know WHAT a church does. Few understand WHY. In this series, we are exploring the core WHY of Spark, our mission, and our values and the teachings, perspectives, and texts that form the foundation of our community. To state it plainly, Spark exists to inspire people to live the Way of Jesus. In short, "Get Dusty."

History tells us that something revolutionary happened that transformed the moral and ethical landscape of Western civilization. That heritage is now encoded in the fabric of our society, and yet, we are unaware of its origins. As audacious as it may sound, we have our morals and ethics because of Jesus, a way of being distinctly contrarian to the Empire.

Since the beginning of humanity (and before), Nature has pushed us to look out for ourselves and our kin, at all costs. We reinforce that push in subtle and obvious ways today – “protect your peace”, “mama bear”, “you do you”. But Jesus draws us to a completely different way. Jesus causes us to do the wholly unnatural thing of loving others at enormous cost to ourselves.

Because of Jesus, we can live in a world of both answered and unanswered prayers, confident that in the end, the world will be put to right. But that hope doesn't always make it easy to navigate the ups and downs of our lives in the meantime. Our special guest speaker, Sparker and Stanford Law student, Karis Tai, shares her journey and offers thoughts on how she lives with the hope she has in Jesu...

Humans have been disrupted by advanced information and media technologies for thousands of years. Each time we have experienced disruption, division, and a fracturing of who we are and how we live in the world. One of the radical shifts of the Jesus Way is to "rehuman" ourselves and "recovenant" our relationships, an application of wisdom that reframes quite literally everything. In this era of ad...

Because of Jesus, we know how to live. The Gospels tell of Jesus' life, his teachings, and of his interactions with others. Jesus not only gives instructions on how to live, but his very life serves as an example for us all. [Testimony by Fanny]

A personal testimony of being seen by Jesus.

Because of Jesus, we are not alone. We are brought into the big family of God, as sons and daughters, finding ourselves with sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers from every tongue and every nation.

There are times and seasons in life "when you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand, and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right." This testimony speaks of learning to live through moments and seasons of uncertainty.

Pastor Tom shares his "Because of Jesus story … what he's seen — in Ethiopia, in a Bay Area shelter, at Spark Church, and in his own hardest season — and why it's convinced him that the kingdom of God is not someday. It's here. It's now. And the invitation is open to everyone.

How has Jesus changed our lives? What is different as a result? And how has Jesus transformed our Story, our Community, and our Purpose?

Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Fractals form the underlying pattern of all of life (in our bodies and in our food!) What does this have to do with discipleship? Everything! Understanding "Fractal Discipleship" not only tunes us in to the deep and natura...

It has been said that the ultimate aim of Christian faith is not to make people "believers" in the faith (per se), but rather to make exemplars of the very best of humanity. (God did create "humanity" after all, in the very beginning.) If this is true, understanding what it means to be human is part and parcel of faithful discipleship. In short, everyone needs a story by which they live, a communi...

What the Spirit did through the multi-national gathering of Jewish followers of Jesus on Pentecost in Acts 2 is perhaps one of the most jarring demonstrations of God’s love for the whole world. Even so, it was just the beginning. Hear our communal Pentecost tradition of proclaiming Jesus in languages from all over the world, and the Spirit’s relentless push to love everyone as if they were family.

"Thoughts and Prayers" commonly inundate our social media feeds in the advent of tragedy. “I’m praying for you” is equally spoken towards our own suffering or seeing the suffering of others. But what does it actually mean to pray for ourselves and others? What should we, as believers, be praying for? How should prayer push us into action for the sake of ourselves, our community, and our world?

[Due to technical difficulties, we are missing the first few minutes of the talk. We apologize for the inconvenience.] What happens when it appears we have all the material wealth according to the cultural standard? When it appears that our nation, zip codes, professions, and investment portfolios appear to shelter us from some of the troubles our unhoused, or less resourced neighbors, are we ever...

When everything around us is polarized and divided, what does it actually look like to follow Jesus — not just believe in him?

Considering becoming a teacher? Don’t. James' wisdom on what a true teacher looks like in a world full of influencers and grifters comes in hot with a stern warning for people who want authority and influence but aren’t willing to back it up with exceptional integrity. Words have power. They can save or destroy. So if you’re not willing to be pure, righteous, and peaceable...maybe don’t talk so mu...

Every human organization has a natural tendency toward entropy, the gradual degradation of the organization's originally inspiring mission into chaos and dysfunction. When Spark was launched, we intentionally prioritized focusing on being a healthy church, and growth would simply be whatever God granted. For us, this meant tending to the core principles of organizational health and our core values...