99 CHURCH

We all inherit a mixed bag from our family of origin. There are unhealthy things we've inherited, but there are also beautiful things as well. This week, we talk about generational blessing, and how God gives us agency to decide what legacy we want to continue or create for our family and the next generation.

Our lives are shaped by invisible scripts—messages we believe that have been formed by past experiences, that affect how we live today. But what if some of these scripts aren’t true? Together, we ask God to help us confront the lies we've believed and embrace the better story He is writing for our lives.

We are haunted houses. How many of us live in the present haunted by the ghosts of our past? Who we are is shaped by where we come from, especially our family of origin. But here’s the good news: your past doesn't have to define your future. With Jesus, we can face our ghosts, break old patterns, and step into a better future—together.

On Good Friday, they killed off the main character. Jesus was dead in the tomb. And all hope was lost. We find the church of Philadelphia in a very similar place. They were tired and weak, unsure of what the future held. But underneath the surface, resurrection and life were coming. Jesus, who holds the keys to life, has come to make all things new.

There's something about the church in Laodicea that makes Jesus so sick, that he's about to spit them out of his mouth. Which begs the question: What kind of spirituality makes Jesus want to vomit? One of the greatest struggles we face here in the West is the temptation to become lukewarm followers of Jesus. How do we break out of autopilot and live life by design, and not by default?

There's a kind of death that's deeper than physical death. A kind of death that corrodes you from the inside out. Many of us have the appearance of life, but we're actually dead within. This was Jesus' rebuke to the church in Sardis. What characterizes the "Living Dead?" And how do we tap into the life that Jesus promises us?

How often do we try to influence and control God? How often do we use the name of Jesus to fulfill our own plans, agendas, and dreams? All of us have experienced the subtle temptation of manipulation in our relationship with God, with others, and even with ourselves. This week, we read through Jesus' letter to the church in Thyatira.

There's a kind of fatigue that attacks the body. But there's another kind of fatigue that attacks the soul. Often times, our lives are far too busy and noisy for us confront our weariness. But the invitation of Jesus is to a life marked by rest. This week, we explore the spiritual practices of silence and solitude.

The church in Pergamum was known for their loyalty to Jesus. But although they never renounced the name of Jesus, they restricted the influence of Jesus on their lives. Slowly but surely, they were tempted by the surrounding world to compromise. We face the very same temptation today, specifically in relation to money, sex, and power. This week, we read Jesus' letter to the church in Pergamum.

It's very easy here in the West to organize our lives around the avoidance of suffering. But suffering is inevitable. The question we have to ask isn't: how do we avoid suffering at all costs, but how do we remain faithful to Jesus in our suffering? This week, we read through Jesus' letter to the church in Smyrna, the suffering church.

In the first of seven letters written to the churches in the book of Revelation, we see Jesus affirming the hard work, good deeds, and perseverance of the Ephesian church. But there's one thing he holds against them: they have forsaken the love they had at first. This isn't just a message for the church in Ephesus, this is a message for us today: You are faithful, but you are loveless. This week,...

One of the more recent shifts in how we think about sexuality here in the West is that sex has been disconnected from gender. The majority of the church, however, still believes that marriage and sex should only be between a man and a woman. This week, we explore some of the misconceptions we have when we talk about gender and sexuality in the church, as we try to uncover God's heart for sex.

We continue our conversation about sexuality and faith. We explore the major shifts we've experienced here in the west in how we see and approach sexuality, and what Jesus' vision for sexual formation is in the midst of our culture.

Many of us in the church struggle to live with a healthy, holistic, anxiety-free vision of our sexuality as it relates to our spirituality. But how does God actually feel about sex? And how are we called to engage our sexuality as a follower of Jesus? This week, we explore what sexuality is and how it is a vital part of our spiritual formation.

We all want to be happy. We all want to live fulfilled lives. The problem is, we often misunderstand what will bring us true happiness. Jesus tells us that happiness comes from generosity. That is, when we give ourselves, to those we love. This week, we explore the fourth and final movement of becoming the Beloved: Given.

We are all wounded people. To be human is to experience pain and suffering in life. Usually, our knee-jerk response to pain is to avoid it, or deny it, or distract ourselves from it. But as the Beloved, we are called to claim and embrace our brokenness. What if brokenness is just as intimate a part of our being as our chosenness and our blessedness? This week, we explore the movement of brokenness...

What does it mean to be blessed? When we think about the people in our world who are most blessed, who do we picture? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus radically redefines what blessing means and who are truly the blessed ones. This week, we dive into the second of four movements in our journey of becoming the beloved: blessed.

Deep down inside, there's a part of us that longs to be picked, chosen, and in essence, seen, known, and loved. To become the Beloved, we first have to know that we are chosen. Long before our parents, our friends, our peers, or anyone in our world picked us, we were already chosen by God. But how do we live from our chosenness? How do we embody it in our everyday lives? This week, we dive into th...

With every new year comes new resolutions. But instead of forming resolutions around activity, what if we formed them around identity? Instead of asking, "What do I want to do?" we asked, "Who do I want to become?" This week, we look to writer and theologian Henri Nouwen, to guide us on our journey of becoming, as we center our lives on one word that captures the heart of our faith: Beloved.

When most of us read the story of Zechariah, we assume that his muteness was a punishment for his unbelief. But what if silence wasn't a punishment from God? What if it was a gift? What if silence is an invitation for us to experience God in greater measure?

Many of us have lost the wonder of the Christmas story because we've sanitized all the humanity out of it. We don't see the fear in the eyes of a Middle Eastern teenager dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. We don't picture Mary hunched over the side of the road, throwing up because of morning sickness. We don't imagine baby Jesus, fresh out of the womb, covered with goopy fluids, blood, and hair....

There is faith after doubt. We conclude our Falling Upward collection by talking about some helpful ways to get us started on our journey of rebuilding and reconstructing our faith.

In the last decade, the term "deconstruction" has spread through the church like wildfire. And depending on who you talk to, or how your social media feed is curated, that's either a good thing or a bad thing. Deconstruction has become a buzzword, that often says more about the person using it, than what it actually means. What is deconstruction? Is it something to be feared or embraced? This week...

In the wake of another volatile, polarizing election, many people are feeling anxious, sad, angry, and troubled. But often times, church seems to be the last place we want to go when we're carrying these things. Perhaps it's because we've lost confidence that the church can be a place where we can mourn and sit in our sadness without someone trying to rally us out of it in the name of Jesus. This...

The Kingdom of God doesn't come pre-assembled. It's built up brick by brick, stone by stone, person by person. Paul says we are living stones, building up the house of God. What does it look like to be a living stone? This week, on this very special 6-Year Anniversary Sunday, Pastor Mickey shares his heart for our community in this season.