Journey Community Church

Disruptions are opportunities to encounter and trust God in new ways. Disruptions are a direct assault on our sinful inclination to assert our will in any and every situation.   Sometimes when nothing is going according to our plans, everything is falling into place for God’s plans.   Reflection Questions: How is God revealing His presence? How is God inviting me to trust Him and His good plans? W...

The Good Shepherd came to Refresh and Restore Weary Sheep. (Matthew 9:36, Psalm 23, Isaiah 40) The Good Shepherd came to Rescue and Redirect Lost Sheep. (Luke 2:10-11; 15:3-7; John 10:1-4,9-10; Ezekiel 34, Zechariah 9) When we trust in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, it leads to JOY in heaven and in us. (Luke 2:10-14, 20; Luke 15:5-7, John 15:11) Reflection Questions: 1) Are you ready to trust Jesus to...

God still speaks to unlikely people in unlikely places.   4 Practical Tips to Hear God Speak to YOU: Create space and pace to listen. Submit yourself to God’s purposes – even when you are troubled or afraid. Know God’s promises through God’s Word and God’s Spirit. Listen for good news that increases joy, peace and power. “For no word from God will ever fail.” - Luke 1:37 

This Advent, we are praying that we'll keep our focus on THE GIFT in the midst of all the other gifts.   The greatest gift we can offer Jesus is who we are becoming.   An Advent Prayer: Lord God, we want to keep our focus on THE GIFT, and to become more like Jesus during this Advent season. Please convict us of sin and reveal how we need to change. Holy Spirit, we invite you to change us from the...

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus invites us to: Repent Rest ReSurrender Receive The freedom, healing and transformation which we all need – the spiritual awakening and liberation for which we long is not found in a program, but a person. His name is Jesus. How is Jesus inviting you to trust him? How are you choosing to respond? “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and tak...

The fruit of spiritual awakening is a new Community, new identity and new mission.   AA Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.   Wesleyan Covenant Prayer: “I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put...

The goal of the Gospel is communion with God in Christ by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.   Communion with God gives GRACE for honest SELF-EXAMINATION. Communion with God helps us KNOW God and God’s WILL. Communion with God gives POWER for constant GROWTH.   AA Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only...

This week's worship gathering looked a little different as we welcomed guests Carl & Alyssa Adkins and invited them to share more about Alyssa's recovery journey and sobriety, what it's like to walk through recovery with your spouse, and how to invite your kids into the process. We also held some space to walk through Alcoholics Anonymous Step #10: "Continued to take personal inventory, and wh...

AA Step Eight: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.   AA Step Nine: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.   Forgiven people are forgiving people.   "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patien...

Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Step Seven: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Celebrate Recovery, Principle 5: Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. The Gospel invites us to be active participants in a process of transformation that can only happen by God’s grace...

The Gospel declares that confessing our sins is necessary for our healing, forgiveness, and transformation in Jesus Christ. “Bland confession is like taking a shower with your clothes on: you avoid the embarrassment of nakedness, but it’s hard to get clean. Often in church groups the only sins that get confessed are vague and respectable — almost virtues...Where the practice of confession is super...

There is no path to freedom and wholeness outside of vulnerability. Yet, we spend most of our lives choosing to be invulnerable.  What did vulnerability and in-vulnerability look like in the life of King David? Let's dive in together. "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." -P...

The Gospel declares we are set free from sin by surrendering our lives to the grace and power of God offered through Jesus Christ. AA Step Three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the...

Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. The Gospel declares that we are rescued, healed and transformed by God’s power in Jesus Christ. “The Set Aside Prayer": God, Please help me set aside everything I think I know about myself, my sinful idolatry or spiritual workarounds, my spiritual recovery journey, and especially You; So I may have an open mi...

The Gospel of Jesus Christ confronts us with our powerlessness to overcome our sin and brokenness. “Let me sum up, then, the foundational ways that I believe Jesus and the 12 steps of AA are saying the same thing but with different vocabulary. We suffer to get well. We surrender to win. We die to live. We give it away to keep it.” – Richard Rohr, Breathing Under Water “As for you, you were dead in...

Listening to AND obeying Jesus's teachings is the strong foundation for our lives.   Reflection Questions: How am I working the words of Jesus into my everyday living? What words of Jesus am I hearing, but not obeying? Am I building my life on the rock or on the sand? Am I on the broad road that leads to destruction, or the narrow road that leads to life? “These words I speak to you are not incide...

The Test of Inside-Out Consistency – Is there integrity between what they say or do on the outside, and who they are on the inside? The Test of Good Fruit – Do they display the fruit of the Spirit and the character of Christ (especially when it seems no one is watching)? The Test of Lordship rooted in Relationship – Do their words/actions overflow from deep abiding in Christ and surrendered obedie...

Principle #1: We only judge (ie. provide loving accountability) through the lens of righteousness that comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Principle #2: We only judge (ie. provide loving accountability) AFTER confessing and repenting of our own sin. Principle #3: We only judge (ie. provide loving accountability) when people want help with the speck (or log) in their eye. “Do not judge, o...

"Seek first His Kingdom" - We let the REALITY of God's Kingdom transform our everyday living.   "Seek first His righteousness" - We let the LOVE of God's Kingdom define our value.   "...and all these things will be given to you as well" - We let the PROVISION of God's Kingdom fuel our faith.   "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -M...

Forgiveness is birthed from COMMUNION with God. Forgiveness is fostered by HUMILITY before God. Forgiveness is practiced in OBEDIENCE to God. "This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us n...

"The goal of prayer is to become a friend of God." "We don't fast to impress God, but to be impressed by God." “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to y...

Callout #1: Giving with the right heart is a narrow road Callout #2: The ditch of pride = "I'm the hero. People need  me " Callout #3: The ditch of guilt and shame = "If I don't give, I'll feel bad." Callout #4: Jesus IS the reward Callout #5: The Litmus test for your giving posture = What drives you? Who's the hero? What do you see? Callout #6: When we fix our eyes on Jesus -That's what we get. ...

“Personal insult will be the saint’s occasion for revealing the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.” -Oswald Chambers   “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If a...

Jesus’ teaching elevates the sanctity of love, sex and marriage for men and women alike.   Matthew 5:27-32   Lust is a heart problem that requires heart solutions, which can only be found through our continual surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.   “As long as lust is present, love cannot be. Lust is about consumption. Love is about communion. Lust is about taking. Love is about giving. Lust...

For Pharisees, the fulfillment of the law was about following the rules. For Jesus, the fulfillment of the law was about following him. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." -Matthew 5:23-24