Mosaic Church Teachings

Slowing down is hard. When life is full, demanding, taxing, most of us default to soldering on and living in emergency mode. It's also quite common for times of prayer and retreat with God to be one of the first things to go. But it's actually in the midst of our stress and despair and exhaustion that we most need to be with and hear from our Heavenly Father. We must retreat to advance. In this te...

Mothers Day is a gloriously hot mess. In it we honor and celebrate our mothers and the mothers in our midst. And we also recognize and grieve with those for whom Mother's Day is a struggle due to the sorrow of infertility, abortion, and other loss and estrangement. We're all in this together. So this Mother's Day we sat down with women in different stages of motherhood to hear their stories and si...

Has this ever happened to you: you're waiting at a stop light and within a second or two instinctively pull out your phone and begin checking things? And then it's not until you get honked at that you realize the light turned green a while ago. Even seconds of boredom now feel like a threat to our wellbeing. So we're both more distracted and less aware than ever! And we bring this conditioning int...

Are humans just advanced animals -- ultimately tied to our biology and base drives? Or are we more? If we're merely animals, then satisfying our primal urges should fulfill us. But as we all intuitively and experientially know, it doesn't. The Bible teaches us that we're not merely animals, but creatures uniquely created in God's image for intimate connection with Him. In this teaching, we discove...

What happens when God doesn't work? What do you do when you pray for healing, that new job, or the restoration of your marriage, and nothing seems to happen? Most all of us have been there. In this teaching, we lean into this difficult and critical question through the eyes of the crowds in the sixth chapter of John. And we discover a Jesus that doesn't always say yes. And yet He is inviting you a...

What are you looking for? We're all searching for something. Comfort, pleasure, meaning, acceptance, hope -- all of these can be sought directly, but often our expectations don't match up exactly with our experience. This is also true when we come to Jesus. What we think we're looking for is most often disrupted by what He has in mind. And this is a profoundly good thing! In this teaching, we look...

This just in: Spending money on others makes you happier! Scientific studies confirm what Jesus has been trying to teach us for over two thousand years: it's actually statistically more blessed (happy / fulfilling / joyful) to give than to receive. In this teaching we wrap up our March Gladness series by looking at God's heart for our own good and his invitation to step into his joy as we give bac...

What really motivates people to be more generous givers? Is it rules and commands? Or is it grace? In this teaching, we continue to talk about money, giving, and what Jesus thinks. And we discover the surprising truth that it's actually grace that takes you much further than law. Jesus is discipling his followers to respond to his grace with hearts that actually want to give! Imagine what a church...

Do Christians really have to tithe? Most American churchgoers answer with a resounding "no." The question seems to fly in the face of the American Dream that if we work hard and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, we'll be able to achieve happiness by spending our money on ourselves. But what if Jesus is inviting his followers on a different path to true riches and happiness? And what if our...

It's hard to talk about prosperity without talking about money. About zeroes in our bank account. About the newest gadget, toy, or top that's on the way from Amazon to make us happy. And our anxiety spikes so quickly when money and possessions seem scarce -- or even potentially scarce. But what if there's a way to live a deeply prosperous and happy life that's centered around giving, rather than r...

How do you ruin church in three words? Everything's going fine on Sunday until someone asks you the three killer words: "Can you help?" For many this is where they cut bait and move on. The excuses are as easy to come by as the next church down the block. But what if these three words weren't actually a threat to you from another organization trying to pad its roster and bottom line? What if these...

Sharing the Good News of the Gospel can be hard! We can easily feel pressure to get it right and not offend our friends and neighbors. But what if it doesn't have to be quite so hard? In this teaching, we look at some of the subtly false gospels that can easily creep into our understanding of the true Gospel of Jesus. And we look at a very practical method to share the Good News...one that Jesus H...

Are you hungry? What sounds good? Chances are, right now, your mouth is already salivating at the thought! But what if you answered this question for your soul, rather than your body? In this teaching, we look at the reality of spiritual famine in our world and the great hunger of our souls for the Word of God. We hear the invitation to let Jesus Himself feed us the bread of life through the Scrip...

What's it been like for you to practice the spiritual rhythms of prayer and fasting? In this online-only Zoom gathering*, we had a chance to slow down and check in with one another and hear testimonies of successes and struggles surrounding spiritual practices. The tone of the time was encouraging and rich, so if you missed it, check it out now! *Due to an increase of Covid cases in our staff and...

One of the most ancient spiritual practices is also one of the most misunderstood and avoided by modern believes: fasting. In an age of instant gratification and access to myriad creature comforts, intentionally depriving oneself seems at least odd, and at worst dangerous. But Jesus Himself affirmed and practiced the spiritual rhythm of fasting. And believers through the centuries have discovered...

Did you know Jesus Himself practiced spiritual rhythms and disciplines? God Incarnate built His life around practices that helped Him stay connected with The Father and centered His heart on sustaining truth. How much more must we need these rhythms so we can walk in His Way today! In this teaching, we look at the Gospel of Mark to see how Jesus practiced spiritual rhythms of prayer and solitude....

How long until you quit your 2022 resolutions? Because, of course, it's the new year, and for most of us, that means some sort of personal reflection and resolution to do better. But few of us make it out of January before we crash and burn, give up and give in, and let our internal critics have a hay day. What if there was a different way? In this teaching, we introduce the spiritual growth Word...

We have a (slightly late) Christmas gift for each of you! It's rest. Not just a nap or a break, but true, deep rest -- sabbath. This Sunday we are encouraging each of you to rest at home and lean into sabbath with us. In this teaching, we look at our great need for rest and God's gift of sabbath to us for our delight. We also discuss how sabbath could look in our lives today. How is God inviting y...

Have you ever been in pitch blackness? It's unnerving, even for short amounts of time. Then, when the light finally does come on, there's a profound and even existential relief. That's actually what Christmas is all about. We live in a dark world. And Jesus, the Light of the World, has come near to dispel the darkness and lift us into the bright glory of God's love and presence. This short Christm...

What's the story behind your name? There's something intimate about knowing someone's name and story. In this teaching, we discover a God who not only shares his name with us, but also knows us better than we know ourselves. He moved into our neighborhood and loved us intimately and personally. And he calls us to do the same, to get to know our neighbors, learn their names, their stories, and shar...

Are you feeling joyful this Christmas? While some find it easy to rejoice during this season, many others are dealing with a thousand variations on pain, sorrow, and suffering. Where is God in the midst of our pain? And how can we have joy in the midst of suffering? In this non-traditional take on Christmas, we look at Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, who came near and bore our pain -- for the joy set b...

Our world is in desperate need of peace! When the scriptures talk about peace, they mean more than we do by the word. We tend of think of peace in terms of an absence of conflict. But biblical peace encompasses far more: a fullness of God's presence and favor in our lives. Shalom. The long-awaited messiah was prophesied to be the Prince of Peace. And then Jesus's birth was announced by angels hera...

Hope is easy to hold on to when things are going well. When you've only waited a little bit. But hope gets much slippier when days turn into months, and years. And nothing seems to change. We all struggle with hope. In this first Advent teaching we consider Zechariah and Mary and how they both responded differently to hope. We also discover a God who moves heaven and earth to bring us hope and a f...

What does a real disciple of Jesus Christ look like as they walk through their days? Does she stand up for Jesus with strongly worded Facebook posts? Does he insist his perspective dominate others in conversations (read: arguments!)? Does she withdraw from neighbors to avoid any sort of cultural pollution? In this final teaching of our Radical Jesus series, we look at the marks of a disciple of Je...

Is climate change real? How are Christians supposed to think about global warming and the environment? This topic is particularly disorienting for most people. And the church has seemed reluctant to engage it biblically and clearly. But in a world of increasing division and change, Christfollowers need to be able to discuss and move forward in a way that is faithful to God's revelation and winsome...