The Gathering

Next week marks the official 6-month celebration as the Metro East site of The Gathering! This Sunday, we’re stepping away from our sermon series format so I can speak to you about the site. I want to share a vision of where God is calling us to over the next year, and that looks: INVITATION. Today, we are diving into Jesus’ calling and mission to invite people to hear and experience the authentic...

If money is a tool to be used, how exactly do we use it without letting it take over our hearts? How do we balance providing for our families without becoming greedy? One of the greatest theologians of the 18th century, John Wesley—the founder of the Methodist movement—preached a famous sermon called "The Use of Money." In it, he laid out three brilliantly simple, yet incredibly challenging pieces...

The theme today is making sure we don’t waste money so we can use it for its highest purpose.

Today we’re going to look at how we make our money, and what the founder of methodism, John Wesley has to say about it. Because this man had a lot to say, and some of it remains pretty timely. Also, we’re going to look at a couple of grounding scriptures for how to view the money we make.

This message lays the groundwork for the series by debunking the myth that money is something to be ignored, shunned, or fearful of. Instead, money is a gift that God gives to us to use.

Over the next four weeks, we are going to talk about biblical wisdom for shaping faith in kids at different ages. We will start with babies and young kids, we will move to older kids and teens, young adults, and then adult children. Today the focus is on parents being the consultant to adult kids. The consultant has opinions and advice but they do not share unless asked.

Over the next four weeks, we are going to talk about biblical wisdom for shaping faith in kids at different ages. We will start with babies and young kids, we will move to older kids and teens, young adults, and then adult children. Today we are moving on to older kids and young teenagers, think roughly 8-16 years old. In this stage, a shift happens primarily because they begin to question things....

Over the next four weeks, we are going to talk about biblical wisdom for shaping faith in kids at different ages. We will start with babies and young kids, we will move to older kids and teens, young adults, and then adult children. Today we are going to start with how to shape faith in babies and young kids, where our role is active, directive, leading the way – much like a captain navigates a sh...

Over the next few weeks, we are going to talk about this problem. Specifically, I want to talk about the biggest ways in which Jesus’ name is being distorted and his message is being misrepresented by those who claim to speak for him. As we do that, I want to instead teach and remind us of what Jesus actually said, what he actually stands for, what he actually commands us to do. The last distortio...

Over the next few weeks, we are going to talk about this problem. Specifically, I want to talk about the biggest ways in which Jesus’ name is being distorted and his message is being misrepresented by those who claim to speak for him. As we do that, I want to instead teach and remind us of what Jesus actually said, what he actually stands for, what he actually commands us to do. The distortion we'...

Over the next few weeks, we are going to talk about this problem. Specifically, I want to talk about the biggest ways in which Jesus’ name is being distorted and his message is being misrepresented by those who claim to speak for him. As we do that, I want to instead teach and remind us of what Jesus actually said, what he actually stands for, what he actually commands us to do. Today we will star...

Over the next few weeks, we are going to talk about this problem. Specifically, I want to talk about the biggest ways in which Jesus’ name is being distorted and his message is being misrepresented by those who claim to speak for him. As we do that, I want to instead teach and remind us of what Jesus actually said, what he actually stands for, what he actually commands us to do. But today I want t...

There is a line in the Easter story that I had never noticed or paid attention to. But this year, it stuck out to me. It happens right after the women hear that Jesus is risen, but before they actually see him. It says: So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy… (Matthew 28.8) Faith is living with fear and great joy. While faith starts in the dark, it doesn’t stay there. It was women i...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. While this answer – exposing sin of the community – may sound differen...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. The answer to the question this week is, "to forgive us." We, as human...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. The answer to the question this week is, "to inspire us to love." We c...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. The answer to the question this week is, "to redeem us." If God can re...

Atonement means "to put back together something that is broken." Each theory or answer shows us how Jesus helps to put us back together or make us whole. What you will see is that each theory has a different understanding of the problem we face, and therefore a different way in which Jesus offers us an answer on the cross. And today we are going to start with probably the earliest theory or answer...

Our world tempts us every day to make life about us. We're tempted to think about what we have to do, what we have going on, what we need, but Jesus turns this way of life on its head and says that life is really found not when we focus on ourselves, but when we serve others. Serving can look a lot of different ways. Followers of Christ are meant to be people of service. That is why it is one of o...

Our world tempts us every day to make life about us. We're tempted to think about what we have to do, what we have going on, what we need, but Jesus turns this way of life on its head and says that life is really found not when we focus on ourselves, but when we serve others. Serving can look a lot of different ways. This week we’re talking about what it looks like to serve the world. After, all,...

Our world tempts us every day to make life about us. We're tempted to think about what we have to do, what we have going on, what we need, but Jesus turns this way of life on its head and says that life is really found not when we focus on ourselves, but when we serve others. Serving can look a lot of different ways. In this series, we'll talk about what it means to have a life of service and how...

Today we are wrapping up our series Shift Happens: When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned. We are talking about how to move through seasons when our life takes a left turn, goes off track, or isn’t working out as we expected. Each week we are looking at a different reason why by reading the stories of people in scripture who had their own plans fail for different reasons. As we read their stories we are...

Today we are continuing our series Shift Happens: When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned. We are talking about how to move through seasons when our life takes a left turn, goes off track, or isn’t working out as we expected. Each week we are looking at a different reason why by reading the stories of people in scripture who had their own plans fail for different reasons. As we read their stories we are l...

Today we are continuing our series Shift Happens: When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned. We are talking about reasons that our plans get upended and how we move forward when that happens. Each week, I am talking about a different reason our plans get messed up. We are looking at a different character of the Bible, and how they dealt with failed plans. As we explore their stories, we will learn strategie...

Over the next 4 weeks, we are going to explore characters in scripture who experienced plans shifting for a variety of reasons. We are going to learn what happened to them and how they moved through it. Each of them deal with circumstances that are universal, things that we all deal with. As we explore their stories, we will learn strategies for how we can deal faithfully with those same situation...