The Perfecting Church

We often view courage as something valiant, rare and unforgettable and that’s typically the case — Moses confronting Pharaoh, Esther going before the King and David standing up to Goliath were all undeniable acts of courage. But courage is also us getting out of the way. It’s doing what appears to be nothing, when something has to be done. It’s surrendering to God’s command to be insignificant and...

Joshua is confronted with a time where courage is required to overcome his circumstances. However, the courage required isn’t his own courage, but rather the kind of courage that can only come from God. In the same way, we are confronted with moments where we need courage, but we must seek Godly courage. We believe that courage means the strength to do something we may be afraid or unable to do. H...

The Book of Joshua begins with the word “after”. It implies a continuation, a moving on from what God had been doing to what He’s doing now. God moves forward. And if we’re going to walk with the God who continues, who moves and advances — we are going to have to learn to do the same. God calls us to be river crossers. Our lives are filled with moments where we cross over — from where we once were...

The scriptures reveal that there are many different types of love and various dimensions of love. As humans, we are prone to associate certain qualities of love based on gender. However, in order for the body of Christ to fully mature and transform this world, we have to activate and operate in a higher dimension of love.  

So many of the people we once looked to have gone and we're all looking for those who will fill the void. Kobe Bryant, Steve Jobs, Queen Elizabeth, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela and Charles Stanley are just a few of the patriarchs, matriarchs, and icons that have gone in the last decade. We’re living in a time of massive transition and change. Times like these, even more than others, demand courage...

In order to see the Kingdom of Jesus come in our lives and in the lives of those around us, we must live out our faith in such a way that it causes others to have a reaction toward Jesus. When our walk and our talk show Jesus to others we live lives that impact and influence those around us for the sake of the Kingdom.

Who is my Neighbor? This seemingly innocent question carries so many assumptions and attitudes. The way Jesus responded to this question is profoundly challenging in a world full of bigotry, racism and segregation. What does the Christian call to love our neighbor as ourselves mean in our world today? How do we, as Jesus’ followers, honor this call and commitment in a world shaped by division and...

What do we do after our biggest failures, disappointments and pains? Peter knew what it was to be flawed and to fail. “You won’t be crucified.” “You’ll never wash my feet.” “I tell you, I don’t know the man.” Are just a few of his big blunders. But his flaws and failures didn’t disqualify him. In fact they uniquely qualified him to live a resurrected life, realizing he wasn’t fit for any other kin...

Jesus endured the brutal, inhumane torture and humiliation of the cross because He saw something beyond the cross. He had a joy in sight that we must learn to see and grab a hold of too. God’s answer to the suffering, adversity and hardships of this world is found in the joy Jesus saw and the power He has given. Pick up your cross. 

Holy Week begins with Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Three million people fill the city; some have heard rumors that Jesus is the Messiah, fulfilling Zechariah’s prophesy nearly 600 years before. This moment marks the first time Jesus doesn’t resist the title of King. His time has come! Untie em’. Scripture(s): Matthew 21:1-9 4.2.2023 Message Takeaways T...

The Kingdom of God is a never ending source of life for those who find it and are found by it. It is the will and way of God. It is the eternal rule and reign of God. It is the peace and goodness of God. Of all the things in this life to be pursued, discovered and realized, none can compare to the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is a well, well, well.

The destruction and chaos of this world is rooted in the rejection of God and the loss of ourselves in the pursuit of peace and goodness on our own terms.  When we reject God and choose our own way to peace and goodness it has a destructive ripple effect.  The coming Kingdom restores us to God, our true selves in Him and our call to be peacemakers and keepers of one another.   Scripture (s): NLT •...

So few of us live in a place of consistent peace with ourselves. Many of our emotional, psychological and physiological challenges are rooted in the fact we lack peace. But the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings has come to restore us to His Kingdom and to give us His peace and peace with ourselves.   Scripture(s): NKJV Genesis 1:31 Genesis 2:25 Genesis 3:6-11 3.12.2023 Message Takeaways In the be...

The Coming Kingdom is God’s divine reordering of the world as we know it, reconciling all things to Himself. Though it begins in personal encounter, the expression of His forceful goodness is intended to impact all of His creation through our surrendered lives. 

We live in a world of people longing and fighting for meaning, identity and belonging. We may have a family name, but it often isn’t enough to embody all we are and desire to be. When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into a new name and family. We don’t lose our earthly ones, but we are baptized into the source and purpose for them. In the new birth and baptism, we connect to a past th...

It was in Antioch where they first called the followers of Jesus — Christians. Never before and no where else in society had Jews, Gentiles, Men, Women, Poor and Rich gathered as one together. There were rigid social boundaries and distinctions drawn around these groups but the Church changed all of that. It became a unique expression of humanity, known for its worship of Jesus and for it’s unity...

Race and class have entrenched us in a false identity never intended by God. This defining and devaluing of ourselves and fellow image bearers has disfigured and dehumanized humanity. The Church was established to be an outpost of God’s Kingdom in the earth, redeeming us from defining and devaluing, by ushering in a Beloved Community marked by its loving esteem of one another and fellow image bear...

The business of building the Church is Jesus’ business; and from the very beginning until the very end, the Church Jesus builds comprises every nation, tribe, people and language. This isn’t to say a mono-ethnic Church is out of His will, it’s to say a decidedly mono-ethnic one is. May His Church be the barrier-breaking, bridge-building, peace-making witness described and prescribed in His word an...

We live in a day and time where we address nearly every issue in some natural way. We are more likely to pursue counseling, therapy or medication than we are prayer, fasting and repentance. While natural remedies are important and they have their place. There are some things in our lives that are above natural remedies. They are a different kind of opposition.

As we fast, there must be a focus, there must be an expectation. As a woman who has just been told that she is pregnant, there is preparation for what is to come. Expectation is the womb of manifestation.

God is a gentleman, is a common refrain among clergy and followers of Jesus. It captures the meekness that’s a part of God’s character. He has all power; He is present in all places; and He knows all things — but He doesn’t use His power, presence and knowledge to bully His will into our lives. But there are times, both in the Bible and our personal experience, when God uses His power, presence an...

If we could take all of the decisions we’ve ever made and form a person with them, it would be exactly who we are right now. Our lives are the cumulative effect of decisions — the ones we’ve made and the ones that’ve been made for us. Fasting and prayer is one of those decisions. Fasting and Prayer is a decision to consecrate, dedicate — setting our lives apart to choose God over and over again.  

The Kingdom of God was the message Jesus’ proclaimed — referring to the Kingdom nearly 100 times in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus’ teachings established the Kingdom of God as the priority for our personal lives, of all our endeavors and even our prayers. The Kingdom of God is the territory over which God reigns and rules. Psalms 145 declares, “Your Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,...

On this last day of Advent we anticipate the coming Christ. We look and wait for the manifestation of God’s promise. The original hearers of Isaiah’s message would have heard it as a riddle. While it seems so obvious to us that Isaiah is pointing to the promised Messiah; it would have been less obvious to Isaiah and even less obvious to those listening in that day. Like us today, they all had the...

The Christmas season is the time of year to reflect on the love of God through the birth of his son Jesus. However, we can get distracted from resting in God's love entering the world by the troublesome events that happen daily in our world. The birth of Jesus in 1st century Judea provides us with assurance that love can both abide in a hateful place and conquer it. Scripture(s): NKJV