Missio Dei: Phoenix

Daniel is given a message not for himself, but for the people of Israel in the coming years. It is confusing to Daniel and he has questions, but he doesn't necessarily get answers. Instead, he's told to pass the message on for those coming later and to go on his way. Go live your life in Babylon, Daniel, as a faithful representative of God's kingdom, just as you've always been commanded to do. We...

We continue through the 3 chapter event of Daniel 10-12 with chapter 11. After strengthening Daniel, a messenger from God tells him what will happen to Israel in the years to come. The time between the last Old Testament prophet and the coming of Jesus was about 400 years when God seemed silent to His people. However, He told them ahead of time through this prophecy to Daniel what they would exper...

In his old age, Daniel is given another vision, a visible representation of the message of God. This vision will continue to unfold throughout chapter 11, but in chapter 10 we see God's message and His messenger strengthen Daniel in his weakness. What are you nourished in? Where do you draw your strength from?

After nearly 70 years of exile, Daniel reads the prophetic writings of Jeremiah that their time of discipline is almost over... or so he thinks. His response and the message God sends him might come as a surprise!

In chapter 8, Daniel switches back to writing in Hebrew to give the people of God a little more insight into what God had shown him through his dreams during the reign of Babylon. Other kingdoms would come after Babylon; Media/Persia, Greece, and so on, but they would all fall short of what humanity was intended to be. Daniel is troubled by this vision, but Gabriel, God's messenger of good news, a...

Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man, a title he took from this very chapter. In chapter seven, Daniel wrote about a dream he had of beastly kingdoms and the hopeful future of a perfect human finally taking his rightful place as King over all creation on the throne with the Most High God.

Many of us have heard of the amazing story of Daniel being thrown in the lion's den and his miraculous rescue. Many of us have heard of and wished for his great faith. But is that really the point of the story? Is Daniel the hero of this story? Who else shows up in that den of lions to bring rescue? Who is the hero of this story, really?

A new king is in town… and he’s a bit of a fool. His drunken party leads to some foolish actions against the true King, the God of Israel. God visits him with a message that he is unfit to be ruling over the kingdom God gave to him. What about you and I? Do we measure up? Are we fit to stand as God’s representatives before the rest of creation? Thankfully, we are able to only by being brought to m...

Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful person on earth while he was the king of Babylon, but all that authority had been given to him by a much more powerful King. Still, he would need to have it all taken away and be humbled to the lowest point possible before he would realize the King who truly has power, authority, dominion, and glory over all the earth forever.

When the whole world bows down to the world power and seems to have gone mad, three young men stand firm in their faith in the one true God. They do not lead a zealous rebellion. They do not form a religious boycott. They quietly yet firmly, resolutely yet respectfully, honor their king while honoring the true King of all kings. And yet, they are not the heroes of this story. There is a fourth man...

What began as a terrifying dream causing Nebuchadnezzar to bring terror upon his own kingdom, God used to bring hope to His people and rescue for all. In chapter two of Daniel we see that God chose to reveal something to the enemy of His people. This reminds us that God is at work in His world, even through those who do not yet trust Him.

The book of Daniel is not primarily about prophecies and timelines, but to show how the people of God's Kingdom can live faithfully in a world ruled by man's kingdoms. How can we be faithful citizens of God's kingdom while living in exile?

All humans live our lives with daily rhythms that shape us. Everyone eats. Everyone listens to something or someone. Everyone has something to say. In light of who God is, what He has done for us in Christ, and who He has made us to be, what does it look like for us to do those things in line with our new identity? What if we did those things with an intentionality of sharing the good news of Jesu...

Our doing flows out of our being, and our being comes from God's doing, not our own. Who are we now that God has brought us out of darkness and into light? Now that we who were once dead have been made alive? Now that Christ has given us a new identity? We have been made a family of servant missionaries, continually learning to follow Jesus in all of life.

When we start with God and what He has done, we gain a better understanding of ourselves, who we are, and how we are to live. This week we explore the power and purpose behind what God has done for us through Jesus the Christ, in the power of his Spirit.

Often we try to make our own way, create a name for ourselves, or find our identity. When we start there it is like frosting a cake before you bake it… we’re going backwards and it gets messy. Better yet, it’s like trying to be made without the Maker. Instead, what if we begin with asking the question, Who is God? From there, we can begin connecting the dots to see who we are truly meant to be and...

As we wrap up our journey through the book of Luke, we pray that our eyes would be open so we could see Jesus as he truly is. For two of his followers who were ready to give up and go home after Jesus’ death, an encounter where they saw Jesus alive changed everything.

In Luke 22 and 23 we see a number of different types of people as they participate in or look upon the death of Jesus. Some of them are calling for Jesus’ death, many attest that he is innocent, but two see him in light of the kingdom. Luke tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and one of the criminals on the cross next to Jesus were looking for the coming kingdom of God and saw Jesus as one entering...

The night Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and taken away to his death, he shared one last meal with his friends. This wasn’t just any meal. This was the Passover meal; a meal which held great significance for the deliverance of God’s people. The bread, the wine, and the lamb were all signposts back to when God had saved them from slavery to Egypt, and signposts pointing them forward to when He would...

Chapter 21 of Luke shows us Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem, the week of his death. Everyone he is with is enamored with the beauty of the temple, but Jesus is not impressed. He is more concerned with what is going on inside of the temple and inside of the hearts of the people within it. He is more concerned with creating a new temple for him to dwell in. He is more concerned with establishing a...

Zacchaeus was hated by his community, because he was building a kingdom for himself at the expense of others. An encounter with the true King, Jesus, changed who he was completely.

Comparing ourselves with those around us, whether we see ourselves as better or not as good, is an inward self-focused perspective. When we look to the Creator of all things, we begin to see ourselves rightly. Only then can we humble ourselves before Him and find who we are truly meant to be.

A simple question, 'when is the kingdom coming?', has sparked all kinds of debate and confusion. Jesus addressed two different groups as he answered this question; the pharisees and his followers. At the heart of his response we see the same message to both: don't miss the kingdom of God by building your own.

Long thought of by many as a depiction of the afterlife, Jesus once told a fictional story that had much more to do with how God's people were living their current lives on earth, and how they were treating others made in God's image. The call of God's people has always been to use their blessings to be a blessing to others, inviting all into the loving community and kingdom of God. The main audie...

What does prodigal mean? The reckless and extravagant use of resources. Jesus once told a story of two brothers; the younger who ran away from home and squandered his father’s inheritance, the older who stayed home and squandered his father’s presence. But the story is really about the father, who lavishly spent all of his resources to bring both of his sons into his loving arms.