It's the first Sunday of Advent, a season when we remember that we are waiting for Jesus to come again. This waiting requires faith. When we struggle to believe, we remember that Jesus gives faith to both the faithless and unfaithful because He is faithful.
Read MoreThis Sunday C.J. taught from Luke 11:1-4 on The Lord’s Prayer. He walked through 5 petitions we are instructed to use when we pray (God’s glory, rule, provision, forgiveness, and protection). This prayer from Jesus, like so many of His teachings, shattered the categories and expectations of the disciples as to how they (and we) are being invited to converse with God, as a loving Father who welcomes His beloved kids.
Read MoreIn the story of Mary and Martha, Luke contrasts the discipleship of two sisters. Mary follows Jesus by being a humble learner; Martha follows Jesus by being an anxious servant. Listen as C.J. teaches how the humble learner receives more of Jesus than an anxious servant.
Read More2020 will be remembered for many things, one of which will be protests over injustice. What we see in these riots is how there is no justice without judgment. This helps us understand Jesus' woes to the cities that rejected him. But, unlike the protests of 2020, Jesus did not come to condemn cities but to extend grace. Dave explains how this difference should shape our protest.
Read MoreAs Jesus heads toward Jerusalem, he sends his disciples out in pairs to tell people about the kingdom of God. To follow Jesus is to simultaneously be his heralds. Luke 10 is Jesus' advice on how to go about our mission. C.J. breaks down that advice for us, and also encourages us to find the "mission within the mission."
Read MoreHave you ever made a decision that you later regretted? It required more of you than you expected. In Luke 9, Jesus warns three wannabe disciples about the cost of discipleship. But Jesus isn't wanting to discourage us. He's wanting to free us. Freedom is found in the cost of discipleship.
Read MoreIn today's hyper-connected, post-truth, fake-news, politically-divided world, we can't be wise unless we know how to discern our sources. There are so many voices vying for influence. Who do we trust? From James 3, Dave asks us to consider both the quantity and quality of voices in our days and weeks.
Read MoreIt's the apocalypse. Not really, but it definitely feels like it. What does the word apocalypse actually mean? And for what purpose did John write the book of Revelation? In Sunday’s sermon, C.J. reminds us that Jesus' political strategy involves winning by losing. The question is, will we join the slain Lamb in His campaign?
Read MoreAs the church, we are living in a dual reality of the already, but not yet experience of Christ's Kingdom. This week, we continue our series "One Kingdom", reflecting how we as Christians are called to faithfully engage the political landscape of our culture. Dave invites us to wrestle with either an over-realized or an under-realized eschatalogy and what that means for how we engage in our culture.
Read MoreNavigating politics and power with love and faith is like walking a tightrope. It feels impossible to do it well. But then, in the gospels, Jesus speaks and acts flawlessly. If we want to learn how to love God and others in our politics, Jesus is our premier example, but how do we begin? In Sunday’s sermon, Dave identifies the necessary first step on the tightrope.
Read MoreThe New Testament teaches that the church has much in common with Israel in exile. God sent the people of Zion into exile in Babylon so that they might be voices of wisdom in the midst of confusion and chaos. Israel had a choice: become like Babylon, or make Babylon more like Zion.
Read MoreIn the book of Exodus, God takes possession of His people and establishes them as a nation called to devotion, mediation, and servanthood. It is through them that the politics of His kingdom are to spread to the whole world. The narrative of the exodus has been commandeered by many political agendas, including in America. What are we to make of that? How does God's calling on Israel apply to us today?
Read MoreHow does humanity's fall into sin affect politics? We could go on and on about how every government is deeply broken. No one needs help being disappointed in politics. So instead, Dave asks if there's any room for legitimate authority in a fallen world? Teaching from Genesis 9, he explains what we can expect from the world's rulers and, more importantly, what God expects.
Read MoreChristians are story-formed people who find their identity and purpose in the narrative of Scripture. This is not just true about our private devotion, but our public life. To that end, we are beginning a new series on politics and faith. Starting off with creation, CJ shows that politics is not a result of the Fall but was built into the world from the start.
Read MoreWhat happens when God doesn't answer our prayer? Is it because we are praying for the wrong things, with the wrong motives, in the wrong way? Dave finishes our series on prayer by considering one of Paul's unanswered prayers, and finds that even unanswered prayer is good news.
Read MorePaul spends most of his time praying for us. This week he asks us to return the favor. How much time do we spent praying for those who are specifically called by God to give their entire lives to the work of gospel proclamation. This week C.J. encourages us to identify people in our lives who fit this description and labor in anguish in prayer for them.
Read MoreIn this prayer from Paul, he equates the gospel to perfume. What does the gospel smell like? Subsequently, what do we smell like? This week C.J. invites us to consider the ingredients of gospel perfume, the nature of its messengers, as well as the recipients of the message.
Read MoreHow diverse are your prayers? As the white American church reckons with its failure to pursue racial justice and reconciliation, Dave invites us to take a deeper look at our prayer life. Do we pray only for those nearest us? Paul instructs us to pray for all people because God desires that all people be saved and because Jesus died for all people. Belief in the gospel should lead to prayers which cross differences, borders, and even hemispheres.
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