Pathfinder Church Messages: Recent Episodes
Pathfinder Church
Pathfinder Church | August 9, 2026 | AJ Mastic
When we don’t get what we want in life, is that a sign of God's neglect or lack of care? Disappointments are inevitable, but we always have a choice—how we interpret them and fit them into our story. When major pieces of our story don’t go right, derailing our future plans, how can we make sense of it?
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Pathfinder Church | August 2, 2026 | Doug Mauss
Most of us weren’t abandoned as orphans, nor did we spend years in rehab. We’ve lived run-of-the-mill lives, which don’t seem to require divine intervention from God. If we don’t need to be rescued from anything, then what do I need God and/or the church for?
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Pathfinder Church | July 26, 2026 | AJ Mastic
Winter is the season when the landscape is stripped back to reveal the true silhouette of a life. But what is natural and godly can often feel uncomfortable and dehumanizing. How can a season of constant losses be productive, even fruitful?
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Pathfinder Church | July 19, 2026 | Doug Mauss
Fall is the season of transition, where the heat of building begins to cool and the colors of a life’s work are fully revealed. In human lives, this is the season of "harvesting" influence and perspective. Our culture often sees this as a time to hoard resources for our "golden" sunset, or conversely, as a time of crisis when we fear our strength is waning. But what does it look like to lean into the beauty of the harvest without fear or regret?
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Pathfinder Church | July 12, 2026 | AJ Mastic
Our culture loves summer. The days are long, energy is high, and growth seems limitless. In human lives, summer is the season of building: careers, families, homes, influence, and dreams. To many, summer seems like the apex of living, which means we go full speed ahead and imagine it’ll never end. But what would it mean to live “summer,” not only to the fullest, but to its wisest, being prepared to graciously exit it better than you when you entered it?
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Pathfinder Church | July 5 2026 | Doug Mauss
By late spring, the world feels alive. Everything is growing fast, strong, showy, and vibrant. In humans, this is the season when roots deepen and our destinies begin taking shape. But what happens when fear and control dominate what’s growing? Or when it’s neglected to fight for itself?
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Pathfinder Church | June 28, 2026 | AJ Mastic
Early spring is full of possibility. Tiny shoots push up from the ground, but it’s still too early to tell exactly what each one will become. Children are like that—full of possibility. With all the possibilities, overwhelm is inevitable. Yet, are there consequences when we steer our children into who we’d like them to be, or tell them they “can be whatever they want to be?”
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Pathfinder Church | June 21, 2025 | Dion Garrett
What is the Kingdom anyway?
The Kingdom of God was Jesus's most talked-about topic, but it looks nothing like the castles, crowns, and conquest we might imagine. It's not a nation-state, a political movement, or even the afterlife — it's something far more personal and immediate. Jesus himself is the Kingdom, and according to Luke 17, it's already "in your midst," freely available right now. So why do so many of us who believe in Jesus never truly experience it? What did Jesus mean when he talked about the Kingdom of God — and is it something you can actually experience today?
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Pathfinder Church | June 14, 2026 | Doug Mauss
It’s good to have a sense of the sacred. Some things are holy and their purity should be maintained. But with too much an emphasis on purity, you end up with constant “moral panics” about the corrupting influence of the world. Too little purity, and human dignity itself becomes trampled in the mud of “anything goes”. How do we find the right balance?
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Pathfinder Church | June 7, 2026 | AJ Mastic
We have an innate sense that life should be fair. And certainly, if we have a just God, then he should enforce fairness. But how do we define what’s truly “fair,” considering all possible factors?
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Pathfinder Church | May 31, 2026 | Dion Garrett
As a nation, founded on liberty, freedom ranks high(est) in Americans’ values. But how much freedom is a good thing? Can too much freedom cause harm to ourselves and others?
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Pathfinder Church | May 24, 2026 | Doug Mauss
We all know we should care for others. But how much, exactly? Are someone else’s bad circumstances my problem, or their own fault? Too much care, and we become martyrs. Too little care and we become misers. How do we find the right balance?
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Pathfinder Church | May 17, 2026 | Dion Garrett
People being under authority is a gift of God, to establish and maintain order. But what kind of authority is holy, and what level of obedience do Christians owe to unjust authorities? Giving too much power to authorities results in fascism; too little results in anarchy. How can Christians know when to submit to authority and when to hold authority accountable?
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Pathfinder Church | May 10, 2026 | AJ Mastic
Loyalty is important. It’s what binds groups together. But too much loyalty can lead us to tolerate or excuse immoral behavior from our in-group, while magnifying the flaws of outsiders. At its most extreme, loyalty creates cults. On the other hand, too little loyalty prevents us from forming bonds of safety and trust. It can lead to individualism and self-centeredness. How do we find the right balance?
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Pathfinder Church | May 3, 2026 | Dion Garrett
Many of us draw a sense of confidence from looking good. We shop for the right clothes and cosmetics, we perfect our poses and posts, and we collect things of beauty around us. When does it cross a line and become vanity? What if we’re not showing people more of our true beauty, but covering it up?
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Pathfinder Church | April 26, 2026 | Doug Mauss
In a chaotic world, the ability to call the shots and exert a measure of control over our lives is solid gold. We hardly ever turn down a promotion or the chance at more influence, but have you ever noticed that those who gain power tend to lose part of their souls in the process?
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Pathfinder Church | April 19, 2026 | Dion Garrett
We have a deep human need to feel physically and emotionally safe. As safety has become the top priority in our culture, we have become very risk-averse; stockpiling resources, and building our safety nets. Butif you take all of the risk out of life, you also remove the adventure, and then what are we left with?
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Pathfinder Church | April 12, 2026 | Doug Mauss
It feels so good to be special, and if we have the rare chance to stand out in this world of billions, it makes sense that we should see how far we can take it. But isn’t it clear that many of the biggest celebrities feel alone and wish they could escape the limelight?
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Pathfinder Church | April 5, 2026 | Dion Garrett
On Easter, we proclaim that Jesus has rescued us from
sin, but why then is life still FULL of stress and pain?
Doesn’t it seem like faith in Jesus is supposed to make
our lives more harmonious and enjoyable?
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Pathfinder Church | March 25, 2026 | AJ Mastic
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Pathfinder Church | March 29, 2026 | AJ Mastic
The Sacraments seem really gross if you stop to think about them. It’s great that Jesus died for our sins, but are we really supposed to eat his body? And why do we talk about “drowning” babies through baptism? That seems needlessly cruel and harsh.
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Pathfinder Church | March 22, 2026 | Doug Mauss
If there’s one truth that seems pervasive in being a success in our culture today, it’s to never admit being wrong. Our leaders and influencers carefully maintain an image of polished confidence. So why does the church force us to publicly share our failings each week? Doesn’t that just increase anxiety and shame?
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Pathfinder Church | March 4, 2026 | Doug Mauss
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Pathfinder Church | March 11, 2026 | Jeremy Hetzel
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Pathfinder Church | March 15, 2026 | AJ Mastic
Nobody ever seems to feel like they have enough money. Even most billionaires seem unable to stop the relentless pursuit of “more.” So why does the church tell us to give some of our precious, hard-earned money away? Surely God in heaven doesn’t need our cash?
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Pathfinder Church | March 8, 2026 | Dion Garrett
While it’s fun to watch musical memes on social media, most people would hate to have to sing in public. So why does the church force everyone—tone deaf or otherwise—to sing weird songs in a large group?
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Pathfinder Church | March 1, 2026 | Doug Mauss
People who routinely talk to invisible beings are normally consigned to a psychiatric ward. Why does the church make such a big deal about talking to God? How could he possibly hear all the prayers and care about every little thing in our lives?
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Pathfinder Church | February 22, 2026 | AJ Mastic
We have fewer and fewer “third spaces”—places where people gather together simply for the sake of being with one another. Even community events that used to be primarily experienced in a group (such as cheering on your local team or going to a movie) are now mainly experienced from the (isolated) comfort of our couch and big screen. So why does the church make such a big deal about gathering together every weekend?
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Pathfinder Church | February 18, 2026 | Dion Garrett
Our society has largely sterilized the process of death—offloading the care of the sick and dying onto medical professionals. We even try to keep our pain and grief hidden inside, rather than “make a scene.” So why does the church publicly and messily focus on death and lamentation?
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Pathfinder Church | January 15, 2026 | Dion Garrett
Conventional wisdom says it’s a bad idea to change horses in midstream, but when it comes to Grace, the very thing that all Christians acknowledge as the means for our salvation, we seem to struggle to live by it. Unfortunately, too many churches, seeing the reality of sin in the world, abandon grace and reach for a different means to motivate and grow people. How can we both cling to grace AND grow to be more like Jesus?
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Pathfinder Church | February 8, 2026 | Doug Mauss
Does God encourage Christians to be crazy dreamers or to be contented realists? The answer is “yes.” So how does dreaming big and asking God for “more” not undermine the contentment and humility that also marks our faith? When we one day stand before him, will he tell us our dreams were too big or too small?
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Pathfinder Church | February 1, 2026 | Dion Garrett
The message of the world is always “more,” and too often, we Christians adopt that approach as well. But how can willingly living with “less” be a key to true success?
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Pathfinder Church | January 25, 2026 | AJ Mastic
If we see the whole point of life as getting to heaven, then what point is there to doing anything but evangelizing and baptizing people? Why would churches ever pay attention to the real-life needs of the people or the world around them? Was it just proof of his power? Was it bait to reel people in? Or, if the cross was the point of Jesus’s mission, then what do we make of all the other stuff he did?
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Pathfinder Church | January 18, 2026 | Dion Garrett
There’s a strange phenomenon that keeps happening in our world—a once great business, empire, movement, or family can’t endure past its founder. What’s the secret to establishing something important that lives beyond you? Or at the very least, seeing the fruit of your labors outlive you?
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Pathfinder Church | January 11, 2026 | Doug Mauss
The world has changed a lot since Jesus, but especially in the last 100 years! The rate of change is now exponential, leaving many once sacred societal structures in the dust. So, what role do 2,000-year-old plus scriptures play in a world as modern as ours?
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Pathfinder Church | January 4, 2025 | Dion Garrett
While trying to live out your purpose, you can easily get lost in it. That’s the story of numerous organizations and people; they start out with a clear reason for existing, but they lose sight of it and fail to keep the main thing, the main thing. So, what’s the key to not losing your way in pursuit of your purpose?
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Pathfinder Church | December 28, 2025 | AJ Mastic
It’s an old cliché that some people see the glass as half-full, while others see it as half-empty. However, what if both of those outlooks miss the bigger picture? What if joy comes neither from present-tense pessimism nor optimism, but something better than both?
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Pathfinder Church | December 24, 2024 | Dion Garrett
You are invited to join us here at Pathfinder for Christmas worship!
We can’t wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus with you.
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Pathfinder Church | December 21, 2025 | Doug Mauss
We naturally define ourselves by our strengths, abilities, and accomplishments. The assumption is that more successes would equate to more joy. And yet that’s rarely the case. Why is there such a disconnect?
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Pathfinder Church | December 14, 2025 | AJ Mastic
Christmas is a time when we anticipate receiving joyful things: gifts, time with loved ones, special outings and celebrations. The focus is naturally on our own needs and hopes for the season, and on the events that will bring us joy. But what if joy doesn’t come from prioritizing the things we love to receive?
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Pathfinder Church | December 7, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Our society has had a historically unique stretch of prosperity. The last seventy years have been marked by an almost uninterrupted growth in wealth, technology, and the creature comforts of life. But is this exceptional stretch of comfort the source of joy, or has it actually clouded our ability to experience pure joy?
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Pathfinder Church | November 30, 2025 | Doug Mauss
If Joy is a feeling, dependent on our circumstances, how could anyone be asked to “choose joy”? What is there about joy that the marketing and sappy sentiments get wrong?
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Pathfinder Church | November 23, 2025 | Dion Garrett
So often we’re afraid that we don’t have enough resources to secure a safe, happy life. We’re always looking to stash away a little bit more for a rainy day, gain more insight, and improve our safety net. But when will it ever be enough to bring us peace?
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Pathfinder Church | November 16, 2025 | AJ Mastic
In life we know that the people who make something of themselves tend to move fast and have many irons in the fire. To have a significant life it seems like busyness is a must; a sign that we’re on the right track. We know that laziness is a certain path to insignificance, but what if the same risk can be found in constant busyness?
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Pathfinder Church | November 9, 2025 | Dion Garrett
One of the benefits of staying really busy is that when we have lots of things that require our focus, it can help us put unresolved stuff out of mind. When we have emotional baggage we haven’t dealt with, it can seem like a win to move our attention past it, but in doing so, what if it’s not defeated, but lying dormant?
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Pathfinder Church | November 2, 2025 | Doug Mauss
When life gets overwhelming and out of hand, one primal reaction deep in our “lizard brain” is to take action; ANY action! Life's problems usually don't get solved by ignoring them; we have to act and take control – but what if the default instinct to “plow ahead” and take control of “all the things” actually perpetuates our deep fears of losing control?
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Pathfinder Church | October 26, 2025 | AJ Mastic
If you add up all the things we “should” do to fulfill all of our vocations, responsibilities, and goals, the list gets VERY long. If we stay organized and work hard on our tasks, there are times when we can feel like we're on top of everything, but that feeling is rare and fleeting; something in life always goes out of balance. When we know that at any given point there’s an area of life that we’re not giving enough attention to, how can we keep from feeling like a failure?
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Pathfinder Church | October 19, 2025 | Dion Garrett
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Pathfinder Church | October 12, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Some of us are motivated by a desire to keep others happy. When we see a need, or we’re asked to help, we jump in! We would never want to disappoint our parents, or spouse, or kids; and we know that it’s godly to make sacrifices for others - but have you ever felt like your efforts aren’t making much of a difference, other than leaving you feeling drained?
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Pathfinder Church | October 5, 2025 | Dion Garrett
When there’s a fun experience or gathering of friends, part of the reason we say ‘yes’ so often is because we don’t want to be left out! We don’t want to let life pass us by or for the group to evolve without us. Sure, this can make life crazy busy, but aren't we better off making memories and building relationships than twiddling our thumbs?
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Pathfinder Church | September 28, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Many parents, especially as their families grow older, dream of creating what past generations had, a place where our family can come together and be together—at least for a little while. Although family reunions and multi-generational family vacations can be filled with pressure and conflict, how might this desire be an echo of our greater destiny?
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Pathfinder Church | September 21, 2025 | AJ Mastic
It’s hard to watch your kids grow up. It’s even harder to know how to stay in their lives yet allow your role to change. Over the course of a child’s life, good parents will function as caregivers, cops, coaches, and consultants. But what about God? Does this relationship with our ultimate parent change in similar ways? What would that even look like?
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Pathfinder Church | September 14, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Some people have parents who they can easily call upon whenever they’re in trouble, while others would call every number in their phone before their parents’. Which kind of parent is God like? The kind who wants to be bothered, no matter what, even if you haven’t talked for a while? Or the kind who wants you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps?
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Pathfinder Church | September 7, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Play is an important feature of learning, in part because low-stakes failures are necessary for us to actually grow! But what about when we’re talking about failures that feel high-stakes? How does a loving parent respond then? More, how does a perfect God deal with such imperfect children?
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Pathfinder Church | August 24, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Parenting can be hard. Not only do you need to hold on to a vision of the kinds of people you want your kids to be, but you have to help them get there! What makes this harder is that at some point, all kids will realize they’ve got autonomy and can do what they want. How do you help your vision for your kids become a reality? How does God manage sometimes out-of-control children like us?
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There are lots of reasons people choose to have children, and many of them are bad reasons. The reason someone brings a child into the world sets the stage for the rest of the relationship, which is one of the reasons why there are so many strained parent-child relationships! So, what does our Heavenly Father show us about the best reason to bring kids into the world?
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Pathfinder Church | August 10, 2025 | AJ Mastic
In the USA, Christians often shy away from standing out. How could it be helpful to be seen as extreme or puritanical? Not to mention, those don’t sound like much fun! And yet, is there more to be gained by being “strange” than we think?
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Pathfinder Church | August 3, 2025 | Dion Garrett
When we invest in something, we expect it to pay dividends, and for many of us, that’s true of how we see church. While it seems rational to move away from a church that’s no longer meeting your needs, could that be detrimental to one of the things we need most?
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Pathfinder Church | July 27, 2025 | Doug Mauss
The Bible contains some wild stories that our scientific minds don’t exactly know what to do with. Stories of miracles, angels, and evil spirits fill the Bible, and even Jesus validates their existence, so how did we come to a faith where those things are rarely mentioned in polite company?
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Pathfinder Church | July 20, 2025 | Dion Garrett
As Christians, it’s not unreasonable to want to be safe, and enjoy some level of comfort and status, but why is it that when we have those things, we often end up unhappy and bored? Could it be that the things we try to avoid are the very things we need?
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Pathfinder Church | July 13, 2025 | AJ Mastic
In the USA, the word “church’ usually means a place where we can attend worship; that we might be a member of. If the church is supposed to be a place for deeper human connection, why do those of us who attend still feel disconnected and alone?
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Pathfinder Church | July 6, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Who do we turn to as our source for expertise in life? Everybody’s an expert now. One of the most popular influencers in the world interviews a new expert every week, and they all disagree with each other! Nobody in our society can agree on the “highest good” anymore, so who are we supposed to trust?
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Pathfinder Church | June 29, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Why does the Bible include so many tedious and seemingly random details in its stories? At best, those details distract from the main spiritual message of the Bible. At worst, they become evidence that atheists use to pick apart the Bible’s veracity. Why should we care about
who Jesus’ grandfather was? Is the Bible a history book, or a book about salvation? What spiritual benefit is there to including so much history?
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Pathfinder Church | June 22, 2025 | Dion Garrett
It seems like it’s easier than ever to offend other people. Meaningful relationships are even harder to come by. It’s rare to find marriages or friendships that can go the distance. Even families are not the bond they once were. As our relationships break down from a whole host of complicated modern assaults, how can the ancient, simpler setting of the Bible possibly improve the longevity and quality of our relationships?
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Pathfinder Church | June 15, 2025 | AJ Mastic
For financial advice, we most naturally turn to investment reps or accountants. We follow conventional wisdom about financial best practices, and we spend our money in ways that maximize our comfort and security. As a result, consumer debt is at an all-time high, and the
average American is living paycheck to paycheck. As bad as things may be economically, what would happen if I trusted the Bible’s advice around money? Would I end up broke and even more miserable?
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Pathfinder Church | June 8, 2025 | Doug Mauss
The field of mental health is becoming more widely discussed all the time. Sociologists observe the astronomical rise of anxiety in our society. More and more people seek out mental counseling each year, and mental health experts proliferate online. Some of these experts blame the Bible, with its focus on guilt and shame, as the source of our collective mental un-health. But is that accurate?
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Pathfinder Church | June 1, 2025 | Dion Garrett
There’s never been more (or more varied) advice for how to be physically healthy. Every year brings new medications and procedures that can help you lose weight, be more attractive, or stave off sickness. With such a plethora of medical wisdom, what more could the Bible have to say about health? Isn’t it more concerned with our souls than our bodies?
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Pathfinder Church | May 25, 2025 | AJ Mastic
Christian Psychologist M. Scott Peck says that human beings struggle to make a “map” of the world that helps them understand and wisely navigate life. It can be tempting to be like Peter Pan and never grow up. Or to rely only on our own wisdom. But if we do, we will always be struggling to “reinvent the wheel,” or be bedeviled by obstacles that other people long ago solved. How can we increase our wisdom and ability to navigate the world?
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Pathfinder Church | May 18, 2025 | Doug Mauss
For most people, as we get older, our frame of reference narrows. Our daily experiences and hobbies become more restricted, and our ability to make new relationships withers. With the shrinking of our sphere comes a shrinking of joy. Is there a way out of this inevitable spiral?
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Pathfinder Church | May 11, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Sadly, because of sin, the world is broken. The world is always going to be broken. For many people, this is cause to embrace a pessimistic outlook! If life is “nasty, brutish, and short,” is there anything else to do but bide our time in cynicism while we wait for heaven?
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Pathfinder Church | May 4, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Our culture tells us that we should be able to take care of ourselves. We value being independent and competent. It can feel like failure to rely on other people. But should it really be our goal to become so capable that we don’t need anybody else?
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Pathfinder Church | April 27, 2025 | AJ Mastic
We all crave to be fully known, but it’s so hard to find and maintain truly deep, intimate relationships. It’s hard to risk vulnerability, and without vulnerability, how can we ever be fully known?
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The Recipe for No Regrets | No Abandonment | 1
Pathfinder Church | April 20, 2025 | Dion Garrett
The world is constantly changing. It might feel like we can keep up with it for now, but eventually we all slow down, and we’ll increasingly feel left behind. What are we supposed to do when technology and society start to pass us by? When friends and family forget about us?
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Pathfinder Church | April 18, 2025 | AJ Mastic
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Pathfinder Church | April 13, 2025 | Doug Mauss
An athlete’s legacy is measured by wins and losses, championships won, or lifetime earnings. But what is the ultimate scorecard for Christians? What gets us into the heavenly “Hall of Fame”?
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Pathfinder Church | April 6, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Practice is extremely important, but ultimately what matters is how an athlete performs on game day. What is the Christian’s version of “game day,” and how should we show up for it?
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Pathfinder Church | March 30, 2025 | AJ Mastic
Even though we pay disproportionate attention to superstars, the fact is that even the greatest players can’t win without a team around them. Some athletes get a reputation as a “locker room cancer,” and are therefore frequently traded or have short careers. The athletes who have the most sustained success are the ones who invest in teammates and are willing to learn from the veterans around them. How can Christians live out “team player” principles in real life?
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Pathfinder Church | March 23, 2025 | Dion Garrett
All the natural talent in the world isn’t enough, by itself, for an athlete to be competitive. They have to train, undergo conditioning, and hone their techniques. What does it look like for Christians to train for a life of Kingdom impact?
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Pathfinder Church | March 16, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Professional athletes must submit to grueling and unflinching evaluations of their strengths and weaknesses. In what way are Christians called to be self-examining, and how does that affect our game readiness?
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Pathfinder Church | March 9, 2025 | Dion Garrett
When a young athlete is drafted onto a professional sports team, there is an expectation that they will contribute to the ultimate success of the team. What expectations are there for Christians once they’ve become a follower of Jesus?
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Pathfinder Church | March 2, 2025 | AJ Mastic
Have you ever referred to yourself as a ‘disciple’ of Jesus? Maybe that word sounds nebulous, or a bit weird. The labels we choose for ourselves say a lot about how our faith identity is constructed. Perhaps you prefer to call yourself a ‘believer,’ or ‘follower,’ or simply a ‘Christian,’ but what if there’s a really good reason to claim the label ‘disciple?’
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Pathfinder Church | February 23, 2025 | Dion Garrett
If Jesus had a stump speech, it was “The Kingdom is near.” The Jews didn’t understand it, and Christians today still struggle to connect with the idea. We usually speak of Jesus bringing the Gospel and salvation, but why did He prefer to speak of bringing ‘the Kingdom?’
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Pathfinder Church | February 16, 2025 | Doug Mauss
It sounds lovely and nice; but what exactly IS grace? There are lots of different uses of the word, in culture and by Christians. Does it describe the beneficial rules and instructions God has given us? A power given to us by God for holy living? Is it a reward? What is grace, and what makes it one of the most important words in the scriptures?
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Pathfinder Church | February 9, 2025 | AJ Mastic
To sin is to do something that God doesn’t approve of, that much we know; but if God made everything, why are we even capable of sin, and what’s the rhyme or reason behind the things that offend Him? Is the Christian faith about becoming ok with our sinfulness or trying to root it out?
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Pathfinder Church | February 2, 2025 | Dion Garrett
According to Marcus Buckingham, love is not a feeling but “the deep and unwavering commitment to the flourishing of another human.” In this way, generosity is the outward sign of inner love. But how do we learn to love in this way while trying to survive in a dog-eat-dog world?
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Pathfinder Church | January 26, 2025 | Doug Mauss
Cynicism is rampant today. To not be cynical feels like you must not be paying attention. But hope is described in the Bible as the thing that will not disappoint us. What does it look like to be hopeful but not naïve?
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Pathfinder Church | January 19, 2025 | Dion Garrett
In today’s world, you may be only one viral video away from a life of fame. That’s not, of course, how things worked for most of human history. Heroism and fame were reserved only for great contributions to society (usually) long after the contributors were dead! With technology providing new opportunities for instant gratification and ever-increasing shortcuts to success, what’s the harm in taking the path of least resistance?
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Pathfinder Church | January 12, 2025 | AJ Mastic
If the point of Christianity is to get into heaven, which only happens by grace through faith, then why does it matter how we live our lives? Should we even try to live ethical lives? What good does it do if all our righteousness is like ‘filthy rags’ before God? Why risk temporal comfort if there’s no promise of eternal gain?
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Pathfinder Church | January 5, 2025 | Dion Garrett
Say what you will about them; the proud and the arrogant sure seem to go further and faster in our world. So, in a world where everyone is “loud and proud,” shouting back and forth, armed with their own sets of “alternative facts,” how can Christian humility do anything to help the cause of Christ, let alone a lost world?
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Pathfinder Church | December 29, 2024 | Doug Mauss
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Pathfinder Church | December 24, 2024 | Dion Garrett
You are invited to join us here at Pathfinder for Christmas worship!
We can’t wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus with you.
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Pathfinder Church | December 22, 2024 | AJ Mastic
In this Christmas season, we long for peace in our world. But it seems that there will never be an end to all the conflict in the world around us. How, then, can we find peace?
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Pathfinder Church | December 15, 2024 | Doug Mauss
What is the point of our lives? This is an age-old question, and humanity has attempted to answer it in a variety of ways. How do we figure out the meaning of our existence?
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Pathfinder Church | December 8, 2024 | Dion Garrett
What is the source of our strength? Sooner or later, we reach the limits of our own perseverance. Do we despair, give up, or find restoration of our strength from somewhere?
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Pathfinder Church | December 1, 2024 | Dion Garrett
Deep down, we all have a sense that there is something wrong, or incomplete, or “less than” in our life. Everywhere we turn, someone is promising a cure for what ails us, to make us a new person—for a price. But is there a promise that actually works, and lasts?
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Pathfinder Church | November 24,2024 | AJ Mastic
It’s become a meme to talk about the difficulties of “adulting.” It’s hard to provide for ourselves all that we need to survive and thrive in life. Where do we turn when our resources fall short of what we think we need to get through the day?
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Pathfinder Church | November 17, 2024 | Doug Mauss
The world is a big and overwhelming place. People are sometimes trying to harm us. It’s scary to feel like we’re on our own. In times of persecution or threat, can we count on anybody to be reliably, helpfully on our side?
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Pathfinder Church | November 10, 2024 | Dion Garrett
When hard things happen around us, it can seem like God himself is absent or indifferent to what’s going wrong in the world. Can we trust God when evil seems to be winning?
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Pathfinder Church | November 3, 2024 | AJ Mastic
We’re constantly striving for good outcomes. We learn that we’re rewarded for success, and punished for failure. But if favorable outcomes are conditional on our worth and effort, the consequences of our possible failures are enormous.
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Pathfinder Church | October 27, 2022 | Dion Garrett
There's no doubt that God is at work at Pathfinder. We've prayed for it, and he has been faithful. The Inspired Service is a special weekend we hold every year to share stories of life change happening RIGHT HERE in our congregation. These stories never fail to inspire all of us to seek God’s direction in our lives. No two life stories are the same–but they are all God-Directed and filled with provision and impact. Your story is never over. Join us and be inspired as we give God praise for all He is doing in our midst.
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Pathfinder Church | October 20 | Doug Mauss
When it comes to what’s right, we often think that the end justifies the means. After all, as long as the “right side” wins, or we prevail in the argument, it shouldn’t matter how we got there. Since we’re fighting for Jesus, it’s okay if we use slander, dirty tricks, and loopholes! Or is it?
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Pathfinder Church | October 13, 2024 | Dion Garrett
It often seems like there is a sharp dividing line between the righteous and the unrighteous. People on the other side of an issue from us can seem shockingly immoral. How can we engage in loving discussion or collaboration with people who hold such opposing values, without watering down what we believe is true and right?
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Pathfinder Church | October 6, 2024 | AJ Mastic
We all naturally have a bonding identity, meaning we group with people most similar to us. However, by retreating into this form of identity, we tend to increase our resentment and hostility, and we become less capable of weathering adverse conditions. How can we find a more robust form of identity for ourselves?
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Pathfinder Church | September 29, 2024 | Doug Mauss
As the movie Inside Out shows us, Disgust and Anger are both primal feelings. But when they are joined together, it creates contempt. Contempt feels really good—it reinforces our basic need to feel righteous. In fact, we’ll naturally seek out circumstances and people that outrage us, just for the pleasure of feeling contempt. But is that actually a healthy way to live?
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Pathfinder Church | September 22, 2024 | Dion Garrett
Planted deep within all humans is a desire to live forever because that’s what we were created to do! But ever since we were thrown out of the Garden, we’ve had to face the unkind reality of death—something that we know is inevitable, but nevertheless feels unnatural. As technological advances have reignited the possibility that we might be able to cheat death, should we buy into the promises that with enough advancement, we’ll never have to say goodbye to our loved ones??
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Pathfinder Church | September 15, 2024 | AJ Mastic
What does it truly mean to connect with another person? Can it happen on a FaceTime screen or by following each other’s newsfeeds? Is a 90 day snapchat streak a surefire sign of a real connection? In a world where people are considered “friends” because we click a button and we “do church” online, how do we know if technology is serving our relationships well or working to their detriment?
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Pathfinder Church | September 8, 2024 | Dion Garrett
The natural world used to give us cues of when it was time to work or rest, sow or reap, sleep or wake, wear shorts or sweaters the rhythms of creation demanded and almost guaranteed that there would be no overindulgence in anything and we would find abundance in all the rich states of our existence. With advancements in technology, however, we’ve thrown off nature’s rhythms, but in so doing, have we become masters over Creation, or have we been mastered by what we’ve created?
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Pathfinder Church | August 25, 2024 | Doug Mauss
We’ve been long promised that technology will make our lives easier, reduce the number of hours we work, remove unpleasant labor from the equation, and deliver us into lives of greater leisure. Despite those promises, for the last 70 years, life has moved in the other direction. But now, with new advances in robotics and AI, it finally seems that there could be a world where the machines do all the work, and we simply enjoy life! But is work really what stands in the way of our enjoyment of life? And what do we stand to lose in such a world?
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Pathfinder Church | August 18, 2024 | AJ Mastic
Over time, people have defined what it means to be human in different ways (rationality, creativity, ethics and morals). For Christians, we have looked to the Book of Genesis to understand the place of honor we’re given in and over creation. But in a world where artificial intelligence is quickly encroaching on territory that once only belonged to us, how do we understand and maintain our uniqueness in creation?
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Pathfinder Church | August 11, 2024 | Dion Garrett
Why doesn’t God take us to heaven right away? What’s the point of our sojourn on earth?
On the journey we discover more about God’s grace and power, his transformative hand through all the things that feel challenging, tragic, and pointless. It’s about what God does in the journey, not the destination… and setbacks become the means by which we grow and discover the power of God’s providential hand with us.
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Pathfinder Church | August 4, 2024 | Doug Mauss
Most stories are about a protagonist overcoming obstacles due to his own strength, perseverance, and wisdom. But the Christian story relies on God’s supernatural wisdom and guidance, not our own. And we all have access to a divine power, the Holy Spirit in us.
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Pathfinder Church | July 28, 2024 | Dion Garrett
There’s one final step to living with a deep sense of gratitude that too few of us experience: paying forward our blessings to others. How can giving to others enrich us, when the math says it will only deplete us?
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Pathfinder Church | July 21, 2024 | AJ Mastic
When you experience something really good, it’s natural to want to talk about it. Except sometimes, whether because of modesty or self-protection, we do the opposite. In life, we’re encouraged to keep life’s good things to ourselves; after all, no one likes a braggart. But what do we miss out on when we fail to tell others about the good things in our lives?
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Pathfinder Church | July 14, 2924 | Doug Mauss
While we may say “thank you” to the person at the counter who serves us, things like thank you notes are a challenge. When seen through the lens of etiquette, formal “thank yous” seem burdensome, antiquated, and pointless, and perhaps they are? But what do we miss when we fail to take time to express our thanks, intentionally and specifically? (Notes not required ;-)
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Pathfinder Church | July, 7, 2024 | AJ Mastic
When someone pays you a compliment, what do you do? Do you quickly brush it off or do you take it in and savor it? What about when someone does something generous for you in a time of need? Why is it so difficult to enjoy the lemonade of life, even when we can clearly see the full glass before us?
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Pathfinder Church | June 39, 2024 | Dion Garrett
We notice lots of things in our daily lives, but usually we’re quicker to notice life’s lemons—life’s sour moments. Then, once we start seeing lemons, that’s all we can see! Just look at how quickly this can happen for entire nations! How do we cultivate a grateful mindset when life throws so many frustrations, slights, and disappointments at us?
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Pathfinder Church | June 23, 2024 | Doug Mauss
Our world can be a really ugly and difficult place. The Gospel gives us hope of a better life, where God prospers us, like He did with many in the Bible – but that leaves us confused when life gets hard. Shouldn’t faith shield us from the pain and suffering of the world?
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Pathfinder Church | June 16, 2024 | Dion Garrett
Some leaders bridge the gap between church and state; pastors that preach politics, and politicians that make faith their platform. Their uncommon approach may win our attendance or vote, but should we entrust one voice with so much authority?
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Pathfinder Church | June 9, 2024 | Doug Mauss
The Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, contains hundreds of laws; shalls and shall nots. Are they just a part of history, or should we still be trying to keep them? What function do they serve today?
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Pathfinder Church | June 2, 2024 | AJ Mastic
For ages, Christians have gotten the impression that our faith is about believing we’ll get to go to heaven someday. But, how could that have produced the global Christian movement that we have today, or established high-impact faith-based institutions like Hospitals, orphanages, and schools? Is there something we’re missing?
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Pathfinder Church | May 26, 2024 | Doug Mauss
Christians know that we will have to answer to God for our deeds, so we hold ourselves and others to the standards laid out in the Bible. But it seems like the bar is impossibly high. Do you ever wonder where you stand with God?
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Pathfinder Church | May 19, 2024 | Dion Garrett
People read the Bible in all sorts of different ways, so how are we supposed to make sense of it? We do our best to let it guide the lives that we construct, but what if we’re emphasizing the wrong things? Is there a way to know we’re reading scripture the right way?
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Pathfinder Church | May 12, 2024 | Doug Mauss
Our earliest complaint as children, and our enduring value as adults, is that life should be fair. Everyone should get what they deserve. But is perfect fairness the highest good, is there something even better—something we all wish we had instead?
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Pathfinder Church | May 5, 2024 | AJ Mastic
It’s really nice to have comfortable things! A nice house, a quality car, constant access to the internet and our phones. The messaging of our culture says that comfort should be our ultimate goal—but is there something even better?
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Pathfinder Church | April 28, 2024 | Doug Mauss
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Our culture honors a good work ethic. It’s right to be diligent and work hard at what we do. And yet, this busy-ness becomes a taskmaster, demanding that we keep up the pace, in order to earn the good things in life.
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Pathfinder Church | April 21, 2024 | Dion Garrett
There are certain assets in life that obviously help smooth out our paths: money, power, resources, and talent. These are the powerful levers that help us feel secure in life. But the quest for security comes with costs, both for ourself and others. What is the better dream God would have us rely on?
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Pathfinder Church | April 14, 2024 | AJ Mastic
It’s so good to be free. To be in control of your own life. To not have to do what anyone else tells you to do. And we often try to build a life that only depends on our own ability to be successful. But at what point does the “self-made” man need a little help? When does individualism begin to limit us?
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Pathfinder Church | April 7, 2024 | Doug Mauss
Being “unique” is a tricky dance. On the one hand, many of us would love to have extraordinary lives. On the other hand, very few of us want to be considered weird. How do we find a balance between making our mark and sticking out from the crowd, but also fitting in with the people you care about?
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Pathfinder Church | March 31, 2024 | Dion Garrett
What’s Better than Getting our Dreams?
All of us have dreams for our lives, whether they be big or small. But dreams are tricky things. On the one hand, missing out on the life we’ve always wanted can lead to despair. On the other hand, as championship athletes can attest, succeeding at our dreams doesn’t necessarily bring life fulfillment, either. Is there a way to truly “live the dream” in a way that brings long-term life and joy?
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Pathfinder Church | March 24, 2024 | AJ Mastic
When someone is suffering, it feels right to try to join them in their suffering, to somehow stand with them. But lately the offering of “thoughts and prayers” to someone in a hardship has come to be seen as an empty and patronizing sentiment. But should those two things be linked, “thoughts and prayers?” What might prayer be able to accomplish for someone in need that no amount of thoughts could ever accomplish?
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Pathfinder Church | March 17, 2024 | Doug Mauss
We all want guidance. We need it! Life is too confusing to navigate on our own. Some people have tried to find guidance looking to the stars and other heavenly bodies. Others have tried to interpret the meaning of various “signs from the universe.” But even if those entities were offering guidance, how do we know their counsel is trustworthy?
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Pathfinder Church | March 10, 2024 | Dion Garrett
There are numerous documented benefits to mindfulness practices and if the alternative is “mindlessness” then who can argue with the benefits? But what if quieting a runaway mind is not enough to give you lasting inner peace?
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February 28, 2024
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Pathfinder Church | March 3, 2024 | AJ Mastic
What do you do when you want something, really want something? Do you set goals? Create a vision board? Write a letter to the universe? Manifesting is a practice that lies somewhere between spirituality and pseudo-science but even if it works, is it a good idea to get everything you want?
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February 21, 2024
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Pathfinder Church | February 25, 2024 | Dion Garrett
God’s values are so expansive that no individual person could pursue all of them, let alone hold them all in tension. Left to ourselves, we’ll prioritize the biblical values that come most easily to us, or are most attuned to our own lives and histories. How do we avoid making godly morality something that we each pick and choose for ourselves?
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Pathfinder Church | February 18, 2024 | Doug Mauss
The American experiment was to create a society not bound by the rigid structures of social class. And yet, it can be uncomfortable to socialize with people who are significantly wealthier—or significantly poorer—than we are. It only seems to promote resentment or envy! Which may be the reason we prefer to live and associate with others who are in the same career field, live in the same neighborhoods, and share the same economic class. How could risking the discomfort—and all the potential faux pas—of associating with those far wealthier or poorer than we are, actually make life richer for all of us?
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Pathfinder Church | February 11, 2024 | Dion Garrett
Everywhere you look, people naturally group themselves by age and season of life. From retirees gathering at McDonald’s to young families doing play dates together—it’s easier to stick with people your own age. But what are we costing ourselves by not maintaining relationships with people in all stages of life?
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Pathfinder Church | February 4, 2024 | Doug Mauss
It’s seemingly hard-wired into us to create loyalty groups. It’s easier to connect with someone who shares the same affinity for a sports team, patriotic fervor, or religious label. We sort ourselves into tribes, and narrow our frame of reference. Can we worship God sufficiently from only our own group’s perspective?
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Pathfinder Church | January 28, 2024 | AJ Mastic
Once you have a clear sense of who you really are, a really meaningful rich life can flow from it. It doesn’t work well when the flow is reversed. Otherwise, any changes in your career, your reputation, or your performance can rattle your sense of self. So once I know who I really am, what does that mean for the rest of life?
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Pathfinder Church | January 21, 2024 | Dion Garrett
One of the scary parts of getting closer to Jesus is that we are promised that we will change. But how do I know I’ll like the person I’m changed into?
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Pathfinder Church | January 14, 2024 | Doug Mauss
Everything is for sale, and social media has shown that includes us. A sad fact of life on this planet is that our world values some people more than others. So what do we do when no one wants to buy what we’re selling? The choices are stark and simple, either morph yourself into something that’s more valuable in the eyes of others or fall into complete despair. Is there any other option?
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Pathfinder Church | January 7, 2024 | Dion Garrett
We all have a couple sides to us. One is the presentable self, defined by our success and best qualities, the other is our hidden self, which shows up in our greatest shortcomings, struggles, and mistakes. How do we know who we are, when there’s so much conflicting data on who we are?
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Pathfinder Church | December 24, 2022
You are invited to join us here at Pathfinder for Christmas worship!
We can’t wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus with you.
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Pathfinder Church | December 31, 2023 | AJ Mastic
Everything in God’s creation seems to understand and accept its place. Everything except us. Nothing else experiences the crisis we feel when we lose a job, a partner, success, or our health. Is there something special about being human that makes this more difficult? Or is there something flawed in our approach?
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Pathfinder Church | December 17, 2023 | Doug Mauss
When you’re a kid, finding the joy of Christmas is easy. As we grow older, joy becomes harder to find. It feels risky, naïve, or even unwarranted. How can we open ourselves up to pure joy even though we know the joyful moments never last?
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Pathfinder Church | December 10, 2023 | AJ Mastic
The angels, who appear throughout the Christmas story, repeatedly instruct people to “fear not!” Which only tells us that there was plenty of fear that first Christmas! While we may try to take the angels' advice and bravely banish all fear from our hearts and minds this time of year, why does scripture also say that fear can be useful to us? In what way?
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November 29, 2023
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Pathfinder Church | December 3, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Many of us are taught from an early age that human anger is always imperfect and that it’s wrong to express it, especially at Christmas (Unless you’re trying to find a parking spot at the mall). Is it possible that the stifling of our anger, even at this time of year, is chipping away at our humanity and making us less whole?
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Pathfinder Church | November 26, 2023 | AJ Mastic
Christmas is supposed to be a time full of cheer, smiles, and love, right? Yet, during this time, many of us also feel sad about hurts, losses, and canceled dreams. We try to push the darkness away and refrain from verbalizing it because no one wants to feel unhappy around Christmas. But what if our instincts are backward? What if sadness belongs in our celebration of Christmas?
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Pathfinder Church | November 23, 2022 | AJ Mastic
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Pathfinder Church | November 19, 2023 | Dion Garrett
As religion continues to recede in America, a few faithful people are mourning the loss of its community and influence—but many powerful actors are eager to gobble up the market share and move on from religion entirely. With a weak but faithful remnant left, what can moving against the powerful culture currents of our world even accomplish? What can be gained in persisting in faith?
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Pathfinder Church | November 12, 2023 | Doug Mauss
It’s not always clear how the “reward” of faith works. Does God bring earthly blessing and prosperity on those who are faithful? Or does our godly integrity result in suffering and persecution in this life? What are the true costs and rewards of faithful following of Jesus?
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Pathfinder Church | November 5, 2023 | Dion Garrett
It seems like the only way to get ahead is to work harder, smarter—more!—than the people around you. We prioritize achievement over connection, assuming the former will be richer—and the result is that we’re unhappy, lonely, and tired. Is it time to reevaluate achievement’s value proposition?
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Pathfinder Church | October 29, 2023 | Doug Mauss
In what ways should Christians be different from the culture around them? Often, a Christian life looks the same as any other American life—we work the same jobs, share the same hobbies and interests, and spend our money on the same things. On the other hand, when Christians completely reject our culture, we look intolerant, mean, irrelevant, and unappealing. What is the balance Christians can—and should—strike, when it comes to living “set apart” in this world?
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Pathfinder Church | October 22, 2022 | Dion Garrett
It’s encouraging to see and rejoice in other people’s successes (just scroll through your Instagram stories), or to have them rejoice in yours. Or in times of struggle, to be able to “share” your struggles with others, knowing that they will be with you “in spirit.” But so few of us have a community that sees, values, and cares for us during ALL the ups and down in life! This is Church!
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Pathfinder Church | October 15, 2023 | AJ Mastic
When we do things well enough in life, we develop a comfortable rhythm. Being in our comfort zone feels good! But if we stay there long enough, we end up complacent, even stagnant. How do we take a steady, predictable life to the next level, without having to feel dissatisfied with or ungrateful for the life we have?
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Pathfinder Church | October 8, 2023 | Doug Mauss
We make connections with people for all sorts of reasons. Often, we connect over work, or through competition, or based on mutual interests. Social science has shown that we most easily connect over shared anger and outrage. But those kinds of connections don’t leave us feeling invigorated and joyful. Is there a more positive way to connect with others?
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Pathfinder Church | October 1, 2023 | Dion Garrett
We know the rules of earthly success and power—maximize your control over yourself and over the people/things around you that impact your success. But this is ultimately a burned-out way to live. We can never adequately meet the unexpected difficulties and crises of life. Is there a way to exceed our human limits so that we can have the resilience to face all the trials in our lives?
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Pathfinder Church | September 24, 2023 | AJ Mastic
We know relationships are important, but it’s so hard to do them well. Do we need more relationships or fewer? What kind? How do we recognize and prioritize the full range of healthy relationships that we need?
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Pathfinder Church | September 17, 2023 | Doug Mauss
It seems like the only way to get ahead is to work harder, smarter—more!—than the people around you. We prioritize achievement over connection, assuming the former will be richer—and the result is that we’re unhappy, lonely, and tired. Is it time to reevaluate achievement’s value proposition?
Website | https://pathfinderstl.org
Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give
Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts
Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinderstl
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Pathfinder Church | September 10, 2023 | Dion Garrett
So often we find ourselves stuck on an isolating trajectory in our lives. The relentless pace required to function makes people feel more isolated than ever. We feel trapped by the choices we’ve already made. Can we find a new, more-connecting way to move through life?
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Every year we designate one weekend to get out and prayer walk for our community. We won’t have any services that weekend – instead we encourage you to walk your neighborhood and pray for those around us.
No matter how you choose to participate–with a group in one of our park meetups, or in your own neighborhood–this isn’t a weekend to skip church, but to get out and surround our community in prayer, so that more people can find Whole Life in Jesus!
pathfinderwalks
Walk Weekend Resources | https://pathfinderstl.org/walks
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Pathfinder Church | August 27, 2023 | Doug Mauss
We’ve all heard that God loves us in spite of our sins. But that can create a misconception that God does not like us until we have changed for the better. What if that’s not actually true to the nature of God?
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Pathfinder Church | August 20, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Everyone knows that the best things in life cost something. It’s “fair” that I pay for benefits I receive, and others pay for theirs. But in a world of zero-sum resources, what is the ultimate cost of that mentality?
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Pathfinder Church | August 13, 2023 | AJ Mastic
It’s human nature to instinctively react to differences as “threatening.” Often we reserve our kindest impulses for those who are most like us.
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Pathfinder Church | August 6, 2023 | Doug Mauss
There is only one power in the world that can truly change a person from the inside out. We can’t change others through hostility, force, or punishment of the Law.
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Pathfinder Church | July 30, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Christians have long operated with an understanding that when Jesus returns, this world will be destroyed, and we’ll get to go somewhere else; to Heaven. So, does it not matter what happens to this world, then? What is our responsibility for creation? What if the new creation is going to be more closely tied to this one than we realize?
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Pathfinder Church | July 23, 2023 | AJ Mastic
When we gather for worship, many times we envision our praise as a sort of sacrifice, akin to the Old Testament sacrificial offerings, which pleases God. We seek to show the depth of our devotion through passion, contrition, and obedience. We can develop a strong sense of worship as obligation, but if God is far more interested in mercy than sacrifice, then why does He want us to keep coming to worship?
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Pathfinder Church | July 16, 2023 | Doug Mauss
It is so comforting to hear that God has plans to prosper us; but what does prosperity mean to God? If following God means that He’ll help us avoid hardship, then why did Jesus experience so much suffering, and why do we? What exactly is the promise of this passage, and to what extent does faith result in God’s protection and blessing?
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Pathfinder Church | July 9, 2023 | Dion Garrett
We can’t underestimate the importance of solid parenting in order to set children up for success in life. Studies show that that the more intentional we are about modeling our values, the greater chance our children will follow suit. In some ways that’s reassuring, but in others it feels like an impossible burden to carry. How can imperfect people deal with the weighty responsibility of guiding our children?
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Pathfinder Church | July 2, 2023 | AJ Mastic
From the time of Jesus, to the American Revolution, from politics to family finances; money has often been the root of division. Jesus frequently warned about the dark side of money, and urged us to beware of its pull - but we can’t just avoid money! We need it! How can we handle money with integrity, and keep from letting it control us?
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Pathfinder Church | June 25, 2023 | Doug Mauss
We’ve all heard that we’re not supposed to judge, but is that really possible? We’re always making judgements about people, whether we verbalize them or not. Surely Jesus isn’t forbidding us from speaking the truth or offering correction – but then again, how can we even discern such things without our own sin obscuring the picture? How are we to understand this command?
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Pathfinder Church | June 18, 2023 | Dion Garrett
What does God mean when He says that He is jealous? Jealousy seems like selfish, immature behavior - and it’s not the only thing in scripture that causes us to question God’s character (particularly if we look at the Old Testament)! Some passages almost make it sound like God might be emotionally unstable. What is God really like?
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Pathfinder Church | June 11, 2023 | Doug Mauss
We’ve all been so entangled in an argument or feud that we can no longer remember how it started. Careless actions and well-planted words can give rise to noxious weeds that threaten to choke out all life and fruit. How do you protect your community and yourself?
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Pathfinder Church | June 4, 2023 | AJ Mastic
Whether we’re talking vegetables or flowers, what makes for the best gardens? Biodiversity! A garden where lots of different species are working for the overall good. Is there an equivalent benefit in our family dynamic? How do we get beyond seeing different roles and contributions as frustrations to work with and instead see them as a pathway to a thriving life?
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Pathfinder Church | May 28, 2023 | Doug Mauss
Looking around, it’s easy to see how it’s more difficult than ever to feel confident in who we are and what we’re about. We are desperately trying to find identity in our groups, our causes, our jobs, or our philosophies. But the ever-shifting environment and wide-scale rejection of formerly common values and metrics of success leaves us feeling uprooted and tenuous!
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Pathfinder Church | May 21, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Family and relationships require a lot of work! You can pour into people your whole life and still feel misunderstood and alone. It can seem easier to keep intimate relationships at a distance or just go it alone. So why isn’t “going it alone” a more logical choice?
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Pathfinder Church | May 14, 2023 | Dion Garrett
When a plant—or a relationship—starts to get sickly, it seems easiest to just yank the whole thing out and start over with a new plant--or a new relationship. But you can’t build up a fruitful garden with a “scorched earth” approach. What does it look like to tend to the most important relationships, and when is it time to cut your losses?
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Pathfinder Church | May 7, 2023 | AJ Mastic
Too often, we teeter-totter between not wanting any more excitement in life—craving stability and certainty---and feeling trapped by life’s monotony. Could the back and forth be a sign that we’re on the wrong journey? Jesus says that his followers will be like the wind; people will be unable to tell where they come from or where they’re going. How can we try to live by the Spirit when we’re trying to build our lives like a fortress of certainty?
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Pathfinder Church | April 30, 2023 | Dion Garrett
It is no surprise that many people have become disillusioned by what Christianity has become. When Holy awe is lost, then the teachings from the manifest wisdom of God get reduced to clichés and pat answers to life’s great questions—answers that don’t really answer anything. How do we pursue greater understanding in life but also recognize when we’re punching above our weight?
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Pathfinder Church | April 23, 2023 | AJ Mastic
The thousands of Christian denominations in the world, all certain that they’re the only right ones, are the outward evidence (the fruit) of a deep inner problem. How did the followers of Jesus come to be known by our divisions, arrogance, pride & self-righteousness?
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Pathfinder Church | April 16, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Certainty is vital for human development. A child who doesn’t know if she’ll be fed again will not develop well. Nor will the one who’s not sure anyone will pick him up when he’s crying. The same is true with faith. To begin a relationship with God, we need some assurances. But when does certainty start to get in the way of true spiritual maturity?
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Don’t Settle for Certain | We Lose the Plot | April 9, 2023 | Doug Mauss
Certainty is one of the reasons people come to church in the first place. In a random, otherwise uncaring world, we crave certainty; we want answers. And the Christian church has provided the world with volumes and volumes of answers! But maybe all those answers have only clouded the very thing that made Christianity thrive?
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Pathfinder Church | April 2, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Who is Jesus? That’s the question we all must answer. It’s tempting to view Him as a wise teacher, enlightened person, or even as a demigod. Yet, John over and over again returns to the complete divinity of Jesus as God enfleshed; the one who embodies God’s presence, love and wisdom. But how can a human also be God?
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Pathfinder Church | March 26, 2023 | Dion Garrett
In this world, we naturally section off into tribes of people who are like us. As people who avoid discomfort, we fear the cost of engaging with people who are different. But what if our comfort isn’t high up on Jesus’ list? What if his hopes for us can only be fully realized through embracing community with all people?
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Pathfinder Church | March 19, 2023 | Doug Mauss
Sometimes we forget just how revolutionary Jesus is. We can easily settle into practicing routine religion, where nothing really changes. Our Christianity can become a thought exercise that doesn’t result in any real action. Comfortable faith seems to fit nicely into our lives, but what if it wasn’t meant to?
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Pathfinder Church | March 12, 2023 | Dion Garrett
The first-century Israelites were a people mourning the loss of their kingdom. Living under the rule of Rome, they longed for a king of their own to bring them political salvation. Just like people today, they didn’t see Jesus as the answer. What would it look like, and what would it change, if we would live like Jesus is our king?
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Pathfinder Church | March 5, 2023 | AJ Mastic
Why does the Bible contain four biographies of Jesus that each tell his story so differently? For some of us, this can introduce doubts about the reliability of scripture. For many of us, this means figuring out how to piece the four narratives together. But what if in doing so, we’re actually missing out on the full picture of Jesus that can only be seen through four separate stories?
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Pathfinder Church | February 26, 2023 | Doug Mauss
Too often we let our disagreements get boiled down to a binary: One side is right and the other side is wrong. The stress of conflict makes us rigid and controlling, and extremely difficult to find any sort of win/win outcome. It’s extremely difficult to master “the craft of hard conversations”! Sometimes, is it ok to settle for win/lose?
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Pathfinder Church | February 22, 2023 | Dion Garrett
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Pathfinder Church | February 19, 2023 | Dion Garrett
Because disagreement is difficult and painful, our natural tendency is to try to rush for resolution immediately. And the quickest resolution would always be for someone to cave: if other people would just change their mind and agree with us, everything would be fine! Or else, we can quickly dismiss our own needs or convictions in order to keep the peace! Is it possible to slow down enough for both sides to feel heard and valued? How can we avoid rushing to a quick fix that leaves someone getting steamrolled?
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Pathfinder Church | February 12, 2023 | AJ Mastic
Relationships are tricky because people can cause us harm. In response to that threat, it’s tempting to withdraw, or lash out, or concede the issue, or try to change the other person for our own benefit. But every one of those choices just creates an adversarial and unsafe relationship for you both. Is there a better way to protect ourselves from others, without avoiding them or controlling them?
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Pathfinder Church | February 5, 2023 | Dion Garrett
People naturally take sides in a conflict based on the externals of the situation. We judge people by their actions or behaviors. And when someone has wronged us, it’s easy to feel blameless in our reaction. After all, they started it! But hidden under the behaviors, our own emotional wounds affect the conflict more than we realize.
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Pathfinder Church | January 29, 2023 | Doug Mauss
Disagreeing with other people is scary. It feels like it costs us peace or connection with others. So we avoid having “crucial conversations,” hoping that it will minimize our pain. Or we lash out in unproductive ways, harming others with our anger. Is there a better way to understand conflict and use it to create better connections with others?
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Pathfinder Church | January 22, 2023 | Doug Mauss
We live in an instant gratification, over-night success society, where only dramatic transformations & grand achievements get noticed. Which is why so many of our attempts to change end up in a wash of broken promises and unfinished projects. But what if instead of focusing on the grandiose, we shifted our attention to the potential of small changes?
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Pathfinder Church | January 15, 2022 | Dion Garrett
Gentle parenting and positive employee recognition are growing trends, but naysayers worry they’ll only make people soft. But do they? Could we achieve more if we were gentler with ourselves?
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Pathfinder Church | January 8, 2022 | Doug Mauss
We may have given up hope long ago for any lasting life change, but maybe our problem is not that we’re too weak-willed. Maybe we just need a healthy dose of realism when it comes to what it is we’re trying to change in the first place.
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Pathfinder Church | January 1, 2023 | AJ Mastic
What do you really want? Most of us are driven by what we don’t want more than what we do want, which creates a fuzzy picture of our desired future (vision) and leaves us relying on fear and shame as our motivators. How can being clear on this one question, “What do I really want?” be a game changer?
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Pathfinder Church | December 24, 2022
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Pathfinder Church | December 18, 2022 | Doug Mauss
We are engaged in a lifelong fight against physical weakness and human mortality. It’s easy to think that if we improve our health and fitness, it will protect us against the frailty of our bodies, but does it really? What if true strength is found not through denying our weakness but by embracing it?
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Pathfinder Church | December 11, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Our world is a complex place, and there are many things that we don’t understand. Often, we do our best to cope with this by oversimplifying problems, and eliminating grey areas from our thinking. But when we become close-minded and rigid, are we also closing ourselves off from God’s work in our lives?
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Pathfinder Church | December 4, 2022 | Dion Garrett
It’s that time of the year when many families gather together, bringing feelings of joy, dread, or both! When God created humanity, He said that “it is not good” for us to be alone; yet the relationships we build are always imperfect. Why did God wire us with a deep emotional need for community that seems impossible for others to fully meet? Are we approaching relationships the wrong way?
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Pathfinder Church | November 27, 2022 | AJ Mastic
All it takes is a birthday or a tragedy to remind us that life is short. We try to make the most of life by saying yes to a wide array of activites, experiences, and people, because part of us believes that a full life means a full calendar. Yet, isn’t there a point, where the more things we add to our lives, the more we diminish our quality of life? In our pursuit of a more meaningful life, are we actually emptying life of it’s richness and beauty?
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Pathfinder Church | November 13, 2022 | Dion Garrett
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Pathfinder Church | November 20, 2022 | Doug Mauss
The hardships and uncertainties we encounter in life are only the start. Much more of our suffering and anger comes from the fear of where these things will lead us and leave us. Because the future is by definition “unknown,” how can we stop worrying about it and over-preparing for it? How can we walk into it with equanimity?
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Pathfinder Church | November 13, 2022 | Dion Garrett
Most of our biggest struggles had their seeds planted a long, long time ago, in moments where we felt vulnerable, abandoned, neglected, alone, and overwhelmed by something in life. We can spend the rest of our lives (and lots of money in therapy) trying to unravel and recover from such things. But what if those root memories are incomplete? What if we haven’t recognized the presence of the very thing that would help unlock our healing?
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Pathfinder Church | November 6, 2022 | AJ Mastic
Community of family and friends is a great gift, but many of life’s hardest things are still things you have to face alone. So, what does it mean that “God is with you!”? What does God’s presence actually mean when you’re in the middle of life’s darkest valleys?
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Pathfinder Church | October 30, 2022 | Doug Mauss
It’s an overwhelming time to be alive. Yet, we can be so focused on our present moment with all of our big problems, that we forget we are only a speck on the timeline of history. Even the biggest threats we face won’t be that significant in the grand scheme. After a few generations, most, if not all, will be forgotten. But far from signaling our unimportance and dispensability in an uncaring universe, what if this recognition is the very thing that could help us feel more at peace, safe when the world is erupting around us?
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Some Assembly Required - Add It to Your Story (Week 6)
Pathfinder Church | October 23, 2022 | Dion Garrett
It’s encouraging to see and rejoice in other people’s successes (just scroll through your Instagram stories), or to have them rejoice in yours. Or in times of struggle, to be able to “share” your struggles with others, knowing that they will be with you “in spirit.” But so few of us have a community that sees, values, and cares for us during ALL the ups and down in life! This is Church!
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Pathfinder Church | October 16, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Sometimes church can seem like nothing more than an event where the professionals do their thing, and the rest of us are invited in to be the audience. And if that’s all church is, then understandably, we will find places where we feel more consequential. But what if we’re more than an audience—what if we all have a necessary and vital part to play?
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Pathfinder Church | October 9, 2022 | Dion Garrett
We’ve all had our fill of self-important clubs, each doing their own thing to justify their existence. If the church is just one more group of exclusive and cliquish people, then what’s the point?
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Pathfinder Church | October 2, 2022 | Doug Mauss
The church is filled with hypocrites. Abuses have been committed by even the most committed church goers. And even aside from the hypocrites and abusers, the church can be a place of hurt and conflict. If the church causes so much pain, why shouldn’t we try to avoid it entirely?
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Pathfinder Church | September 25, 2022 | AJ Mastic
These days, many assembly kits come with batteries included, so why isn’t life the same way? To find success in life, we all are forced to develop our own resources, find our own energy to sustain us through the difficulties. But as we encounter problems that feel insurmountable and overwhelming, most of us would never consider the church as the place we could go to find the energy and rhythms for a purposeful life.
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Pathfinder Church | September 18, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Can the most important things in life be done on our own, or—like a child’s large Christmas present—is “some assembly required”? We often think we, and our lives, are “fine” on our own, but is that because we’re settling for a life that’s too small—something that falls short of our true destiny, our true inheritance?
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Pathfinder Church | September 11, 2022 | Dion Garrett
We’re burned out because of the need to go it alone, and carve out (and control) our own good outcomes in life.
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Pathfinder Church | August 28, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Post-pandemic, we’ve gone right back to the busy lives and the overscheduled weeks. How do we have time for the important things?
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Pathfinder Church | August 21, 2022 | AJ Mastic
Relationships are risky. Sometimes it’s easier to do something yourself, or pay someone for help—rather than open the doors of connection with our neighbors. But what if there were some simple tools that would help us make relationships easier and more rewarding?
Pathfinder Church | August 14, 2022 | Dion Garrett
We all want a fulfilling life. So, we wear ourselves out seeking for it in our job, our efforts, our hobbies. If we’re just scrabbling together an existence, why is it worth all the effort?
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Pathfinder Church | August 7, 2022 | AJ Mastic
While many will say they aspire to be like Jesus (a noble pursuit!) there are other more accessible examples of people Pathfinders can grow into being. A woman named Priscilla and her husband, Aquila, are two such people. Making clear that imperfect isn’t an impediment to wholeness, they travelled around the world to find wholeness themselves and to bring it to others. Their example is both inspiring and convicting, driving the question, “What will pursuing wholeness cost me?”
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Pathfinder Church | July 31, 2022 | Dion Garrett
Ruth did a lot of questionable things on her journey, returning to her mother-in-law’s homeland after God delivered their family a heavy blow, courting the attention of a kinsman-redeemer to save her mother-in-law from disaster, and many other things. Along the way, God was directing her steps. Living a “God-directed journey” isn’t easy. You subject yourself to the judgment and confusion of people. How does a Pathfinder a know if God is leading or if they’re being led astray?
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Pathfinder Church | July 24, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Those who are able to connect people to others, not to be the focus of relationships themselves, wield great power and influence. Lydia’s life reveals that. A wealthy merchant, a gentile, and a woman, becomes significant because of her willingness to connect others. But in life it’s often difficult to keep ourselves connected and inspired? Where do Pathfinders find the time and effort to live outwardly focused?
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Pathfinder Church | July 17, 2022 | AJ Mastic
Focusing on the real-life needs of people is sometimes condemned as watered down or superficial. But a faith that does not help people with the stuff of life, isn’t very useful and certainly not transforming. Stephen and Philip were peers assigned to the seemingly “less spiritual” work of feeding widows, but their ministry became powerful. When “spiritual” is often equated with “other-worldly” concerns, is there ever a risk of us focusing too much on the stuff of “regular life”?
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Pathfinder Church | July 10, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Paul had it made. His life was set as a very prominent and successful Pharisee. But when he became captured by the Gospel, he realized that the exclusivity and elitism of Pharisaical life was NOT in line with the heart of God. Paul’s life took a dramatic turn as he suffered a lot of misunderstanding and judgment to bring the Gospel to people that were seen as unlovable and far from God. Anyone who has walked the path of “unconditional acceptance” has experienced similar misunderstanding and suffering. How do you protect from what critics fear most: How do you know when you’ve gone too far?
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Pathfinder Church | July 3, 2022 | Doug Mauss
As humans, it makes sense to us that leadership and power are naturally used for the benefit of the one wielding it. Authority is leveraged to increase one’s personal standing, influence, or wealth.
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Pathfinder Church | June 26, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Martin Luther paved the way for the individual’s right to decide—he prioritized each believer’s conscience over the dictates of the church authorities and even over hundreds of years’ worth of traditions. How much authority should tradition have in our lives? Conversely, are we our own best decider—should our individual choices supersede those of the group?
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Pathfinder Church | June 19, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Do people obey bosses because they’ve earned it, or because they’re the boss? Parents unquestionably are allowed to tell their kids what to do when they’re little, but when they grow up you can’t ground them anymore!
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Pathfinder Church | June 12, 2022 | Dion Garrett
It is a noble cause to wield authority for the sake of protecting those who can’t protect themselves (James 1:20). However, the attempt to protect often veers into an attempt to dictate the actions of others. How can we walk the line of advocating for people without constraining their freedoms, or the freedoms of others?
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Pathfinder Church | June 5, 2022 | Doug Mauss
As always, gender continues to be a dividing line in both culture and faith. Did God design the genders differently, or is it merely a social construct that we are free to modify or reject? Should men have authority over women, or is that a patriarchal relic of the past?
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Pathfinder Church | May 29, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Our government has authority because it can enforce its laws by force. How do Jesus’ followers balance the tension between obeying or defying governmental dictates?
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Pathfinder Church | May 22, 2022 | Dion Garrett
We all have different feelings about authority. Some embrace it. Some resist it. But even though we like to think that we are the boss of ourselves, there is always some authority that we are submitting to, consciously or subconsciously. How do we recognize the true—often unspoken—authorities in our lives, and have a healthy relationship with those that God has put over us?
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Pathfinder Church | May 15, 2022 | Dion Garrett
Freedom to explore your truest self
You are a whole person, which means that if you let any part become too large (or ignore any part), your sense of identity becomes imbalanced. By developing your relational, physical, mental, vocational, financial, and spiritual self, you can not only experience a whole life, but you get the benefit of being a WHOLE person…not one thing, but the fullness of many things!
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Pathfinder Church | May 8, 2022 | AJ Mastic
Freedom to explore your truest self
Love is the most powerful force in the universe, and because of that, we can start believing we ARE who we LOVE or even who loves us. But what happens when your feelings change, when the object of your affection grows up, leaves, or dies? What happens when someone stops loving you? Do we become less of “us”?
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Pathfinder Church | May 1, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Freedom to explore your truest self
Too many of us let ourselves be defined by our success, careers, talents, or hobbies—or conversely, our mistakes, vices, sins, and shortcomings. It’s true that how we use our days can’t help but speak into our sense of being, but an identity built on “deeds” will be in constant flux and depend on endless doing. Is there a less exhausting way to find ourselves?
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Pathfinder Church | April 24, 2022 | AJ Mastic
Freedom to explore your truest self
Nature vs. nurture is an endless source of interest because we assume, “If I can just discover who I was genetically designed to be, then I’ll have something solid to build my sense of self around.” While genetics hasn’t yet given us the answers we crave, the good news is that we all have a common, powerful birthright that is our starting place to build our lives.
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Pathfinder Church | April 17, 2022 | Dion Garrett
Freedom to explore your truest self
Which boxes do you check on the form? You know the ones where we have to define ourselves over and over again by how we vote, where our ancestors came from, by how much money we make, or our career path.
Do you ever feel a little defiant when someone tries to put you in a box? But we don’t want to stand on our own either, because one of the greatest human question is, “Who are my people?” Is there a way to break out of society’s boxes and still find a place to belong?
Pathfinder Church | April 10, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Leading up to Jesus’ final days, we see a clear model for how we are to live. Not only does Jesus refuse to fight the crowds (As we saw last week, they were the wrong enemy), but he also shows us how to fight differently. It involves putting away the very things that we have relied on in the past for our protection and sense of safety. But does that mean we’re left defenseless? Or is Jesus showing us true security?
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Pathfinder Church | April 3, 2022 | Dion Garrett
When we’re feeling threatened, it’s natural to want to fight, and fight we shall. However, whom we are called to fight against may not be whom we think. When we make enemies of those who oppose us, we obscure the real enemy.
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Pathfinder Church | March 27, 2022 | AJ Mastic
The last two tools make strange bedfellows. Our mental pictures of endurance (a marathoner finishing his race, a mother delivering a child) are usually anything but gentle. And the gentle among us seem the least able to endure when life gets tough. Yet these last two tools embraced together are powerful for people who are going the way of the cross.
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Pathfinder Church | March 20, 2022 | Doug Mauss
If we’ve been to a Christian wedding, we’re probably familiar with Paul’s famous words, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.” While we may see these as personal values, they actually are powerful corporate values that can work against the prevailing ideas that Christians are irrelevant, out of touch, and even threatening to the good of the whole of society.
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Pathfinder Church | March 13, 2022 | Dion Garrett
While Christians have tried to leverage the tools of moral superiority and personal perfection, those tools no longer work in a world where we are minority voices. Focusing on righteousness and godliness instead makes us find powerful tools that work regardless of our status. But what’s the difference?
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Pathfinder Church | March 6, 2022 | AJ Mastic
Something is changing in the world around us. We can sense it. For the first time, many of us may feel “other,” no longer understood, no longer welcomed, no longer in the safety of the majority. While this is alarming for many of us (some of us have never known anything different), are we really in danger? Or are we at a turning point when we get back to true strength?
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Pathfinder Church | February 27, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Every human life leaves a wake that creates joy or damage for those who follow. But healthy legacies don’t just happen; they are the result of godly & wise perspectives, clear intentions, and lots of deliberate work. Deciding what we want to pass on to future generations is only half the work—determining how is even harder.
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Pathfinder Church | February 20, 2022 | Dion Garrett
After we take a hard look at all the patterns we’ve received, it’s important that don’t fall into the trap of blaming those who came before us or seeing ourselves as victims. Each generation and each person must learn to take responsibility for whatever they’ve received, no matter how heavy or unfair it seems. In owning, we find power and freedom.
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Pathfinder Church | February 13, 2022 | Dion Garrett
None of us arrive as clean slates; we are products of those who came before us. What we received from them is a mishmash of good, bad, and ugly—and sometimes you’re not even sure which is which. But we cannot grow (into a whole life) until we do the work of sorting out what we’ve received.
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Pathfinder Church | February 6, 2022 | Doug Mauss
Misunderstanding and judgment are words that might best characterize the current state of intergenerational interaction. But what are we missing when we fail to foster a sense of appreciation and interdependence across generations?
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Pathfinder Church | January 30, 2022 | Dion Garrett
We think influence is dependent on status, power, and authority. And so, we often neglect to take action because we think it’s work meant for others (who have the status, power, and authority) to do. But true influence is the great disrupter of all of society’s power structures. It’s something we all possess and can hone for maximal impact.
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Pathfinder Church | January 23, 2022 | Doug Mauss
From the earliest ages, we learn how to have relationships based on the relational patterns of the people who raise us. As we grow up and find new ways of relating, what we might not realize is that we also base our relationships with others on how we think God relates to us. Simply by looking at how we relate to others (stern, demanding, unforgiving or gracious, accepting, patient, and loving), we get a window into our deepest beliefs about God. How does a person shake off a lifetime of conditioning to approach relationships differently?
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Pathfinder Church | January 16, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Building wealth is the goal of every national and household economy. We are promised that stability, opportunity, and happiness will come with wealth. If you’re looking to maximize your wealth, there are plenty of financial advisors who will tell you what you should do with your money. But if you’re looking to experience true richness, you’ll have to look beyond your bank account.
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Pathfinder Church | January 9, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Those who speak the most confidently are often the quickest to gain a following. While being quick on your feet can carry you far in life, there’s a danger that comes with proud (even arrogant) speech that few see coming.
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Pathfinder Church | January 2, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Some people think wisdom is about IQ or having a perfect moral compass. Others think wisdom comes from doing hard work and learning all the right answers in life. True wisdom is neither, which maybe explains a world full of information and hustle, but a lack of true wisdom.
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Pathfinder Church | December 26, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Life may be loud right now, but it’s about to get quieter again. As things get packed away and the house is no longer overstuffed with holiday cheer, it can be refreshing and also bewildering. But God does not leave with the out-of-town families, instead, that’s when we can encounter him in brand new ways.
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Pathfinder Church | December 19, 2021 | Doug Mauss
We face thousands of dangers every day—some of our own creation—but there are seasons of life when it feels like all we’re trying to do is follow God, but everything and everyone is coming against us. But far from being abandoned when the enemies surround us, that’s when we see how thick God’s presence actually is.
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Pathfinder Church | December 12, 2021 | Dion Garrett
God formed his people into a community so they wouldn’t have to do life alone. But the true magic of his community is not in the people we surround ourselves, it’s that in the middle of the community resides God himself.
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Pathfinder Church | December 5, 2021 | Doug Mauss
The wilderness is a place of unpredictability. Most of us would rather deal with the devil we know than risk the possibility of a future that’s unknown! But during times of testing or difficulty, lack, stress, God has always been present with his people. Not only is he present, but he is our scout going ahead of us, leading the way, and providing for our needs in tangible-yet-miraculous ways, allowing us to see things that we can never again unsee.
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Pathfinder Church | November 28, 2021 | Dion Garrett
“The holidays” are here. We now know—perhaps more than ever—that you have to seize and savor moments when your family can be together, when there’s an abundance of food to share, and times are good. But, it’s these times that we often struggle to notice that God himself is not only with us in our abundance, but he is the one who provided it in the first place AND is calling us to notice him and to find lasting joy in his presence.
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Pathfinder Church | November 21, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Peter was the most well-known of Jesus’ disciples—he was the first to publicly proclaim the Gospel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and the first to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10). But he was also thoughtlessly impetuous! From cutting off a soldier’s ear (John 18:26), trying to thwart Jesus’ plan of salvation, or suddenly rejecting the Gentiles he ate with, Peter often acted before he thought.
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Pathfinder Church | November 14, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Solomon was famously blessed by God to be a wise, powerful, and wealthy king. Yet in his pursuit to expand his power and wealth (he became the richest man in history), he lost sight of the wisdom that God had granted him, fell into idolatry, and set his kingdom on a path to destruction.
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Pathfinder Church | November 7, 2021 | Doug Mauss
David’s ancestry is so important that one of Jesus Christ’s most commonly used titles was the “Son of David.” And yet in David’s own family, he passively tolerated and enabled severe dysfunction amongst his children. One son raped his half-sister, and David did nothing. In light of David’s inaction, another son murdered the first son. Yet another son led a rebellion, and usurped David’s throne in defiance of God’s will. In all of it, David refused to take leadership of his family when they needed him most.
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Pathfinder Church | October 31, 2021 | Dion Garrett
David is mostly known as being “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). He was a faithful and conquering king of God’s people. Yet for most of his life, David used violence and murder as his primary method of achieving his goals. He tried to execute Israelites who didn’t support him enough, and murdered a good man to cover up his adultery.
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Pathfinder Church | October 24, 2021 | Dion Garrett
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Pathfinder Church | October 17, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Samson is known for his Spirit-filled, superhuman strength. He killed more Philistines with his final action than most generals did in a lifetime! And yet throughout his life, Samson was led by his passions. He had illicit affairs, made rash marriages, and let his beguilement by a prostitute lead to his downfall.
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Pathfinder Church | October 10, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, led God’s people for decades, and even came down from heaven to visit Jesus on earth (Matt. 17:3). Yet Moses was routinely angered by the “stiff-necked people” God asked him to lead. In his youth, he lashed out at injustice, accidentally killing a guard. He broke the tablets of the Ten Commandments in his wrath. And his anger problems culminated in his last days, when he performed a miracle in frustration, with a consequence that God forbade him from entering the promised land.
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Pathfinder Church | October 3, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Jacob is revered as a patriarch—a father of God’s people, who were labelled based on Jacob’s own nickname, Israel (Gen. 32:28). But Jacob was always scheming to get the things he wanted—land, a more beautiful wife, even stealing God’s blessing from his brother. This constant scheming disrupted his family. He told whatever lie he needed to accomplish his desires.
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Pathfinder Church | September 26, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Sarah’s name means “princess,” and she is honored for her faith in trusting God to give her a baby in her old age (Heb. 11:11). Her son Isaac was proof of God’s promise, and an ancestor of God’s people. Yet, having invited another woman’s son into her family, Sarah couldn’t stand that Ishmael and Hagar would have equal standing to herself and Isaac. Sarah treated her servant (and her child) cruelly, and ultimately demanded they be cast out, so she could have primacy in the family.
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Pathfinder Church | September 19, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Abraham is known in children’s songs as “Father Abraham,” because Christians are his descendants in “faith” (Gen. 15:6). In spite of God’s repeated promises, Abraham routinely tried to take matters into his own hands, in morally dubious ways. He fathered a child with a servant, and dishonorably used his own wife as a decoy for protection against Pharaoh.
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Pathfinder Church | September 12, 2021 | Doug Mauss
When you stop and think about all that God has done for us, how do we respond? Is gratitude enough, or does God require more?
Pathfinder Church | September 5, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Most of us seek to control our lives because we have no idea how to do life any other way. If we’re not in charge, who is? But learning to take direction from God is a better way to live.
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Pathfinder Church | August 29, 2021 | Dion Garrett
“Everything is different now.” Does that feel like something to lament or to celebrate? The way you answer will help determine what the world eventually will become.
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Pathfinder Church | August 22, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Too often we focus on how great the needs of this world are and how little we have to offer. But that’s only true when we view our contributions in isolation. When we come together to build up each other and the mission there is a powerful compounding effect we take for granted.
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Pathfinder Church | August 15, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Life has been interrupted for all of us. It’s okay to have taken a pause, but life can’t be lived on pause forever. It’s now time to return.
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Pathfinder Church | August 8, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Leaders don’t keep people guessing. They help the people entrusted to them understand their expectations.
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Pathfinder Church | August 1, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Great leaders spend time getting to know themselves. And they never stop.
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Pathfinder Church | July 25, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Jesus is Lord of all, yet he came to serve. That can be puzzling to our modern-day, success-driven culture.
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Pathfinder Church | July 18, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Jesus knew everything, yet he asked people questions!
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Pathfinder Church | July 11, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Horses were made to run, trees to grow tall, stars to shine, and you to serve others. A preoccupation with self is not simply a moral issue eating away at the fabric of society; it’s a sin against our design. When you put your skills and abilities to use for the good of others, you align yourself with one of your most powerful purposes.
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Pathfinder Church | June 27, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Scarcity tells us there’s not enough for us, let alone enough to share. But God’s call on us is to see a world so abundant that we are glad to share whatever we have with others, knowing that the whole world becomes richer when we share.
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Pathfinder Church | June 20, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Longstanding advice says it’s impolite to bring up religion or politics in mixed company. While that’s hard to argue with, God calls us to have spiritual conversations everywhere we go! Being on a LIFEjourney with Jesus means becoming fluent in the kinds of conversations that call our attention to the most important things in life and even bring life to others.
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Pathfinder Church | June 13, 2021 | Dion Garrett
You’ve heard it said before, the Bible is a book written by dozens of human authors, who lived thousands of years ago, in languages that are now dead… how can it have any relevance to modern people living in times that no human author ever could’ve imagined? You’d be surprised.
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athfinder Church | June 6, 2021 | Doug Mauss
People search the Scriptures for a lot of reasons, but there is one reason above all that is the key to understanding all of the Scriptures rightly, especially some of the most difficult passages. Many of our misunderstandings come from misunderstanding God’s primary intention in giving us the Scriptures.
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Pathfinder Church | May 30, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Stating the obvious here: The Bible wasn’t written in English. Not only are translations across time tricky, but languages don’t always have equivalent words that easily convey meaning. Then you add translational philosophies into the mix (strict literal translations vs. more interpretative ones) and you end up with a lot of different versions of the same Bible. How do we resist the urge to shop for the translation that says what we like, and instead wrestle with what was actually being said?
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Pathfinder Church | May 23, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Most scriptural misunderstandings start in the same way: a verse is removed from its context. It shouldn’t surprise us that the practice creates problems, since it also creates problems in other parts of life. To get the clearest reading of Scripture we must also start looking not just at words or single verses, but looking at the greater context.
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Pathfinder Church | May 16, 2021 | Dion Garrett
All of scripture is true and inspired, but it’s not all to be taken literally. That’s shocking to many of us, but that just means that we first have to understand what kind of literature we’re reading before we can rightly interpret it. To read metaphors as literal truth is nonsense. But to decide that you can set aside uncomfortable, direct teachings of scripture because you no longer find it fashionable isn’t okay either.
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Pathfinder Church | May 9, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Life has never been more demanding (and all the moms said “Amen!”) So, it makes sense that we look for short cuts to make it all fit. But as we grow to rely on efficient shortcuts, we all know deep down that what we’re cutting out are some of the least efficient but the richest parts of life.
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Pathfinder Church | May 2, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Christians live with tensions… the world is passing away and yet, it’s not a throw-away. The same is true with our own bodies. In both cases, it’s in our best interests to care for the physical parts of creation, but they’re not very cooperative! No wonder we find ourselves in retreat, indoors, on our couches, looking at our screens. But ignoring the call of God to steward the physical world (including our physical selves) has consequences that will not be ignored.
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Pathfinder Church | April 25, 2021 | Dion Garrett
By keeping our distance, we not only keep ourselves physically safe, but we can block whoever hurts us, find an audience who will be sympathetic to all our views, and never be challenged. Meanwhile, we all know that living in proximity with others, in flesh and blood relationships, causes conflict that can be exhausting and heartbreaking. But before we sign up for the distanced life, we should know without conflict there is no growth.
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Pathfinder Church | April 18, 2021 | Doug Mauss
Our digital world makes us feel like we’re more connected than ever before, but it also means we somehow feel less seen, known, and loved as we really are. Our mediated and manicured avatars may look great and provide us with plenty of attention, on top of 24/7 connection, but they work against what we need most: being truly seen and known.
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Pathfinder Church | April 11, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Right now, we have to sit distanced because we know that if we don’t, people will get sick and die. But distancing ourselves is not new, we have increasingly chosen to distance ourselves from others for all kinds of reasons… all of them about self-protection (of health, life, reputation, and complications). But the Spirit that is released after Jesus’s resurrection shows us that self-protecting is actually a detriment to truly living.
Pathfinder Church | The Cost of 6ft | April 4, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Jesus, the Son of God, chose not to stay distant from us, at Christmas he came near. But his life, and especially his rejection, betrayal, and death show us why flesh and blood living is so risky. Lately in our world, we see it too. The risks of embodied living seem endless. Yet, after the resurrection Jesus shows us that in spite of the risks, living proximate, fully embodied, is not only a great way to live, it’s our destiny.
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Pathfinder Church | March 28, 2021 | Doug Mauss
The Grace of Mystery
Extracting the richness from life feels like endless work. To be sure, much of life’s best things are the fruit of a lot of diligent labor. But before any of us were, God created a complex, magnificent, mysterious universe for us to experience—with little effort—as a gift. While so much of my life’s joy is caught up in my achieving, in the created world, God has given me the joy of simply existing.
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Pathfinder Church | March 24, 2021 | Melissa Harting & Doug Mauss
Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. - Luke 23:50-55
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Pathfinder Church | March 21, 2021 | Dion Garrett
The Grace of Belonging
When it comes to belonging, history has shown that we make two critical mistakes: (1) Expel anyone who violates our beliefs and rules (2) Affirm all beliefs and rules as equally valid so that everyone can belong.
Both make belonging dependent on the community’s rules. But God doesn’t make following the rules a basis for our belonging. It’s founded in something else.
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Pathfinder Church | March 17, 2021 | David Jameson & Doug Mauss
Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life." - Matthew 27:38-52
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Pathfinder Church | March 14, 2021 | Dion Garrett
The Grace of Provision
One of our sinful survival mechanisms tells us that survival is on us. We must take care of ourselves and if we are to expect anything from anyone else, it’s always transactional—quid pro quo. But there is a grace from God that also lives especially but not exclusively among His people. It says, “let me give to you what you need, even though you’ve done nothing to earn it.”
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Pathfinder Church | March 10, 2021 | Jon Shepherd & Dion Garrett
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment." So this is what the soldiers did. - John 19:22-24
Pathfinder Church | March 7, 2021 | Dion Garrett
The Grace of Patience
Calling someone immature is never a compliment. Our impatience with people who aren’t where we want them—including ourselves—shows how much we struggle with the growth journey. The truth is, maturing is a process that takes time. And while struggling through the awkwardness and ugliness that accompanies our “becoming,” we can also find ourselves encountering the breathtaking beauty of God’s grace for us as we grow.
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Pathfinder Church | March 3, 2021 | Chris Toomey & Doug Mauss
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? - Luke 23:26-31
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Pathfinder Church | February 28, 2021 | Doug Mauss
The Grace of Redemption
God’s grace is the beginning of everything and will have the final word. Not only will all of our mistakes be forgiven, not only will our pain be erased, but God promises that he will redeem everything that is fallen, broken, defiled and ugly, and he will make it new. There are few things in life more powerful than knowing that in the middle of your ugliest most broken moments, God will turn your lumps of coal into diamonds.
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Pathfinder Church | February 24, 2021 | Annalyse Erbst & Dion Garrett
"Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him." - Matthew 27:27-31
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Pathfinder Church | February 21, 2021 | Dion Garrett
The Grace of Forgiveness
When you’ve really hurt someone, sinned against them, you realize how powerless you are. Because in those moments, you know there is absolutely nothing you can do to make things right again. In those moments, the only source of hope is that the other person would be kind enough to absolve you anyway, in spite of you. This is where our experience with grace begins. Jesus shows us that God doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve; that’s what this season is all about.
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Pathfinder Church | February 14, 2021 | Dion Garrett
Love. Is there anything in life more heavily sought and more grossly misunderstood? Love plays a central role in a Christian’s life, there’s nothing more defining, but in a world that has put forth a romantic cliché as the picture of true love, we end up misled and dissatisfied in our relationships.
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Pathfinder Church | February 7, 2021 | Dion Garrett
This weekend millions tune in to watch some of the most finely tuned physical specimens on the planet battle it out for our entertainment. Ironically, we’ll watch them while bingeing on decadent spreads of food that will probably leave us with stomach aches. In both the highly trained athlete and the average American couch potato, a common misunderstanding is at play—our bodies are just our bodies.
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Pathfinder Church | January 31, 2021 | Dion Garrett
In our day, vocations and callings have been traded for careers and paychecks. The shift is more than semantics too. As Pastor Rick Warren’s bestselling book showed us 20 years ago, we are desperate to figure out our purpose. Without a clear calling, life is nothing more than a joyless trudge through a series of eight to fives.
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Pathfinder Church | January 24, 2021 | Doug Mauss
The power of our thoughts, either to bring joy and peace to our beings or sadness and sickness, is astounding. With mental health finally getting our attention, what advantage does our faith offer us in cultivating wholeness in the mind?
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Pathfinder Church | January 17, 2021 | Dion Garrett
For something that’s so temporal, money sure does have a big impact on every part of our lives. Just notice how quickly everything changes when you open your credit card statements this month. But in spite of how overpowering money can be, it’s often the last place we invite God into.
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Pathfinder Church | January 10, 2021 | Doug Mauss
What does it mean to be spiritual? Is it nebulous and fluid, defined differently by each person? And if not, who gets to decide? Jesus came to challenge the prevailing definitions of spirituality in his way and to redefine what spirituality looks like. His definition was surprising to many in his day and still for us today!
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Pathfinder Church | January 03, 2021 | Dion Garrett
The great misunderstanding of Christianity is that it’s not actually a set of beliefs, doctrines, or truths—not alone. According to Jesus, it’s a whole lifestyle, a way of living that leads us to a better, fuller life. How many of us are settling for crumbs of life by letting Jesus’s full offer go on misunderstood and unclaimed? A whole, integrated life is still what Jesus wants to give us, if we’re willing to open ourselves up to the totality of what he has for us.
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Pathfinder Church | December 27, 2020 | Doug Mauss
When Christmas goes, the warmth and hope of the season often goes with it. But, God’s Messiah doesn’t go back in the box when Christmas ends, which means his influence remains with us. God has fulfilled his promise to be with us forever, which is the most hopeful promise our world can know.
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Pathfinder Church | December 20, 2020 | Dion Garrett
When we look back over the course of our lives, or look around at our world, there’s so much that has been lost or torn down. While that may bring us discouragement, regret, and despair, God promised us a Messiah who would be skilled at putting broken things back together.
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Pathfinder Church | December 13, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Fire, we’re taught from the time we’re little, is dangerous, and most little ones learn to be wary of a soapy bath. This makes God promise that the Messiah will come with refining fire and launderer’s soap, sound very odd. And yet these are some of the most hopeful promises an imperfect person can hear.
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Pathfinder Church | December 6, 2020 | Dion Garrett
In our day, we’ve grown to distrust autocrats (and rightfully so) but regular, democratically mandated political change brings its own kind of distress. Since ancient times God promised that he, himself would be our king forever, which is our only hope for stability in a world of change.
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Pathfinder Church | November 29, 2020 | Jon Shepherd
Darkness can be terrifying—and for different reasons. It can represent evil, the unknown, sin, and ignorance. So God’s promise to bring light is a multi-faceted promise of hope we need while living in dark times.
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Pathfinder Church | November 22, 2020 | Dion Garrett
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Pathfinder Church | November 15, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Fear can stimulate the body to action and the mind to attention; it readies us for dangers, challenges, and threats. But a life of fear does the opposite, it crowds the mind and leaves us fatigued and depleted. How do we know we’re captive to fear and how do we get unstuck from it?
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Pathfinder Church | November 8, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Anger can be a helpful emotion in the face of injustice or wrongdoing. And since there is plenty of injustice and wrongdoing in our world, we all experience anger! But some of us choose to live in anger as our go-to response to anything and everything. Our world is brimming with anger right now (and has been for a while) because we don’t understand what else to do with it or what our anger is really hiding.
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Pathfinder Church | November 1, 2020 | Doug Mauss
From time to time we all feel out of place and unwanted, like we are deficient or something is missing. So we achieve, give, or change ourselves to fit in. Some of us never leave this treadmill (called shame) and we experience the deep, corrosive, exhausting effects of it. While momentary shame can be helpful in signaling that something is threatening our wholeness, how do we get free from the trap of a life of shame?
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Pathfinder Church | October 25, 2020 | Dion Garrett
This weekend we’ll celebrate stories of life change, especially after a long and grueling 2020. We’ll also celebrate early stories of impact from Prosper the City.
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Pathfinder Church | October 18, 2020 | Doug Mauss
It’s easy to prosper others when you’re healthy, whole, well-supplied, and strong, but when you’re weak, beaten-down, broke, or depleted, there’s no way you can be expected to still bless those around you, right? As the old saying goes, “Put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you help someone else.” So, what do you do when you’re just not in a position to bless anyone?
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Pathfinder Church | October 11, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Surely the call to prosper those around us has limits. God wouldn’t approve of prospering people who have evil intentions or have deliberately hurt people, right? Think again! The scriptures are filled with examples that challenge our thinking of how even our most obvious and legitimate enemies should be treated.
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Pathfinder Church | October 4, 2020 | Dion Garrett
To depend on the hospitality of another is difficult for many of us; we’d rather be the giver than the receiver. But throughout the scriptures, even when the people of God are the recipients of someone else’s hospitality, what they give back is far greater in value than what they receive. Is it ever permissible—or even possible—that the people of God would benefit from the kindness of others more than they could give back?
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Pathfinder Church | September 27, 2020 | Doug Mauss
People have long wondered, is God a god who is out to bless or curse? On one hand, the prophets warn us that a holy God interacting with sinful people will always spell disaster. On the other hand, God continually describes himself as a God who is unequivocally out to bless. What are we to believe about God’s character and true intentions for people, especially in light of some of the harsher passages of Scripture?
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Pathfinder Church | September 20, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Every change gives you the opportunity to become new, explore new things, to change yourself in a positive way. While most people view change negatively, it can provide an opportunity to get out of a rut and discover richer things than you had before.
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Pathfinder Church | September 13, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Some things that we lose need to stay lost, we say goodbye to them as parts of our past, they don’t have a place in our future. But as you sift through the remains of what was, you also will discover things you will still need in your next chapter. But how do you know if you’re trying to hold on to something you need to let go of?
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Pathfinder Church | September 6, 2020 | Dion Garrett
When you’re starting at square one, it can be overwhelming. But that’s mostly because we don’t know what square one actually is. As important as it is to rebuild your finances, career, purpose, or health, none of those things matter nor are they realistically attainable until you first rebuild your relationships.
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Pathfinder Church | August 30, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Those who are able to rebound from loss and disruption learn to overcome the thinking that pervades our minds in the aftermath of such losses. Although these mindsets are common, they’re not helpful for our moving on. By reshaping your mindset, you can be assured that you will reemerge, better than ever.
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Pathfinder Church | August 23, 2020 | Dion Garrett
The soul is designed to finish things and grief is God’s way of processing hard losses. But in a “get over it” culture, this spiritual path, blazed by Jesus himself, often goes untraveled. But you can’t be happy and whole again until you first let your heart be rent for whatever you’ve lost.
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Pathfinder Church | August 16, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Every time we work through conflict and arrive at a resolution, that moment can be either a nice, but passing kumbaya or it can be a force for lasting change. You can either wipe your brow with a sigh of relief or you can use the moment to roll up your sleeves and take the final difficult step that can help leave you better than where you started.
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Pathfinder Church | August 2, 2020 | Doug Mauss
In arguing we usually try to find something that will give us the upper hand, advantage, the high ground… but giving up ground may be the better way to come to a true and satisfying resolution. How can that be? is better so that everyone can find equal footing. Only when both parties feel safe can our sparring be productive.
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Pathfinder Church | July 26, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Many arguments begin because you and the other person seemingly want different things. But most arguments last because we’ve forgotten what it is we really want, or sometimes why we started fighting in the first place.
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Pathfinder Church | July 19, 2020 | Dion Garrett
We spend time arguing over what we see as facts, but facts seldom cause arguments, our stories do. Until we learn to unravel the stories we tell ourselves about the other and us, we’ll never get out of a cycle of endless conflict.
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Pathfinder Church | July 12, 2020 | Stephen Hower
Some of us love to argue, conflict is our fuel. Others avoid it at all costs because conflict feels too costly. But while we may save ourselves the pain and discomfort of conflict, what is lost along the way? What is the cost of avoidance?
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Pathfinder Church | July 5, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Although “chasing rainbows” has come to signify a fool’s errand, God invites us to take risks! We think we want a life that is stable and consistent, but it’s in risking that we find the best rewards and in moments of limitation that we discover new breakthroughs. Deliberately disrupting the stability of life seems foolish but perhaps it’s the key to true treasures?
We are doing our annual Neighborhood Walk Weekend! Listen to a short message and then prayer walk in your neighborhood.
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Pathfinder Church | August 9, 2020 | Doug Mauss
We’ve all heard about the value of empathy but there’s a practical benefit to empathy that rarely gets talked about… it helps you get closer to what YOU want. Far from being manipulative though, tactical empathy helps everyone win.
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Pathfinder Church | June 28, 2020 | Dion Garrett
You can’t avoid the dark places of life. Without clouds and rain, there’s drought (and never the promise of a rainbow in the sky). Growth and blessing happen through the very circumstances we often seek to avoid. So how do we learn to brave the storms when we see them coming?
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Pathfinder Church | June 21, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Life isn’t good for everyone at every moment, which means that life must be celebrated whenever it’s good for you! But how do you let yourself be joyful when others around you are not?
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Pathfinder Church | June 14, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Rain is necessary for life. But humans, throughout time, devoted themselves to spending an awful lot of time chasing after the rain instead of seeking the Rainmaker. Could most of our discontentment exist because we confuse the gifts we have with the One who gave them?
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Pathfinder Church | June 7, 2020 | Dion Garrett
We spend our lives pursuing things that we believe will make us happy, life beautiful, and our existence meaningful—in other words, things that are good. But once we attain them, too often we find that they don’t satisfy like we thought, sometimes they even bring pain. Perhaps we have a problem with knowing what is truly good?
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May 31, 2020 | Dion Garrett
We’re living in an age where everything is politicized and faith is no exception. But how do I detangle (disentangle) what politics is telling me to believe from how my faith is telling me to vote? And if I let my faith inform my politics then is there one party or issue that demands my vote? If Jesus were here today, how would he vote?
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May 24, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Jesus describes some people as sheep and others as goats. From a distance, they look the same, but on closer inspection they’re not! On a planet where 2 billion people claim to be Christians, can we assume they’re all legitimate? What about the deep differences in belief between Christians? Or what about the conduct of people who claim to be Christians but don’t seem to be very much like Christ?
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May 17, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Our culture has been significantly redefining the institution of marriage over the last decade, which has all of us thinking about it more than ever. Who is marriage for? Is there a reason for marriage beyond tax breaks and inheritance rights? What does a ceremony actually mean anyway? What is God’s purpose for marriage in the first place?
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May 10, 2020 | Doug Mauss
History has remembered many good people who did great things for the world, who also had no connection to Jesus. In our lives, we know people who are much the same. Is there no chance for even the best people we know—people who are kind, loving, giving, and would lay down their life for a friend—to find eternal life if they don’t know Jesus?
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May 3, 2020 | Dion Garrett
There are few words as prevalent in the Christian vocabulary as “sin.” Sin, we’ve been told, is a very serious matter, grievous, offensive to God. We’ve also been told that people who don’t acknowledge their sin, can’t be forgiven. But what does “sin” really mean as God defines it? And what is a faithful response when I see sin in me or in the world around me?
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April 26, 2020 | Dion Garrett
This world is a crazy, scary place as our present moment reinforces. Which may cause us to wonder if there’s a God in the first place? And if there is, where is he in this chaos? What’s he doing? Why did he allow this mess in the first place? If this is his world, can he be trusted?
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April 19, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Given what we now know about how the world works through scientific discovery, how are we supposed to take the ancient words of scripture, written over thousands of years, by dozens of authors? What authority should I give these ancient words over my life and why?
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April 12, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Death is inevitable, we know. But how do you handle it when it’s staring you in the face? In a time where death seems nearer than ever, how do you go on with life?
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April 5, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Meals can be mindless drudgery. They are the bane of whoever does the household cooking, and barely tasted by those who consume them. But meals can still hold an important place for us when we want to celebrate a special occasion, deepen intimacy, or foster community. Jesus instituted a lasting meal for us to eat, “in remembrance” of him—but this meal goes a lot deeper than we can fathom.
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April 1, 2020 | Doug Mauss
We expect a happy ending, a story that gets tied up in a neat bow. Instead, Mark’s story ends with the confusing revelation of an angel, and women who were frightened to death! Where’s the hopeful ending?
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March 29, 2020 | Doug Mauss
By New Testament times, the long-held practice of Sabbath had become about control, restriction, and deprivation—which is the only kind of Sabbath we know. But Jesus reminds us that Sabbath was intended for our good as a means to bless us, not control us.
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March 25, 2020 | Dion Garrett
After years of miracles and teaching and turning the world upside down, Jesus is suddenly and anti-climactically killed. How could his impact end in failure?
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March 22, 2020 | Dion Garrett
We have heard that God loves a cheerful giver, but before we can even approach giving joyful offerings, God calls us first to tithe. For most of us, there’s no difference between the two, but the tithe is God’s established tipping point where generosity becomes truly transformative and the blessings become numerous.
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March 18, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Jesus says that his blood has power to restore and heal! Even when we fall short, he restores us to relationship with him.
March 15, 2020 | Doug Mauss
While we think of prayer as a specific activity, performed at a dedicated time or place, there are actually different kinds of prayer intended to deepen our connection with God. The most forgotten and transformative of which isn’t an activity as much as it is a way of life.
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March 11, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Every other leader or revolutionary had a period of influence—and then they died! But Jesus promised that his time of authority wasn’t finished. He’s coming back!
March 8, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Jesus chose to spend his life walking, as a nomad, teaching life-giving lessons with whatever happened along the way. It seems quaint in our modern day, when we have access to unlimited forms of high-speed transportation. But perhaps Jesus was showing us something powerful about the simple practice of walking—in faith and expectation.
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March 4, 2020 | Jon Shepherd
Even thought leaders try not to provoke needless battles. But Jesus rode straight into the lion’s den of Jerusalem and antagonized the very people who had the most religious power.
March 1, 2020 | Dion Garrett
The value of this forgotten practice has recently been
rediscovered as the latest health craze, which comes with some
pretty impressive physical benefits. But the benefits of fasting are
deeper and more multifaceted when Christians practice it, in line
with our faith.
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February 26, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time and season for every
purpose under heaven. The more we become disconnected from
the earth and the more technology keeps us at a comfortable 68
degrees year round, the more we lose our connection to this
powerful truth. Which then not only impacts how we experience
life on our planet, but also how we experience faith.
February 23, 2020 | Dion Garrett
It is life-giving to feel witnessed and known deeply, and to offer that same gift to someone else. But it’s so hard to be truly known, even in the most intimate of relationships.
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February 16, 2020 | Doug Mauss
In one form or another, we all desire to connect with other people. But pursuing relationships with others requires a willingness to change, be vulnerable, and risk being hurt.
February 9, 2020 | Doug Mauss
The Bible teaches that we were designed for relationships. But before we are able to have healthy relationships, something needs to be oriented right inside of us, first.
February 2, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Doing good work is always met by resistance. Doing God’s work, even more so. But how do you know when it’s time to cut your losses (i.e. sunk costs), or to dig deep and persevere?
January 26, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Everyone is talking about diversity these days, but we all have felt the pain of trying to work with people who are radically different from us. It’s hard to get anything done when you’re surrounded by people with different backgrounds, values, and perspectives. Doesn’t success come from alignment of likeminded people?
January 19, 2020 | Doug Mauss
Many have derailed their dreams by a failure of integrity. But is that fair? Should someone who is a great at what they do be taken down simply because they don’t meet other people’s standards or obey other people’s rules?
January 12, 2020 | Dion Garrett
Are successful people those who ruthlessly go after what they want? That’s the narrative we’re fed through the stories of the world’s most successful people. Or is real success a function of learning to avoid the things that jeopardize what’s most important to us?
January 5, 2020 | Doug Mauss
It’s easier to judge the actions of someone than it is to try to experience life through their eyes. But the failure to see as others do is more detrimental to our own success than we think!
December 29, 2019 | Stephen Hower
The season of “peace and goodwill” is over, now we’re facing stale cookies, a new year’s diet, return lines, credit card bills, and the cold winter. When the holiday is over and we find ourselves no different, what’s left to hold on to?
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December 22, 2019 | Doug Mauss
Christmas is a time of numerous traditions. But it’s funny how good traditions can become empty and bad ones can supplant truth. That’s not only a holiday problem, it’s a problem that has haunted people of faith for millennia. If we’re not careful, tradition can become the enemy of what’s good, meaningful and true.
December 15, 2019 | Doug Mauss
The darkness of the season is made tolerable, even beautiful, by the lights, glitz and glimmer we bring into it with our decorations. Those things are meant to point to the greater glory God revealed in this season, but in our zeal to make the season bright through our efforts, we might actually get in the way.
December 8, 2019 | Dion Garrett
While we dream of being with our loved ones during this season, snowy roadways and jammed airports mean that’s not always a possibility for us. But in this season of travel, it’s also important to think about the bigger journey we’re on. Many devoted Christians talk about faith as the most important part of our lives, but this week we make the case for a bigger faith journey, understanding that the problem isn’t that our faith is too small, it’s that the expectation we have for faith’s role in our life is.
December 1, 2019 | Dion Garrett
Whatever we mean when we say, “Merry Christmas,” our culture’s favorite season has arrived! As we try to find the perfect gifts for people in our lives, we acknowledge that God’s “perfect gift” of Jesus is actually mind-blowing. For centuries the central belief of Judaism was “God is one.” But with the coming of a son of God in flesh, all conceptions about God have been blown wide open as he reveals the deeper reality of his true nature and being as a God you cannot contain or predict.
November 24, 2019 | Doug Mauss
We work hard in pursuit of the American dream, driven to accumulate the things we think will add value to our lives. Yet Jesus said that power and wealth were to be used in the service of others!
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November 17, 2019 | Dion Garrett
It’s human nature to avoid suffering, and downright foolishness to embrace it. Yet, Jesus shockingly embraced a path that led to death on a cross.
November 10, 2019 | Doug Mauss
It’s human nature to become complacent when we compare ourselves to people who have obvious problems—conversely, we feel inadequate compared to those we put on pedestals. Yet, Jesus destroyed this dynamic entirely, tearing down the facades of the self-righteous, and building up the hurting.
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October 27, 2019 | Doug Mauss
We expect an all-powerful god to use his might and divine power to achieve his will. Yet Jesus unexpectedly chose to include broken, imperfect human beings as a part of his divine saving work.
October 20, 2019 | Dion Garrett
People try to limit Jesus by putting him in a box: a prophet, a moral teacher, a miracle-performer. But he blew away the box by declaring who he really was, the new foundation for a transformed life!
October 13, 2019 | Stephen Hower
We believe that most people are rational, and so we argue, share evidence, and try to persuade others to our own opinions. But Jesus didn’t waste time debating—he simply told mystifying stories that cut straight to the heart!
October 6, 2019 | Dion Garrett
Humans naturally divide themselves into groups for protection and safety. Jesus shook up the status quo by inviting everyone into a new tribe, including lawbreakers and pariahs!
Everywhere you turn, there are promises of quick fixes or simple solutions to life’s complicated problems. While the leaders of the day were trying to heal symptoms, Jesus raised their ire by naming and healing the true cause of our problems.
We expect people to follow the rules, in order to have an orderly and fair society. The religious leaders of Jesus day expected the messiah to crack down and enforce the old rules. Instead, Jesus broke the mold by not just breaking the rules, but by creating new ones!
Invitations are powerful. Few people discover great new things out of a trailblazing curiosity, most are invited to experience something that someone else has already found. We are ALL ambassadors in this house. It is not the job of a few to invite or compel, rather it’s each of our responsibility.
Invitations are powerful. Few people discover great new things out of a trailblazing curiosity, most are invited to experience something that someone else has already found. We are ALL ambassadors in this house. It is not the job of a few to invite or compel, rather it’s each of our responsibility.
Even though we’re given identity and belonging apart from ourselves, that doesn’t mean the work is done. We are called to keep moving forward in our journey. None of us will ever arrive, our growth is continual and our path is every unfolding. For us here at Pathfinder, our next steps are summed up in four very important numbers, One-One-Fifteen-Six
We all have gifts. And each of our gifts look different. But gifts aren’t meant to be kept to ourselves, ALL gifts are meant to be shared with the greater family. Standing in our way of becoming active contributors are many personal and cultural barriers, but we’ve all got something to contribute and until we do, we’re missing out and so is the family.
Tight-knit families are a sight to behold, the envy of others. But the very things that make a family tight-knit are what keeps a wall up between insiders and outsiders. At Pathfinder, we strive to be a community who is close-knit but not exclusive. The basis of our belonging isn’t earned, it’s given.
So many priorities compete for our attention. Many of us live in the Urgent and Important quadrant, so it’s hard to carve out margin for the things that would truly bring us peace and joy.
Life is more fulfilling when we are committed to serving a purpose bigger than our own comfort. But just maintaining stability takes so much focus and effort. How can a household or community thrive when different people have different goals and comforts that they’re striving for?
It’s natural to see yourself or your household as a closed off unit. After all, nobody else is responsible for taking care of you. So we wall ourselves off, bunker down, and try to just get through the next thing. But while closing off leaves us feeling less exposed, it also leaves us deprived of the fuller life that connection with others brings.
In a “work hard, play hard” culture, sometimes you never get around to the “play” part. Worse, as Christians, ideas of being “holy” have long been associated with being a stick-in-the-mud. Most of us master the art of working together long before we ever think of what it means to play together. But both the “play” and the “together” are key components of lasting vibrancy.
So often our conversations are limited to just getting through the day, week, or month. We focus on the urgent tasks or the disruptive news cycles. As a result, we are generally stressed and unfulfilled. Talking about bigger things may cause us to feel unequipped, insecure, or afraid of opposing views, but it also can open up some really exciting and meaningful doors.
In all of the scientific, medical and technological advancements of the last 100 years, you’d think we’d be super-human by now. But one thing has worked against greater health and prosperity more than anything else, disconnection. That’s because an essential ingredient for true health is other people. We need to know, we are not alone in our struggles and we do not possess the resources needed to heal ourselves. Health & growth is impossible for those living in isolation.
In life, many things may frighten us… but one of the most prevalent sources of anxiety comes through all the choices we have! We want to be empowered, not controlled, yet being in the role of “decision-maker” and “master of our own destiny” can leave us anywhere from overwhelmed to terrified, suffering from analysis paralysis, and worrying that a bad decision will mean God abandons us. How do we get comfortable with choosing when there’s so much at stake?
All Christian’s preach Grace, but few of us live by it. The mental torture and self-condemnation many of us live under suggest that our minds haven’t yet accepted God’s grace. But receiving God’s grace as the bedrock of your being (your true script) is the key to finding peace with God and within yourself.
After ignoring the topic of mental health for a long time, maybe we’re finally ready to admit that it’s not working for us—our minds are not as healthy as they could be! Maybe it also explains the lack of true life-transformation for Christians, since the Bible claims transformation starts with a “renewal” of the mind. This week we’ll begin by exploring our mindset as the starting place for both health and transformation.
Everyone is always selling something, whether we realize it or not…Audi, Nike, Apple… our favorite restaurant or vacation destinations. Few of us ever stop to ask whose interests we are advancing.
Nations, brands, and companies will all pass away, Meanwhile there is one mission that will stand forever. What would it look like to passionately devote ourselves to advancing that agenda?
In this world, where we are valued by what we do, our identity comes from what we accomplish. This hellish belief causes us to strive endlessly to live up to some external standard, or to gauge our self-worth by how well we compare to those around us. How can we escape this despairing and beaten-down way to live?
It is tempting to give our allegiance to the things that promise us prosperity, protection, and security, like a family, a nation, or an economic system. And while we can straddle, being loyal to Christ AND _____, what happens when those values or callings come in conflict? Even though we might try to keep a foot in each camp, as group divisions widen, we must ultimately decide which one we will put our trust behind.
In a “call-out culture” nobody is ever safe. Whether it’s moms who are on their iPhones too much, husbands who don’t help out enough around the house, or any public figure who has ever tweeted anything offensive—judgment is coming for us all. How can...
We live in an age where everyone chooses for themselves what is right. We are all sensitive to being controlled by someone else, even a religious authority. So everyone is free to pursue their own truth based on whatever they think is best for...
The world today is marked by chaos, political turmoil, environmental crisis, factionalism and violence. Even worse, evil people prosper, and good, faithful people experience one setback after another. How do we respond to struggles, suffering, and...
As humble as we might try to be, we all have things that feel beneath our station. But like the obscure Macedonian nun taught us, in serving the lowliest in the forgotten parts of Calcutta, we somehow can become one of the most influential people of...
The journey from one’s head to one’s heart is the most important journey a Christ-follower can make. In David’s journey we see that it’s not about right answers, or a model of perfection, but enjoying people like Jesus does and finding meaning in...
Proverbs says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” but the demands of life can be so hectic that every new ask causes serious strategic scrutiny of our resources and priorities. But Jesus shows us that when we...
From growing up as a military kid, constantly having to make new connections, to living in an extended period of singleness waiting for “the connection,” Pua was able to learn the deep, life-changing lessons of courage, trust, and development the...
Isn’t it nice to have the spotlight once in a while? Who doesn’t want to be noticed and appreciated? But in grabbing the spotlight for ourselves we can get accustomed to shoving people out of our way, or worse, trampling them underfoot. This is not...
God can draw from not just our pain and our mistakes to draw him closer to us, but also our inborn passions. In Drew’s journey we see that God puts things in us, dreams and passions, that he then uses to draw us back to him.
The deepest wounds we carry are those that leave no visible scars and therefore, often go ignored. But these wounds especially need healing. We eventually find ourselves asking, “Should I forgive?” Jesus reveals that there is no greater human need...
Finding a right relationship with authority is challenging for many of us. In David’s story we hear about his journey through fierce independence, struggles with authority, and control to a deeper surrender to God and acceptance of why God limits us.
When confronted with people who are different, it’s easy to judge, throw up our hands, or simply avoid such people and situations. But Jesus shows us what happens when we choose to ask, instead of assuming. When we choose to ask and understand, we...
When the unthinkable happens, how do you recover? How do you ever heal? In Julie’s struggle with infertility and loss we see an unlikely story of redemption and growth where finding a way to serve others with her pain was the path to healing and growth.
Jesus’ Temptation marks the beginning of his ministry, the journey that would change the world. When we find ourselves in temptation, or struggle, sin and addiction, we’re starting in the same place as Jesus… and yet in his sinlessness he joins us and...
You’re full of energy, and a breath of fresh air for people around you. But rather than face your own inadequacy to deal with hard or dark things in life, you search for endless distractions as an escape route from the possibilities of boundless fear...
You have learned what it is to be a steadfast friend. You will do anything for the people you love, dutifully standing with your tribe through thick and thin. But that may be because you’re afraid, you feel unsafe, and you worry you won’t have the...
You have a gift for illuminating things that are murky. You notice the littlest things. You’re more awake to everything. Your “Ah ha” moments are insightful and prove to be true. Along the way you’ve learned not to take things at face value; there’s...
You see beauty around you, the kind that often goes overlooked or undervalued. You bring creativity, passion, and romance into a colorless world but you’ve often felt misunderstood. Everyone else seems to be special, competent, satisfied, and...
Growing up, you learned how to shine & achieve. Over time, you felt rewarded only for what you did and how well you did it. So now, trophies, prestige, and accomplishments are where you find validation. As a result, you’ll play whatever role you...
As a kid, you were great at helping others. It gave you a sense of value and love. Perhaps that’s because you only felt loved if you were meeting someone else’s needs; your own personal needs felt selfish. Now, you fear that you aren’t lovable for who...
You have a natural knack for knowing how anything can be improved and you make the world around you better. But some of that is a defense against the heavy criticism and punishment others have put on your for not being good enough. As such, you’ve...
You have an acute awareness of all sides of a situation and can see clearly what is needed to keep the peace. You believe that your needs (even purpose and identity) are less important than maintaining harmony among the people around you. Why can’t...
You fight for the little guy and provide refuge for those you love, but it comes at a cost. It feels like you’re always fighting against things—or people and if you let down your guard, you and those you love will be taken advantage of, so there is...
For all the lights of Christmas festivities and New Year’s balls, this often feels like a dark season. What is the remedy that will truly bring light and joy to our hearts?
Anyone who’s worked hard for something wants to see the reward for their labors. If we’ve built something, we want to see its legacy. And yet so many people who build great things end up bitter and miserable. Why is this?
Human beings are not very good listeners. It’s why counselors can charge so much money just for being good at listening. It’s hard enough with humans, and it’s even more difficult to listen to (and obey!) God. And yet we often feel the natural...
Darkness is scary, you feel vulnerable, subject to attack. Even things that bring no fear in the light can cause terror in the darkness. And fear is a feeling we know too well as residents of the darkness. But the coming of Jesus reminds us that we...
Most of us want to solve our own problems ourselves. We don’t want to ask others for help or feel beholden to anyone else. So what do we do when we are finally find ourselves completely out of our depth?
We believe in virtues of fairness. It’s common to say that people should get what they deserve. But does God’s understanding of fairness match ours?
To prepare for the coming of Christ, we need to start with an acknowledgement of our lives lived in darkness and what living that way has cost us. We have become desensitized so that promise of light brings both some initial pain and also the promise...
Success is not an upward climb to the top, the journey of the truly successful always looks radically different than we might expect, which is why we needlessly fear failure rather than embracing it.
There are many possible interpretations for any one story. In our own lives, we have to decide who are the heroes and the villains. Surprisingly, this is not as clear cut as we might think. Any given set of circumstances can be perceived as either a...
When changes happen, especially changes that make us uncomfortable because they threaten our peace, it’s normal to grab on to whatever we can control and resist. But by resisting, things only get worse for us and the peace we long for gets further out...
We keep secrets because we fear certain things revealed and what that would do. But when we lock things away to protect ourselves, that’s when we become true prisoners.
Acquisition often keeps you focused on how you have less. Giving helps you feel full. Most of us fear that if we truly gave ourselves over to generosity, we’d end up with nothing left for ourselves. But Jesus promises that giving ourselves over to...
We all fear death. Even the most faith-filled people struggle and fight against its inevitability. But in surrendering to the call to die, we discover a life that is full, rich, and absent of fear.
This weekend we’ll share undeniable stories of life change that are happening to people here in our church, reaffirming that God is alive, active, and that life change is possible for all of us.
Scripture reveals a "Triune" God, made of three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But while the roles of the first two persons are fairly straightforward (Creator and Rescuer), the Holy Spirit remains a mystery. How does having an...
If angels are real, what connection do they have with us? (The Bible teaches that angels are God’s messengers who communicate his saving message to us, but also serve and protect us, defending us in the spiritual realm. And ultimately, they reveal a...
Jean-Paul Sartre famously believed that “hell is other people.” And other people often do make our lives harder. But if the devil is the real enemy, then the people around us are actually casualties in a larger, unseen war! How do we recognize the...
When it comes to dealing with the devil, there are two extremes people can fall into: giving him too much blame or not enough recognition. How can we tell whether evil in our lives is from an outside antagonist, or simply from the evil impulses inside...
It’s obvious that humans are physical creatures, but not always clear that we are spiritual beings as well. Witnessing a person’s death often serves to open our eyes to spiritual reality. Are there people in heaven or hell, and what impact does that...
The X factor of hospitality isn’t only attending to people’s safety and anticipating their needs…we’ve all experienced being taken care of but still not feeling cared for…it’s doing everything with a strong sense of joy for being able to communicate...
While we may have different visions of what specific acts make for good hospitality, the irreducible principle of transformative hospitality is being so focused on the others, what they must be thinking and feeling, that you can address—even...
There is nothing worse than being mistreated while you’re dependent on the care of someone else, on their turf, at their mercy. While hospitality has many facets, the baseline is that we will keep those entrusted to us safe, no matter what… even...
Planted deep within all humans is a desire to live forever because that’s what we were created to do! But ever since we were thrown out of the Garden, we’ve had to face the unkind reality of death. But now tech advances have changed that and...
What does it truly mean to connect with another person? Can it happen on a FaceTime screen? What about by following each other’s newsfeeds? Is a 90 day snapchat streak a surefire sign of a real connection? In a world where people are considered...
The natural world used to give us our cues of when to work and rest. They were provided in the rising and the setting of the sun, rain, sun, and the various seasons. The order of creation almost guaranteed a balance of work-play-rest for people (and...
Over time, people have defined what it means to be human in different ways (rationality, creativity, ethics and morals). For Christians, we have looked to the Book of Genesis to understand the place of honor we’re given in and over creation. But in a...
Balaam was a prophet, someone trained to hear divine truth. But it took a donkey to reveal God’s Word for him in a particular moment.
Samson repeatedly made wrong choices, but God still used Samson to perform a mighty work.
David delighted in the Lord’s law and the Lord’s presence—so much that he danced for joy in the streets.
Gideon was a quietly faithful man. He kept his nose clean, honored God privately, and tried not to upset the status quo. His life was fine, if not great. But God had victories in mind for Gideon, and showed him what it looked like to truly rely on...
Commitment is limiting, it means you’re saying no to all the other good options out there. For this reason, committing to another person can be downright scary. But committing to someone for life, that can be so terrifying that we’ll only think of...
In life we long for a sense of control and autonomy (power). But relationships can only thrive where there is mutual dependency and vulnerability. These opposite pulls cause a very unhealthy relationship with power (unilateral action, patriarchy, the...
The most costly part of doing relationships is the requirement of continual, undeserved, complete forgiveness. While we may fear letting the other person off the hook and enabling hurtful or even abuse behavior, the other extreme is to be hard hearted...
When we embark on new relationships, we bring along hopes, dreams, baggage from previous relationships, fears and insecurities with us. We also bring a truckload of expectations. While some expectations are good, many of them (1) go unexpressed (why...
People are gregarious by nature—we’re created for relationships. And while relationships are good, fulfilling, and transformative they’re also really difficult, perhaps the MOST difficult part of life. As a result some of us have said, “No thank you!”...
Instead of seeing people who have differing views and experiences (even related to God and the Bible) as threats to our values, stability, or way of life, Jesus teaches us to see them as gifts. In the Body of Christ, we are called to see the challenge...
The divides that exist in our world seem so deep and wide that it’s easy to assume they are inevitable and unfixable. Even Jesus tells us “The poor you’ll always have with you,” So doesn’t that mean it’s naïve to hope for anything better? No. Jesus...
One of the other barriers that prevents us from coming together, even after we’ve gotten near and freed people from their scripts, is the belief that faithfulness requires us to take stances for what we believe is right and true. But, Jesus had a...
We all wear labels. Worse, each of those labels come along with a fully written script for a part we are expected to play. Jesus, however, sees people not labels. People who are free to pursue the unique path he’s got for them. When we live like Jesus...
Let’s face it, we all like to be around people who are like us. But when we only surround ourselves with people who are like us, it makes it easy to get (at best) complacent or (at worst) jaded about the struggles of those who are not like us. But the...
Jesus is great for many reasons, but more than anyone, Jesus made a life out of crossing any and all divides. From the moment he crossed into our world at his birth, Jesus never stopped crossing the divides that kept people from each other and...
Within a week’s time we’ll see Jesus go from the glory of his triumphal entry with palms and praise, to the glory of his resurrection from the grave. But in between are some of the most important—and tragic—events in all of human history. By walking...
Why is it that the people who have the most in life are so often the least satisfied? Yet we think if we just had one more pay-raise, or a slightly bigger house, life would be better. Jesus claims to be the one thing we actually need in life. While we...
What do you do when you discover that who you’ve come to be known as, is not true of you or it no longer fits the purposes God has in your next chapter? You take control of your reputation! The Scriptures show us that God is always ready to give a new...
Objective truth feels like an ancient relic from the modern age. Oprah reflects our culture’s values when she says, “telling your truth” is the most powerful weapon we have. But, how can a person function in a society with no truth consensus? How are...
In modern life, there is great pressure to stay in line, not stand out. Friends, media outlets, experts (even pastors), bombard us with how they think we should live, act, and believe, even though their advice just leaves us following the crowd. But...
We live in a time of darkness and confusion. Christians seem to defend sexual predators, while Hollywood is holding abusers morally accountable. How do we see clearly what is going on around us? We have to follow Jesus’ guiding light. We can’t rely on...
Many believe life is about achievements, but it’s really all about connections. Connection is the basis of everything good that happens in faith and life. Therefore, the measure of a life-well-lived has more to do with the part you play in inspiring...
Are we willing to trust the person who calls out our imprisonment and offers us a way out? The cumulative force of Jesus’ “I am” statements leads us to the inescapable conclusion: He is the one true God, and the only one powerful enough to set us free...
Sometimes the deeper people go into Christianity, the more pious, churchy, and detached they become from the world. They become (as the old saying goes), “So heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good!” Contrast that to Jesus, who being as...
Who is “in” and who is “out”? As we struggle with the doubts of our own faith and the reality that we fall short in our attempts to follow Jesus, how do we know that we are actually part of God’s “in-crowd”? How do we have any surety of our own...
It’s impossible to watch Jesus and see him demonstrate anything but unconditional acceptance, even with the most unlikely people. But Christians are usually a different case. While the world is hungry for a sense of belonging, too easily we assume we...
In life, it’s tempting to settle for less than God’s ideal, as long as we can keep limping along with our current situation. Our marriage pattern may not be great, but it’s good enough. I may not be the worker I want to be or at the job I’d crave, but...
Remembering that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things not only gives you courage to attempt big things, but it also becomes the fuel for your heartfelt awe and worship AFTER God has done what he promised. A life that understand...
For many, the purpose of faith is to get you into heaven someday, which is only a portion of the promise God of eternal life God makes to us. Life begins in the here and now and it’s so rich that it goes on forever. Many of us have claimed the promise...
When you’re a child, you look to someone bigger than you to provide, strength, courage and refuge. When you get older, you still long for someone who can combat your anxieties and fears in life but you start to feel like it’s is all on (up to) you...
When we think of provision, our minds often go to the material stuff of life. While God promises to give us our “daily bread” he also promises to provide us with the other important things we really need. While many us would settle for a life that is...
Like the stuff in our storage room that we move from house to house, we carry the baggage of our sins and pasts from one year to the next. More than the guilt that comes with them, we begin to see ourselves through the lens of those failures. Instead...
Too many of us believe the never-made promise that with God, life will be easy, victorious, and prosperous. God actually promises that life will be difficult, but then he promises something even richer. He says that none of the struggles, hardships...
Many of us live under the sense that God is out to get us, or at least is our greatest critic. But God has promised unshakable, unconditional love, for all who are in Christ, which means he is always FOR us and always WITH us. Claiming this promise...
Throughout human history, God has been telling His story, interwoven through the stories of His people. When the perfect time had come, He sent His Son into the world; the final story that unites and brings meaning to all our other stories. Watch...
Throughout human history, God has been telling His story, interwoven through the stories of His people. When the perfect time had come, He sent His Son into the world; the final story that unites and brings meaning to all our other stories. Watch...
In waiting for the next thing, we risk missing all that’s amazing about the now. And learning to love the “now” has the benefit of making the wait a little easier to...
Sometimes I take my waiting too personally. When I remember that I’m not the center of the universe and God is doing something bigger in the world around me—in the lives of people all around me— I can begin to see that by waiting willingly, I can...
Waiting is one of the sharpest tools God uses to refine us. Focusing on the growth that needs to happen in your life can help you wait well. Growth happens when we take the time to lean into the lessons God is teaching us.
Grateful people are willing to try more and by sheer probability (plus the Lord’s blessing) they achieve more success. For some, success is a dirty word; it’s the Devil’s word. It’s a word that leads to pride. But, God desires us to have success in...
Grateful people act courageously. Courage is the ability to rise above fear and scarcity to act with boldness. You’ll go after big things when you know that God is with you and for you and that his grace covers you. You’ll try things you would never...
Grateful people view the future with optimism, or what the bible calls, “hope.” Hope is not naiveté; it is rooted in our trust in the faithfulness of God, no matter what may come.
Grateful people choose to see the good things in their lives, their relationships, and their pasts, so their eyes are opened to seeing even more good things. In life, you tend to find what you’re looking for. If you want to become more grateful, begin...
There’s a difference between the Church failing and God failing. But for many people, those two ideas are linked. Does the decline of American Christianity mean that God is irrelevant, or is there a more powerful reality going on? Just as God created...
C.S. Lewis says that God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain. When things are going well, do we forget God? Do we only need God when we are suffering? True security only comes when we attribute our blessings rightly to the Lord...
When disobedience, weakness, brokenness, or even busyness get in the way, we often think God’s given up on us. Instead, he relentlessly pursues us and invites us to confess. Owning up to our failures shifts our posture, acknowledges his disposition of...
When people walk away from the faith, when bad people prosper, when the righteous suffer, where is God in that? This question will never have a satisfactory answer unless we align ourselves with a divine perspective: “When I tried to understand all...
It’s hardest for those who have had spiritual highs to now feel as though they’re muddling through in their own strength and striving. You don't know how you can press forward because your soul is downcast and you can’t seem to kick-start it to a...
Sometimes we feel isolated in our lives. Times when we would like God to speak or intervene, but he is distant or unresponsive. Even if God seems absent in our present struggles, we take heart from his past rescues (Ps 13:5-6), and his history of...
This weekend we’ll share undeniable stories of life change that are happening to people here in our church, reaffirming that God is alive, active, and that life change is possible for all of us.
Living under grace doesn’t mean we no longer evaluate the rightness of our actions (that leads us to ignoring things that could potentially devour us), but it does mean we no longer have to live under the weight of comparing ourselves to others or...
The ultimate goal of our faith is freedom, something God longs to give freely and completely. But true freedom is much more complex than we think. Much of what we call freedom is more like anarchy and it’s not really freeing.
The things that most threaten our abundance in Jesus are things that appear to be good, maybe even godly. When we allow our pet causes and concerns to overshadow or worse, supplant the Gospel, we are in serious danger, our faith is robbed of its power...
430 years before God gave the law, he made a promise and the substance of that promise was simple, “I am going to bless you and you will be a blessing.” For some reason, we don’t feel as though believing that promise is enough and so we wear God out...
Since none of us are able to actually live a good life, it’s tempting to pretend like we do. Unfortunately pretending is a complete waste of time; it only leaves us worn and weary. Being “good people” is not God’s standard. Jesus came not to make bad...
Like classified documents, when it comes to sharing our stories we present highly redacted scripts, with our most unflattering and painful moments blacked out. By doing so our stories become hollow and have no real power to connect with or help...
Although we’re all trying to live “happily ever after”, Jesus is the only guarantee you’ll ultimately have a good ending to your story. No matter how well you fight and plan, life doesn’t promise you a good ending. Too often we see good people’s lives...
Lots of people can give you advice on what they think you’d be great at, or what makes for a good life, or a lucrative salary, but only Jesus knows you well enough (you were made through him) to be able to speak into your life a sense of calling that...
There is no shortage of people, books, pills and methods that promise us help but they seldom deliver; they are no real help. Jesus, on the other hand, is the unique combination of compassion and power. Lots of leaders have been powerful but lacked...
Some people begin looking into Jesus because they’re looking for truth or morality. One often neglected aspect of Jesus is that only Jesus can make you full. Nothing else in life can fill us in a lasting way as Jesus can, even though we try to make...
We as people love to align ourselves with a winner. We watch as polls swing elections, playoff sports bring out bandwagon fans, and a bull market draws out new investors. While people and teams may be successful for a season, Jesus has launched the...
It has been said that families who pray together stay together. But maintaining life-long bonds in a family requires more than prayer alone. Through a lesser-known OT prophet, God gives a simple formula for how his people, Israel, can find blessing...
Even as families we feel increasingly isolated, overwhelmed, and alone. That’s because the present structure of “nuclear family” is not the full picture of family. It not only “takes a village” to raise a child, it also “takes a village” to make for a...
In our desire to love and nurture our kids, we sometimes fall into the trap of indulging their every desire rather than leading them. The happiest, most successful kids aren’t those who get everything they want, but they grow in environments where...
All families, no matter how large, began with a relationship between two people. Over the course of time, as kids and grandkids come into the picture, the primacy of that relationship can get lost. But a family is only as strong as the relationship...
Planning, decision making, and goal-setting are good, but they can easily become an unhealthy obsession. When we live like our level of blessing depends on our level of planning, then we’re headed down a destructive path. Jesus frees us to live...
Potential is God-given, but we often struggle under the weight of imagining that to be worthy, we must live up to it (our potential). Jesus has freed us to be loved for who we are (in Him) apart from anything we do or don’t do.
Shame is ugly, and sometimes religion is guiltier of shaming us, more than anything else. But not Jesus. He came to free us from shame by allowing us the freedom to acknowledge our guilt, insecurities, and mistakes, knowing they can’t change how he...
It’s good to have a reasoned faith but if you demand to understand everything before embracing it, you’re left in a bad place. Jesus’ death and resurrection allows us to embrace the joy and wonder of things that might not make sense to us.
It’s hard to imagine a feeling more devastating than hopelessness. It happens when you feel trapped, as though there’s no way out or no possible happy ending. But now, because of Jesus, there’s hope. His death and resurrection has ensured us that...
Across Christianity, there are many differences in doctrine and practice, yet Baptism is an essential guidepost for ALL Christians. But far from being a New Testament invention, Baptism is rooted in God’s long-established pattern of rescue throughout...
During one of his hours of greatest need, Jesus friend’s fail to comply with his simple request to watch and pray.
This week we’ll remember one of Jesus’ final acts before his crucifixion that culminates, not surprisingly, during the Hebrew Passover. In the Passover, the Jewish people celebrated their rescue from the slavery and plagues of Egypt by God’s mighty...
Jesus’ seals his fate by raising his good friend, Lazarus from the dead. He could have distanced himself from Lazarus’ miracle, but instead chooses to face Lazarus’ pain in person and gets a glimpse into his own future.
Over the course of history, God reveals more of his being and character to us. Although his action and character are clearly seen early in Scripture, his nature (being) is revealed much more slowly. As God finally reveals himself as Trinitarian, three...
Jesus’ every move was watched and scrutinized by the religious leaders of the day. Not only was he constantly pressed for help by his followers, his enemies relentlessly tried to trap him.
Prayer is often described as an unscripted conversation with God. And while that can be true, our conversation can often become shallow, repetitive, and one-sided. Jesus, seeing that people needed guidance, offered a prayer that people could not just...
Since the people of Jesus’ day did not show respect God’s house, they would be unlikely to show respect for His son. Instead of giving up, Jesus demonstrates his zeal for his father’s house in an uncharacteristic clearing of the temple with great...
Many of us know the 10 Commandments, even if we can’t recite them in order. We understand they were a significant part of our scriptural, moral foundation. But what many of us don’t understand is the WHY behind them. From their inception they were...
Even though Jesus’ ministry was well underway, and he’d began to acquire a reputation for his miraculous acts, he was rejected by his own home town.
Lent has begun, a season of contemplation, growth, and repentance. But what really is the purpose of confession? At moments in history, the practice of confession has been abused to keep people trapped in shame and/or to reinforce a works-righteous...
Jesus’ ministry could have ended before it began. Instead, he chose to endure a grueling temptation in the desert.
There is a difference between being soothed and satisfied. When it comes to relationships we often settle for the former. There are endless opportunities to soothe our boredom and loneliness by passing the time with others, but not actually connecting...
Relationships, like everything else in life, inevitably fall apart. It’s tempting, when things do go south, to either pick up and move on –or- to get entangled in messy, bitter conflict. But God’s desire is neither that we fight nor flee when things...
When it comes to relationships, differences can be seen as sources of frustration or as a source of enjoyment, depth, and growth. We not only benefit from surrounding ourselves with people who are different than we are, but we were also made for...
The need for people isn’t a weakness, it’s part of how we were created. We all desire to be seen, known, and loved as we are… and none of us can do that for ourselves. Many of our modern day problems are not the result of pathologies or diseases as...
Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Much of what weighs us down in life is related to how we view life—our attitude. If there’s one thing you can do, above everything else, to change...
More is not always better. Although material possessions can be a blessing they can also become a burden (so are all the monthly payments, maintenance, and cleaning that comes with them). Sometimes by having less, we can enjoy the things we have even...
For many of us, life is lived not only in a constant state of momentum, but a constant state of acceleration. The key to slowing down isn’t necessarily slowing down the world around you (sometimes you can’t!) but it’s learning to slow down your...
Most of us feel “the squeeze” of too much to do and too little time. But while time management allows you to squeeze more chaos into limited hours, what we really need is something more significant than that. We need to reestablish a clear sense of...
There’s nothing like a new year to make you feel like you get a fresh start. But the reality is that every day is a chance to start fresh before the Father who forgives us and has compassion for us each and every morning. This weekend we’ll leave...
The Old Testament prophets and even John the Baptist, talked about Jesus not just as Light, but as one coming with FIRE. Fire brings light, warmth, and protection, it purifies and refines. And while the gods of other mythologies withheld fire from...
The Old Testament prophets and even John the Baptist, talked about Jesus not just as Light, but as one coming with FIRE. Fire brings light, warmth, and protection, it purifies and refines. And while the gods of other mythologies withheld fire from...
The Old Testament prophets and even John the Baptist, talked about Jesus not just as Light, but as one coming with FIRE. Fire brings light, warmth, and protection, it purifies and refines. And while the gods of other mythologies withheld fire from...
Maybe obscurity does it to you after a while, you just stop caring. Or maybe distraction was to blame. But when a very pregnant woman arrived in Bethlehem in need of shelter, the town looked the other way. But instead of moving on to the next town up...
Hearing Mary’s story and assuming she was lying, Joseph gave into to cynicism, a judgmental spirit, and had in mind to cast her off, gently, but definitively. Yet, God in his mercy appears to Joseph and gives him another chance to do the RIGHT thing...
To be the focus of everyone’s gossip, that’s a difficult place to be. We often hear there’s more to the story, but this time there really is. Still, that God would choose such a scandalous start to his plan to redeem the world? It seems unwise...
Sometimes it feels like life moves on for everyone else but forgets about you. Childless and never advancing in his position as priest, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth must’ve felt passed-over, forgotten by God. But God visits this overlooked couple...
Prayer of Gratitude Lord, open my eyes to the gifts You lay before me every day. Help me to understand that despite misfortune and tragedy I sometimes face, blessings are everywhere, and challenges are often gifts in disguise. May I learn to...
After a season of “leaning in,” now is the time to step up. God is allowing us to do something that few people get to be a part of, something few churches are healthy enough to do. The sacred opportunity is before us, now it’s time to take hold of it.
Generosity is necessary to make our vision a reality, but the real benefit of your generosity isn’t only in seeing our vision filled. Financial generosity also is the key to taking hold of “life that is truly life,” discovering deeper blessings, and...
While campus improvements may sound superficial, they are actually extremely important. Throughout all the scriptures there has always been a high standard for Hospitality. To treat well those entrusted to you is a sacred responsibility in the...
The need for helping children grow in their faith is well established in the Bible and in most churches. But at STJ, we believe the Next Generation is our great hope. The challenges of the world that may seem too big for us can be conquered by a...
When the culture moves away from God, it’s pretty clear where the responsibility lies. It’s always the responsibility of those who know God to pursue those who don’t know him. This week we’ll explore what it means to own that responsibility and what...
Although STJ has had a great history and has been a very successful church, the needs of our present world demand that we sacrifice our comfort to keep moving forward. That’s why, even though things are going well for us, we’re being invited to Lean...
There’s no doubt God is at work at St. John. We‘ve prayed for it, and He has been faithful. The evidence of life change is all around us. So we’re taking a pause to stop, reflect and celebrate the work He’s been doing. Join us and be inspired as we...
The Aramite Commander, Naaman is obscure enough, but even more obscure is the captured servant-girl of his wife. Although she was a nameless victim of human trafficking, she used her position to influence her master to trust in the God of Israel, the...
Not all of us are capable at handling the truth; sometimes it’s just too hard to hear. While Ahab of Israel had made a habit of shutting his ears to any unfavorable reports, Jehoshaphat of Judah had another approach, seek the truth at all costs...
Who hasn’t experienced a season in life where you really needed a friend and someone stepped in? But in order for you to have had a friend, someone had to be willing to BE a friend. Barnabas stepped up and was willing to be a friend to Saul when he...
There’s a fine line between intervening and meddling. While meddling usually makes a mess of things, interventions save lives. Just as Abigail, the wife of rich and foolish Nabal, spared two hot-headed men from disaster by her courage and quick...
Machines are built only for the sake of productivity and efficiency, people are not. While work is a part of our God-given identity, we too easily let it become the measure of our existence. But while work is what makes things happen, play is what...
Different than failure, our flaws are at the root of who we are, not just in what we do. They cause us pain, they wound people around us. Because of that, most of us are tempted to hide our messy-but-true selves from the world. To be truly human isn’t...
While it’s good to stand out, it’s not good to stand alone. Too often we confuse the two. We end up living life independently, believing that to be successful, we must distance ourselves from others. True humanity is found in needing each other...
One of the oddest things we do is we take people who have been crafted individually, uniquely, diversely by our creator God and we try to make them all the same. There is nothing more dehumanizing than that. While conformity is an important part of...
Failure is not only a part of everyone’s experience, it’s a tremendous teacher. But failure is painful to experience and to admit. Too often we’re tempted to avoid failure by living with an abundance of caution, avoiding all risks, or even quitting...
America is still a “Christian nation” but no one knows for how long. Birthrates among historically “Christian” populations are way, way down while birthrates of some other religious groups remain very high. Not only is the face of America changing...
The world is hurting. Through technology and globalization it’s now possible to see the true state of the world. Everywhere you look there is hunger, disease, poverty, and victimization. Sometimes it seems like the challenges are too great, or that...
Religious intolerance. Threats of imprisonment. Beatings. This is the sad reality of many Christians worldwide. Even in our own country, we fear the rise of persecution and what it will do to the future of the Church. But when we study Acts we see, in...
Jesus’ death and resurrection didn’t actually change much, at least not right away. 40 days after his resurrection he only had a few hundred followers at best. And yet, everything changed when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost. An...
Judgment is what keeps us trapped in secrecy and silence. Either we have already felt judgment or we fear judgment if people knew the full story on us. And yet, we still have a hard time stopping ourselves from judging others. The solution to both our...
If shame is a prison, silence is the warden. Silence over our past, our pain, or our sin keeps us stuck in shame. But when it’s doused in empathy, shame can’t survive. The problem with empathy is that it doesn’t come cheaply, the price is...
Shame is the secret cause behind many forms of brokenness that are rampant in our world. Every one of us has parts of ourselves and our stories that we are terrified of being discovered, so we hide them away and do whatever it takes to avoid any...
Although estate plans are important, your job is bigger than planning for who gets your earthly possessions. The greatest blessing to leave the next generation is a love for God and an understanding of how to manage what he’s entrusted to you. These...
Sometimes in trying to bless others, we can end up hurting (even enslaving) those we’re trying to help. How can we use our abundance to help people with needs, but ultimately encouraging them to become God-reliant and self-sufficient?
The greatest danger of being blessed is that we can become not only self-sufficient but self-reliant! Many of us live lives that are so full that we seem to fall in love with the world and worse, grow beyond our need for God. How do we stay reliant on...
One of the greatest tragedies in life is that our good and generous God gives us blessings that we don’t feel free to enjoy. So we miss out entirely, resigning ourselves only to suffering and sacrifice. Or we indulge ourselves but then feel guilty. Or...
The loss of the word “steward” in our vocabulary signals a loss of an important concept, namely, we are not owners. Stewards recognize that everything in their lives is not theirs, but it’s all a gift from God (not earnings, not rewards) and...
“Blessed” is a confusing word in our culture. Some use it to convey that they’re prosperous, others use it to convey they’re lucky. But when God speaks about blessings, he speaks differently than we do. Truth is, we’re all blessed, not identically...
This week we’ll take the question that’s asked most throughout the rest of the series and we’ll do our best to answer it. So you get to pick the topic and we’ll teach directly to it!
For years people who were divorced, experienced same-sex attraction, or became pregnant out of wedlock were driven to the outskirts of society, shunned and shamed. So in spite of what the Bible might say about sexuality, isn’t acceptance of new norms...
The idea of “sin” is confusing. Some things the Bible calls sin certainly seem sinful while others are harder to understand. Are the things God calls “sin” simply his arbitrary opinions we are forced to honor because he’s all powerful? Or is there...
It seems unfair and confusing that God would allow some people to be born into safe, prosperous, loving families while others are born into hell on earth. How can a God who is loving treat his creation so differently?
Some might argue that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, but the escalating tension between Christians and Muslims says otherwise. In a world where Boko Haram, ISIS, al-Qaeda threaten the stability and welfare of the world’s citizens, how...
In spite of what science indicates about our mortality, most religions teach about some type of “life after death” but is that just wishful thinking? How can we know for sure?
We usually acquaint the final week of Jesus’ life with sacrifice, but it was his LOVE for our broken, sinful world (and US in it) that fueled his willingness to sacrifice himself. Compassion and its stronger form, LOVE, are the foundation of so many...
At the temple, Jesus is overcome with grief for Jerusalem, lamenting their hardness of heart, their ignorance and their impending destruction. He remembers the things that might have been if not for mankind’s rebellious ways. Jesus causes us to...
Being godly is often mistaken for being goodly, or we think of all the things that God is and assume that be godly means we are also all those things. But godliness is actually summed up in a deep desire for God; a devotion to him. When you desire God...
As Jesus passes through many nameless villages, He is overwhelmed by the number of people in need but to Jesus, they were anything but faceless. He compares them to a ripe harvest, commenting that there is more work than workers. He pleads with His...
There’s a lot of lament about people’s lack of commitment these days. But perhaps it’s less about weak commitment and more about the inability to persevere. Perseverance is the ability to endure, to keep your commitments, to follow through, and to not...
Traveling back to Jerusalem, a hungry and seemingly irritable Jesus, curses a fruitless fig tree that had the appearance of fruitfulness but was empty. Jesus reminds us to stop being so concerned with outward appearances and rededicate ourselves to an...
Pop magazines and self-help books constantly talk about self-control. Just a little bit more of it and you can be healthier, happier, thinner & wealthier. But how do we actually get more self-control to resist all that entices us? To live with...
As Jesus heads toward Jericho, He encounters Zacchaeus the tax collector, the last guy any Rabbi would choose to get to know better. The gospel writer is not only careful to note Zacchaeus’ immediate response to God’s call but also the zeal with which...
For many Christians, learning as many bible facts as possible is the equivalent of being a mature Christian. But to live with the mark of “knowledge,” means more than knowing Bible facts, verses and doctrines. It’s about living life, exemplifying a...
As Jesus moves through the countryside, a woman who had been chronically sick brushes up against the hem of Jesus’ robe and was immediately healed. After meeting her felt need, Jesus turns and addresses the real need of this woman. Jesus calls us to...
The word “good” isn’t always good when it’s applied to people. “Goody two-shoes” or “goody goody” are names applied to people who are prudish, snobbish, and annoying. But the Greek word translated “goodness,” agathosune, is defined as...
Fresh from a mountaintop experience, still beaming from His time of worship and fellowship with believers, Jesus is confronted by a desperate and unclean leper. He does the unthinkable and touches the untouchable, not only healing him but restoring...
Having a sense of “calling” is not only for those who enter into ministry, it’s something that’s true of all of us. To be whole we must recognize the specific calling God has on each of our lives and devote ourselves to it fully.
“It’s only money” is something that Jesus never said because he understood more than we do that money has great power in our lives. Financial struggle brings great distress into our total existence and financial peace brings peace and purpose.
Our relationships with each other can bring excessive joy or incredible pain. When we learn how to maintain deep and lasting relationships with each other, the gifts of wholeness are innumerable.
A relationship with God is the source of all life and wholeness, even though God cares for more than our spirits. Through our invisible connection with him, he nourishes and forms every part of life, not just the “spiritual” parts.
For too many of us, learning stops when we finish our formal education. But God intended us to be life-long learners. Curiosity about the world and a desire to keep learning not only staves off numerous diseases and ailments, it also adds to our...
Most of us have an unhealthy relationship with food and fitness. Either we don’t eat well and don’t exercise, or we obsessively monitor our intake and output. We miss God’s big-picture intention, that our bodies would be healthy and strong and serve...
What Jesus brought into the world reaches far beyond the contributions of light, love, joy, peace, and hope he makes to us personally. He also has invited us to live these out with one another bringing “good will” to the world around us.
Peace is often seen as the absence of distress or violence, but real peace is all about what is present, it’s fullness. Jesus’s presence does not only bring an absence to our maladies, but he brings us true abundance and wholeness.
Life isn’t easy. Daily living reminds of the toil and hardship that accompany earthly life. Yet, regardless of our circumstances, Jesus brings joy to living. Joy is a defiant emotion, it can exist in the most hostile of circumstances. Not only that...
To be loved is one of the most wonderful things a person can experience. But in a culture where love is cheapened, it’s easy to lose sight of what true love looks like. The kind of love we need is more than a sentiment, more than an attraction, more...
In a time of year when the days increasingly grow dark, we all start to long for more light. Light is warm, safe, inspiring and yet light can also be threatening and exposing. The attractive and fearful quality of Jesus is that he brings light into...
With so much to do and so much to think about in our complex lives, we fail to take in the simple goodness of each moment of life. While playing re-runs of our day or wishing for (or dreading) tomorrow, we end up restless and unfilled. Ultimately we...
For most of us, generosity is something we feel like we should do, but in our calculations, we always imagine that we will run out of resources and so we withhold. But Jesus reassures us that it’s stingy people who run out of resources, not the...
Let’s be honest, material things are valuable. Even though there are MORE valuable things to chase than possessions, they still matter. God is not opposed to our need for physical things. Instead he provides them and encourages us to appreciate them...
Over the last 40 years of rising incomes, bigger homes, fancier cars, we are no happier. Instead, many of us are frustrated and disillusioned. That’s because having an abundance of possessions is not the way to be happy, but relationships are.
Contentment is not apathy. It’s not a lack of drive to achieve or succeed in life. In order to find satisfaction, you need to have goals and purpose, you need something to go after. But WHAT we go after makes all the difference between finding...
There’s no doubt God is at work at St. John. We‘ve prayed for it, and He has been faithful. The evidence of life change is all around us. So we’re taking a pause to stop, reflect and celebrate the work He’s been doing. Join us and be inspired as we...
No one before Jesus ever talked about all people being a part of one community; even God’s own people prided themselves on being separate. Jesus redefined for us who our neighbor truly is.
By commanding forgiveness for our enemies, Jesus gives us the key to freedom from hurt, anger and resentment.
Jesus’ description of what actually makes a man great shattered all preconceived ideas of true greatness.
How can a poor man of little renown or influence still be impacting our lives and culture to this day when most “great” rulers and kings are merely a sentence in a history book or entirely forgotten by history today.
People and churches who bring these three values together are the ones making a difference in the world. This week we’ll show you what it looks like when we get this right and challenge you to put aspirations into action and to commit to making a splash.
As obvious as it may seem, you can’t make an impact on the world around you if you’re focused on yourself. However, God has a way of blessing your life richly when you live as if it’s not all about you.
In an attempt to please people, sometimes churches and Christians lose their foundation. In so doing, they lose the source of their power. We know that the Gospel is the power of God for all people and we must remain firmly rooted in it in order to...
Some see being relevant as selling out but it’s the first step in making an impact in the world around you. You can’t influence a world that you’re not a part of. Even Jesus became one of us before forever changing the world.
It’s been said that a “rising tide lifts all boats.” That’s questionable in economics but certainly true with God. Whole nations have benefited from the faithfulness of a few. When we’re a part of a community, we can ride the tide of God’s blessings...
When it comes to spending time with God, everyone does it differently and that’s okay. Just as every person is unique, the way we connect with God is unique. Discovering how you connect with God best and making time for that kind of connection is more...
When you’re approaching someone important, you want to look, sound, and act your best. Unfortunately, that can mean acting like less than your true self. God invites us to connect with Him, but it is essential that we come honestly, sincerely, and...
As you’re attempting to surmount the next big thing in your life, you’re sure to encounter NEW obstacles that you’ve never encountered before. Still, even when you’re facing the unknown, having the right gear goes a long way to ensuring success. But...
Most of the time the only thing between us and our goals is our lack of discipline. Either we go too hard and burn out, or we get tired and quit prematurely. God created the world with seasons that allow for rest, renewal and growth. By keeping focus...
It’s been said that life is too short to learn only from your own mistakes. Sadly, sometimes we don’t even learn from our own. In order to conquer what lies ahead of us, we have to become students of our and other’s past successes and failures so we...
At St. John, we are passionate about helping people take the next step on their LIFEjourney. Now, we are doing that together, unified as a church. A “step” doesn’t diminish the past or elevate the future, but it celebrates the courage of the action.
The demands of life keep us busy—busy but not progressing. We may experience small successes in life but still lack joy. God created us to do big things, but most of us find ourselves stuck in the small and the monotonous. Much of our modern-day...
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. What are your contingency plans for that moment when things go south? How will you survive the inevitable setbacks of life? Even the greatest heroes of the faith stumbled and so will we. The difference is how we...
We all have goals in life but we spend little time examining what drives us to do the things we do and strive for the goals we set. What’s really driving us to achieve in life? Is it something good or destructive?
Few of us really understand the power of family ties; the physical bonds of our earthly family or the spiritual bonds of our spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ. Although we often say blood is thicker than water, through our baptism, we are given...
In romance, you should always dance with the girl you came in with. In racing, you shouldn’t switch horses in the middle of a race. In the LIFEjourney, too many will begin under the freedom of the gospel only to later migrate toward going through the...
There are dangers that come with living the Christian life; some of the greatest threats come from those who are close to you, even other believers, who try to lead you away from true freedom in Christ. You can’t control what others do or say, but you...
Everyone pretends to be better than we truly are, that’s especially true in matters of faith. In this, the first part of Paul’s letter from home, he shares his true, unflattering personal story as an encouragement to other believers who are struggling...
The mistake many of us make is to get “fixed” on who we are, even when part of who we are is taken away. This leads to feelings of irrelevance, depression & worthlessness. Although God’s opinion of us never changes and must remain the foundation...
Too many of us try to create and live out our true identity on our own, but that’s foolish. On your own you’ll either believe you are better or worse than you actually are. The “true you” can only emerge while being a part of a community, which...
In the pursuit of goals and dreams, one of our great temptations is to get so caught up in where we are going that we fail to focus on who we are becoming. The world rewards success at all costs, but Jesus warns us that HOW we get there matters more...
Once we have listened to what God says about us, our journey toward a new identity can begin. The next step is to focus on what we’ve been given in life, our unique God-given skills, gifts, and passions. Too often we try to pursue a life that is...
Despite what Jesus had told them about his resurrection, the disciples accepted the false reality that he was dead and gone forever. Like them, we have bought into a false reality about who we are (based on our mistakes, our family of origin, what we...
Good is the enemy of great. We assume God wants to make us into good, polite, obedient, dutiful (IOW-“religious”) people, but God wants to make us great. Greatness is found where would never expect, however, by laying down our lives for the most...
We want to be taught, to learn, to be inspired, but that’s where we often stop. God’s desire isn’t to make us smarter but to change us into the people we long to be.
We see horrible situations all around us. Good people who struggle with illness, innocent children are mistreated, faithful workers are displaced. When we are overwhelmed by injustice, crying out to the God who loves them is the place we need to start.
We come to God seeking protection from so many things that we fear; we even call our churches, “sanctuaries.” But what we really need is formation. Sometimes our instinct for protection prohibits God’s work of using hardship to form us.
After using his life to care for widows and share Jesus with others, Stephen is viciously attacked. But in that moment of persecution, his prayer is dumfounding. He prays not for revenge but forgiveness.
Church can (and should) be entertaining; there’s nothing wrong with that. But how often do we come to church to take in the show and forget to engage God himself, who is present when we gather? God wants us to experience closeness with him as friends...
t is said that prayer simply changes the prayer, but prayer changes circumstances & hearts, too. Sometimes we do not have, because we do not ask.
Too often we want to be told what we, or especially other people, are doing wrong. We expect God to be our cosmic drill sergeant who will whip us into shape. But God doesn’t want to condemn us; he wants to comfort us with the reassurance of his...
Sometimes we know we’re right but we’re still standing alone, as far as people go. But when God is in your corner, it gives you the ability to ask for help in bold ways.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” so contentment is clearly a good and Godly thing. But sometimes we imagine that God wants to give us “crumbs” when he really wants to give us abundance. Unfortunately we end up with what we...
Solomon was a guy who was well on his way to having everything and yet he asks God for something surprising…
We all know people who do bad things, but in the Bible there are people who do bad things because God seemingly forces their hand. Pharaoh, Judas, and Pilate all were given “dirty jobs” to do and even suffered consequences for them; but did they ever...
Christians teach that faith in Jesus is required to live forever in “Heaven.” And Heaven is also supposed to be a paradise where all of our mourning, sadness, sickness, pain and death are taken away. If that’s the case, then what can God do about the...
Sunday is still the most segregated day of the week. Christians divide themselves up by denomination, race and class. And even though women have gained status in broader culture, Christians seem to be lagging behind in showing equal value to women...
It seems grossly unfair that God would create someone to love someone else and then condemn them for acting on it. Not only that, but there is a list of a whole bunch of other “sins” that Christians still talk about as bad that just seem out of touch...
Why does God insist upon faith in Him? Why isn’t he good to everyone regardless of whether they believe or not? It seems imbalanced that in Christianity you can murder, exploit children, or commit genocide and be forgiven but if you don’t believe...
If God loves us and if he’s good, then why does a sizable portion of the world live in poverty with starvation and disease? Why do disasters often strike in communities where people are already marginalized and suffering? Why is the state of affairs...
The Bible not only seems crazy in its insistence on all kinds of miraculous stuff (virgin birth, a guy living in the belly of a fish), but it also has many other parts that just seem too hard to accept (God condoning the death of a man who gathered...
The world has seen a few good rulers and many really bad ones. But long before “King Jesus” came, God set a pattern for the kind of king Jesus would be. He would be a king in the manner of David. He would not be a dictator like other kings, but he...
Prophets may sometimes foretell the future or read people’s minds but the majority of their job is to proclaim God’s truth. Moses, the great prophet who led God’s people to freedom and delivered the Law of God into their hands, set the stage for an...
Before there were temples, God first dwelt in “the Tabernacle.” It was established because God wanted to provide a place where people could meet with him directly, make offerings, pray, and hear his instruction. But God had no intention to forever...
Heirs and lineage were important in ancient times, especially where wealth was concerned. Where there was no heir, there was little hope, which is why the very wealthy Abraham, took matters into his own hands to get an heir for his estate. But God...
Each December Christians celebrate Christmas while their Jewish friends celebrate Hanukah. After all, Hanukah is Jewish and Christmas is Christian, right? But could Hanukah be a prequel to Christmas, first for the Jew then for the Gentile? Messianic...
Ancient societies had priests, sorcerers, and shamans, and Israel did as well—the Levites. But the Levites weren’t the kind of priesthood that God would use to establish the priestly work of Jesus. God established a different priest long before there...
For some, success is a dirty word; it’s the Devil’s word. It’s a word that leads to pride. But God desires us to have success in things that matter. Courageous people are willing to try more and by sheer probability (plus the Lord’s blessing) they...
When you have an optimistic (hopeful) view of life, then you’ll begin to ACT differently. This is courage, the ability to rise above fear and scarcity to act with boldness. When you know that God is with you and for you and that his grace covers you...
When you begin to take note of the good things in your life, it shapes how you see the future. You’ll leave behind feelings of fear, failure, doom, and gloom and begin to view the future with optimism, or what the bible calls, “hope.” Hope is not a...
In life you tend to find what you’re looking for. Grateful people choose to see the good things in their lives, relationships, and pasts and through that awareness, their eyes are opened to seeing more good things. If you want to become more grateful...
Not only will there be people who spend eternity in the presence of God because of what we do/give, but we ourselves will find “treasure in heaven…” every time we take a loss for the sake of the gospel. Jesus says those who sacrifice won’t fail to...
Jesus’ great sacrifice set off a tidal wave that swept through the world. His followers began following his example with great acts of sacrifice that changed the world in the most meaningful ways, showing us that sacrifice is not the same as empty...
The world is inspired by sacrifice, although it makes no sense for it to be. Sacrifice is an affront to all of our natural tendencies toward self-preservation and survival. Some wrongly understand sacrifice to be only about duty and obligation, pain...
Life change happens in the context of relationships. Once you learn to Be SomeONE to another person, you are granted the power to influence them and they also have the power to influence you, opening the doorway to mutual growth and beneficial life...
Most of us have plenty of relationships but it’s difficult to take our relationships to a deeper place because of how much intimacy, vulnerability and trust that requires. By dropping your guard and allowing yourself to be known by another person...
You can’t Be SomeONE to someone else if you don’t know first who you are and what you have to give. Developing a healthy sense of self-awareness and discovering what you alone have to offer others is vital for cultivating lasting connections.
Each of us is uniquely positioned for relationships on the basis of where we live, work, and play; nobody else has the exact same connections we do. But you can’t Be SomeONE to everyone. By selecting the right people and focusing on those...
We know that relationships are important but few of us have the intentionality to actually pursue them. Life gets busy, we doubt ourselves, we doubt the long term payoff, we don’t want to bother with the complications that relationships create and so...
Mark Twain once said that the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. God has an awesome plan for your story, even the painful parts. If we want to be truly free we need to capture a vision of how...
Who are you? It’s an important question to ask ourselves. And how we answer that question determines whether we are living a free life or not. Many of us have our identity defined by a negative label (failures and mistakes) others put too much stock...
The journey to freedom must go through the door of forgiveness. Even though we go through life clenching our fists and crying out for justice for life’s unfairness and pain, true forgiveness means giving up our right to hurt others that have hurt us...
Living as a victim is easy. Living in freedom means I take personal responsibility for both the good and bad parts of my life both past and present. I don’t have to be afraid of admitting fault or making amends when I’ve wronged someone. When I can...
We live in a fast-paced noisy world. Often the speed of life keeps us form hearing the voice of God, especially when it comes to our pain and brokenness. Distraction and escapism keep us from dealing with the things that keep us in bondage. If we want...
Conflict isn’t bad, every family experiences conflict (from fighting parents to sibling rivalry). Many families also experience greater trauma that causes deep rifts. Ideal families avoid long standing feuds by learning to deal with conflict and hurt...
God calls us to be deeply committed to the members of our families through thick and thin and for all of our lives. It doesn’t always make sense and it’s never easy, but it makes the family powerful.
Families that thrive learn how not only to share the work but to balance power, to submit to one another, and to do so by choice. Paul’s teaching on family was revolutionary in his day and still is, if we take it seriously.
Families are the building blocks of society but what made God decide that putting together a bunch of different personalities, ages, and hormone levels under a single roof is a good idea? Beyond biological reproduction, what is the purpose of a family...
Being “not of the world” brings to mind many different, peculiar behaviors that Christians embody (a.k.a “piety”), some of which are Scriptural and some that aren’t. As Jesus coined this phrase, however, his focus was less on our behavior and more on...
We know we’re all sinners, but some sinners are way worse than others. So bad that they are totally excluded from the possibility of salvation, right? Not only do we selectively point to only some of the people the Bible names as wrongdoers but we...
We have an obsession with dividing ourselves up into categories of immature and mature. “Mature” people even demand “more meat” from their churches and pastors. But true maturity isn’t demanding and it’s not all about “knowing.”
Christians are supposed to hate money, be poor, right? No! It’s not money, it’s the LOVE of money that is the problem. Whew, that’s good news, who would possibly love money? We all do! But by giving it away, we break its hold over us.
Although this is a statement of comfort, we often think about God’s “plans” (or his “will”) in a way that is very specific and restrictive—even fatalistic. God’s will is much more open than most of us think.
To most, prayer is seen as a Christian duty not as a tool that God has entrusted to us to enlist his power to change our circumstances.
We often think that challenges, stressors, and temptations are the result of the tangible things in life but perhaps there’s more going on than meets the eye.
They’re known as “ministering spirits” and according to Scripture they’re very real, intervening on our behalf even though we are usually unaware.
Miracles, by definition, are acts that stand in defiance of the natural world. Jesus did miracles, but after his resurrection, supernatural healings (and other miracles) start happening through his followers!
Throughout time certain people have been given extraordinary gifts for God’s purposes. On the day called Pentecost, the Spirit of God is poured out on all Jesus-followers, giving supernatural gifts indiscriminately to them.
Easter sets into motion a world of the miraculous… where the impossible is now possible
Sometimes while we’re badgering God for answers, God speaks a message calling for our silence. There’s something God wants us to hear, even in the silence.
Sometimes when life is tough God doesn’t come in and solve our problems, instead he encourages us to keep going down a hard road.
Sometimes God speaks to redirect us, to burden us, or to give us a conviction so that we’re moved to new action on his behalf.
One of the most difficult words to hear is a word of rebuke. Perhaps that’s why God almost always has to speak them through another person. Yet these kinds of messages are necessary for our correction and our return to wholeness.
Sometimes God speaks a message very clearly, but we resist it because it just doesn’t sound right (it’s counter-intuitive). Instead of questioning God or passively defying him, these are great moments to trust and do something difficult, even when it...
One of the most important words from God is one that should be easy to receive but it’s not. It’s a call to return to him and find forgiveness, rest, solace, and reconciliation. In our shame, we often fight against these words, presuming that God will...
All of us desire to be powerful, especially when we feel oppressed or victimized. However, true power over enemies does not require brute force.
Wherever someone is promising the opportunity to “get rich” you’ll be sure to find a crowd of eager people. But riches don’t equal security. They can go as quickly as they come. To truly be rich is a little more nuanced.
Most of us imagine happiness is a product of the right kind of circumstances but happiness can be found in even the most undesirable circumstances.
The measure of a person’s life shouldn’t be years. Some people live into old age but stopped living well before their actual death and some people had life tragically cut short but lived the equivalent of 5 lifetimes.
Trying to stay attractive is costly & tiresome because pop culture is always redefining what “attractive” looks like. But there is a way to be timelessly & universally attractive regardless of cultural fads.
God has a vision for our life that includes us living faithful and fruitful lives. But sometimes our pursuit of God’s vision for our lives turns into perfectionism, which is not what God intends. The key to finding lasting breathing room is living...
Part of what keeps our lives too full is the drive to keep everyone happy. But the truth of life is that you are always disappointing someone (if not your boss, then your family). To pursue your preferred reality, you have to get comfortable with...
Doing life on your own drains time/money/everything—Most of us would rather die than ask for help, and we’re well on our way to an early grave because of it. The key to long-term health, success, and joy in life is learning to lean on others.
Many of us are chasing multiple, competing visions of what we want our lives to look like and that’s the main reason we lack breathing room. The pursuit of more breathing room starts with creating a CLEAR, SINGULAR and GOD-CENTERED vision of what we...
Some things are better BECAUSE you waited. Waiting can make things sweeter once you finally get to take hold of them.
Even as we live in defiant hope (last week), it is possible to find contentment and even enjoyment in our unrealized hopes. Sometimes expectation is even better than fulfillment if we learn to enjoy it!
Sometimes when the wait is long, it’s easy to give up, to believe that what you long for will never happen. Being a Christian means to live in defiant hope of what God might yet do—even the miraculous!
Sometimes waiting is about us. Sometimes it’s not about us at all; sometimes it’s about something (or someone) else entirely. Although this feels unjust, there’s an opportunity to trust in God’s love and favor while you wait on him to work something...
People who are skilled in waiting come prepared for long spells in waiting rooms with something productive to do. If we’re wise, all of us can leverage our time spent waiting for the sake of our growth and formation.
All throughout time people have struggled with waiting. Just look at how early we celebrate Christmas! Especially in our “take charge” culture, waiting seems ridiculous. But sometimes “not having” at all is better than forcefully getting the wrong thing.
Even though sharing your faith is important for every individual, don’t try to do this alone. Bring your other Christians friends into the lives of your un-churched friends. When you do, the witness will be multiplied and the Gospel work will go on...
You don’t have to be fluent in explaining the whole Gospel to people, nor do you need to have answers for every question. One of the best things you can do is to extend an invitation for your friends to JOIN you in a place where the Jesus is clearly...
When we begin sharing Jesus, we must remember that our job is not to win debates or arguments, nor is it to convert people. Our job is simply to start conversations with people, so that we may eventually (and naturally) have the opportunity to share...
Sharing your faith is NOT standing on a street corner with a bullhorn, preaching to the masses. It’s committing to a short list of people we feel called to share and serve with the Gospel. Focusing on a few leads to deeper Gospel impact.
In order to share your faith, your sense of urgency has to surpass your level of discomfort. The first step is to allow yourself to be ruined by the knowledge that people are living their lives needlessly trapped in the meaninglessness that Jesus...
A celebration of the moment we've been waiting for. Everything we've accomplished through the Launch campaign.
We all worry that our weaknesses will disqualify us from being useful to God, but it’s simply not true. Although our sins and weaknesses can make for a more complicated and painful life, Samson—a very strong but weak man—shows us that courage is...
When you’ve been rejected by others, the last thing you want to do is to come to their aid. But Jephthah has the courage to rise above. Through Jephthah we learn that courage is never believing/owning what your detractors heap upon you and not...
Gideon was chronically fearful and timid. He fought God at every point through his story. Ironically, God used him for some incredible war-victories showing us that courage is believing God when he calls us by names we would never ascribe to ourselves.
Sometimes even though you don’t aspire to lead, there’s a vacuum that requires you to courageously step in anyway. From Deborah we learn that courage is trusting God to use the available (the willing) no matter their gifts or position.
Ehud, the “left-handed” warrior from a “right-handed tribe” was not like the rest of his tribesmen. But he shows us that courage is trusting God to leverage your uniqueness, instead of trying to fit in.
We believe that we must be perfect to be loved, valued, and accepted. The truth is that God loves us as we are, we’re accepted on account of Christ, and people will value us when we’re real and transparent in our imperfections.
Many of us believe the lie that our pasts define us and that our futures are tainted by our former mistakes. The truth is that God entrusts us with a new day to make the best decisions we can, to fail, to experience his grace, to learn and to start over.
The lie of self-reliance keeps us both prideful of our successes as well as needlessly burdened by life’s challenges. God’s truth is that not only is he always with us, but he’s given us one another to thrive, not just survive.
We all hope to be happy in life but when we try to pursue happiness for happiness’s sake, we crash and burn. Happiness is found in pursuing Jesus and aspiring to the life that God has put before us.
The final part of our model is to encourage/equip Christians to live out their lives intentionally during the week. For us, that means focusing on the 1.1.15.6 catalysts so that the best ministry happens outside of “church.”
The role of the corporate church gets confused with the role of individual Christians. It’s the primary job of the corporate church to communicate the gospel to everyone (Christian and not) especially in a way that unchurched people can take hold of...
The world has changed in a lot of ways, but the biggest shift is that we’re now living in a post-Christian world. Instead of being afraid of or angry about how our world is changing, we should respond to the world like the NT church did in similar...
Our recent worship survey showed that everyone is not clear on our primary role and while some may know our mission statement, we all need to be clear on why we exist as a local church. The church is not the mission. It’s established by God to...
There’s nothing worse than reading a book that “ends” with a 100 pages left to go. Don’t let your story resolve or end prematurely. When you reach one pinnacle, go after another. Make sure your final page is nothing short of spectacular.
There’s nothing worse than reading a book that “ends” with a 100 pages left to go. Don’t let your story resolve or end prematurely. When you reach one pinnacle, go after another. Make sure your final page is nothing short of spectacular.
As you start living a better story, be prepared. Interruptions, challenges, tragedies will come along the way. But instead of worrying about these things when they come, realize these are the things that make for a great story.
As you start living a better story, be prepared. Interruptions, challenges, tragedies will come along the way. But instead of worrying about these things when they come, realize these are the things that make for a great story.
Begin dreaming about where you’d like your story to go. How big do you want this story to be? God wants to use your life for something great, and it starts with asking God for the right things.
What kind of story are you living? If an expert book reviewer came in to write a review on your life story, what would he/she say? Would it be a best seller or destined for the bargain bin? If you don’t like the reviews of your present story, it’s...
What kind of story are you living? If an expert book reviewer came in to write a review on your life story, what would he/she say? Would it be a best seller or destined for the bargain bin? If you don’t like the reviews of your present story, it’s...
Sex has become such a cloudy, confused issue in our culture. This final week we want to talk about God’s view of sex and set the record straight. (no panel this week, questions texted in though?)
Many people are still searching for the “right” person. While s/he may be still be unknown to you, there are some things you can learn about them that will make it a lot easier to look in the right places. This week we’ll look at scriptures that...
We’ll continue “the talk” this week by looking at what the scriptures have to say about how men are built and run that through our panel of male “experts”
Although the Scriptures aren’t a study in gender-studies, they provide a lot of information on how men and women are built starting at a heart/spirit level. This weekend we’ll start “the talk” by looking at what the scriptures have to say about...
No matter how great other Living Legends are, their greatness is always limited to what they are able to do as one person. Jesus was greater than any person who ever lived and yet he demonstrated the importance of influence by empowering his...
No matter how great other Living Legends are, their greatness is always limited to what they are able to do as one person. Jesus was greater than any person who ever lived and yet he demonstrated the importance of influence by empowering his...
There are few things more inspiring than a great leader who is willing to bow down and serve. Not only is Jesus an example of humility, he’s one of the first to ever model it.
There are few things more inspiring than a great leader who is willing to bow down and serve. Not only is Jesus an example of humility, he’s one of the first to ever model it.
It's easy to show kindness to those who can benefit you in return but in Jesus' ministry, He showed concern for all people, especially those who could do nothing to benefit Him in return, even to those who could damage His credibility.
It's easy to show kindness to those who can benefit you in return but in Jesus' ministry, He showed concern for all people, especially those who could do nothing to benefit Him in return, even to those who could damage His credibility.
Jesus' ability to do amazing things wins Him admiration and popularity, so much so that the people are ready to crown him their king-whether He likes it or not.
Jesus' ability to do amazing things wins Him admiration and popularity, so much so that the people are ready to crown him their king-whether He likes it or not.
In the Early Church, imperfect and incredibly generous Jesus-followers met the physical and spiritual needs of people in unprecedented ways. It not only fuel radical growth in their day, but their impact continues today. Today’s church is resourced...
In the Early Church, imperfect and incredibly generous Jesus-followers met the physical and spiritual needs of people in unprecedented ways. It not only fuel radical growth in their day, but their impact continues today. Today’s church is resourced...
We sometimes wait for our hearts to feel like being generous before we start living generous lives, but a generous heart is formed through action. When we begin to act on each Spirit-led impulse toward generosity, then we’ll see that generous action...
We sometimes wait for our hearts to feel like being generous before we start living generous lives, but a generous heart is formed through action. When we begin to act on each Spirit-led impulse toward generosity, then we’ll see that generous action...
In “keeping up with the Joneses,” lots of us find ourselves saddled with debt. While some debt may be necessary, there’s no question that all debt is burdensome and excessive debt is crippling. God wants us to be free from every burden we carry, even...
In “keeping up with the Joneses,” lots of us find ourselves saddled with debt. While some debt may be necessary, there’s no question that all debt is burdensome and excessive debt is crippling. God wants us to be free from every burden we carry, even...
While capitalism may be a good economic system for worldly kingdoms, God’s kingdom runs on an entirely different economy. World economies are driven by scarcity (supply and demand), God’s economy is based on abundance. In God’s economy, God meets...
While capitalism may be a good economic system for worldly kingdoms, God’s kingdom runs on an entirely different economy. World economies are driven by scarcity (supply and demand), God’s economy is based on abundance. In God’s economy, God meets...
In our culture, it’s easy to base our value on what we have. We are the brands we wear, the neighborhoods we live in, the cars we drive. But if we’d look to God, he could give us a greater sense of value than we could imagine, and it’s FREE.
In our culture, it’s easy to base our value on what we have. We are the brands we wear, the neighborhoods we live in, the cars we drive. But if we’d look to God, he could give us a greater sense of value than we could imagine, and it’s FREE.
Money and possessions can be blessings but God warns us that pursuing them won’t make us happy. The more we pursue things, the less content we are, the hungrier we feel, & the more insecure we feel about life. We’re richer than any other country...
Does God care where we work or what school we attend? Do we really have a soul mate? Can we step outside of God’s plan for our life and if we do, what then?
Does God care where we work or what school we attend? Do we really have a soul mate? Can we step outside of God’s plan for our life and if we do, what then?
Do some people have a better connection to God than others? Why are some people miraculously healed, yet others seem to have their prayers go unanswered? Why don’t “acts of God” revisit the same people?
Do some people have a better connection to God than others? Why are some people miraculously healed, yet others seem to have their prayers go unanswered? Why don’t “acts of God” revisit the same people?
What is sin? Is it more than breaking rules? What rules? Is it relative? Do the Ten Commandments still apply to us today?
What is sin? Is it more than breaking rules? What rules? Is it relative? Do the Ten Commandments still apply to us today?
Isn’t it enough to learn the lessons from the stories in the Bible? Are Christians required to believe that they happened? What makes the Bible credible? It’s written by sinful men over hundreds of years!
What am I supposed to think about people all around me who come to different conclusions about God and life? Are they going to hell?
What am I supposed to think about people all around me who come to different conclusions about God and life? Are they going to hell?
How can anyone speak definitively about life after death? What about Judgment/Heaven/Hell?
How can anyone speak definitively about life after death? What about Judgment/Heaven/Hell?