Terraforma Church: Recent Episodes
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Terraforma Church is a community of faith in Northern Virginia with the dream to shape the world as God wants it to be. We believe that God has been working to make something of the world, and that His great desire is to partner with humanity toward this end.
Jesus claimed to be the Light of the World, a source of revelation and illumination that chases away the darkness. What does it mean to walk in His light?
Jesus made the audacious claim that your deepest desires and ultimate appetites will find complete fulfillment in Him. What does it look like to hunger for Jesus in our modern culture?
As James wraps up his letter, he reminds believers that authentic faith lives with integrity and expectation in the "meantime." How can we be faithful while we wait for the justice and restoration that are coming into this present reality with God's Kingdom?
Humility is a posture of the heart that acknowledges the greatness of God and the limit of my own ability. Pride keeps God at a distance, humility invites God's grace near.
James reminds us to consider the power of our words. Our words have the power to build up or burn down, to frustrate or to bring clarity. Careless words can harm while intentional words can bring healing.
What good is it to have accurate belief and admirable intentions if it doesn't lead to a transformed life and an expanded capacity to love God and others? James the brother of Jesus argues it doesn't do much good at all.
We often treat our imagination like a useless relic from childhood, something that lost its value as we grew into maturity. But what if the Holy Spirit wants to awaken your imagination to envision the future that God wants to build? How do we listen to the voice of dreams, visions, and a Spirit-redeemed imagination?
Our effort can only take us so far. We need the quiet inner strength that comes from the Holy Spirit.
It is harder than every to discern between truth and falsehood. The burden of discernment isn’t yours to carry alone. Jesus promised us the Spirit of Truth. In a world full of artificial intelligence, we need to cultivate supernatural intelligence.
It is common in our culture for people to claim to be "spiritual but not religious." The craving for spiritual practices and supernatural encounters reveals something about our design: we are spiritual beings, made to encounter a living God in supernatural ways.
The power of the resurrection of Jesus isn't limited to our spiritual life alone; it includes hope for the redemption of all creation. What does a Christ-centered and hopeful view of the created world look like? How should a follower of Jesus relate to the environment?
What happened to Jesus at Easter will happen to the all creation at some point in the future. This is the Blessed Hope; it is the future of everything. It is the fulfillment of God's ultimate purpose: Heaven and Earth are renewed; God and humanity exist together in a glorified state.
The power of the resurrection of Jesus is not limited to a moment; it was the beginning of a movement of redemption and restoration that claims all of creation.
The resurrection of Jesus is the single most important event in history. It was so unbelievable and unexpected, the first witnesses to this event thought it was absurd. Eventually, they came to believe the unbelievable and when they did, they discovered the truth that changed their lives forever.
Palm Sunday wasn't just a religious parade; it was a planned "counter-procession"—a piece of provocative political theater designed to contrast two competing visions of the world. It's the story of two very different processions, of the representatives of two very different kingdoms, with two very different visions of power.
At the Last Supper, Jesus' disciples argue about who is the greatest. Greatness is the Kingdom of God is measured in a way none of them understood. In the Kingdom of God, less is more.
When it came to the final night before his sacrifice, Jesus showed his disciples an unforgettable standard of selfless love and servant leadership. When Jesus exchanged his Rabbi's cloak for a towel and washbasin, he was painting a beautiful picture of selfless love.
When Jesus wanted to help His disciples understand the significance of His sacrifice, He didn't write a book. Instead, He set a table. Standing in the powerful tradition of Passover, Jesus brought new meaning to the ancient celebration.
Perfectionism can be problematic! When we know perfection is an unreachable goal, we hide behind effort. But what if perfection isn't something to achieve, but something we receive?
It is the most natural and predictable human behavior: seek your own advantage. Seek your own comfort. But Jesus asks this controversial question: what if me first is a recipe to finish last?
The most dangerous kind of deception is the one that's almost true! You can see the intention behind the statement, but if you follow it to the logical conclusion it can eventually cause harm and confusion. How can we anchor our lives to an objective source of truth?
We conclude the Think Ahead series with a pivotal decision: commit not to quit! Finish your race.
Deciding to faithfully follow Jesus will make so many complicated decisions down the road simple. The best moment to choose faithfulness is not in the moment of temptation or crisis, but in advance with a clear head and captured heart.
Deciding ahead is the difference between occasional giving and generous living. When giving flows from a heart of gratitude and a life of discipline, it can have exponential impact for God's Kingdom.
Deciding certain things in advance saves so much time and energy later. We all want to make good decisions, but we don’t always do it! Many people intend to be healthy or intend to pray more, but intentions don't change lives—directions do. "Pre-deciding" bridges the gap between who you want to be and what you actually do. Hope alone won't change your life, but habits will. What direction are your habits taking you?
Christmas is time to celebrate the coming of Jesus into our world and into our stories. What does it mean for the infinite God to become a helpless infant? How is the humility of Jesus' birth an answer to our pride and hostility? This message is from our Christmas Eve-Eve celebration.
People often confuse situational happiness with the deep and steady joy that scripture describes. Today we talk about how the coming of Jesus brought joy to the world.
Sometimes clinging to hope feels like pushing a stone uphill. In the coming of Jesus, we have a source of hope that is patient, expectant, and alive.
How is your relationship with yourself? What if you treated yourself like you would treat a good friend, especially when you fail? What would look different if you replaced self-judgment with self-compassion?
Self-care is not the same as comfort, indulgence, or avoidance. Self-care comes from a life aligned with God in healthy rhythm. You need rest, you need play, you need laughter. But you also need structure, discipline, and purpose.
What does it look like to take responsibility and ownership for your growth in light of the Gospel of Jesus? How does God's grace work with your choices?
God has something in mind when He created us for connection and wired us to crave and long for intimacy. There is a spiritual mystery revealed in the mutual submission and union of marriage.
What could happen in our relationships if we invested in them as a matter of true priority? We would be more connected and we would have more fun!
The relationship you dream about is something you can build if you pursue it. Connection isn't the result of chemistry, it flows from the energy you invest in the relationship.
Communication is the foundation of every relationship, and when you learn to communicate honestly and effectively, your connection will improve. Unlock the power of assertive communication in your relationships.
God wants to use your relational circle to accomplish His purposes in your life and story. AND - God wants to use YOU to accomplish His purposes where you live, work, play, and learn.
A strong circle protects your story, and a strong family circle creates a place of security so all the members of your family can thrive.
A strong circle protects and supports a powerful story. Your inner circle of relationships will determine so much about the trajectory of your life and how you respond to difficulty. Jesus once encountered a man who didn't have much going for him except for an amazing circle of friends.
There is power when people unite in prayer. Community prayer builds connection, builds faith, and invites God to move on our behalf.
Jesus demonstrated a vibrant, dynamic, and life-giving practice of prayer throughout his ministry. It was a life-line of connection to God and a source of strength in His story. We can activate these practices and access God's power and grace.
Jesus' prayer ends with asking for God's guidance and protection as we navigate a complex world.
After adoration, alignment, and petition comes a prayer of confession - where we seek and grant forgiveness. This part of the prayer focuses on relational harmony with God and with others.
Jesus taught his followers to ask God boldly for their daily needs. Petition is a prayer of dependence where we humbly ask and graciously receive what we need from God.
Pastor Gentry Morris explores what it means to pray: "Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
85% of Americans claim to practice some sort of prayer. What is it about the human experience that prompts us to reach beyond ourselves and for the Divine? Today we start a series exploring Jesus' teaching about prayer.
Many people believe if they had more they would be more generous. In practice, more money won't make you more generous; it will make you more of what you already are. How can we practically change our habits to unleash generosity in our story?
It's one of the most iconic of Jesus' parables - the parable of the talents - and if we hear its message it can free our story from fear and lift the limit on our potential.
When you live with a scarcity worldview, you become so focused on what you lack that cannot receive for what you need. What if the world is not a place of limited resources and unlimited desires, but instead a place of opportunity and abundance hosted by a generous God?
Terraforma Overseer Dennis Pisani joins us for part 2 of the series, talking about having a Generous Spirit.
You are blessed, even if you you don't always recognize it. Whenever God blesses you with more than you need, you have a decision to make - what is the more for?
We use the phrase all the time, when something is suspicious, we say it "Doesn't smell right." The Apostle Paul described the way different people received his ministry as the aroma of life or the aroma of death. What is it like to experience people with a pleasing aroma?
Jesus once said that His sheep will hear and recognize His voice, and they will not follow a stranger. How can we recognize the voice of Jesus in a world with so much noise?
The sense of sight is closely tied with perception and the way that many people experience the world. What does it look like to open our perspective to see the truth of Jesus?
The Psalmist invites us to "taste and see that the Lord is good." Jesus called himself "The Bread of Life." What can we learn about Jesus through the sense of taste?
When it is welcome, healthy touch can communicate value, provide comfort, and bestow dignity. What can we learn about Jesus through the embodied sense of touch?
Jesus is risen! That is the central reality that followers of Jesus use to evaluate everything we know about God, humanity, and life here on earth. The empty tomb is the portal from which overflowing life flows into all creation.
On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus to the city of Jerusalem. Crowds welcomed Him into the city as a conquering king, and Jesus was arriving to take the throne, but not in the way anyone expected. Welcome Jesus, humble and meek, to change our world and answer our violence with love.
People turn to religion in order to connect with God. But sometimes, the search turns up empty and frustrating. Jesus claimed that your search for God will end not in a religion, but in a relationship with a living Savior.
In the story of Ruth, the every-day decisions of Ruth and Boaz show how God can use our faithfulness to write His grand story of redemption. What legacy is your family working toward as you receive God's grace and are transformed by His faithfulness?
Sometimes God's faithfulness to us flows through the kindness and faithfulness of others. Ruth tells a story of faithfulness in a time of unfaithfulness, and the way that God works His redemption through the choices of others.
The book of Ruth is a powerful story about friendship, redemption, and the power of covenant love. Learn what is possible when we make the choice to cling to one another in loyal friendship.
Are you waiting on some future version of yourself to find happiness and fulfillment? What if your feelings of not being enough are the very thing holding you back from the life God intended?
We are called as followers of Jesus to love unconditionally. This might be easy to understand, but it is very difficult to follow. Can we choose connection over control, release resentment, and let go of our need to compete with others?
In a culture that constantly reminds us what we lack, it can be difficult to remember that we have all we need in Jesus.
Studies out of Harvard and Yale confirm what Jesus taught all along: our assumptions about what will make us truly happy are often wrong. In the Kingdom of God, there is a source of fulfillment that is more than temporary.
There is one surprising behavior that is common in our culture that Jesus never did: hurry. Jesus never rushed. He loved people slowly, with intention, and with presence. This is both a model for how we can love others and a promise about how Jesus wants to love us.
Saul of Tarsus was passionately and confidently pursuing a course of action with righteous fervor. The problem: even though his intentions were right, his direction was wrong. When his life story collided with the truth of Jesus, he made a complete change in direction.
It's one of the hardest teachings of Jesus in our modern culture, and it is historically a lightning rod for controversy. This morning, we wrestle with Jesus' words to a wealthy man seeking connection with God.
Traditionally, Ephiphany is the season that begins after the 12 day of Christmas. The word refers to the moments of revelation and realization, where you see something clearly like the first time. Maybe that's what we need so this new year is more than just another year.
True peace isn't found in the absence of problems. True peace is found in the presence of God. Tonight we look closely at the Wonder of Advent, when God drew near to us in the person of Jesus.
The opposite of wonder is ego. A self-centered posture will block your ability to experience awe, while humility and curiosity will elevate your heart to discover wonder.
The traditional Christmas story gives us one of the secrets to rediscovering awe and wonder when it tells us the story of a mother and her sacred habits. Mary treasured memories in her heart.
Can you remember when the Christmas season was filled with childlike wonder and amazement? The coming of Jesus is no less spectacular, maybe we have shifted our perspective toward the familiar?
Here's a thought you might not want to think about: from the time your baby is born, you have less than 940 weeks until they leave to face the world! Every phase of parenting requires courage, but God called you to shape the hearts and prepare the minds of your children to thrive when they leave your home!
What would it look like to have a courageous conversation with the person in the mirror? What action would you take? What truth would you hear? Sometimes, the greatest obstacle to your growth is yourself.
One of the greatest enemies of your connection in marriage is the slow drift toward entropy. Great relationships require care, intention, and courage if they are to thrive. Today we talk about the vision God had for marriage: interdependent oneness.
Often we think of courage in an extraordinary situation, but courage is most powerfully displayed in our everyday actions. That's where relationships are built and where connections are made: in the everyday. Join us as we explore the everyday example of Israel's greatest king that never was.
The Apostle Paul talked about the Holy Spirit as God's deposit on our promised inheritance, a gift from God guaranteeing what is to come. How can we accept this incredible gift, and how does the Spirit function in our lives?
Our culture loves the idea of freedom, but do we understand freedom in the fullest sense? What does it mean to find freedom through trusting Jesus?
What if you are only experiencing a fraction of the power and authority given to you as a child of God because you aren't embracing a partnership with the Holy Spirit? You've been entrusted with something incredible, so it's reasonable to expect something incredible for your story!
What if you are only enjoying a fraction of the access and authority you have been given in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul reminds believers of the great inheritance they have been granted because of the work of Jesus - more wonderful than you realize.
Enneagram Type Nines are easygoing, agreeable, and diplomatic people. They are easy to love, warm, and tactful. They have the ability to see things from every side, and to understand others even when they disagree. In his most famous sermon, Jesus said that Peacemakers were blessed and would be called children of God.
They are confident, bold, and intense. They are powerful, independent people with big hearts that meet life's challenges with strength. Enneagram type Eights are also called the Challenger, the Leader, or the Boss. Learn what makes them great!
They are entertaining optimists, always ready for the next adventure, on an endless quest for novelty and excitement. Type sevens on the enneagram are called the Enthusiast or the Epicure, and their focus naturally goes to "new" and "next." Their growth journey involves learning to find the freedom in limits and the beauty in the here and now.
Enneagram Type Sixes are motivated to make to make the world a place of safety and security for themselves and those they love. They can be cautious and are always prepared for the worst-case-scenario. They value trust and are great storytellers. Today we explore what makes them unique and how they can journey from fear to faith.
Today we explore the rich inner-world of the type 5, a personality type that is curious, intelligent, inquisitive, and private. They have the mental focus to develop complex ideas, to innovate, and to invent. Type 5s are driven by the desire to understand the world and how it works. Let's learn how to love them best!
Enneagram Type Fours are called The Individualist, the Romantic, or the Artist. They are sensitive, insightful, creative, temperamental, and self-aware. They are deep people that crave deep relationships with God and with others.
They are adaptable, competitive and driven. The hustlers, goal setters, and competitive performers. You make the world a better place when you apply your energy to building people and advancing worthwhile causes! Today Terraforma is all about you, Type 3s.
They are interpersonal, generous, and empathetic. They want to be needed and involved. They are willing to go the extra mile to help others and connect. Today we talk about Enneagram 2s and how we can love them like Jesus.
Terraforma Overseer Damian Williams talks about the church as a movement of disciples that multiply other disciples by living in Jesus' love and power.
What do you think when you hear the word "church?" For many, this is a mixed bag of beautiful tradition and problematic distortion. Today we explore the dream Jesus had of a missional community of self-giving love, specifically the ordinances of baptism and communion.
God has delivered the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt and brought them to the foot of Mt. Sinai. God delivered them for a purpose and to embody a unique covenant. How will they respond to His invitation? This is the final chapter in Moses' legacy.
Finally, Pharaoh relents and allows the Israelites to depart from slavery in Egypt. They will soon discover that the road to freedom is going to be difficult, but they can trust a God that has a plan even when their situation seems impossible.
Today we read a dramatic and climactic battle of wills when Moses appears before Pharaoh to demand the release of the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh doesn't recognize God's authority; he stubbornly refuses to surrender.
Whatever you think when you say or hear the word "God" might be the single most important thing about you. Your thoughts on this determine how you understand yourself, relate to others, and move about in this world. Moses has a mountaintop encounter with God that changes everything.
Not all who wander are lost. Moses' time in the obscurity of the Midian wilderness shapes him into the kind of leader he will need to be. How can we grow through every season that we go through?
Moses' upbringing spanned two dramatically different cultures, creating a tension he had to navigate. Followers of Jesus occupy a similar position. Where do you find your identity, and how are we to occupy both the world in which we live and the world to which our hearts belong?
We owe the life and story of Moses to the courage and intelligence of several amazing women. These women showed conviction, compassion, and brilliance at just the right time, and their choices changed history forever. Moses' story begins in a remarkable way!
Pontius Pilate was the most powerful person Jesus ever met in terms of political and worldly power. And yet, when we look back at the meeting of a Roman Governor and a homeless teacher accused of treason, it isn't Pilate's stature or power that seem impressive.
In a controversial and powerful story, Jesus encountered a woman in her darkest moment. Surrounded by an angry mob, Jesus turned their wrath into introspection, allowing grace and truth to flow.
Leprosy has been called the oldest and most feared disease known to humankind. Those afflicted endured physical disfigurement and social isolation. They were pushed to the margins of society. One such person met Jesus, and this encounter has so much to teach us about being the hands of tangible compassion.
When Rabbi Jesus described His way of discipleship, he said His yoke was "easy and light." Meet a voice of righteous disruption that rejected the empty rule and ritual focused religious landscape and emphasized a religion of relational love.
He is risen! Join us as we celebrate the event that changed everything - the moment Jesus defeated sin and death and started the revolution of LIFE to the full.
Judas' name is synonymous with betrayal, but how did this happen? How did Judas go from one of the closest followers of Jesus to the one known as a traitor? The answer might surprise you.
Heather Henderson unpacks a story about an unnamed woman with unimaginable struggle. This suffering woman courageously seeks Jesus to find the help she needs.
Early in the biblical story we see hints that shame is a powerful force that can wreck the human story. God does provide a solution in the cross of Jesus and a community of confession and acceptance.
We are so shaped by the worldview of consumerism it has become the subconscious framework through which we view just about everything – even God, the Gospel, our relationships, and the church. We can flip the script as we approach God for communion instead of as a commodity, and we approach the church with something contribute instead of looking only to consume.
When you embrace a scarcity mindset, you will focus on what you don't have and the lie of lack will limit your story. If you allow the Gospel of Jesus to reframe your story, will you discover a world of abundant potential, opportunity, and provision.
How do we navigate the tension created by two opposing ideas: we feel like we were made for a big story while also feeling inadequate to the task. The answer lies in learning how to depend on God and partner with Him.
You and I regularly engage in a habit that has proven to have negative impacts on your mental, physical, and spiritual health: complaining. How can we flip the script and position our lives for joy?
As we look back on 5. years together, we also look forward to the future God has called us to build. We can accomplish more collectively than we ever could individually.
"I am what I do. My value is determined by what I do for others. I'm nothing if I'm not useful." The issue with these false formulas for significance is they aren't big enough to contain the whole of your life's meaning, energy, and purpose. Today, we explore what it looks like to allow our identity to flow from Jesus.
When fear drives our relationships, we can take a posture of self-protection, closing off others trying to love us. This blocks intimacy and the deepest friendship because intimacy requires vulnerability.
As we navigate an imperfect world, we can fall into the trap of believing a story where we become a victim and others are cast as villains. This story is seductive, but it drains of power and ignores the truth of the Gospel of Jesus! Let's flip the script.
God drew near to humanity in the person of Jesus. This is not only something that happened at a moment in distant history, it is something still happening right now. God draws near to you. Today.
800 years before the birth of Jesus, a prophet named Isaiah looked forward through space and time to declare that peace beyond human ability would come to our world. At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of this peace.
The Angel's message to the shepherds outside Bethlehem was profound: the coming of Jesus is good news that brings great joy to all. How can the story of Christmas unlock the secret of true joy?
At Christmas, we celebrate the moment that heaven and earth came together in the person of Jesus. Join us for the first week of Advent!
The Apostle Paul referred to the Incarnation of Jesus as something that happened "in the fullness of time." Heaven and earth came together when eternity entered into space and time, and Jesus opened eternity to all of us.
People make two mistakes when it comes to the future: they face it with apathy or anxiety. But because we are created in the Image of God, we have the unique ability to shape the future in partnership with Jesus.
We look back with nostalgia or regret, and we look forward with anxiety or anticipation - yet sometimes we struggle to inhabit the only time that truly belongs to us: right now. Jesus wants to meet with us in a unique way in whatever moment we inhabit.
Your past is a good point of reference, but it doesn't make a good place of residence. How can you understand how your story, experiences, culture, and background have shaped you without letting them limit you? How can the gospel inform our relationship with our past?
Our neighbors often have different traditions, heritages, and life experiences than we do. Let's talk about how we can show up and neighbor well across cultures.
Our tables and our homes can become an outpost of the Kingdom of God in our neighborhood if we learn to practice hospitality.
What if when Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves He meant our actual neighbors? For some, neighboring comes naturally, for others it takes effort. So how do you neighbor?
We hear the commandment to love your neighbor and I think sometimes we make “neighbor” an abstract concept, like just “others” in general. What if neighbor actually meant the people in your neighborhood?
How does a book of semi-erotic poetry belong to the collection of wisdom literature? Because navigating love, romance, and sexuality requires a great amount of wisdom. God's vision for this area of our lives is beautiful if we have ears to hear it.
If God is good, and God is powerful, why is there evil, suffering, and injustice in the world? Does everything happen for a reason? These are the questions that the book of Job wrestle with.
What is the meaning of life? The book of Ecclesiastes can be confusing and even lead you down a hopeless path. Despite his extensive searching, the Critic cannot find what he is looking for! Yet, the author of the book offers us a source of secure hope.
In an age where all our questions can be answered by algorithms and artificial intelligence, what can we learn from the ancient wisdom found in scripture? Today we look at Lady Wisdom, the teacher in the Hebrew book of Proverbs.
If the Kingdom of God arrived on earth in the person and ministry of Jesus, why is the world so full of evil, corruption, and pain? Jesus answers this question with a story about a farmer and his struggle with weeds. The world is full of good, but an enemy is at work sowing corruption.
In this parable, we get a picture of God as a farmer generously scattering seed. We are also invited to examine the condition of our hearts and our ability to produce a harvest. The parable of the seeds and the soil is unique because Jesus explained the details of the parable for the benefit of his disciples!
This parable is one of the best known and most loved stories Jesus ever told. It explores the grace of God in vivid detail against the backdrop of the human tendency to run from God and resist His mercy.
Jesus compared The Kingdom of God like a great banquet. All have been invited, but not all will accept the invitation to come to the table. Jesus used humor and surprise to invite His hearers to question their excuses and examine their hearts.
The parable of the workers and their wages invites us to question our sense of entitlement, confront our envious hearts, and accept the grace of God with gratitude.
Jesus was a master storyteller. He used these stories, Parables, to communicate spiritual truths. They were relatable, sometimes funny, but usually subverted the expectation of the listener. Today, we are focusing on the Parable of the Persistent Neighbor.
There is so much pressure in our culture to spend, consume, and accumulate; but the most beautiful financial stories include generosity. Giving is one of the most powerful acts of resistance we can employ to push against a culture of empty materialism.
What advice would your future self give? We think you might tell you: Be Present. We think your future self has a better perspective on the distractions and diversions we allow to pull our focus away from the people in front of us.
We think your future self knows something about the toxic quality of resentment, bitterness, and anger. Jesus understood this too, and invited His followers to release vengeance and bitterness through forgiveness.
What if you could have a few moments with yourself from the future? What advice might your future self give you to help you protect your future and enable you to thrive?
We have been celebrating extraordinary commitment in this series, and as we conclude the series we are going to celebrate God's extraordinary commitment to us.
We were made for community, we crave it, and yet the deep relationships we desire seem elusive. What would it look like to go all-in on a commitment to friendship? We think it could change your life.
When the first followers of Jesus decided to start their journey as disciples, the life change they experienced was dramatic and total. They used a powerful symbol called baptism to represent this complete transformation.
Some of the most important and most significant areas of thriving life cannot be accomplished through shortcuts, hacks, or quick fixes. They are the result of slow & steady processes that require faithful commitment.
When Jesus called someone to be His disciple, He asked for something more than religious agreement. He was asking for relational allegiance. It means going all-in on a relationship with Jesus and embracing new rhythms of living, learning, and loving.
There is only one direction that leads the future God wants for you - forward! God wants you to move forward toward freedom, toward growth, and toward something new. We are going all-in and cutting off the path to retreat.
He is risen! The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation for our worldview, our approach to ministry, and the reason we face the future with hopeful expectation. We pray a season of resurrection hope for you and your story starts today!
On Palm Sunday, we welcome the coming of King Jesus into our world to heal, help, restore, and save. Beyond the historical arrival of Jesus to the city of Jerusalem, we celebrate His drawing near to our stories today.
The primeval prologue of Genesis ends with a story about humans making a monument to pride, a symbol of their achievement and accomplishment independent of God. What can we learn from this strange story about our world and our place in it.
In the rapid downward spiral that started in Genesis 3, God's good creation has come to a crisis point. What can be done to redeem and restore the plan for humanity?
NOTE - The recording of this message has a few skips and distortions due to an equipment issue.
As God's beautiful creation continued to spiral out of control after the choice to reject God's lordship, the next casualty was the loss of relational harmony. The first humans chose autonomy over dependence, and then they chose isolation at the expense of interdependent community.
The opening chapters of the Bible provide a poetic and beautiful narrative about the creation of the cosmos and the origin of humanity. These narratives have much to teach about the nature of God, but we can miss these lessons when we try to force modern questions on these ancient stories.
We've all asked the "How long...?" How long am I going to have to put up with this? How long is this going to take? How long until I get a break? Rarely does a question start with "How long" and end with a positive expectation. Today, we're going to talk about what the question "How long...?" can add to your prayer life.
In all likelihood, the person you lie to the most is yourself! What would happen if we told ourselves the truth? What would happen if we grounded our self-understanding in our relationship with God?
Why is it so hard to ask for what we want from the people that want to love us well? The answer is a mix of pride, fear, and magical thinking. If we lean in to the truth of the Gospel, we can learn to relate to one another in love.
All of us engage in a mental dance when we see people in need or problems in our world. Our desire to help collides with the limits of our resources, and sometimes we get stuck in inaction. Jesus followers are called to love with action and in truth.
Our minds have incredible potential for creativity and imagination. In that potential there is the power to help or hurt, ourselves as well as others. When we recognize this, we can partner with God to unleash our imaginations to dream big dreams for ourselves, our families, and our community.
We sin because we believe a sneaky little lie about what will make us happy. We are easily tempted into sin because we refuse to trust that God is good and that what He wants for us is only our deepest happiness. Uncover the lie and temptation begins to lose its power to bring chaos into your story.
We like to think of ourselves as logical and rational creatures, but the truth is we are highly emotional, relational beings that can be decieved and manipulated. When you understand the battle for your mind, you understand how important it is to pay attention to what you pay attention to!
What is God like? This is almost a universal question, where the hearts of human beings reach to comprehend the transcendent with wonder and awe. Jesus claimed that He came to reveal the nature of God, to make God knowable. If you know Jesus, then you know what God is like!
Jesus left behind the majesty of heaven for the humility of earth. His birth narrative underlines the truth that Jesus has come to turn the world upside down. He has come to rescue, to heal, and to save. And he came to the common people, among the common people.
As we start the Advent season, we look at the name given to Jesus: Immanuel, which is the recognition that God is with us. This promise was first heard by a king named Ahaz, but it was rejected. Decades later, the promise came to a man named Joseph, and it was embraced.
Jesus described The Kingdom of God as an extravagant banquet where everyone is invited, even those you might least suspect. However, not everyone will accept this incredible invitation.
Early in the story of the Jesus Movement, a disciple name Philip encountered a curious man from Ethiopia that helped him rethink the limits of God's grace and extend a powerful invitation.
God is a good father that invites his children to the table. Some run from the invitation in sin, while others refuse to sit down and assume the posture of a servant. Yet the Father reaches out in grace to all! Terraforma Overseer John Zig shares from God's word.
One way to understand the impact of the Gospel is to think about the ever-expanding hospitality of God. God's love reaches continuously out to find those that have yet to find a seat at the table. The disciples were slow to learn this, but it is a lesson we cannot afford to miss.
We want to be a church known for love, not in word alone but matched with action. This is why we scatter and serve, this is why we extend unlimited welcome. We think the church should reflect the character of God to the world through self-giving love.
We want to be a church with an open hand, ready to receive the grace of God and ready to extend it to bless others. We worship and serve a God of gracious, generous, abundant provision. Ours is the God of more than enough, better than we deserve, and beyond what we could hope for. When we live a story of generosity, it is in response to His grace.
Every organization has a culture, established in a partnership between leadership and the people of the organization. We are looking together at our ethos this October, to renew our vision and talk about the kind of church we are building together. This week we talk about the goal of building a healthy church.
Our culture increasingly trends toward individualism, isolation, and a loss of trust in authority figures and institutions. As a result, people are allowing their smartphones to serve as counselors, entertainers, instructors, and mentors. How can we cultivate meaningful relationships that those described in scripture? We need to work together to build a multi-generational, multi-tribal, and multi-dimensional community.
What price are we willing to pay for the constant entertainment, limitless options, and the flow of endless information that we enjoy in the digital age? Could hyper-connectivity be costing us our freedom and peace? This morning, we seek focus and peace in the presence of Jesus.
Constant connection through smartphones has given us instant access to all kinds of ideas about what to believe and how to live. How can we empower our kids to sort through this mess, identify truth, and embrace wisdom? Today we explore the practice of cultural discernment.
The pandemic accelerated our use of technology in our workplaces to communicate globally at scale - but the results were not all positive. True growth and purpose require more than a screen and an internet link. What is our next step in re-capturing our designed ‘Connection’
Consumerism is more than the accumulation of more, it is the belief that our consumption will in some way answer our deepest needs and solve our problems. It is a worldview that puts our twisted relationship with more, new, now, and better at the center of our lives. How can we push back against this empty ideology?
Jesus concludes the greatest sermon ever preached with a warning: these teachings aren't just to be admired, they are to be obeyed. This morning we explore the shift from fans to followers, from students to apprentices.
"Do not judge." This has to be one of the most quoted AND most misunderstood things Jesus ever said. What are we to do with this command? Followers of Jesus should be known by our love FOR others instead of being known for what we are AGAINST!
We are in the midst of a mental health epidemic in our culture with no signs of letting up. How can we hear the words of Jesus to encourage us as we struggle with anxiety, fear, and worry? Be encouraged today.
The Sermon on the Mount is the call to apprenticeship in the Way of Jesus, a new way to live in light of the coming of the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 6, Jesus asks, "Who is your audience?" and leaves us with two responses: hypocritical or hidden.
Standing with exceptional authority, Jesus launches into an exploration of the ethics of people of the Kingdom of God. Their righteousness must go beyond the surface and begin at the source of motives, thoughts, and intentions. It isn't enough to technically follow the rules. People of the Kingdom must experience deep transformation.
Matthew 5:17-20 is the thesis for the Sermon on the Mount, and is among the most controversial and important things Jesus ever taught. What is Jesus' relationship with the Law, and what does it mean to have righteousness greater than the Pharisees?
The Sermon on the Mount is the call to apprenticeship in the Way of Jesus, a new way to live in light of the coming of the Kingdom of God. As we continue to look together at the greatest sermon ever preached, this week we explore what it means to be culture enhancers.
Jesus Christ changed the course of history when he issued a simple two-word invitation to a group of uneducated ordinary fishermen: "Follow me." This Summer, we are going to look together at the greatest sermon ever preached. The Sermon on the Mount is the call to apprenticeship in the Way of Jesus, a new way to live in light of the coming of the Kingdom of God. This week, we explore what it means to live "blessed" and find ultimate happiness.
How do you react when other people hurt you, disappoint you, let you down, or frustrate you? You are an imperfect person trying to relate to other imperfect people, and so this kind of conflict is inevitable. What's it like to collide with you? The teaching of Jesus can set you free to take ownership and give grace to others.
Jesus taught that the words that come out of our mouths reveal the content of our hearts. With this in mind, examining our words is a good place to start as we consider what it's like to be on the other side of me. How can our words be shaped by the Gospel of Jesus?
What is it like to have me as a parent? This is a powerful question to ask, if you want to know the answer. According to Paul the Apostle, it is possible to parent in a way that creates resentment and frustration OR parent in a way that nurtures our children toward God's Kingdom.
King Saul allowed his insecurities, anxieties, and fears to go unchecked in his life until it cost him dearly. It limited his leadership and ruined his relationships. We also have insecurities, and yet, they don’t need to define our stories. We can learn to take ownership, to give grace, and to live for God’s approval alone and receive our security in His love.
Barnabas made a huge impact on God's story from the sidelines. He recognized and maximized the potential in those around him, choosing to believe the best.
We don't have any words recorded in the Gospels spoken by Joseph, but his actions speak volumes. He stepped toward a messy and uncertain situation in a gracious and loving way, showing up in the story of God to make a dramatic impact from the sidelines. What is God asking you to adopt?
Heather Henderson walks us through an amazing story of five women that changed the world forever. You might not know their stories, but they are worthy of more than a footnote!
Pastor David Mazzella from Liberty Church in New York City shares part 3 of our series Back to Life.
It is one of the most dramatic and powerful stories about Jesus; it tells us so much about the character of God and the identity of Jesus Christ. Join us as we unpack the raising of Lazarus and try to answer the question: where is God when I suffer?
What is the story of your work? If you understood your work through the story of God's unfolding grace, how would it change the way you work? Listen as Jamie Ulrich seeks to answer these questions in light of scripture.
Americans will give back to their employers almost a billion days of unused vacation in 2022. Why are we so addicted to productivity, and how can break the cycle? We do we resist the gift of rest and the command to celebrate sabbath?
What if we were as excited about Monday morning as we are about Friday evening? What if our work was so rewarding, meaningful, and fulfilling that we couldn't wait to start the workweek? How can Jesus redeem our relationship with our work?
We are often guilty of constructing an artificial barrier between the sacred and the secular, between what we consider God's work and our every-day vocation. Jeremiah Holthus explores a part of the human job description we need to reclaim: the call to the priesthood for all believers.
Our experience of work involves some mixture of fulfillment and frustration. Our work can be satisfying and meaningful, and at the same time toilsome and draining. Why is work a source of stress, anxiety, and worry, and what can we do about it?
We will spend more than half our lives at work, and we know our jobs can be a mix of frustration and fulfillment. Yet, something is wrong with our theology if we believe God isn't concerned with Monday through Saturday. Every moment matters to God, and God matters to every moment. We want to rethink our understanding of work and worship in light of scripture.
When the writers of scripture taught that "God is Love," they used the Greek word agape. Agape is the choice to seek the well-being of people other than yourself. It is selfless love. This love flows out to others without expecting anything in return. Today we look at a song celebrating this servant-love in Philippians 2.
What do you do when you family isn't what you imagined it would be? How do we strengthen familial relationships and walk in greater amounts of love with our mothers, brothers, sisters, and others? Today we look at Hannah's song and story as we invite God into the center of our families.
The Song of Songs claims to be the ultimate love song. It is a celebration of passionate, deliberate, beautiful, and erotic love shared between two people. The church has historically failed to celebrate the gift of this kind of love, but we are going there today. So, turn the lights down low and join us for church!
If there is a God and that God wants a relationship with me, what does that mean for my life and how should that change my understanding about what it means to be human? This is not a new question; it is a question that people have been wrestling with for thousands of years. The story of Jacob wrestles with this tension.
We've become escape artists when it comes to difficulty and discomfort, but what do we do when we cannot avoid the struggle? While we cannot always choose what we have to go through, there is a path that leads to growth. This message also includes a clarifying thought at the end of the message about pain, struggle, and the will of God.
Behind the façade of suburbia, behind the masks, there is a real pain. We think that many people struggle alone, so we wanted to create a church where it's okay to not be okay! This message is about our struggle for identity, to ground our self-understanding in the love of God that we find in Jesus Christ.
We find a quiet moment as the year comes to a close to reflect and celebrate, and also to calibrate our hearts for the coming year.
Christmas Eve 2021 Message - Heaven and Earth were gathered together in the person of Jesus. This is the story of Christmas, how should we respond?
We all seek joy, satisfaction, and happiness - and yet it seems a little elusive. What if we are searching for authentic joy in the wrong place? Today, we explore a secret within the Christmas story that will help us find a source of joy unspeakable.
Gather 'round and listen to a story about Jesus coming into a messy and stressful situation, and consider that Jesus still wants to come close to you and your family right in the midst of your mess. Maybe the reason all of us hope to be "home for the holidays" points to our longing to be in the presence of God?
Hope, in the story of scripture, is patient, expectant, and alive. Hope looks to the future with anticipation. As we start the Advent season, we look to the promise from the prophet Isaiah, given at a time of crisis and darkness. Invisible hope becomes a tangible reality when the story of Jesus changes the story of our lives.
Gratitude is a keystone habit that will lead your life in the direction of happiness. It takes your eyes off of what you lack and the sources of frustration, reminding you of the blessing and favor of God. What are you grateful for? Answer that question daily and you will discover a source of joy.
Unlocking the power of habit includes making some habits that will take your life in the direction you want to go, but it also includes breaking some habits that aren't serving you or your future. Jeremiah breaks down the skill of breaking up with your bad habits.
There is often a gap between the goals you have for your family and the actual systems that define "normal" for your family. Habits can bridge that gap and change your future. For instance, there is a huge difference between occasional church attendance and regular church involvement. Change the pattern and change the outcome.
Steve Malinchock shares one specific habit that helped him connect with God's love for Him and experience what Jesus described as "life to the full."
It is the discipline to do small things that provides the ability to accomplish big things. Keystone habits are regular practices in your life that lead to big results. Big breakthroughs are not about one defining moment, they are about the power accumulated through discipline in small practices and small victories.
Successful people do habitually what other people do occasionally. This is true relationally, physically, spiritually, financially. It is all about small things leading in the direction of big things over time. We know this, and yet we struggle. What is holding us back from harnessing the power of habits?
Like a cloak that you wear on top of everything else, love is what ties the other virtues together. They are the fruit, while love is the root. It is core identifier, the central reality, and the foundation for Christian life. What would it mean for you to be known for love in action and in truth?
Paul caps his list of virtues with patience, because he knows we will need patience if we hope to cultivate the other virtues. Transformation is a slow process if it is significant. We need patience because in between the promise and the payoff, there is always a process. We need to learn to be patient with ourselves and with others because we are all works in progress.
Often we confuse the scriptural virtue of gentleness with weakness, as if gentleness is the opposite of strength. Yet in the teaching of Jesus, gentleness doesn't mean weakness. Gentleness is power under control, specifically when you place your influence, your words, your reactions, and your actions under the control of God. This is when you find the quiet power of gentleness.
Humility is an anchor for the soul that ties us to the mercy of God. We need it desperately in a culture sick with pride, vanity, and selfish ambition.
Are you clothed with kindness or contempt? Kindness is almost universally accepted as a virtue, and yet it seems we are experiencing a kindness crisis in our culture of outrage, contempt, and disdain. How can we reverse this trend in our own hearts and live into a story of genuine kindness?
Our world needs genuine compassion. We have replaced genuine compassion with artificial compassion in our digital world. We have settled for theatrical goodness, virtue signaling, “raising awareness,” and manufactured outrage instead of seeing and feeling the suffering around us, and responding with loving action. The Jesus Way offers us a counter-cultural corrective here – a better way. Let's explore what it looks like to love and serve like Jesus, with practical help and supernatural hope.
Enneagram Type Sevens are called the Enthusiast, the Optimist, or the Epicure. They are upbeat, positive people driven to seek out pleasure and avoid pain. They find joy in every situation, and if joy cannot be found, they manufacture it! Sevens have an insatiable hunger for more, an internal vacuum they are trying to fill with variety, novelty, and experiences. When they are healthy, they learn contentment and reflect God's Joy to the world.
Elizabeth and Jeremiah sit down with Cam Caswell, Brad Long, and Justin Ulrich to discuss how Type Sevens always find the party. Listen to learn how these Enthusiasts experience relationships with God and others and how we can love them better.
Justin and Jeremiah interview Morgan Jackson, Jill Malinchock, and Jamie Ulrich about being a Type Six on the Enneagram. Listen to these Loyalists and Guardians talk about their inner committees and how we can love them better.
Enneagram Type 6, also known as the Loyalist or the Guardian, are faithful, warm, trustworthy and reliable. They are motivated to make to make the world a place of safety and security for themselves and those they love. When these loyalists are healthy, they are the glue that holds our tribes together. Learn about how Sixes can overcome their fear and journey toward courage and faith.
Justin and Jamie sit down with Variah Hauge, Jeremiah Holthus, Jill Johnson, and Bob Malinchock to make some observations on Enneagram Type Fives and what's on their minds.
Enneagram Type Fives are called the Investigator, the Observer, or the Thinker. They are curious, insightful, and intelligent people that are driven by a need to understand the world and how it works. Always questioning, pondering, and searching, they uncover truth and collect information. When it comes to spirituality, they need to find their way from their head to their heart to connect with faith.
Jeremiah and Elizabeth sit down with Anna, Katie and Maggie to discuss how Type Fours find beauty and feel their way through life.
Enneagram Type Fours are known as the Romantics, the Individualists, or the Artists. They feel deep feelings, explore deep thoughts, and have a deep appreciation for beauty, art, and aesthetics. They are defined by their sense of originality - a sense that they are special, unique, and different from others. When Fours discover their true significance as a child of God, their lives become works of art!
Justin and Jeremiah sit down with Vince, Steve, Juli, and Wil to discuss how Type Threes approach life, define success, and thrive in relationships. Listen to learn how these achievers operate and how we can love them better.
Enneagram Type Threes are adaptable, polished, driven, and charming. They make lists, set goals, and track achievements in the pursuit of excellence. They get results! And yet, when they can settle the longing in their heart for significance and worth by connecting to Jesus, they find their true power.
Justin and Juli interview Robin Gustine, Bennett Raba, and Tori Truesdale about being a Type Two on the Enneagram. Listen to learn what drives Helpers to help and how we can love them better.
Type Two on the Enneagram are known as the Helper or the Giver. They are empathetic, caring, considerate, and generous people that show up to help those they love. They need to be needed, but they can also struggle to separate their identity from what they do for others. The healthiest 2s learn to love unconditionally because they have received unconditional love from Jesus.
Justin and Jeremiah sit down with Elizabeth Miller, Marti Holthus, and Holden Malinchock to get a perspective on Enneagram Type Ones and what makes them so fun.
Enneagram Type Ones, also known as Reformers, are principled, responsible, and self-controlled. They have a very strong sense of right and wrong, and are driven to improve themselves and the world around them. Type Ones want to make the world a better place, but they can be perfectionists and overly-critical. Join us as we help them push back on their "inner critic," and we seek to understand them and love them better.
We sit down with Bonnie, Kristen, and Justin to learn a little more about what makes type nines so fine.
Enneagram type Nines can see both sides of any argument, but they would rather skip the argument altogether to maintain a sense of calm, peaceful, harmony. They are eternal optimists, pleasant and inclusive people that reflect God's peace to the world. Sometimes, they lose themselves as they merge their desires with those around them. Learn how they can wake up to their story and declare their own desires, and how to love them well.
We sit down with Ron, Jan, and Sarah to learn a little more about what makes type eights so great.
Enneagram type 8s are amazing, powerful, strong people. They are truth tellers. They challenge those in power, and naturally wield power themselves. They are passionate about issues that matter and people they care about. They are BOLD and INTENSE. This week, we look at the story of a biblical prophet that spoke truth boldly to correct a king. Learn how they can power down in order to surrender to God, and how we can love them well.
We all know the terrible experience of being on the receiving end of unsolicited advice. But we also know what it's like to find wisdom and care in the words of a friend. How can we reclaim the lost art of giving and receiving advice?
Online trolls, cancel culture, confirmation bias, and cognitive blind spots. These are all realities that make it difficult to disagree and debate in the digital world. Yet conflict is something we need to learn to do well. We need to reclaim the courage to collide and rediscover the courtesy to do it well.
in the digital world, "lol" rarely means you actually laughed out loud. Part of this is because you are 30 times more likely to laugh when you are with other people that you enjoy than when you are alone. Laughter is the purest of social contagions, and it is profoundly spiritual. Discover the God that wants your relationship to be more about delight than duty, more about joy than obligation!
We are struggling as a culture with occupying the same space but failing to inhabit the same moment. Your tech should never be allowed to put your people on pause, but when we carry around little boxes that constantly give us access to "elsewhere," it can be difficult to be fully present with those we care about. Let's restore the art of shared focus and sustained attention, allowing our relationships to go deep and empathy to flow.
Despite living in a culture of digital saturation with a multitude of ways to stay connected, our relationships sometimes seem shallow and superficial. How can we reclaim old-school analog skills to slow down our connection and move them toward a depth? This week we talk about the lost art of Conversation.
James and John, accompanied by their mother, approach Jesus seeking positions of leadership and power. What they learn is that in the Kingdom of God, power is never about being placed over others, but instead placing yourself beneath others to serve them and lift them up. This is the nature of true leadership according to Jesus.
From what we have to go on ‚Äì Phil and Andy were actually pretty great. These two men were just constantly inviting other people to see Jesus. They don‚at make much of themselves. Instead, they just quietly and sincerely share what is important to them with the people that are important to them.
How do you make sure that this time will be different than last time? How do you make the most of a second chance? As he sits down for breakfast with Jesus, Peter is trying to recover from failure. He messed up in a big way and Jesus is going to help him get back up again. I think we need to know Peter's story because there will be many times in our lives when we will stand in his shoes.
Thomas has been unfairly labeled as a doubter. In our quest for certainty, I think we sometimes reduce faith to something over-simplistic. We fear doubt, almost as if we cannot explain everything about our belief it must be invalid. In a culture of skepticism and challenges both intellectually and personally to faith, we might need to learn from someone like Thomas. We can learn some profound lessons about the nature of strong faith from this guy.
1985 brought us the iconic movie "The Breakfast Club" about a group of 5 teenagers enduring a Saturday morning in detention. Their assignment is to write an essay on "Who do you think you are?" One of the big themes of the movie is about re-evaluation of labels, both the labels we place upon ourselves and the labels that we place upon others. This morning we look at the story of Nathaniel. When Nathaniel encounters Jesus he has to re-examine his assumptions and re-frame his identity. When Nathaniel finds Jesus, he actually finds his authentic self as well.
The Resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate comeback story. What if this year was the year of your comeback? What if this was the year you discovered the source of unending and unquenchable hope?
When religion runs wild it creates a system of laws and loopholes which can leave you feeling far from God. The way of Jesus lets love run wild with completely different results.
In Christ, you have been set free. So what are we to do with our freedom? Paul argues that we are to use our freedom to follow the Spirit into a story of selfless love instead of using our freedom to indulge our selfish desires. The obligation of love might be easy to understand, but it can be difficult to follow! We explore the three dimensions of morality that flow from a Kingdom understanding.
We don't love the word discipline, but when it is rightly understood, it actually produces true freedom. Jeremiah Holthus explores the tension between discipline and freedom, and how to use one to unlock the other.
The two trees mentioned in the Garden of Eden represent the dichotomy of choice. Created in the image of God, we have been entrusted with the incredible power to choose our course and shape the future. You are free to make a choice, so what will you choose? Your choices can either create chaos or build beauty. Choose life.
When we enjoy a sense of secure attachment to God and to one another, these relationships becomes a key that unlocks all kinds of great things for you in adulthood: the ability to form healthy friendships, intimate and fulfilling romantic relationships, resiliency for life‚as difficulties, and even things like the ability to take healthy risks. Look with us at the story of a father and his two lost sons through the lens of attachment theory.
Boundaries are the rules of engagement for all of our relationships. Boundaries help us to stay healthy as they provide structure that protects balance. The only way for unhealthy people to have healthy relationships is by establishing and maintaining boundaries.
The primary relationship in your home, the one that will impact all the others, is the relationship you have with your spouse. Learn with us about three streams of love that happy couples learn to enjoy. Grow in friendship, commitment, and passion - and begin to build the marriage you wish you had.
There is one specific skill that make the difference between healthy relationships and struggling relationships. Mature and balanced couples, families, and friendships can do this. Selfish and unbalanced relationships struggle to do this. It is assertive communication, and if you learn this skill your relationships will thrive.
We all have to deal with the fact that sometimes our momentary appetites can interfere with our ultimate desires. Focus can protect your progress. Focus can keep you from wandering off course. This is because as your focus becomes clearer, the distractions of momentary appetites decrease in power and pull.
Our stories suffer from a lack of focus. This is especially true when we see the world through the distorted lenses of fear and hate. This morning, we are talking about regaining our focus by seeing our stories through the lens of faith, where we allow the perspective of eternity to frame our beliefs and behaviors.
Every single one of us has limits. When we live up to and even try to live beyond our limits, our lives are frantic, anxious, and stressed. God invites us to recognize our limits and then take a step back from them so we can live with margin. He invites us to put some space between your load and your limit. We talk in this message about three ancient practices to help us structure our lives with margin.
Jesus talked about the danger of living for the approval and admiration of other people and giving other people power over your life and sense of worth and identity. Theologians call the opposite of this living “Coram Deo,” living “before God.” TThis means living for a singular audience; to live for the approval and for the glory of God alone.
God is still moving near to us, how are we to respond? Ancient philosophers called Magi found a map to a worshipful response written upon the night sky. Maybe star-gazing can awaken our wonder and move us beyond our resistance to the Divine?
God is moving near to us in the person of Jesus, and we are invited to respond and draw near to Him. Almost right away, when people searched for the right word to express this sense of the nearness of God, they used the word “rest.” Listen to how the story of weary travelers offers us rest in a season of strife.
This Christmas story begins when hope breaks into a hopeless season in unexpected ways. Still, the first people to receive this hope have to wait. They have to live through a season of tension, anticipation, and expectation that everything is going to change.
Being an ambassador of the Tangible Kingdom means you accept the mission of God as your own. It means that you shift your attitude from "someone should" to "I will" when you are faced with the problems of our world. It means we are co-hosts of heaven on earth as sons and daughters of God. We embody our "sentness" through beneficial presence and sacrificial generosity.
As ambassadors of the Kingdom Tangible, you are called to live WITH others. You are called to be a beneficial presence in your neighborhood as the embodiment of the new creation.
Religion has historically been focused on holy spaces, temples and altars where the thought is that at these holy spaces, heaven and earth intersect. Yet Jesus taught something different. He taught that the Tangible Kingdom is the intersection of heaven and earth in the temple of a believer. You are the temple of God. The Kingdom is WITHIN YOU. You are the tangible kingdom, the way you live, love, and serve. This morning is about learning and living the message of Jesus so you can embody the Kingdom of God.
The first place the Kingdom of God becomes Tangible in SO MANY stories is not the church. It is the table. If you were to read the Gospel accounts and the book of Acts, you would find that every time the Gospel goes into a new culture – the leading edge of that mission is a tangible expression of hospitality. If you look at the way the Kingdom breaks into new neighborhoods, new cities, and new cultures – it almost always starts with hospitality.
The Kingdom is something we can inhabit today, here and now. It is something we are invited to establish, to set up, right where we live, work, learn, and play. It was the compelling vision Jesus had for what the world could be. And this is what we are going to explore – how are we to experience the Kingdom of God today? What does it actually look like?
We have all been given ample opportunity from a God that created us to create, a God that sows generously and universally the seed of possibility. How can you take advantage of such grace to grow, thrive, and transform? Pete breaks it down with some practical steps.
What do you do when you aren't sure what to do? Guests Chris and Megan Rea share a powerful story of struggle and heartache, and the choices they have made to flourish even after their plans were changed.
What do we do when a stop-over becomes a stay-over? How are we to handle major disruption to our plans? David Mazzella encourages us from Jeremiah 29 that we can decide to thrive anyway. We must get moving, producing, building, and living.
Cognitive Agility has to do with openness to new, different, or divergent perspectives. In short, it is the trait we need if ever we are to change our mind. It is ability to rethink our assumptions and entertain new possibilities. This might sound simple, but it can be pretty difficult. Spiritual agility, the ability to adjust your thinking and choices in accordance to the leading of the Holy Spirit, is essential to spiritual formation. We look at the direction change of a man named Paul as a guide in mental agility!
Resilience is about bouncing back from disruption. It is adapting and responding well to difficult experiences. It is the ability to tolerate stress and keep going. It is the difference between being fragile and agile in the face of difficulty.
So far, what 2020 has taught us is that sometimes unexpected and unpleasant things happen. Sometimes things fall apart. When chaos taks over, even our best plans seem useless. Right now, it seems like we can have a plan and a backup plan and then both are going to end up in the trash and we are going to make it up as we go! The future is hard to predict, and so, I think we need FLEXIBILITY. Learn from Paul's journey to Rome, where nothing went according to plan, yet he chose to thrive anyway.
As we wrap up our series, we explore the nature of love itself. Love in our cultural understanding is primarily emotional. In scripture, we find something very different. Love is a volitional reality; an act of the will and not a feeling. John reminds us to love WITH ACTION and IN TRUTH. We learn this kind of love in the Cross of Christ.
We have talked in this series about loving God, loving our neighbors, and even loving ourselves. And not we turn to the most difficult and yet the most uniquely “Christian” expression of love: the love for our enemies. This might be one of the most ignored commands Jesus ever gave, and yet where it is practiced it has accomplished more cultural influence and transformation than any other commandment.
What would it mean to live as a dearly loved child of God? It would mean security. It would mean trust. It would mean wonder. It would mean that we have nothing to prove, because we know our worth. It would mean that we have nothing to fear, because we trust in the care of our father and mother.
It is one of the most famous parables of Jesus, and one of the most misunderstood. The original story had the impact of a punch in the gut. Listen to the story of the compassionate Samaritan, and learn what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus taught that your entire life should be centered around one thing: Love. The Love of God and Love of others, these are the most important realities in our lives.
What should we actually do with all this trinity talk? What does Trinitarian Spirituality look like? This week we outline some practices that help us join the Divine Dance and connect with God in real ways.
The metaphors that scripture uses to describe the Holy Spirit are all dynamic, energetic, and moving. Wind, fire, breath, oil, and flowing water. Maybe this is why the third person of the trinity is so often misunderstood. This message is about the mystery of the Holy Spirit, and how you can encounter The Spirit in daily life.
The eternal, glorious, and transcendent God has drawn close to creation in the person of Jesus. Your search for God ends with the person of Jesus. If you want to know what God is like, look carefully at the person of Jesus.
The nature of God as trinity invites us to reframe our primary response from requirement, duty, and obligation to relationship, adoration, and enjoyment. If God is movement, play, laughter, joy, delight, even a dance…then we learn to live in the flow of such things! This series starts with question: what does it mean that God is Father?
Anxiety happens when a specific part of your brain is overloaded with stress chemicals. The Apostle Paul offered an alternative to the predictable path of worry. Unpack the baggage of anxiety by switching your response and starving the source.
Pride is tricky. We grasp for significance in vain conceit and selfish pride, only to be more insecure than when we started. Learn the beauty of humility and where true power resides in the Kingdom of God.
Sometimes it isn't the pain of past mistakes that is holding you back, but the comfort of past success. This morning we look at a story of transition as someone leaves behind a successful past to move into an extraordinary future.
Justin sits down with Leon Battle, Bill Mines, Mike Mines, and Heather Henderson for a conversation about racial injustice and the love of Jesus.
Guilt and shame are different. Shame goes a layer deeper. Shame has to do with identity. It is an attack on our worth. Shame is the belief that we are inherently flawed and unworthy of love. The two main expressions of shame are hiding and striving, and both of these are antithetical to faith. Shame releases when it meets acceptance. You can be free from shame because of the work of Christ on the cross.
We all have reasons to be offended and we all have wounds from unresolved conflict. We cannot carry resentment, because it is highly corrosive to our relationships and it is a toxic reality in our hearts. Let's find the courage to release our resentment and find resolve in the work of Jesus.
We allow the expectations of others along with the burdens we place upon ourselves to weigh us down. Jamie Ulrich unpacks why "could" is all about opportunity while "should" is all about obligation. Unpack your baggage and remember what is essential instead of what is expected.
Blame keeps you in a powerless position because it blocks ownership and the flow of grace. Move beyond blame and find the courage to walk into a new story.
Peter's story is a vivid example of overconfidence, failure, and recovery. Enter the story of a life-changing moment when Jesus made breakfast for a group of broken sinners that would rise up to become saints.
Thomas is name that has become synonymous with doubt, but is his nickname deserved? When we take a look through his eyes we find the perspective of a pragmatic realist with true courage and tested faith.
Easter Sunday we looked at the story of two reluctant disciples that finally found the courage to step across the line of faith. Theirs is a story of honest curiosity, wrestling through confusion, and finally coming to place of clarity.
You cannot personally understand the cross of Christ until you understand it from the perspective of a condemned criminal named Barabbas.
We are all bound to our homes, but that isn't stopping us from serving our neighbors in love! Our service includes worship, video, and interviews with families that are taking up the challenge to scatter and serve while maintaining social distance.
We have all kinds of issues that I would place in this realm of “conscience.” These are not cut-and-dry or black and white issues. These are in a grey area, where what might be permissible for one person would be detrimental to another. Paul's instructions to the Corinthians about food sacrificed to idols might help us navigate these issues. In what way and for what reason are we restrained by ethical limits?
We live in a culture of social media influencers, youtube stars, and people who become insta-famous. What should our response be to our culture's obsession with celebrity? The Corinthians had issues elevating one personality over another, and Paul admonished them to find unity in Christ.
The temple of Aphrodite was a major feature in the cultural landscape of Corinth, and it had a dramatic impact on the sexual ethics in the city. In the Kingdom of God, sexual ethics are rooted in selfless love and should not reflect selfish lust.
Justin sits down with Jamie Ulrich to talk about sex and intimacy. The quality and satisfaction we enjoy in sex is very often an indicator of the health of our connection with our spouse. Join the conversation about this important issue - we promise to keep it fun.
Don't settle for roommate status or let your relationship slip into routine. We need to renew our pursuit of the relationships that are important to us.
Behind every argument, conflict, and fight is probably your need for one thing: connection. The Apostle Paul called it a profound mystery, the way two people become one. We learn the same lesson from this ancient relationship advice that we hear from attachment theory and neuroscience: we need each other.
Terraforma celebrated our first year as a missional community by answering the question: Why did we start this church?
The best is yet to come!
What if our love was rooted not in our emotions or in our feelings, but in our connection to Jesus?
When we surrender the idol of our performance we can fall back into the reality of God's unmerited favor and undeserved grace.
"They saw the star and were overjoyed." Stargazers and spiritual seekers have the advantage of awe - the perspective that wonder offers about our position in the universe and the glory of God.
How is the Christmas Story a source of JOY for all people? How is the suffering of Jesus a source of joy for God?
When Mary and Joseph were compelled to journey to Bethlehem, they entered into the story of all humanity - wandering exile as we search for an elusive reality we call "home."
Our stories are marked by conflict, strife, and even violence. Despite the struggle, God invites us to dream about and move toward peace. The peace of God starts in our hearts and flows out of us into our world.
Advent starts with expectant hope - that even in the midst of darkness and confusion we can hope for a better future because Jesus is drawing near.
Our culture celebrates accumulation and hoarding, but the invitation in God's Kingdom is to live generously and find freedom from greed.
We have been entrusted with a great treasure - our one and only life. We are accountable for how our life is spent for the sake of the Kingdom. Given the extravagant love of our Father, living small will never do. Unbury your story!
Scarcity is a powerful little lie that permeates almost every area of our lives. It influences our behaviors and attitudes, our spending and our decision making, even our relationships. Scarcity is the ideal that there is a limited amount of resources that will never be enough for the unlimited nature of human wants and desires. The opposite mindset of scarcity is abundance. In an abundance mindset, you see the world as a place of opportunity, ingenuity, and exponential growth.
What would happen if we thought of abundance as something we were entrusted with instead of as something we were entitled to? To whom much has been given, much will be required.
Even as your family works toward a better future, remember that progress is the goal and not perfection.
How do we keep the main thing the main thing, and what is supposed to be the central reality of our family?
Eli and his sons give us a cautionary tale of how a family can drift off course. How can we intentionally set our family direction?
Jesus chose 12 men to be his tribe, intentionally creating a circle that would carry His mission and change the world. It is remarkable that despite the apparent differences in opinion, culture, and ideology between these men, they came together in unity and interdependence. How did Jesus unite such different people?
Cain rejected community for corrupted individualism. Jesus invites us to find our home once again with God and with others in a community of interdependence.
Jesus had a different approach to dealing with calamity than our culture. He was able to face crisis with faith instead of fear.
It is normal to put yourself first and to live to gratify our selfish desires. The Way of Jesus call us to surrender our desires to the Spirit and watch him transform our appetites.
Jeremiah talks about one of the closest friends of Jesus, a man named Peter. This man from the 1st Century shows us something profound about failure and God's Kingdom.
Steve unpacks some of the values that make Terraforma strange. We don't measure our impact inside the walls of the church, but the impact outside our walls on our culture and in your circle of influence.
Jesus had a strange relationship with time, where people always came before the project. He could always interrupt his plans for the needs of others.
We talk David's legacy and the end of the journey. Why was Solomon David's choice to succeed him on the throne? In the final evaluation, was David a "man after God's heart?"
As he nears the end of his story, King David reflects on his legacy and acts to prepare the next generation for success. We encounter in this story an invitation to finish well.
Is Joab the king's most faithful friend, or is Joab out for himself? What can we learn about leadership from the king's decisions? How does our willingness to collide with those around us create unity? Is a good nickname for Joab "Stabby McStabberson?"
How did David break the cycle of shame? Is mercy or justice more important for a leader? What is the genius behind David's command structure, and why did that save his kingdom? Plus, Doug breaks down the battle from the perspective of a military strategist. Is ambition healthy or harmful?
David's failure has been writing the script for his future, but not anymore. Even as David's son Absalom tries to usurp his father's throne, David rises up and starts acting like a king again. This is the power of transforming grace.
Is chaos a ladder? How do you interrupt the cycle of shame? Is King David like John Snow? Where is the King's justice after the crimes committed against Tamar? A caution for men - don't fall into the trap of pursuing professional success at the expense of your family.
The consequences of David's crime against Bathsheba continue to pile up. David is an exemplary statesman, an accomplished warrior, and a talented artist - but he fails in his most important role - that of a father. David's household implodes because shame is now writing David's story.
Should we be concerned with our culture's obsession with pornography? What happens when the one entrusted to be the protector acts like a predator? Is the Bachelor just trash TV, or is it more sinister? Should David's crime against Bathsheba be considered a sexual assault? Do the consequences of our sin remain even after we have been forgiven?
David has been chosen by God to serve as a shepherd for the people of Israel, but in a surprising lapse of integrity, David plays the part of a predator. This story shows that even people of heroic faith can fall in failure.
God makes a dramatic covenant with David, and then the concept of covenant faithfulness is illustrated in a unforgettable story of grace and unexpected love involving David and a young man named Mephibosheth.
We discussed revenge, honor, and forgiveness. Also, is dancing in your underwear fit for a king?
After years of preparation and process, David is finally crowned king over all Israel. This week, we explore 4 portraits of David that showcase why he is God's choice for the throne.
Is ambition a virtue or a vice? Is surrender active or passive? What in the world is up with Saul consulting a necromancer?
David's influence is increasing, while Saul is losing his grip on the kingdom and his own sanity. The contrast during this period tells a story: Saul is grasping and striving, while David maintains of a posture of surrender.
Abigail is a boss (and we love her), What's up with "holy war?," If God's love is unconditional, why does he reject Saul?, What do you believe about destiny?
In honor of the strong and intelligent women in our world, we explore the story of Abigail. Abigail met David in a moment of weakness and helped him remember what true power looks like.
What is up with the sacrificial system? Why was David overlooked? How would you feel if you were anointed king and then had to go right back to your life as a shepherd? What is behind Jonathan's love for David?
David rapidly rose from complete obscurity to a position of fame, notoriety, and prestige. This week, we explore the internal realities of David's heart that shaped him into the sort of person that God would choose to be king.
We talked about approval addiction, the dangers of notoriety, and a little about the nature of history writing in antiquity. Does Justin hear voices? Find out this week at the Round Table.
King Saul was outwardly impressive, but inwardly, his insecurity and instability led to his demise. Hear the warning of his story as we explore the unfolding drama of prophets, priests, and kings.
Easter Sunday, 2019 - The first skeptics of the resurrection message were the disciples of Jesus. At first, such an outrageous story seemed like nonsense. Slowly, however, they came to believe the unbelievable and accept the impossible - and it changed their lives forever.
At the very heart of Christian teaching is a claim that is so impossible and counter-intuitive that it sounds like nonsense. The disciples of Jesus were slow to accept the possibility of the resurrection, but eventually they were compelled to believe the unbelievable.
As we continue our conversation about upgrading our paradigm, Steve explores some of the specific things that make Terraforma unique - our determination to love people outside our doors as we scatter and our desire to impact our culture every day and in every way.
This is a message about reclaiming wonder and returning our hearts to a posture of humility, discovery, and awe. The beautiful truth of trying to relate to a God of Wonders is that we are going to be left with unanswered questions, unsolved mysteries, and the tension of the unknown.
Jesus was a Rabbi like no other. The yoke of law is about rules and rituals. The yoke of love is about relationship.
John's Gospel juxtaposes two narratives in dramatic contrast: in the first, the truth of Jesus is recognized by the party crowd, while in the second he is rejected by the pious crowd.
However we came to the city, as exile or heir, in poverty or prosperity, we have been given the command to Thrive.
The story of Haman from the book of Esther gives us a powerful example of what happens when we allow our heart to be corrupted. Our heart is the root of our lives, and the health of the root determines the health of the fruit. You must tend to your heart to thrive.
We believe you were created on purpose, and we believe you were created for a purpose. Discover why we gather and scatter at Terraforma.
Our guest experience team breaks down some skills we need to develop to host people well. We also interview Vincent Spinoso, an expert on hospitality about creating a culture ready to host.
The early followers of Jesus clung to a picture of the coming Messiah provided by the prophets - that Jesus was the "morning star." This star signaled that the darkest part of the night was over, and that dawn was coming soon! Jesus is the hope of a bright and beautiful future.
In a culture where we place so many conditions on our contentment, the story of Simeon is medicine for our hearts. Simeon discovers a secret source of hopeful contentment that bring peace regardless of his situation. The deepest contentment is rooted in this reality: crave the thing that we ultimately need in the place of the thing that we temporarily desire.
Luke‚as Gospel records a company of angelic messengers lighting up the night sky with a triumphant declaration: a Savior is born! Christ the Lord has come to bring Glory to God and Peace on earth. All our hope for the future is rooted in the reality of Jesus drawing near; coming to save and to restore. In this message, Justin explores the nature of triumph according to the Kingdom of God. What does triumphant hope look like, and how can we enter into the Way of Jesus our King?
Advent starts with an expectant mother. As she anticipates the arrival of Jesus, Mary has a unique perspective. Mary stands in the tension between two worlds: she knows the darkness of her current situation, and yet hope for a different future dawns as Jesus draws near. The thrill of hope is a mix of uncertainty, anxiety, anticipation, and expectancy.
Three Hero Makers poured into Paul, maximizing his potential and unleashing his gifts. Their investment paid off when Paul became a hero maker and poured his life into a young man named Timothy. Jamie Ulrich walks us through some lessons on multiplication and discipleship that we can learn from this beautiful relationship.
Barnabas is one of the greatest hero makers in history, and we owe him for the impact of the Apostle Paul. Barnabas had a unique ability to activate the gifts of those around him. He was someone that built people up, encouraged them, and unleashed them to realize their potential.
The church owes three hero makers for the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul: Stephen, Ananias, and Barnabas. When we follow in their footsteps, we unlock the leadership secret of Jesus. We can multiply our impact when we drape the cape on someone else's shoulders and build heroes out of the people around us. Acts 7 tells the story of Saul‚as encounter with Stephen, a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The beauty and grace of Stephen‚as life and message cause Saul to question his direction and challenge his paradigm. You never know how your life will impact someone else‚as story.
Nehemiah protects the integrity of the building project by acting with personal integrity. He demonstrates concurrency between his message and his actions, and in doing so he builds trust with the people. The payoff of consistent integrity is moral authority, which grants you a platform to influence others.
Nehemiah led a group of refugees to rebuild Jerusalem's walls despite great opposition. This week, we walk through the story to find encouragement to keep building when the project gets tough.
There is a fragile moment right at the beginning of any endeavor, right between dream and activation. This is the moment where many good dreams die. Nehemiah has come to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and he has to start somewhere. He also knows he cannot accomplish his mission alone. Listen to the story of Nehemiah activating the dream and sharing ownership with others.
In a critical moment, Nehemiah is confronted with a problem that demands a solution. Will he accept the burden of God‚as mission as his own, and if so, how will he respond? We learn from Nehemiah a sequence of responses that can guide us forward as we build the dream of Terraforma Church.