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From the Scriptures and the earliest church tradition, we see that salvation wasn’t solely unto a personal experience of life with God, but a reality that you went from a corrupt generation to the family of God! The love, commitment, and the sacrifice of Christians for and to one another became their message to the world.   We believe that Church as a family in our time and place will look like sharing meals together, and in doing so, sharing in the tragedy and victory of life together. It will look like sacrifice, and it will look like forgiveness.   Thanks be to Christ, who entered into death through suffering, and transformed death itself to offer new life to humanity.

As the Church, how do we live in both the tragedy of life and the victory of the resurrection? What Paul is describing in Romans 15v-1-7 is the family of God living in reality.   This journey toward union with one another is possible because of the love of God. When you are so full of Him, you can enter another’s world and level with the tragedy or the victory that is present.   We must be devoted to one another in love and honor one another above ourselves, we must be patient, as God is patient with us, and we must offer our real presence to one another in service and humility.

The primary metaphor for the relationship between the people of God and their leaders, is that of shepherd and sheep. This is the way Jesus sets up his Church.   The truth about humans is that we, much like sheep, need leadership. Jesus knew this, and it’s the one task that he gave Peter after his resurrection. A shepherd is responsible to feed, protect, and care for the sheep.    The sheep are responsible for testing and submitting. As a sheep, you have to be able to discern teaching. To do that, you have to actually know the Scriptures! God set up this relationship to be built on trust, so you must find a church where you can in good conscience, submit to the leadership.   In the end, our entire pastoral task is to bring your attention and the direction of your life, to God’s love. Please pray for us as we pursue this!

Jesus builds His church by gathering us, revealing Himself to us, and then sending us into the world to reveal Him. We are His workmanship, intentionally placed where we are and equipped for the good works He has prepared for us.   The gathered church restores and equips us, while the scattered church carries Christ into our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and everyday lives.   The church is not just where we gather—it is who we are as Christ is revealed through us.

The people of God in every place and time function in two spaces: scattered and gathered. On Sunday, Alex shared three reasons why we gather as the local church. We gather for Gospel preaching. The preaching of God’s word continually presents an alternative narrative to the world. If the Church is an alternative society, then preaching is the task of inviting God’s vision to collide with ours.  We gather for vision. The gathering is about real people in a real place, who are getting formed into Christ’s image for the sake of God’s mission there in that time. We gather for sacraments & celebration. Through Eucharist, baptism, song, and preaching, we declare our need and celebrate His abundance. The gathering is where we experience our identity as Christ’s body. How beautiful!

On Sunday we looked at Matthew 16v13-20, where Jesus states that the work of the Church is to reflect heaven on earth. God is reconciling all things to himself through the Church who binds and looses on earth what is bound and loosed in heaven.   This means that the Church functions as an alternative society here on earth. One where countless individuals, filled with God’s Spirit, put His will on display as they walk through life together.   Throughout the Scriptures, God uses the few to get to the many. We encourage you to find out what God is up to in your life so that you can partner with Him in the reconciliation of all things.

On Sunday, we began our Fall vision series “I will build my church” - based on Peter’s confession of the Messiah in Matthew 16v16-17.  Jesus is building his church by inviting humans into the very life of the Trinity. It’s a divine dance of love that we are invited to participate in. We are given the Spirit in order to acclimate to the culture of Trinity here on earth. From Trinity we learn that there is other and union. We live in a culture that has tried desperately to eliminate friction in life; however, the call of the Christian is to do life together with real people who are different than you, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit to love them! This is how he will build his church.

In John 21v15-22 Peter learns that you can’t follow Jesus while looking at someone else.    Discipleship is not a steady increase of growth or us becoming our best selves. Peter’s life exemplifies this clearly. Following Jesus will take you on the circuitous route. Through the tragedies and triumphs of life you learn that Christ’s mercy abounds for those who look to Him and follow him.

In John 6v30-69 Jesus gives a teaching that even his disciples call scandalous.   His very literal statements about eating his flesh and drinking his blood and identifying himself as a God who gives his life away, offend the human mind and our desire to be great.   Jesus’ words here show us that the only way to truly live is to die to yourself, and let go of everything that could benefit you in this life. The beauty of it all is that as we partake in the Eucharist meal, our scattered selves come to rest in Him.

On Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from one of our missionaries, Mariah, on what is means to be sent by God.     Jesus sends his disciples as sons and daughters, just as the Father sent him. As sent ones we are called to carry his peace & share in his sufferings. As we walk with others, our lives become a testimony of his love, healing, and power.  The question is not whether you are sent, but how Jesus is sending you.

Jesus asks, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—a question that reveals the weight of what Christ endured as he took our sin upon himself, while also showing us that following Jesus means yielding our lives to God rather than pursuing comfort and control.   We should expect suffering, not because suffering is the goal, but because the good works God prepares for us often require us to let go of our own strength, expectations, and attempts to generate life for ourselves. So we yield to him, trusting that whatever must die in us will ultimately give way to life in Christ.

Jesus’ question from Mark 8:29, “Who do you say I am?”, must be answered by each of us. To see Jesus as Messiah and Lord is more than knowing the right answer—it is a lifelong journey of following Him, allowing Him to shape our identity, priorities, and understanding. Our answer shapes every part of our lives and invites us into a life of learning from Christ and giving away what we receive.

Jesus’ question in Matthew 16 invites us to consider what we’re truly living for. In this passage, we see that real life isn’t found in pursuing control, success, or our own desires, but in surrendering to Christ and participating in His Kingdom. As we learn to hear His voice and follow His lead, we’re invited to face both the highs and lows of life with the King, not on our own. In losing our lives for His sake, we discover the life we were created to live.

Jesus' question, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?", reveals that anxiety comes from treasuring the wrong things and trying to control what only God can hold. Rather than pursuing security through money, comfort, power, or success, Jesus calls us to be rich toward God, trusting that His presence and provision are enough. As we value Christ above all else, worry gives way to contentment, because the one thing we truly need can never be taken from us.

Jesus' question in John 5v6 is really an invitation to the wholeness only He can give. The healing at the pool reveals that our greatest need is not simply relief from suffering but freedom from sin and restored relationship with God.  Jesus calls us to leave behind false hopes and self-reliance, receive His healing presence, and walk in the new life He offers. True wellness is found not in trying harder, but in surrendering to Christ and living in union with Him.