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Somebody in your life wears you out. Maybe it’s a parent, a grown kid, a boss, or the people on your payroll. These relationships get complicated because one person has more say than the other, and they follow us home, to work, and everywhere in between. In the final week of Ephesians, Brian Ross turns to Paul’s closing words on parents, children, and bosses, and asks what it looks like to let those relationships shape your character. In This Teaching Why the relationships with the most power dynamics are the ones that get complicated Why God gives us kids Two pictures of life: a beach vacation or a war What could happen you choose to honor your parents instead of asking for answers Why Paul tells parents not to exasperate their children, and what that looks like with grown kids How the way you treat those who depend on you for income connects to how you relate to God Scriptures Referenced: Matthew 5:44–45 Ephesians 6:1–9, 11–12 Luke 12:48 Luke 18:24–25 James 5:1, 4 Matthew 28:18 Special Guest: Brian Ross.

Most of us move through our days with our heads down, checking our phones, watching the clock, running late for the next thing. It’s not that we don’t care. We just don’t know what we’re looking for, so we walk right past it. In Chapter 5 of Ephesians, Forrest Jenan asks what we might be missing about the Holy Spirit and what Paul meant when he told the church to “be filled with the Spirit.” In This Teaching The Joshua Bell Metro experiment and what it says about what we miss A working definition of the Holy Spirit Why Jesus said it was good for his followers that he was leaving What Paul meant by “be filled with the Spirit” and why it’s an ongoing invitation What a Spirit-filled community looks like: singing, gratitude, and submitting to one another The story of Magda Trocmé and the unlocked door in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon Scriptures Referenced: John 16:7 Ephesians 1:13 Ephesians 2:22 Ephesians 5:18–21 Acts 2:14–15

There’s a frustrating gap between what we believe, what we intend to do, and what we actually do. We know we should sleep more, text less in anger, and let things go — and we keep doing the opposite anyway. In Chapter 4 of Ephesians, we move from Paul’s big, cosmic language about what God is doing through Jesus to street level: what does it actually look like when Jesus starts changing how you react, speak, and treat people? In This Teaching Why knowing better rarely translates into doing better What it means to “put off” old patterns like old, comfortable clothes The difference between learning facts about Jesus and learning Jesus himself How the stories we tell ourselves shape our reactions before we realize it Why truth alone isn’t Paul’s standard for what we say The shift from reactivity to grace in how we handle conflict and forgiveness Scriptures Referenced: Ephesians 4:17–24, 29, 31–32 Ephesians 5:1–2 Ephesians 2:15

We all want more. More money, more time, more success, more peace. And the strange thing is, we can actually get what we wanted — and still find ourselves wanting more. In Chapter 3 of Ephesians, Dr. Gavin Adams explores Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus and discovers Paul isn't praying for easier circumstances or more stuff. He's praying for something deeper: not more from Jesus, but more of Jesus. In This Teaching Why Tom Brady's "it's gotta be more than this" moment says something about all of us The difference between chasing more and settling for less What Paul actually prayed for a struggling, persecuted church in Ephesus The difference between more from Jesus and more of Jesus Why God's power in you was never meant to stop with you A simple reframe: before asking for more around you, ask for more within and through you Scriptures Referenced: Ephesians 3:6, 10, 14–21

Is coming alive something you do, or something that has to happen to you? Can you build the good life, earn it, work toward it — or does it have to be given, if you're willing to receive it? In Chapter 2 of Ephesians, Dustin Maddox walks through Paul's "but God" moment — the turn from dead in our own patterns to alive in Christ, by grace and not by works. In This Teaching Dustin's own story of coming alive to purpose on a high school mission trip What it means to live according to "the pattern of this world" without realizing it The difference between mercy (not getting what you deserve) and grace (getting what you don't) How the Christmas, Easter, and ascension stories each shape what grace does in a believer's life Why "by grace, not by works" doesn't mean there's nothing to do The story of Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities as a picture of substitution and grace Scriptures Referenced: Ephesians 2:1–10 Special Guest: Dustin Maddox.

Rome had the soldiers, the prisons, the emperor. Paul had chains. And from a prison cell, he wrote a letter claiming that Jesus was actually the one who defined ultimate power. In Chapter 1 of Ephesians, we open a nearly 2,000-year-old letter written to a church in a city dominated by the massive Temple of Artemis and the authority of Rome ... and ask what Paul meant when he said God's plan was to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

We're not allowed to see the future, and honestly, that's probably a mercy. But at the very end of the Bible, in a strange, image-heavy vision on the island of Patmos, John gets a glimpse of ultimate reality — and it looks nothing like what most of us are anxious about day to day. In this message, Brian Ross walks through Revelation 22 and asks a simple but unsettling question: if what's ultimately real is so different from how we're living, what needs to change? In This Teaching Why not being able to see the future might actually be a mercy What "revelation" (apocalypse) actually means: an unveiling, not a prediction Why we live in a "culture of unreality" compared to past generations The claim at the center of Revelation 22: a crucified, risen Jewish peasant is ultimate reality Why character, not status or achievement, is what aligns us with what's real Martin Luther King Jr.'s account of hearing Jesus speak to him in a moment of fear Scriptures Referenced: Revelation 22:1–5, 8–14 Isaiah 55:8–9 Matthew 7:13–14 Special Guest: Brian Ross.

Everybody looks at the same world. Not everybody sees the same thing. Walt Disney once stared at a pile of leftover dirt at Disneyland and saw a mountain — years before anyone else could see it too. In the final week of Challenge Accepted, Forrest Jenan asks whether we can learn to see the world the way Jesus sees it — enemies as people to love, failure as a place for restoration, a cross as the doorway to resurrection. In This Teaching The surprising origin story of Disneyland's Matterhorn Why everyone already has a "picture" of reality, whether they realize it or not What Paul's image of the veil in 2 Corinthians 3 actually means Why we always act on what we imagine to be true The difference between conforming to the world's pattern and having a renewed mind A simple daily prayer for learning to see like Jesus Scriptures Referenced: Exodus 34:29–35 2 Corinthians 3:14–18 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6 Romans 12:2

A 100-mph fastball reaches home plate in four-tenths of a second — too fast to think through. Hitters don't rise to that moment. They fall back on thousands of hours of repetition. In Part 4 of Challenge Accepted, Forrest Jenan explores what it looks like to train before life comes at us fast — and why the habits Jesus practiced were never about proving how spiritual we are, but about becoming like him. In This Teaching Why pressure moments reveal what's been trained into you, not what you decide in the moment What it means that "everyone is somebody's disciple" The difference between spiritual formation as an event versus a process Why the habits of Jesus — prayer, rest, scripture, generosity — are training, not religious homework A simple daily rhythm anyone can start: quiet, scripture, prayer Why the goal is always faith expressing itself through love, not private religious performance Scriptures Referenced: Luke 5:16 Luke 6:40 1 Timothy 4:8 2 Corinthians 3:18 Galatians 5:6

We've built a world designed to make sure we never have to sit with discomfort for very long. Phones, Netflix, distraction on demand. But almost everything that actually grows us asks us to walk into something uncomfortable first. In Part 3 of Challenge Accepted, Forrest Jenan tells the story of Esther — a young woman asked to risk everything without knowing the outcome — and asks what your next Brave Move might be. In This Teaching Why our culture's obsession with comfort works against real growth Esther's story: hidden identity, real danger, and an uncertain outcome The Name, Frame, Brave framework for facing fear honestly Why real relationships and brave moves are connected What Jesus's honesty in Gethsemane teaches us about courage The question to carry into this week: what's your Brave Move? Scriptures Referenced: Esther Matthew 26:38–39

We've gotten really good at having people around us without letting anyone get close. We know how to answer "how are you?" without ever really answering it. In Part 2 of Challenge Accepted, Forrest Jenan explores what Jesus meant by real relationships and why the way of Jesus was never meant to be walked alone. In This Teaching Why having lots of people in your life isn't the same as being known What Genesis 2:18 says about isolation, even in a perfect world How long it actually takes to build a close friendship Why Jesus responded to the faith of the friends carrying the paralyzed man Why Jesus deliberately put people who didn't belong together in the same group Two questions to carry into this week: who has access to you, and who are you willing to get close to? Scriptures Referenced: Genesis 2:18 John 15:12 Mark 2:5 Galatians 6:1–2 Hebrews 10:24–25 Matthew 12:48–49

You already have a way... a way you handle conflict, chase success, treat people who disagree with you. You probably never chose it on purpose. It got handed to you, or you picked it up along the way. In Part 1 of Challenge Accepted, we look at what it actually means when Jesus says "follow me" — not an invitation to a few good teachings, but an invitation to trade your road for his. In This Teaching Why the earliest followers of Jesus were called "people of the Way" What it meant to be a rabbi's disciple in the first century Why Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with a decision The difference between the gate (a moment) and the road (a lifetime) A preview of the series: Real Relationships, Brave Moves, Better Habits, New Mindsets Why Jesus tells us to count the cost before signing up Scriptures Referenced: Matthew 4:18–20 Matthew 7:13–14 Mark 8:32–33 Luke 14:28–33

Managing life on your own natural ability ... how's that actually working out? For most of us, not great. Not because we're failing, but because we were never meant to run on willpower alone. In the final week of I AM, Brian Ross unpacks Jesus's claim in John 15:1 — "I am the true vine" — and what it looks like to access a kind of power that goes beyond anything we can manufacture ourselves. In This Teaching Why we're drawn to stories of struggling, resilient creatures like Punch the Monkey The difference between natural ability and the power Jesus offers Three practical ways to actually interact with Jesus Why pruning and pain are often part of spiritual growth, not signs it's failing How comfort can quietly close us off from real change What it means to "remain" in Jesus as an ongoing daily posture Scriptures Referenced: John 15:1–8 Galatians 5:22–23 Luke 6:20–26 Special Guest: Brian Ross.

Success. The right relationship. The perfect body. The paid-off house. We're all chasing some version of the golden ticket... convinced that if we just find it, life will finally start. In Part 6 of I AM, Jordan Brokaw unpacks one of Jesus's boldest claims from the Last Supper — John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life" — and what it means that the thing we've been chasing was never a destination, but a person. In This Teaching Why everyone is chasing a golden ticket, whether they'd call it that or not What Jesus meant calling himself "the way" in a culture that first called his followers "the Way" Why the narrow gate is about a countercultural life, not exclusivity Living in an age drowning in information but starving for truth The difference between mere existence and the flourishing life Jesus calls zoē What golden ticket you might still be chasing? Scriptures Referenced: John 14:1–6 Matthew 7:13–14 John 8:31–32 John 10:10

We live by an unspoken rule: forget you're going to die. Stay busy, stay young, stay distracted... anything to avoid the questions death forces us to ask. In Part 5 of I AM, Jordan Brokaw sits with the story of Jesus's friend Lazarus — the waiting, the grief, the disappointment — and Jesus's claim in John 11:25 that changes everything: "I am the resurrection and the life." In This Teaching Why our culture is obsessed with denying mortality, and what it's costing us What it felt like for Martha and Mary to wait for help that didn't come in time What "spiritual bypassing" is, and how it can quietly derail real grief Why Jesus wept at a tomb he was about to empty? The difference between resurrection as future hope and life as present reality What it would look like to live like death no longer defines you Scriptures Referenced: John 11:21–25 John 11:35 John 11:38–44