Cornerstone West Los Angeles » Sermons

What Then Shall We Say?

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Romans 8 is one of the most radical expressions of joy that you can find, and it's all based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When the resurrection lands on your mind and your heart, this joy goes to work in your life, connecting you to God's own love now and forever.

Application Questions:

1. Why do you think Jesus did or did not rise from the dead? What difference does that make to your daily life?

2. How do you handle feelings of guilt, shame, and condemnation? Do you think the message of Easter offers a better way?

3. How do you handle adversity, suffering, and the reality of death? How could that change if the message of Easter is true?

3. The Humanity of Jesus

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

At the heart of Christianity is the idea that God himself took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. While other religions suggest that God has made appearances on earth, in Jesus the true God dwelt among us as a full human being. This gives us remarkable hope in difficult times, support in our suffering, and a sense of purpose and meaning to our existence. Most of all it shows us the lengths to which God would go out of love to save us.

Application Questions:

1. Why does John stress the fact that Jesus was fully human? What would we lose if Jesus only appeared to be human?

2. How might it help you to know that God knows what it is like to suffer as a human being?

3. How can the miracle of God taking on flesh give you hope in difficult circumstances this week?

2. The Deity of Jesus

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

John's gospel opens with a stunning prologue, bringing us all the way back to before time began. This is where the story of Jesus begins, and John forces us to reckon with the fact that Jesus of Nazareth, fully human, was also fully God. This is the miracle of miracles, and means Jesus can show us what God is like, be the authority over our lives that we need, and rescue us that we might live forever with God.

Application Questions:

1. Why is it so important to John that we understand Jesus as fully God? What would we lose if Jesus was just a very godly human being?

2. Why does John want us to think of Jesus as the word of God?

3. How can Jesus, as fully God, give you direction, purpose, and meaning in your life in a way other things can’t?

4. What does it mean that to you that Jesus came to rescue you, not just inspire you? How can that change your perspective on your life this week?

1. He Dwelt Among Us

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas we consider what the mystery of the incarnation: that the God of the universe became a human. How do we respond to such a glorious reality? And how does that response shape our Christmas celebrations?

Application Questions:

1. What is one way you can spend time meditating on the reality of the incarnation this week?

2. What false Gods do you need to let go of as you respond to Christ in worship?

3. How might your Christmas celebrations look different if you were to reflect the incarnation in your relationships with others?

13. Father, Son, and Spirit

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

As we finish our series on the attributes of God, we come to a central truth: the one God exists eternally in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity challenges our minds but it can also bring awe and joy to our hearts. Because he is triune, God is overflowing with love, life, and goodness. This means reality is about love, not power, and that Christianity is ultimately an invitation into the love and glory God has in himself.

Application Questions:

1. What is your experience with the doctrine of the Trinity? How have you thought about it in the past?

2. What difference does it make that God is triune?

3. How can you enjoy the triune God in prayer, Bible reading, and more this week?

12. The Promise Keeper

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

God's faithfulness is directly related to His promise-making and promise-keeping. He voluntarily limits Himself by making covenants with His people. These covenants define the relationship His people have with Him, and they show that He is a God who makes glorious promises, and keeps those promises. We can have confidence that He will keep His promises because of the blood of Jesus.

Application Questions:

1. What is a "covenant" and why does it matter for how we relate to God?

2. How is it shocking that the eternal, infinite God of the universe makes promises to His people?

3. Why are the promises of God essential for your life?

4. How does the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus give you confidence that God will always keep His promises?

5. How can the promises of God anchor your soul this week?

11. God of all Righteousness

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Just as God is holy, good, and loving, God is just. His righteous character means he brooks no evil, shows no partiality, and overlooks no injustice. Peter tells us that one day God's justice will come to cleanse the earth and expose our deeds. And yet he says that judgment day can be a day to look forward to! We all long for justice, and yet can't face it ourselves without being consumed. But in Christ we see the judge who came to be judged for us, so we can make it through judgement day to a renewed heaven and earth with him.

Application Questions:

1. How do you respond to the idea that God is just? What questions or reactions do you have?

2. Why do some people find God's justice a reason for hope?

3. How does Christ allow us to long for judgment day instead of recoil in fear?

4. How might God's justice change the way you react to the circumstances in your life now?

10. Abounding In Love

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

"Good" is such a mediocre word, we can often misunderstand what it means that God is good. But when we open our Bibles and consider God's goodness we see that all the beautiful aspects of his character flow from it. It's not just that God is good. Our greatest joy and only hope are in the fact that is perfect goodness.

Application Questions:

1. How do you tend to define "goodness"? Is it rooted in God or your own ideas?

2. What are some big moments in life in which you have seen God's goodness/kindness?

3. What are some small moments in life in which you have seen God's goodness/kindness?

4. What are some ways you have seen God's goodness/kindness in creation?

5. How does the gospel prove the perfect nature of God's goodness?

6. What are a few ways you would treat others differently if you were more consistently living out God's goodness toward them?

9. The Lord Alone

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

If you had to pick one word to describe God, the Bible would tell you to use the word "holy." God's holiness is a way of talking about the all the things that set him apart. God's holiness means his power, goodness, and love, are a purer, richer, and deeper than any other. Isaiah encounters God's holiness and finds himself transformed. By looking at Isaiah's experience, we learn what it means to encounter God ourselves.

Application Questions:

1. The word "holiness" means different things to different people. How have you understood the idea of holiness in the past?

2. Have you ever felt overwhelmed and undone by God's holiness? What led to those experiences? How did you respond to them?

3. How do you understand the relationship between God's holiness and God's mercy?

4. What about God's holiness makes you holy? Have you seen that at work in your own life?

8. God Almighty

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

God speaks and the universe is created. His Word is a manifestation of His power- it accomplishes His will, and there is no insecurity or uncertainty. God's power is infinite and gracious, and He chooses to use His power for our good.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways you see your own heart drawn towards earthly power?

2. What insecurities do you see in your own heart and life regarding power/getting what you desire?

3. How does God's power induce fear? How does God's power induce hope and peace?

4. What is gracious about God's power?

5. How can God's gracious and infinite power embolden you and strengthen you in suffering?

7. God With Us

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Thinking about the nature of God can make him feel distant. When we realize that he is transcendent, sufficient, and eternal it's hard to think of him as close. But, the eternal God is not far away, but is always fully present with us. And recognizing his presence changes everything.

Application Questions:

1. Do you constantly recognize that God is with you, or do you often slip into a functional Deism (believing he is far away)? And why do you think that is?

2. Do you tend to think of God as always fully present with you? Or do you think of him as possibly being distracted? How does that change how you live?

3. Does the thought that God is fully with you initially bring you comfort, fear, or both? Why?

4. How might you follow David's example in praying a prayer of confession in light of God's constant presence?

6. God Unchanging

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

One of the most comforting attributes of God is that he is unchanging. Unlike everything else in creation, God is perfectly stable, never wavering, never shifting, a rock that will never fail. James finds this truth very practical for dealing with the realities of life. In suffering and struggle, it's God's unchanging goodness that anchors us in the storm.

Application Questions:

1. How does the idea of an unchanging God comfort you? How does it challenge you?

2. How do you think about the gifts in your life? How might they point you to God?

3. What about God's stability makes the gospel more comforting and more joyful?

5. God Everlasting

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

We are working through the attributes of God, and this week we come to God's eternity. God is "from everlasting to everlasting." He stands above time, with no beginning and no end. Compared to God's eternity, we realize how temporary we are, and how all the things we put our hopes in will fade. When we understand that God is eternal, we will treat the past, the present, and the future differently, because Christ holds all of our time in his hands in love.

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever thought about God's eternity? How might it change your perspective on things in your life now?

2. Why does the psalmist focus so much on the brevity of life? Do you resonate with what he is saying?

3. How have you put your hope in temporary things?

4. How is the gospel richer and more beautiful knowing that Christ is eternal yet stepped into time for us?

4. A God without Need

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Exodus 3 is the place where someone first asks God for his name. What do we learn about from this encounter? First, we learn that God is knowable—he is not an impersonal force, but a God with a name. Second, we find he is all sufficient. Everything in existence depends on God, but he depends on nothing; we can offer him nothing, he gives us everything. Finally, we find a radical love. When the all sufficient God desires to know you, it's can't be because you offer him something. It must be pure love, which we see in its fullness in Jesus Christ.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced the difference between knowing about God and knowing God?

2. How does God's sufficiency feel humbling you? How does God's sufficiency feel freeing to you?

3. How does God's sufficiency make his love more striking—especially when seen in the death of Christ?

3. A God Above All

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

We are in a series on the attributes of God, and this morning we look at God's transcendence. When we talk about God, we're talking about someone who is bigger than we realize, above and outside of the created world. This means he is radically different from us. He is infinite, limitless, and endless. Surprisingly, it's these lofty ideas about God that are the most important for shaping our lives here—particularly because he does not stay high and distant, but comes close in love through Jesus Christ.

Application Questions:

1. How does the transcendence of God adjust the way you've thought about God up until now?

2. How does the transcendence of God help you see the power and beauty of the gospel?

3. How does the transcendence of God meet you in the struggles you face today?

2. The God Who is There

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

We are starting a new series on the attributes of God: who is He? What is He like? And it makes sense to begin with his reality, the fact that he really does exist. The natural world provides clues that point to God's existence, and our own hearts add clues as well. Yet the Bible suggests that we all have a complex relationship with these clues. One part of us experiences them deeply, while another part fights against them. Ultimately it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that can reconcile us to ourselves and show us the grace and love of the God who is there.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced the clues of God's reality, either in the created world or in the human heart?

2. What reaction do you have to the idea that God exists? What do you think motivates that reaction?

3. How does the gospel make God's existence good news?

4. How would your life be different if you kept God's reality in mind throughout your day?

1. The God Who Speaks

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

As we look to a new series on the attributes of God, we start with a questions: how do we know what God is like in the first place? Much of our lives is based on what we think about God, but how do we know? In Psalm 19, David celebrates the God who speaks—in the natural world, and in the scriptures, and in our own hearts.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced the "silent" word of God in the natural world? What has it communicated to you?

2. Why is the "silent" word of nature not enough? Why do we need a spoken word?

3. What about scripture stands out to you from Psalm 19:7-11? Can you relate to how David talks about scripture here?

4. Have you experienced the "searching" word of God? How can that lead you to the gospel more this week?

41. Inside And Outside

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus is invited to a Pharisee's home for a meal and doesn't follow all of the rituals they follow. He uses this as an opportunity to outline the difference between external religion and internal heart transformation. The hope of the gospel runs deeper into our souls than any behavior modification ever can.

Application Questions:

1. What are ways that your walk with Christ is too shallow, aiming to change external behaviors rather than the heart?

2. How does a life aimed from the inside out bring wisdom?

3. What kind of humility results from the gospel touching down in the depths of your heart?

4. How do pride and insecurity feed each other? And how does the gospel free you?

5. Are you seeking your own glory or Christ's?

40. Light And Darkness

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Many are looking for a sign, argument, or circumstances that will settle the issue about Jesus once and for all. If only we had more illumination than we do now, we could come to a deeper faith and move forward fully convinced. In a challenging set of teachings, Jesus confronts us with the reality that the issue is not a lack of light, but a lack of sight. Jesus's teaching and ministry are more than enough light for us to come to a deep and satisfying conclusion about who he is. What we need is eyes that can see—and if we turn to Jesus, we'll find our eyes healed and beholding him.

Application Questions:

1. Do you find yourself wishing there was more evidence that God was real and Jesus Christ is who he said he was? How so? How does that affect your life, spiritually and otherwise?

2. Jesus shows us that our doubt is complicated. What are some ways your doubt might be more complicated than you realized?

3. How do the cross and resurrection of Jesus help with our doubts?

4. How might you turn to Jesus and ask him to open your eyes?

39. A Greater Power

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

In a passage full of references to demons and Satan, we get a surprisingly practical lesson on our own struggles and how we can be delivered from them. The Bible paints a realistic, complex picture of the forces that work against us in the world and in our own hearts. When we experience those forces, we turn to a variety of places for deliverance, yet the changes we experience are short-lived, superficial, and leave us worse off. Only Jesus can deliver us from the forces arrayed against us thoroughly and permanently.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced "the world, the flesh, and the Devil" interacting in your own life?

2. Are there places you are tempted to look for deliverance other than Jesus? Have you ever felt they left you worse off?

3. How can you apply the power of the gospel to enjoy more freedom in your daily life?

38. Prayer And Persistence

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

It can be easy to think of God like a genie or a butler when it comes to prayer. But the Lord's Prayer shows us the true purpose and power of approaching the throne: getting more of God.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways might your prayer life be disordered? How can the Lord's Prayer reorient your approach?

2. Are you worried about bothering God with your prayers?

3. How does the promise of the giving of the Holy Spirit change the way you pray?

37. One Thing is Necessary

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Sisters Martha and Mary invite Jesus into their home- Mary sits at the feet of Jesus to listen and learn, while Martha is serving and handling logistics. In the midst of her serving Martha's heart is off- and Jesus gently corrects her, reminding her that He must be the first priority of her life.

Application Questions:

1. Why is Jesus so concerned with our inner life?

2. What are areas of distraction you see in your life right now?

3. How does worry manifest itself in your life?

4. Do you battle against distraction and worry in your life by remember Christ as the "good portion"?

36. The Good Samaritan

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus provides a picture of what the Christian ethic looks like in practice. It is rooted in love that is compassionate, risky, and sacrificial. Exactly like the love he has shown us.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways have you found yourself trying to justify your life and your choices the way the lawyer did?

2. How does the way Jesus has loved you echo the love of the Good Samaritan?

3. How have you seen the love of the Good Samaritan lived out in our church family corporately?

4. How have you seen the love of the Good Samaritan lived out in your life individually?

5. What is one way you could manifest the love of the Good Samaritan more faithfully in your life?

35. Finding Joy

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The 72 disciples return from their mission full of joy at the success they experienced. But Jesus cautions them: their joy needs a deeper foundation than success. Instead, Jesus urges the disciples to ground their joy in the reality that their names are written in heaven. Here we find the secret to lasting joy that can carry us through a life full of victories and setbacks. When Jesus himself rejoices—even on the way to the cross—we see how solid and eternal our joy can be.

Application Questions:

1. Where are you tempted to look for joy in things that can't always provide it?

2. How can God's grace give you joy in the midst of the circumstances you're dealing with now?

3. How does it anchor your joy to know that Jesus rejoices over your salvation, despite what it cost him?

34. Laborers for the Harvest

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus sends out 72 of His followers to heal and teach people about the Kingdom of God. The harvest is plentiful, Jesus tells us, and the laborers are few—so pray and ask the Lord to raise up more laborers, and be diligent in the work.

Application Questions:

1. How does the "mission of God" intersect with your daily life?

2. What would be different if your life was lived first and foremost for the spread of His glory and kingdom?

3. How does the need and opportunity of the gospel speak to your life and interactions with those who don't know Christ?

4. What simple steps can you take in your life to live missionally?

5. How does your experience of the gospel inspire and empower you to live missionally?

33. Grace and Sacrifice

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus was singularly focused on his mission to redeem his people. He was unwilling to be distracted or deterred, even when those around him didn't understand what he was doing. Following him means being singularly focused on his mission too. And this means being willing to follow him without excuse and without delay.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways might you be able to relate to James and John's mistaken enthusiasm?

2. What are the aspects of life that distract you from following Jesus?

3. When do you find yourself saying to him: "Let me first..."?

4. Who are the people in your life that may be telling you "You should first..."?

5. Who are the people in your life who are helping you follow Jesus more closely?

32. Heaven And Earth

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

When Jesus comes off the mountain, he finds a world in disarray. When he brings his majesty to bear by healing a young boy, people marvel—but then he says this majesty will take him to a cross. Throughout the passage, we see ourselves in the disciples as they struggle to following Jesus. The message they need—the gospel that moves toward suffering to bring healing—is the same message we need to follow Jesus in our own lives.

Application Questions:

1. How does it encourage you that Jesus moves from the mountaintop into the mess of people's lives?

2. The disciples find themselves moving toward self-sufficiency, status, and worldly security. How do you find those things at work in your own life?

3. How does the gospel free you from those things to find your sufficiency, status, and security in Christ?

31. Heaven Come Down

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Three disciples follow Jesus up a mountain, and it seems like heaven comes down to earth. Jesus' true glory is unveiled, and we are again pressed with the question: who is this? This event, the transfiguration, reveals to us Jesus' identity, his mission, and the way we access it in our own lives.

Application Questions:

1. Are there ways you have Jesus playing a supporting role in your life? What would it look like for you to put him in the center?

2. How does the Transfiguration deepen your appreciation for the cross?

3. What would it look like for you to listen to Jesus as the authority in your life? What areas of your life would be shaped differently?

30. Who Do You Say I Am?

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

We enter back into the Gospel of Luke with Jesus asking his disciples who they say he is. In asking them, he poses the same question to every one of us. It's the most important question every person ever has to answer: Who do you say Jesus is?

Application Questions:

1. Where are you in your response to Jesus? Rejection, Curiosity, Confusion, or Recognition?

2. What is your next step in considering who Jesus is?

3. What does it look like for you to take up your cross daily? How can you grow in that?

4. Who do you say Jesus is?

29. Proclaim The Kingdom

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus' kingdom is a kingdom of power and authority, grace and mercy, love and compassion. When he reveals himself to us it leaves us not just acknowledging that he is the one true King, but wanting him to be our King. And as our king he has sent us to proclaim his kingdom that all those around us might come to know him too.

Application Questions:

1. What initially comes to mind when you think of the concept of a "kingdom"?

2. What does Jesus revelation of himself through his life and death teach you about the nature of his kingdom?

3. Are you looking to recognize big movements of God and participate in them by the power of his Spirit? How might you grow in sensitivity?

4. Are you looking for opportunities to proclaim God's Kingdom even in inconvenient moments? How might you grow in awareness?

5. Are you looking for opportunities to proclaim God's Kingdom through his provision for daily needs? How might prayer help fuel the proclamation of the kingdom in each of these contexts?

28. The Timing of Jesus

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

When Jesus brings healing to two very different people, he teaches us a lesson on faith. Faith doesn't begin with a certain personality or set of experiences. It always begins with a desperate realization that the world can't save you, and coming to Jesus as someone who can. From there, Jesus cultivates our faith in the same way he does with the woman and Jairus. He changes our focus, so that our faith becomes about him and not what he can give us. And he comforts our fears, so that our faith isn't about getting control, but giving control to him. In both healings, we see Jesus as the one who delivers us to true life, hope, and peace, through his own death and resurrection.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced what Jairus and the woman experienced—that the world can't save you?

2. Is your faith characterized by need, or something else?

3. How have you come to Jesus for something, and found him showing you someone?

4. When have you struggled with God's timing? How can the gospel comfort and embolden you to trust him regardless?

27. Calming The Storms

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus has the power to calm storms. But, what does that mean for your life? Through two different but related stories Jesus shows us how we can trust him whether the storms in our lives are raging around us or inside of us.

Application Questions:

1. What are the external storms you have experienced or are experiencing?

2. What are the internal storms you have or are experiencing?

3. Do you tend to respond to storms with weak or obedient faith? What are some examples?

4. How does remembering who Jesus is strengthen your faith when it's weak?

26. Receiving The Word

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In a famous parable Jesus teaches us about hearing. He comes with a word about the kingdom of God, which is different than any other kingdom. While other kingdoms come with a sword, Jesus' kingdom comes like a seed: small, unassuming, and yet with incredible power to transform. But this power is only released when the word is received deeply into our own hearts. The question for every person is, "Have I really been listening?"

Application Questions:

1. What is compelling about the idea that God's word is like a seed? What is challenging?

2. How have you seen the various soils Jesus describes, in your own life or the lives of others?

3. How can you cultivate habits of good listening to Jesus in your life now?

25. The Two Debtors

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Simon, a Pharisee, invites Jesus over for dinner. A sinful woman with a bad reputation arrives, lavishing Jesus with ointment and tears, and honoring Him. Simon is disgusted by this- but Jesus explains the experience of grace leads to love. She has been forgiven much, therefore she loves much. Simon, though, is self-righteous and doesn't think he needs forgiveness- and therefore misses out on a relationship with God.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you see your own heart like Simon's?

2. How does judgmentalism show up in your life? How does the gospel kill it?

3. What does the woman teach you about how to have a relationship with Jesus?

4. Do you see the depth of your need for forgiveness? Do you see the greatness of Christ's love and sacrifice for you?

5. How can you worship Christ this week like the woman?

24. Are You the One?

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

John the Baptist sends his followers to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah- thousands of years of eager expectation and anticipation are wrapped up in their question and concerns. Jesus responds to them by demonstrating His fulfillment of prophecy- declaring without hesitation that He is the One. The claims of Jesus inevitably lead to demands from Jesus for us, calling us to submit to His loving and gracious authority.

Application Questions:

1. How does the history and overall narrative of the Bible speak to the question of John the Baptist's followers?

2. What would it look like for Christ to be supreme in your life in all things?

3. How does the fulfillment of prophecy speak to the claims of Christ? What does that mean for how we must respond?

4. Why is it significant that the Pharisees reject God's "purpose"? Why is it different than what we'd expect?

23. Faith in His Power

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Whether a wealthy and successful military man or a destitute and grief-stricken widow, everyone has deep need; need that we are incapable of meeting on our own. Faith in Jesus and his great power opens the door to true and abundant life in the kingdom of God.

Application Questions:

1. What are some struggles in your life that you feel are insurmountable?

2. In what ways can you let yourself marvel at all that Jesus is for you?

3. How would your day-to-day life look different if you believed that Jesus is "the same yesterday, today, and forever?"

22. Fruit Trees and Foundations

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The Sermon on the Mount concludes with two illustrations that expose the depth of our problems and give us unfathomable hope. When we are confronted with the darkness of our own hearts, Jesus calls us to come to him and hear his words of grace and comfort. In doing so he gives us hope and transforms our entire lives.

Application Questions:

1. Do you consider the bad things you do "evil"? Why or why not?

2. When confronted with the darkness of your own heart, what are the words of God you need to remember?

3. What instructions from the Sermon on the Mount do you struggle to follow and how is God calling you to respond to the sermons over the past four weeks?

4. How would your life look different if you truly believed Jesus was actually serious about everything he taught in the Sermon on the Mount?

21. Humility

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In a famous passage, Jesus teaches about judgment. Contrary to popular belief, he does not rule out all judgment. Instead, he is highlighting a problem we all have: a proud spirit that stands over others in condemnation. This makes us useless and even harmful to those around us who need our help, and cuts us off from the help we need from others. Embracing Jesus and his grace allows us to become like him and engage others with a humble and loving spirit.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways you are quick to condemn and slow to love others?

2. How can God's grace for you in Christ help you to be quick to love and slow to condemn?

3. What are some specific ways you can look at others through a lens of grace this week?

20. Love Without Limits

Sun, 06 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount with one of his most famous exhortations ever: "Love your enemies." As we explore this radical call it illuminates the very nature of love that pours into our hearts through the Spirit and pours out of us indiscriminately to all those in our lives, even those who are hostile toward us.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you understand God's love through the lens of our upside-down world?

2. What are examples of natural (reciprocal) love you can point to in your life?

3. What opportunities do you have to show supernatural love?

4. Who is hostile toward you or opposed to you (or people like you) that might be who Jesus is referring to when he talks about "enemies"?

5. How is God calling you to love differently this week?

19. The Upside Down Kingdom

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus introduces a revolutionary kingdom in Luke chapter 6. He appoints leaders and preaches a sermon outlining his kingdom program, starting with a value system laid out in the "beatitudes." These blessings and woes run against our natural instincts and the values of our world. Yet they line up with reality in deep ways, leading us to a far richer life now and into eternity.

Application Questions:

1. How do the beatitudes challenge the normal approach to life in Los Angeles?

2. What about the beatitudes scare you, and why? What about the beatitudes excite you, and why?

3. What do you think it would take for your value system to match up to what we find in the beatitudes? How does Jesus and his gospel fit in?

18. The Rest of Jesus

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

We all need rest. But where do we get it? And how does Jesus offer it? On two separate occasions Jesus shows the Pharisees (and us) how badly we misunderstand the nature of rest, and clarifies that true rest is only found in him.

Application Questions:

1. What are areas in life you tend to "human-splain" to God about how things should be?

2. How do you usually pursue rest?

3. Is your pursuit of rest primarily self-focused or God-focused?

4. How is Jesus' vision for Sabbath rest more conservative or libertine than you expect?

5. What is one thing you can do to pursue more God-oriented Sabbath rest on a weekly basis?

17. The Joy of Jesus

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Against the assumption of many, Christianity will inevitably bring joy into the human heart. In this passage from Luke, we find Jesus bringing joy to a tax collector and his friends. When pressed, he describes life with him as a wedding celebration. This morning we will look at the joy Jesus brings and see what it can mean for our own lives following him.

Application Questions:

1. Do you naturally associate Christianity with joy? Why or why not?

2. In what ways do you see "religion" (apart from Christ) keeping you from joy?

3. How can you embrace the joy Christ offers you this week in your own life?

16. The Healing of Jesus

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus' ministry is full of healing: the blind see, the lame walk, and the sick are raised to full health. This passage describes two healings in detail, and they teach us about the healing of Jesus overall. Jesus heals a leper, addressing a variety of needs with his grace. He touches a man many considered untouchable, demonstrating a rich compassion for those in need. And when Jesus heals a paralyzed man, he surprises everyone by diagnosing and addressing his greatest need and our own.

Application Questions:

1. How can the comprehensive healing of Jesus give you more patience, endurance, and love in your life now?

2. What would it look like for our church community to follow Jesus lead and refuse to keep others at arms length, especially in their places of greatest need?

3. Do you agree with Jesus' diagnosis that your greatest need is the forgiveness of your sins? How does your answer influence the way you live?

15. The Followers of Jesus

Sun, 25 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus invites his followers on an adventure. It's unlike anything they ever expected, and unlike anything they could have imagined. But, at times, the journey will be confusing. In encountering Jesus, Peter shows us how to respond when the invitation of Jesus is confusing and why, following him anyway leads to greater joy than we ever thought possible.

Application Questions:

1. What is something God has called or instructed you to do that didn't seem to make any sense?

2. How do you tend to respond when God's instructions don't make sense to you? How often do you walk by faith and not by sight?

3. Can you recount a time when you have been completely overwhelmed by the reality and presence of God?

4. What is your life about? Why does God have you here in LA? And do your answers to those questions reflect God's kingdom-oriented call on your life?

14. The Authority of Jesus

Sun, 18 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Luke shows us what Jesus' ministry was like in several snapshots. He teaches with an astonishing authority, he heals with a compassionate authority, and he raises up the needy to a kind of life serving him. When we understand Jesus this way, we'll find the same things happening to us.

Application Questions:

1. How have you been astonished by Jesus authority as the Author of all things?

2. Where do you see a need for compassionate authority in the lives of people around you, or in your own life?

3. How have you seen Jesus' authority transform your life?

13. The Mission of Jesus

Sun, 04 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus begins His ministry in and around His hometown- and immediately He challenges the people. He challenges their authority. He challenges their mission. And He challenges their allegiance. This same Jesus challenges us the same way today.

Application Questions:

1. How is Jesus different than the people expected the Messiah to be?

2. What are the initial reasons the people begin to question Jesus?

3. How does Jesus go from being "glorified by all" to being almost murdered?

4. How does Jesus challenge your authority in your life? How does He challenge your mission? How does He challenge your allegiance?

12. The Great Temptation

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The temptation of Jesus is a shock to our system as modern people, but we need it to face the realities of our world and the struggles in our own hearts. When we look at the setting in the wilderness, the Devil's temptations, and Jesus' response, we learn about fighting our own temptations through Christ.

Application Questions:

1. Have you experienced "the wilderness" in your own life?

2. Do you struggle believing in supernatural evil? Do you struggle believing that Jesus really underwent temptation?

3. Where can you identify temptation in your own life?

4. How can you fight temptation using Scripture and the gospel this week?

11. A New Adam

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Certain sections of scripture cause our modern eyes to glaze over, but ancient eyes cherished the genealogies of Jesus Christ. Looking back over the ancestors of Jesus, we find some names we recognize and many others we don't. These generations teach us about how God fulfills his promises, how Jesus comes to bring good news to all people, and how in Christ our deepest hopes make contact with the real world.

Application Questions:

1. How can this list of names help you trust God's promises more in your own life?

2. What are ways God's grace in Jesus can meet you when you feel insignificant or undesirable?

3. Jesus is divine perfection breaking into our human world. How can that give you hope in the midst of your daily life?

10. A New Baptism

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000

John's ministry is to prepare the way for the Lord. That means the true King, God himself, is stepping into human history. What will the King do? In this short passage, we see that the King has a baptism he brings, and a baptism he receives. In these two baptisms, we get a picture of the whole of the Christian life. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire, meaning he brings you into contact with God himself. If you submit to him, he will transform you into something more glorious than you can imagine. If you reject him, it will leave you eternally empty. But Jesus also is baptized for you, identifying with us not just in the water with John but on the cross in our place. He goes into the fire of God's judgment so you might be redeemed and refined.

Application Questions:

1. Do you ever engage in Christian activities without looking to connect with God? How can you look to interact with God through regular Christian practices like Bible reading, prayer, community, and corporate worship?

2. Can you describe a time when the fires of life refined you into someone more holy? What in your life right now might be having the same effect?

3. How does Jesus' own baptism show you he is trustworthy? How might that lead you to trust and obey him more?

9. A New Preparation

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

John the Baptist is sent in preparation for the Messiah's arrival. God's Word comes to Him in the wilderness and He preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Baptism shows us that every inch of our souls needs transformation, immersed in the waters from head to toe. Repentance shows us that we need a decisive change of mind, acknowledging our sin and rejecting it. And forgiveness shows us that the goal of this change is a relationship with the God of the universe.

Application Questions:

1. Why is baptism so significant? Why is immersion important?

2. How have you seen repentance as a regular pattern in your life?

3. What are the ways you can grow in repentance – acknowledging and rejecting sin in your heart and life?

4. How does the gospel speak hope to you in the midst of sin?

5. Why must we preach the gospel to ourselves every day?

8. A New Son

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In a rare look at Jesus' early life, we find him in the temple at twelve years old. Even though his parents have left Jerusalem without him, Jesus is right at home in his Father's house, because he is the Son of God. In this passage, Luke shows us the kind of Son Jesus is: authoritative, surprising, and obedient. Each one gives us a lesson on following Jesus in our own lives today.

Application Questions:

1. As the Son of God, Jesus claims total authority over our lives. How have you embraced Jesus' authority in your life? What areas of your life might need to be brought under his authority?

2. Can you think of a time that Jesus was different than you expected him to be? How did you handle that surprise?

3. Jesus is the obedient Son, obeying his Father even when it led to judgment and death. How might Jesus' obedience move you to embrace his authority in your life, even when he violates your expectations?

7. A New Peace

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

We all spend most of our lives waiting. But what are we waiting for? When we wait for the things of this world, we're left anxious, stressed, and fearful. But when we wait on God we can experience true peace.

Application Questions:

1. What "unknown future" are you tempted to wait for?

2. How would your days be different if you were consciously to wait (live expectantly) for God's good purposes for you and your eternal future?

3. How could you practically help yourself wait not for an outcome but for the person of Christ?

6. A New Savior

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Merry Christmas! Jesus is born – the promise of God is fulfilled. And the contrasts are innumerable. A multitude of angels come to announce the birth of the Messiah – and they come to lowly shepherds watching sheep. Why? Because the story of Christmas is not about the glory of God in the highest but about God's glory coming to the lowest of low, because He loves us.

Application Questions:

1. How does the story of Christmas impact life in March?

2. What is glory?

3. What is God's glory?

4. How does God's glory in the lowest speak hope to your life?

5. How can you "go and see", and "ponder in your heart" and "glorify and praise God" this week?

5. A New Mercy

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000

As we prepare to see Jesus appear on the scene, Luke prepares his readers for this ultimate entrance by highlighting the profound mercy of God. In order to prepare ourselves to encounter the one true God, we need to understand that though he is a God of holiness, love, justice, and kindness, he is also a God of mercy.

Application Questions:

1. What does it mean that God is merciful?

2. Have you often thought of God's mercy?

3. What are some ways that you have seen God's mercy in your life?

4. What are some ways you are longing to see God's mercy in your life?

5. Why can the gospel give you confidence as you wait and hope for God's mercy?

4. A New Song

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In this passage, we find the magnificat, the song Mary sang about the coming of Christ. For two thousand years people have been compelled by this song, and this morning we'll see why. Luke first gives us a prelude: Mary's meeting with Elizabeth, when the truth she heard from the angel landed on her heart. But then we find the song itself, full of truths that can make your heart sing too.

Application Questions:

1. What are ways you have experienced "the truth landing on your heart"? How often were other people involved?

2. Is it ever a struggle to think of the gospel as personal—for you? How have you seen that affect your life?

3. Why does Mary's song focus so much on who God is and what he's done? Do you find a similar focus in your own perspective?

4. Christ turns the world upside-down: the proud and wealthy are in a dangerous position, while the humble and poor are in a promising position. How should that adjust the way you view the world, and your own life?

3. A New Hope

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In this section of Luke, we find an angelic message and a human response. Gabriel announces that Mary will conceive and bear a son, and that this son will bring a new hope into the world. This message points to a wealth of grace and love for all kinds of people through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And Mary's response points us to the nature of true faith: sincere questions coupled with a surrendered life.

Application Questions:

1. How do we see the love of God in the incarnation?

2. Are there ways your faith could use more sincerity?

3. How does the gospel encourage you toward deeper surrender? What would that look like in your life?

2. From Old to New

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000

God's plan and purpose for salvation begin to unfold through a forerunner – someone coming before Jesus to prepare the way. The life and ministry of John the Baptist is promised to his father Zechariah, who doesn't believe the angel Gabriel's promise. Regardless of Zechariah's faith, God is going to accomplish His promise for His people.

Application Questions:

1. Do you feel stuck? In what ways?

2. How do you respond to God's promises in your life?

3. How is it grace that God accomplishes His will with or without you?

4. What newness does God want to bring into your life through Jesus this year?

1. That You May Know the Truth

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Luke begins with a proper introduction, detailing his research methods and what he intends for his readers to learn. This teaches us important lessons about what the gospels are: true accounts about the person of Jesus who can change your life.

Application Questions:

1. Why is it important that we see Luke's gospel as the result of an investigation into the truth, not hearsay or legends?

2. Luke puts forth a person, not an argument, as the answer to our questions, longings, and desires. In what ways is the person of Jesus Christ more satisfying than an argument?

3. Do you come to Christianity, and the Bible particularly, looking for what you should do or what God has done for you in Jesus Christ? How does that shape your daily life?

4. Contending for the Faith

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Jude is a short letter that packs a punch. He demonstrates that the Christian faith is something worth fighting for, and then shows us how to do it in a way that matches the grace and love of the gospel. The Christian faith, Jude says, is true, beautiful, and life changing. When some claim that faith but avoid its implications, we have to contend! But Jude counsels us to do so by keeping ourselves in the love of God and remembering that, in the gospel, God keeps us as well.

Application Questions:

1. How have you found the Christian faith both true and beautiful?

2. "Grace leads you toward Christ as Lord, not away from him." How have you seen this true in your own life? How is denying this truth destructive?

3. How can you practically "keep yourself in the love of God," and keep others there as well?

4. How does the way God "keeps you" in the gospel encourage you?

3. Reconciliation

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In this letter Paul takes the values of the Kingdom of God and lovingly but firmly presses Philemon (and us) to reject the kingdom of this world and embrace the Kingdom of God.

Application Questions:

1. Take some time to think deeply about yourself. What are some blind spots you may have in your life? Do you pray and ask God to reveal blind spots to you?

2. How can you daily remind yourself of your identity in Christ?

3. What are the ways you get caught in the trap of comparison? How does the gospel free you from that trap?

4. How does the world around you fixate on the value you bring? How does Christ see you differently?

5. What would "usefulness" look like for you in your life?

2. Growing The Truth

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The Apostle John wants to see the gospel grow and multiply throughout the world. And there are a few key ways the local church can facilitate that growth. By thinking of ourselves less and sacrificing for others more, we can all participate in the supernatural growth of the gospel.

Application Questions:

1. Who are the brothers and sisters serving the kingdom who need your hospitality and support?

2. Where do you see the spirit of Diotrephes at work in the church or in your own heart?

3. Who is a "Demetrius" in your life? Who, specifically, should you be imitating?

1. Guarding The Truth

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000

2 John is a small letter with a big message: the nature of truth and love. What we believe to be true shapes the way we live. The central truth of Christianity—that Jesus Christ came in the flesh—is what shapes us into loving people. For that reason Christians are careful to guard the truths of the faith, in the world and also in their own hearts.

Application Questions:

1. Where in your own life can you see the connection between what you believe and how you live?

2. What is unique about the Christian belief that "Jesus Christ came in the flesh"?

3. How might God be leading you to guard the truth in your own life?

14. Life at the End

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Daniel ends by talking about the end: what happens at the end of human history. We find that death isn't the end, for us or our world. There is a resurrection and a future for every human being, all based on what you do with Jesus Christ. This changes how we live today, as we orient our lives around a future much longer than the lives we live on earth.

Application Questions:

1. How often do you think about what happens after you die? What are those thoughts like?

2. How does the future described in Daniel 12 compare to the way you think about eternity?

3. What might it look like for you to "go your way" knowing that you have an eternal place with God?

13. Wisdom, Hope, and Faithfulness

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Daniel’s final vision describes a chaotic future. Kingdoms rise and fall, with God’s people caught in the middle. Today most of Daniel’s vision is history, but it gives us stabilizers for life in today's chaotic world. Daniel 11 shows us how wisdom, hope, and the knowledge of God can give you firm footing in the whirlwind of modern life.

Application Questions:

1. How can you pursue wisdom by putting the circumstances of your daily life in conversation with eternity?

2. How can God’s power and goodness give you hope in the midst of real difficulty?

3. How might knowing God help you stand firm through the chaos of life in the city?

12. Fear Not

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Daniel ends with a final vision detailing events in human history and God’s rule over them all. Before it begins, Chapter 10 turns our eyes to the spiritual world behind such events. This is challenging for modern people, but the spiritual world is more plausible than many expect. That spiritual world is also different than we often think, expanding our horizons and growing our sense of wonder. In light of an overwhelming unseen world, Daniel is told to fear not. Because of God’s love for us in Christ, we can navigate the world without fear and find peace.

Application Questions:

1. Do you tend to think about the spiritual world too much or too little? How might that be affecting your life?

2. How does the Bible’s understanding of angels and demons differ from common ideas in secular or Christian culture?

3. In light of an overwhelming spiritual world, Daniel is told to “fear not." How does Jesus give you the ability to do so in ways you couldn’t without him?

11. The Way Home

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Daniel 9 is one of the most difficult passages in the Old Testament, and yet its central message is clear: God wants to bring his people home, and he will do it through Jesus Christ. The road home begins with God’s love for us, not our efforts or morality. And it leads to a home far better than we hoped: an existence free from sin, injustice, and pain, where all God’s promises are fulfilled. The way there is through God himself in human flesh, Jesus Christ, dying in our place.

Application Questions:

1. After confessing his sin, Daniel is told that he is greatly loved by God. What are some ways that challenges you and/or comforts you?

2. Read the six phrases in verse 24. Which ones do you find most compelling as a description of the future?

3. "All roads run through Jesus." How might you put Christ at the center of your view of the world and your own life choices?

10. Praying In Exile

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In the midst of visions, Daniel stops and reflects on the past seventy years of God's people in exile. Daniel's response is one of confession and petition – pouring out his heart in honesty, and pleading with God for mercy. Daniel's prayer shows us what it looks like to have a heart that seeks God.

Application Questions:

1. What are your initial feelings about confession? Is this something you practice? Why or why not?

2. How can you encounter God in His Word?

3. What would it look like to truly search your own heart and be honest and vulnerable before God?

4. What holds you back from genuine vulnerability?

5. How can you begin practicing confession in your life?

9. Behind The Veil

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Daniel 8 records a vision of world empires clashing and God’s people suffering. This prophecy, written hundreds of years before the events took place, gave Daniel and his readers clarity for the chaos that was ahead of them—and it can do the same for us. God is at work even when things seem like they are falling apart. This makes you clear-eyed, firm footed, and warm-hearted as you walk through the chaos of life, looking forward to God’s eternal kingdom at the end.

Application Questions:

1. Do you tend toward being cynical or idealistic? How does Daniel 8 help you see things more clearly?

2. God is at work even when things are falling apart. How can that encourage you toward faithfulness and endurance in your own life?

3. Despite what’s going on around you, the love of God in Christ never changes. How can that keep your heart warm and joyful in the difficulties you face this week?

8. Kingdom Come

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Daniel transitions from stories to visions in chapter 7, using startling imagery that often leaves us confused and bewildered. The goal of these visions is to leave us comforted and hopeful, and as we look closer we see why: we find God’s kingdom juxtaposed against the kingdoms of earth, leading to a final clash that brings the kingdom of heaven to earth forever. When we have this grasp of human history, it lets us walk through the world a different kind of person: joyful, secure, and wise.

Application Questions:

1. What’s your experience with apocalyptic literature, like Daniel’s vision in this chapter?

2. How have you experienced the chaos of life in the world?

3. What is appealing to you about the description of God’s kingdom in Daniel 3:9-14?

4. How can you look at the world differently with the “key to history” this week?

7. The Lions' Den

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The famous story of Daniel and the lions' den concludes the narrative portion of the book of Daniel, and shows us how to navigate life in the midst of exile. In exile we must be wary of the world's agendas, we must seek faithfulness in our spiritual disciplines, and we must fix our hearts and eyes on God's glory.

Application Questions:

1. Why should we be cautious when we encounter the world's rejection or celebration?

2. How can you see people as people?

3. What spiritual disciplines are necessary in your life to fight the current of the world around you?

4. How is the story of Daniel a story about resurrection?

5. What hope does this story give you in the midst of the lions in your life?

6. The Writing on the Wall

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

What happens when a young son is left in charge of the empire while his father is away for years and years? Predictably, nothing good. But, while Babylon begins to crumble from the inside out, God remains faithful to his people in exile, even when it seems like they've been forgotten.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways are you tempted to put your hope in the kingdoms of this world, even though their days are numbered?

2. In what ways are you tempted to put your hope in the things you treasure in this life, even though they are fleeting?

3. If your life is weighed before God, do you think you have more in common with King Belshezzar or King Jesus?

4. How does the gospel of Jesus give you hope and a future in spite of your sin and weakness?

5. The Humbled King

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Life in exile always means dealing with pride—both the pride around you and the pride inside of you. In Daniel 4 we see a proud king humbled, showing us the nature and effects of pride in our city and our own lives. We also see God’s grace providing a cure for pride, pointing ultimately to Jesus Christ. When we look up to receive his grace, humility and joy are released into our lives during our time in exile.

Application Questions:

1. Where are you tempted to say “my kingdom come, my will be done” in your life?

2. What stands out to you about the nature of pride?

3. How do you see the effects of pride in Los Angeles, and in your own life?

4. What are ways you can “look up” during your daily life to find the freedom of humility in Christ?

4. The Fiery Furnace

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a moment of truth. While we may never be asked to bow down to a 90-foot statue, it was not unlike many moments of truth we will each face. And the same God who granted them peace and hope in the midst of that moment is the same God who has given us peace and hope as well.

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever faced your own moment of truth?

2. How might you face a moment of truth like this in the future?

3. Why can you have peace even when you face a moment of truth?

4. How does it change the way you anticipate potential moments of truth in the future knowing that God is with you in the fire and, in Christ, promises to resurrect you through the fire?

3. Troubled Dreams

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Nebuchadnezzar is at the top of the world, but he's restless and troubled by questions he can't answer. His experts can’t help, but Daniel can. Through Daniel, God reveals a mystery about where all of history is going. In the process, we see that the answers to the biggest questions are found in Christ and his eternal kingdom. Only when we build our lives on those answers will we have true peace.

Application Questions:

1. Do the “big questions” of life ever leave you restless?

2. What are some different places people turn to find answers to the big questions of life?

3. "Every kingdom that’s not God’s kingdom will come down one day." Does that make you restless or give you peace?

4. How is Jesus the ultimate answer to the questions of life? How might that bring you peace this week?

2. Faithfulness In Babylon

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Upon arriving in a new place, having been forced from their homes and compelled to learn the ways of Babylon, Daniel and his friends resolve to be different. But their resolution shows that they're a different kind of different. They are different not because they're out to prove anything. They're different because of what God has done for them and what he has promised to continue to do.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways might the spirit of Babylon in our city be shaping you more than you realize?

2. In what ways could you resolve to be different?

3. When you feel different in our city, does it produce anger and frustration in you, or humility, kindness, and gentleness?

4. How do God's promises for your hope and future give you confidence to live different in our city?

5. What specific way will you choose to live different as a means of resisting the shaping impact of the spirit of the city?

1. Far From Home

Sun, 08 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Daniel is a story about four friends who are far from home, in a foreign place with different values and priorities. The Bible shows us that this is our story too: all of us are exiles, navigating life in a place different than our true home. Daniel teaches us to live lives of steady confidence in God, looking to serve the city around us without losing our identity as God’s people. We can do that because our true citizenship is in God’s own kingdom, which will outlast every other city. One day we will find our true home there.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced life as an exile in Los Angeles (or anywhere else)?

2. How has the culture of the city exerted pressure on you, and how have you dealt with it?

3. What might a steady confidence in God and his kingdom look like in your life in LA?

11. Suffering and the Mission of God

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Last week we looked at Jesus' call to lose our life that we might save it. This week we look at his call to lose our life to save others. The mission of the church is to be Christ's ambassadors on earth. And as it did for our Savior, that will inevitably involve suffering.

Application Questions:

1. Why did Jesus come to earth?

2. What is the mission of the church?

3. Why do we have to suffer as we strive to fulfill his mission?

4. What fears hold you back from living your life for the sake of the gospel?

5. How might God be calling you to step toward suffering (big or small) for the sake of the spread of the gospel?

10. Jesus, Joy, and Self-Denial

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

There are times that Christians embrace suffering that they could have tried to avoid. What explains that impulse? Jesus' conversation with Peter and his disciples in Mark 8 shows us why Jesus moves toward suffering, and why following him means we do the same.

Application Questions:

1. Why does Jesus insist so strongly that he “must” suffer on the cross? How does this contrast with the way people normally think about the good life?

2. Do you have any experience moving toward suffering and not away from it? What were your motivations and what was the result?

3. What scares you the most about moving toward suffering and not away from it? How does the gospel encourage you in those fears?

9. A Family for Suffering

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

God is the ultimate source of consolation and comfort. But how do we experience that comfort when he is invisible and intangible? Scripture teaches us how to truly bring God's comfort into one another's lives by being a means of his comfort, and a reminder that God alone is the only true source of the comfort we need.

Application Questions:

1. Where, other than God, are you tempted to look for comfort?

2. How have you experience God's comfort over the past few weeks?

3. How might God want to use the comfort you have received in providing comfort to those around you?

4. Who around you might need God's comfort delivered through you?

5. What is one practical way you can provide that comfort this week?

8. Resilience And Hope

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The world is chasing after the ability to be resilient in the face of suffering. But, what does true resilience entail? And how does the eternal hope we have in Christ both produce resilience and give us something even greater?

Application Questions:

1. How does remembering your inheritance change your view of the future?

2. How does your view of the future shape how you are experiencing suffering now?

3. How might your view of suffering change if you were looking for God's glory in the midst of it?

4. How might your view of God change if you were remembering his love, promises, and goodness both in and through your seasons of suffering?

7. Count it all Joy, Part 1

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Typically in the midst of suffering, we can't stop thinking about what has been taken from us. But God shows us in James 1 what He can produce in us in the midst of trials.

Application Questions:

1. How are trials in your life always a "loss"?

2. What is counterintuitive about God producing something in us in the midst of trials?

3. How does wisdom guide you in the midst of suffering?

4. How does an eternal perspective bring hope in the midst of suffering?

6.Grieving as Those with Hope

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

How do we make sense of our suffering? Pain and difficulty can be completely disorienting and seemingly pointless. But God pulls back the curtain just enough to give us a glimpse of the glorious work he is doing through our suffering. And when we catch that glimpse, it changes everything.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you try to make sense of your suffering with observational truth instead of insightful truth?

2. How comfortable are you with the idea of rejoicing in the midst of suffering?

3. Can you think of a time you’ve seen God use suffering to produce endurance in your life? Describe it.

4. Can you think of a time you’ve seen God produce an enduring character in you? Describe it.

5. How does the work God is doing in your life through suffering give you hope?

5. Learning Lament

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Having established the theological pillars we need to understand suffering in our world, we now turn to explore what it looks like to walk through suffering on the ground. Scripture gives us a vocabulary for our suffering we can't find anywhere else in the world. And that vocabulary begins with understanding the sweet gift of lament.

Application Questions:

1. What is the difference between complaining and lament? Which is the more common way you respond to suffering?

2. Is lament a regular discipline in your prayer life? If not, why not?

3. How does God's love for you in Christ invite you into lament?

4. What do you have to lament to God about right now?

4. Suffering And Sovereignty

Sun, 07 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

How do we make sense of a God who allows suffering despite being good and in control of all things? Far from being a problem, God’s sovereignty gives us deep resources to face suffering. Only a sovereign God can take all things and work them for good, even when we don’t yet see how. What’s more, God uses his sovereignty to take on more suffering than we will ever experience in Christ. This shows us the depth of his love and how trustworthy he is even in the midst of deep suffering in our own lives.

Application Questions:

1. How have you struggled with God’s sovereignty over suffering?

2. How can looking up, looking back, and looking forward anchor you in times of suffering?

3. God used his sovereignty to willingly suffer on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ. How might that give you comfort in the trials of life?

3. The Middle

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The Bible gives us more than pat answers when it comes to suffering in our lives. According to Scripture, suffering comes in different shapes and sizes, and comes into our lives as a result of many different factors. Often, suffering is a mystery without a full explanation. It’s into this complicated middle that Jesus was born, suffered, and died for our sins to show us God’s own love for us in the midst of any situation.

Application Questions:

1. Why is it important to see that suffering comes in all different shapes and sizes?

2. When you see suffering in your own life or someone else’s, how do you typically explain it? How does that compare to the ways Scripture talks about the causes of suffering?

3. How does the book of Job confront our desire for an explanation for our suffering?

4. How does Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection “in the middle” give us comfort for our suffering?

2. The Beginning and the End

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Every culture has a story of suffering that people use to make sense of the suffering they experience. Christianity provides a story of suffering that allows Christians to experience incredible hardship with endurance and even joy. It starts in the beginning with a good God creating a good world, which has been ruined by sin. This allows Christians to be honest about the struggle of suffering without ignoring the grace of God in their lives. The story ends with an eternity free of suffering and pain. This means Christians can put their current struggles in eternal perspective, giving them realistic hope in suffering now.

Application Questions:

1. What is your “story of suffering”? How do you see it shape the way you understand suffering in your life?

2. How honest are you about suffering and grace in your own life?

3. How does eternity play a role in the way you understand suffering?

1. Hope For Suffering

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The Psalms are incredibly honest about the reality and pervasiveness of suffering. In fact, they're often far more honest than we're willing to be. But it's only in being honest about the pervasiveness of suffering that we can experience the pervasiveness of hope.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways are you currently suffering?

2. What types of suffering do you tend to overlook or not consider "real suffering"?

3. Are you surprised when you experience seasons of intense suffering? What do you think this says about your view of suffering?

4. Of the four reasons for hope seen in our passage, which did you need to hear the most?

- God is completely sovereign.

- God is infinite in wisdom.

- God is perfect in love.

- God is always present.

5. A New Endurance

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 10:00:00 +0000

As we navigate life in a city filled with both unique blessings and unique challenges we need a supernatural endurance. Endurance is the strength to fulfill our God-given purpose even when things get hard. And, in Christ, we have all the strength we need.

Application Questions:

1. What do you look to in order to escape the difficulties of the city when you are tempted to not endure?

2. What stories (witnesses) from the Old Testament bring you particular encouragement as you strive to fulfill 3. God's purpose for your time in our city?

4. Who are other people in our church family whose lives spur you on to faithfulness in our city?

5. How does the love and sacrifice of Christ shape how you view your own love and sacrifice in our city?

4. A New Compass

Sun, 26 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000

God gives His people instructions for how to live as they are taken into exile in Babylon, thousands of years ago. The principles that God gives His people still apply for us today. We too are in a land that is not our own. We too are called to seek the welfare of the city to which we are sent.

Application Questions:

1. What are ways that you feel the temptation to assimilate to the city?

2. What are ways that you feel the pull to make this world your home?

3. How do you feel tempted to retreat from the city? How can you lovingly engage?

4. What would it look like in your life to seek the welfare of the city? Do you pray for the city?

5. How is a compass different than a map? Why does that matter?

6. How does the example of Jesus help guide your loving engagement?

3. A New Identity

Sun, 19 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Peter writes to Christians in a difficult place and reminds them of their identity: they are God’s own people. This identity isn’t achieved but received by grace. As citizens of God’s kingdom, Christians are sojourners in the city, living out the culture of God’s kingdom in loving interaction with our neighbors.

Application Questions:

1. How does Peter’s description of the Christian identity compare to how you normally think of the Christian identity?

2. How have you experienced the temptation to achieve your own identity? Why is it good news that the Christian identity is received by grace?

3. How would your life in the city change if you saw yourself as a citizen of God’s kingdom, and therefore a sojourner here in Los Angeles?

4. Where is God calling you to abstain from the passions of the flesh? Where is God calling you to keep your conduct honorable among others in the city?

2. A Plan for the Fullness of Time

Sun, 12 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In a city as large and varied as LA, it can be easy to lose yourself in it, life within it becoming something to merely tolerate or endure. But God has a plan and a purpose for the city, and invites you into it. Because of that, our lives in the city become wrapped up in the glorious purpose of a loving God.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you see life in the city as a struggle?

2. How does God's purpose for the city give you hope and direction in your life?

3. How can the security of your inheritance and the glory of God animate your life in the city this week?

1. Should I Not Love That Great City

Sun, 05 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles is a hard place to live for many, and Christians easily lose sight of the larger purpose for their lives here. The story of Jonah shows us that Christians are called into God’s own love for the city. This calling gives us a different view of Los Angeles and our role in it, leading us to share God’s love and experience it more ourselves.

Application Questions:

1. What is the main reason you live in the city?

2. How does God’s heart for the city and God’s grace for the city shape the way you view Los Angeles?

3. How might God be showing his love for you through calling you to the city?

4. Hope For Forgiveness

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Many thought that as religion declined, humans would experience less guilt in their lives. Instead, guilt has increased in surprising ways. We all want to experience the freedom of forgiveness, but the options to deal with guilt in our culture don’t satisfy. Christianity, by exposing the reality of our guilt and showing us the reality of God’s grace, provides genuine freedom from guilt not just for a moment but forever.

Application Questions:

1. What does the experience of guilt look like for you?

2. What of the current options—denial, rationalizing, atonement—are you most tempted to use to deal with guilt?

3. How does the gospel provide a better way to handle guilt?

4. What can you do practically to enjoy forgiveness this week?

3. Hope For Spirituality

Sun, 21 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Despite what many think, Los Angeles is a very spiritual city. While many do not consider themselves religious, most pursue spirituality in various ways. In Acts 17, Paul explores Athens, another very spiritual city. Instead of presenting Christianity as one spiritual option among many, he shows that their approach to spirituality cannot satisfy them. Only an unadjustable God who saves us by grace can satisfy the spiritual longing of our souls.

Application Questions:

1. How do you see a desire for spirituality in your own life—whether you’d call it that or not?

2. How have you seen yourself or others “remix” spirituality to suit their desires and preferences?

3. Why does Paul think the gospel provides a true spirituality that nothing else can? How might that apply to your life this week?

2. Hope For Morality

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000

How do we know what is right or wrong, good or evil? Who has the right to say? God in His perfect goodness and authority speaks to a world so often confused about good and evil.

Application Questions:

1. How does authority relate to morality?

2. How does truth relate to morality?

3. Why is the "I choose" approach to morality empty?

4. How does the "we choose" approach to morality fall short?

5. Why is it better for us if "He chooses" our morality?

1. Hope For Meaning

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles is a city filled with people striving to find their own meaning in life. The options seem endless, and the idea of discovering our own purpose seems exciting. But can we really have the deep purpose we crave if we are making it up ourselves? Only Jesus can give us a stable purpose that we don't have to earn.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you see those around you in our city striving to invent meaning in life instead of inheriting it?

2. Which of the 7 "C's" are you most tempted to find your ultimate purpose in life in?

3. How does the gospel free you to enjoy that area in life without it carrying the weight of being your ultimate purpose?

4. In light of the gospel, what is the purpose of your life (hint: there is one right answer)?

5. How might this week look different if you remembered your ultimate life purpose?

The Resurrection and the Life

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Easter is a time of generic hope ("after winter comes spring"), but Jesus says he brings hope into our lives now. We tend to downplay Easter so we can fit it into the ways we already understand the world, but Jesus bursts our categories. Dying for our sins and rising from the grave, Jesus opens the door to a new kind of life here and now, and ushers us into eternal life with him forever.

Application Questions:

1. How do you see death affecting your own life? What are the ways you tend to cope with it?

2. What are some ways Jesus’ resurrection interrupts the way you normally think about the world?

3. Are there ways Jesus is inviting you to experience a new way of life now? What would it look like to take him up on that invitation?

8. The True Vine

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus famously calls us to "abide" with him as a branch abides in a vine. But what does that mean? What does it practically look like to live a life of abiding? And how do we know if we're abiding or not?

Application Questions:

1. How has the gospel already given you a vital connection with Christ?

2. How does your relationship with your phone (or the internet) inform what it might mean to live a life of "abiding"?

3. What evidence of abiding do you see in your life?

4. What evidence of abiding do you see in the lives of the Christians around you? Share these with them.

5. How have you seen a life of obedience be the life of greatest joy?

7. The Way, Truth, and Life

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Everyone is searching for meaning, and purpose, and abundant life. Jesus makes it clear that the only way to the life we were created for is through Him. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life.

Application Questions:

1. What answers are you looking for from God that He doesn't promise to give you?

2. What promises can you cling to instead?

3. How does Christ being the "way" speak into your hopes and dreams?

4. How does Christ being "the truth" relate to Him being "the Light of the World"?

5. What life does Christ offer? Are you embracing the abundant life offered in Him?

6. The Good Shepherd

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

People in Los Angeles aren’t very familiar with sheep, but Jesus compares himself to a shepherd to help us understand who he wants to be in our lives. Shepherds know their sheep, love their sheep, and lead their sheep. When Jesus is your good shepherd you will follow him more closely than anything else.

Application Questions:

1. Jesus knows you even better than a shepherd knows his sheep. How might that encourage you this week?

2. How does Jesus laying down his life for you touch down in the things you are dealing with in your life right now?

3. Where do you think Jesus is calling you to follow him right now?

5. The I Am

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In a passage where people are arguing with Jesus about his identity, we find his strongest claim to be God in the flesh. It leaves us with a radical choice: we must either follow Jesus as God in every area of our lives, or reject him entirely. Only when we understand these high stakes will we see the deep love Jesus shows for us by going to the cross in our place.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways that your thoughts of God are too small? How might that be affecting your life?

2. How does the size of God make Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you more incredible? What would your life be like if you meditated on that more?

3. Jesus asks for a radical choice when it comes to his identity—and what it means for your life. How are you grappling with that choice?

4. The Light of the World

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus is the light. He is the singular means by which we can truly comprehend and understand everything in the world. He allows us to understand ourselves, our lives, and the world around us as they truly are. And as his followers we have been given his light to illuminate the world around us.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways does the gospel of Jesus help you understand the world (or yourself) in ways you couldn't otherwise?

2. What do you think it means to follow Jesus and not walk in darkness?

3. How would you view yourself, or your place in the world, differently if you remembered that you possess Jesus' light?

3. The Bread of Life

Sun, 11 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

A crowd that wants physical bread are met with Jesus, who tells them he is the true bread of life. When we understand what Jesus is saying, we find our deepest hungers exposed, the place those hungers are finally satisfied, and the way we savor Christ in our daily lives.

Application Questions:

1. What are the daily desires that occupy your mind the most?

2. How are those desires related to a deeper hunger for eternal life?

3. What are the ways Jesus, broken for you, satisfies that deeper hunger?

4. How can you savor Christ this week, especially in scripture and prayer? How can you turn to him for strength when things are hard?

2. The Living Water

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In our lives, it is far too easy for us to remain focused on our shallow needs. Jesus invites us to see a deeper need that only he can satisfy.

Application Questions:

1. Why is Jesus' determination to bring living water such good news?

2. In what ways are you pursuing water that does not truly satisfy?

3. How is Christ crucified for you something that satisfies your deepest thirst?

1. The Bridegroom

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

What can we learn from Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding? John tells us that it is a sign, pointing to a greater reality about who Jesus is and what he came to do. This sign shows us that Jesus is the true bridegroom, come to bring joy at a great price, drawing near to those he loves.

Application Questions:

1. What can we learn from the connections between the major themes of this passage (wedding, water, wine, marriage) and other parts of scripture?

2. What role does joy play in Christianity and the Christian life?

3. How might Jesus’ love for you as the true Bridegroom shape what you are facing this week?

3. The Image of God and Human Life

Sun, 21 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Our world views human life as either as the ultimate good (needing to be preserved at all costs) or as an instrumental good (only worth living if it maintains a certain "quality"). But God teaches us that, as image bearers of him, every human life is uniquely sacred and destined for eternity.

Application Questions:

1. How do you see the world's understanding as human life being either the ultimate good, or an instrumental good shaping your own understanding of life?

2. How might you view others differently if you consistently remembered that all human life is sacred?

3. What are some ways you are tempted to devalue human life either in yourself or others?

4. How does the gospel bring grace and freedom to the ways you have fallen short in the past?

2. The Image of God and Dividing Lines

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Sin brings about division in our world, the devaluing of the image of God in others. This is seen throughout the history of the world, and is felt presently and deeply in our world today. In Christ the walls of hostility can be brought down. In Christ we can be peacemakers. In Christ we can affirm and uphold the image of God in the midst of the dividing lines of the world.

Application Questions:

1. How does the history of sin, the devaluing of the image of God in others, and division help put our current world in its context?

2. What is the connection between the image of God and divisions in our world?

3. How does Christ's restoration of the image of God in our lives bring about transformation in how we approach these dividing lines?

1. The Image of God

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Our city believes strongly that all people are worthy of dignity and respect, but what is the foundation for that belief? The Bible declares that all human beings are made in the image of God, apart from their background, culture, or ability. Yet we see this image is marred by sin in the ways we often ignore or use other people. Only through Jesus Christ can we be renewed to reflect the goodness and compassion of God to one another.

Application Questions:

1. How does the image of God give every human being dignity and worth? How does that compare to other attempts to ground human dignity and worth in our city?

2. How does the gospel empower us to live out the image of God in our city?

3. What would it look like for you to “image” God by reflecting his character in your life this week?

4. Behold the Lamb of God

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

On Christmas Eve, we consider the nature of the incarnation and behold the one who is the Word become flesh. As we do, John the Baptist provides us with an example of how we are each called to behold him and bear witness to him both on Christmas and throughout the year.

3. The Word Became Flesh

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

John’s gospel doesn’t have much of a Christmas story, but it does have the heart of Christmas: the doctrine of the incarnation. When we understand this staggering doctrine we can see the importance, joy, and hope of Christmas, and enjoy grace upon grace in our own lives.

Application Questions:

1. How is the doctrine of the incarnation unique among other religions and philosophies?

2. Which of the “graces” of the incarnation stood out to you most: sympathy in suffering, growth and transformation, or hope even in the darkest times?

3. Are there other “graces” of the incarnation you can think of?

4. How might the grace of Jesus in salvation help you over the coming week?

2. The Light Shines

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The Light of the World comes into the world that He created, and is rejected. God invites us into His Light, and in the light we are exposed and vulnerable, but we are also accepted by Him, forgiven, renewed, and restored.

Application Questions:

1. What is shocking about the rejection of Jesus Christ?

2. How do you hide from the Light in your own life?

3. What would it look like to confess and repent as a regular practice in your life?

4. How does standing in the Light of Christ bring hope to your life?

1. In The Beginning

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Advent is a time to meditate on the coming of Christ at Christmas so we can sing the carols not just with our lips but with our hearts. In the first five verses of John’s gospel, we get a picture of Jesus before time began, which teaches us the significance of Christmas morning.

Application Questions:

1. Why does John go so far out of his way to explain that Jesus, the Word, is fully God?

2. How can Jesus the Author give you direction, purpose, and meaning in your life in a way other things can’t?

3. Do you understand Christmas as an inspiration or a rescue? How does your life reflect that understanding?

8. God Our Shepherd

Sun, 26 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Life in our fast-paced world keeps us constantly moving and doing things, with our minds usually focused on ourselves. But when we slow down and humble ourselves before our Good Shepherd, we discover a depth of purpose, peace, and pleasure, both now and on into eternity.

Application Questions:

1. Do you struggle seeing yourself as a sheep in need of a shepherd? Why or why not?

2. How does the shepherding heart of God change the way you live your life and eternity?

3. How can you rest more in His leading, protection, and provision this week?

7. God Our Trust

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

How do you respond when suffering hits? You may be familiar with the call to trust God in the midst of difficulty, but how are we supposed to do that? When it seems like God is against us, not for us, how do we respond in trust? In Psalm 56 David shows us the path forward in suffering and crisis.

6. God Our Forgiveness

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

David writes Psalm 51 after blowing up his life, and yet he sees a way forward from guilt to joy: repentance. The psalm teaches us to follow his lead, recognizing the reality of our guilt, the depth of our sin, and the size of God’s grace.

Application Questions:

1. How do you handle guilt in your life?

2. David sees himself as a sinner from birth. Do you think that is true of you as well?

3. We often run from repentance. How can the size of God’s grace help us to run to repentance instead?

5. God Our Refuge

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In our lives, we will face many hardships from which we need relief. It is only in God that we will find a refuge that relieves fears, provides peace, and gives comfort, no matter what storms may come.

Application Questions:

1. What fears do you wrestle with most? How can meditating on the strength of God help you to calm those fears?

2. Where else are you tempted to go for peace instead of God's presence?

3. In what ways can you look to be more still this week and rest in the knowledge of who God is?

4. God Our Hope

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Psalm 42 shows us the realities of suffering and despair in our lives, and the path of hope. Our souls are often cast down and in turmoil, but God meets us in our hope, and calls us to remind ourselves of all that He has done for us.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you feel cast down in your life?

2. In what ways do you see turmoil in your mind and heart?

3. How can lament be incorporated into your prayer life?

4. What would it look like for you to preach to your own soul each day?

3. The Beauty of God

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

David is surrounded by his worst fears, but has strong confidence. How? The beauty of God. When you encounter the beauty of God, it captivates you and satisfies you so that you look to God for who he is in himself, not what he can give you. And yet when you go to God just to behold his beauty, your life will be marked by confidence, hope, and joy.

Application Questions:

1. Where do you find beauty in your life? How does that point you to Gods beauty?

2. From your own experience, what is the difference between going to God to get something and going to God just for God himself?

3. How can you gaze on Gods beauty in Christ this week?

2. The Love of God

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

What is love? Why is love such a powerful concept in our world? As we explore the love of God we find that the reality of love is greater than we've ever dared imagine. And we find that the God of love is the one being in the universe our souls ultimately long for.

Application Questions:

1. When you think about being drawn into the presence of God, does that make you excited or nervous?

2. What are some practical examples of God's goodness and kindness to you? How might your perspective change if you saw these not as the extent of God's love for you, but simply an example of it?

Does guilt or shame ever creep into your heart? What does it mean to you that God has removed your sin as far as the east is from the west?

3. When is a time you've experienced the best of human love? How does that instance point you to the eternal love of God?

4. What can you do this week to bless the Lord and remind yourself (and those around you) of his goodness and love?

1. The Glory of God

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The psalms put the experiences of life into contact with the reality of God. Nowhere is that more apparent than when the psalms describe the glory of God, and how it infuses joy into our lives.

Application Questions:

1. What do you think of when you think about God’s glory? Does it play a role in your day to day life?

2. How does God’s glory reveal what you worship? Are there any idols in your life you can identify as you meditate on the glory of God?

3. How can beholding God’s glory bring you joy in the things you are going through now? How can you cultivate that joy in your life?

45. Greetings And Grace

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

It's easy to see the greetings at the end of the letter as superficial. But in them we see an affectionate grace that we are to receive ourselves and extend to others as God has to us in Christ.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways are you tempted to gloss over greeting?

2. How can you extend an appropriately affectionate greeting to your brother or sister in Christ?

3. How can accepting and embracing the grace of Jesus Christ help you this week?

44. Practicing The Gospel

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul closes the book of 1 Corinthians with several short discussions on practical matters. But under these practical matters we find a deep theology. On three topics—money, plans, and church—we learn how to apply the gospel and find a better way to live in the practical issues of life.

Application Questions:

1. How does the gospel give you a new way to think about money?

2. How does the gospel give you a new way to think about your plans?

3. How does the gospel give you a new perspective on life as a Christian in Los Angeles?

43. The Victory of Resurrection

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is victory over sin and death. We may still feel the sting of death in this life, but the victory of Christ allows us to say, "O death where is your sting!?"

Application Questions:

1. How does the future Kingdom of God speak to your present life now?

2. What are ways you distract yourself or cope with the reality of death in this world?

3. What fear(s) do you have about death?

4. How does the victory of the resurrection speak to your fears?

42. The Nature of the Resurrection

Sun, 03 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In a chapter on our future resurrection, Paul anticipates an objection: how are the dead raised? Paul answers our skepticism and also brings us higher up and deeper in to the unimaginable glory of our future in Christ.

Application Questions:

1. Do you fight to see the resurrection as realistic? If so, how do you handle that fight?

2. Does an acorn becoming an oak tree help you see the resurrection as rational? Why does Paul think it should?

3. How often do you think about the power of the resurrection, in the future and in your life now? What might God be prompting you to do in light of this passage?

41. The Hope of the Resurrection

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul shows us that the resurrection is a picture of our future. Those who belong to Christ will be raised as Christ was raised one day. Not only that, Christ will remake the heavens and the earth as a returning King claims his kingdom. Seeing this future gives you a hope that can make you incredibly secure, incredibly sacrificial, and incredibly honest in your life now.

Application Questions:

1. When you think about heaven, what do you picture? How does the resurrection affect your vision of the future?

2. Where could you use more security or more courage in your life? How does resurrection hope provide what you need to grow?

3. Are you more prone to blind optimism or cynicism? How can resurrection hope make you both realistic and hopeful?

40. The Reality of the Resurrection

Sun, 20 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul puts all of his passion and skill into this final chapter about the resurrection so we might see its importance for our world and our lives. Before he starts in on the effects of the resurrection, he gives us three realities of the resurrection that serve as the foundation for its hope-giving, life transforming power.

Application Questions:

1. How much of a role does Jesus’ resurrection play in your life?

2. Do you tend to think of the resurrection more as a theory or more as a fact? How does that impact you practically?

3. How does the resurrection show Jesus’ transforming love for you? How have you experienced that personally?

39. The Gospel

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The gospel is of first importance because it is the center of God’s plan for all of creation. So what is the meaning of the gospel, and how do we see its majesty?

Application Questions:

1. In what way is the gospel “good news”? How are both words necessary to understand the meaning of the gospel?

2. What makes the gospel majestic to you personally? How might you explore the majesty of the gospel more in your heart and life?

38. Men and Women in Ministry

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In one of the most challenges passages in 1 Corinthians, we find a deep lesson in a difficult package. Paul’s commands to the Corinthians contain a rich and even beautiful understanding of how men and women complement each other in ministry. If we take time to listen to the passage closely and put it in conversation with the rest of Scripture, we find a better way for men and women in the church.

Application Questions:

1. How do you normally handle “tough” passages in scripture?

2. Are you more likely to emphasize the differences between men and women or the similarities? How does the Bible challenge and enrich that perspective?

3. How is the gospel necessary for us to understand and grow in a topic like this?

4. What are some examples you’ve had of spiritual mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters in the church community?

37. The Spirit and the Church

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

How do we think about the Spirit and the church? Church is a place to expect the Spirit to move, typically through others around us—and not just Sunday services, but smaller gatherings throughout the week. Yet this isn't excess, emotionalism, or spiritual experience for its own sake—it's done in order, because it's done in love.

Application Questions:

1. Do you expect God to be at work when you are gathered with the church community, on Sundays or throughout the week?

2. What are different ways you can participate in the Spirit’s work when we gather as a church?

3. Why is Jesus the heart of church gatherings? How can we focus more on him on Sundays and throughout the week?

36. Tongues, Prophesy, and Love

Sun, 23 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul gives the Corinthians a better way for church: one not focused on flashy spiritual experience but on genuine spiritual substance. Spiritual gifts are not meant for showing off but for building up, which puts a culture of love at the heart of the church community.

Application Questions:

1. Do you have any experience with prophecy or tongues? Is it positive, negative, or both?

2. Do you treat spiritual gifts more as tools or trophies?

3. How can the gospel free you to pursue building up the church community? What would that look like practically for you?

35. Love and Our Future

Sun, 09 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul pushes us even further in our understanding of love when he tells us it “never ends.” This is more profound than we realize, showing us how love is the foundation and culture of heaven, transforming our lives now on earth and pointing us to the never failing love of Christ.

Application Questions:

1. When you think about heaven, what comes to mind?

2. How can heaven as a world of love guide you in your life now?

3. How does heaven as a world of love help you understand more deeply what Christ has done for you?

34. What Is Love?

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

This passage is famous as sweet and inspiring, but the more we listen to it, the more we are confronted by the size and importance of love. Love is what we want and need, but also what we don’t have on our own. Jesus does have it, and enough for us that we can be transformed to love like he does.

Application Questions:

1. Why do you think this passage has become so sentimental for so many people?

2. How does this passage confront you personally?

3. How does this passage show you Christ and prompt you to practical ways of showing love to others?

33. Interdependence in Christ's Body

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000

As the recipient of the free gift of God by grace, through the atoning work of Jesus, you are the body of Christ. This identity provides us with a greater appreciation of our unity and diversity, a greater belonging through our interdependence, and a greater understanding of God's love and care for us.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways are you tempted to feel that you are not a part of the body?

2. How can you move towards esteeming more those who are different than you in Christ's body?

3. How can the reality of your identity as a member of the body of Christ lead you to greater fellowship with others and communion with God this week?

32. What are Spiritual Gifts?

Sun, 11 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000

What are your spiritual gifts? Do you know? How do you find out? How do you exercise them? If we've each been given special gifts by God for the benefit of those around us, these are important questions we all need the answers to. But before we can answer any of these questions we need to know: what are spiritual gifts in the first place?

Application Questions:

1. What have you previously understood spiritual gifts to be?

2. If spiritual gifts aren't simply special abilities, but are instead the activities and areas of service God has called you to (and empowered you for), how does that change how you understand your gifts?

3. How might our hearts be misled if we assume spiritual gifts are special abilities that we can utilize according to our own wills?

4. What are your next steps in identifying your spiritual gifts at use in our local church?

31. Baptized Into Christ

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Like the Lord’s Supper, baptism is powerful but often neglected. In Romans 6, Paul shows us how baptism connects us deeply to important spiritual realities, that can help us navigate life even decades after our baptism.

Application Questions:

1. How have you thought about baptism in the past?

2. What stands out to you about baptism as a picture of the gospel?

3. If you haven’t been baptized, what’s preventing you from taking that step?

4. If you have been baptized, how might it help you to remember your baptism this week?

30. Together at the Table

Sun, 21 May 2023 10:00:00 +0000

When Paul instructs the Corinthian church on the Lord’s Supper, he does more than correct their errors. He explains what the Supper means for us, and how that meaning draws us closer to Christ and to one another.

Application Questions:

1. What is your experience with the Lord’s Supper? How were you taught about it? What role has it played in your spiritual life?

2. What stood out to you most about Paul’s explanation of the Lord’s Supper?

3. How does the Lord’s Supper communicate the gospel to us?

4. How can the Lord’s Supper become a more important part of your spiritual life going forward?

29. God, Glory, and Gender

Sun, 14 May 2023 10:00:00 +0000

One of the most confusing passages in the Bible is on one of the most confusing topics in our world: gender. The Bible’s approach to gender celebrates the differences between man and woman without denigrating either. Paul encourages the Corinthians to embrace, not deny, those differences in their own lives.

Application Questions:

1. Our world has different approaches to gender. What are some that you’ve experienced?

2. How does Paul’s view on gender celebrate difference without denying equality?

3. What about the gospel frees us to embrace God’s design even when it’s a struggle?

4. What are some practical ways we can embrace being male or female in West Los Angeles?

28. Do All to the Glory of God

Sun, 07 May 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul gives the Corinthians 3 commands to guide and direct their lives: Flee Idolatry; Seek the Good of Your Neighbor; Do All Things for the Glory of God. What it means to follow Christ is to worship Him and Him alone, love others, and live your entire life for God's glory.

Application Questions:

1. Where do you see idols in your life that compete with your devotion to God?

2. How would you flee from those temptations?

3. Do you look at your life through the lens of how you can serve and seek the good of your neighbor?

4. If there is a controlling principle of your life, what is it? Does it conflict with "do all things for the glory of God"?

5. What would it look like in your life to do all things for God's glory?

27. The Real Risk of Idolatry

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000

We have all been incredibly blessed. While life is hard and difficult at times, it is also filled with inordinate blessings. But when we forget where those blessings come from our hearts are led away from the giver and chase after a never-ending list of false hopes. To follow Christ we have to remember where our blessings come from and trust him when they seem more scarce.

Application Questions:

1. What would you consider some of the most significant blessings in your life?

2. Do you feel spoiled (or fear you might be spoiled) by all that God has given you?

3. Was the problem in Israel that God gave them too many blessings? Or was the problem something else?

4. How might you be encouraged by the promise of God in the midst of your temptations?

5. What idols or temptations is God calling you to flee from?

26. All Things to All People for the Gospel

Sun, 23 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000

God has called us all to spread the gospel to those he has placed in our lives. But we can often view that calling as a chore we need to complete before getting back to the things that bring us joy. When we understand how God has created us, the hope he has promised us, and the purpose he has given to us, we begin to see that our greatest joy is actually found in living for others and sharing the gospel. And that realization fundamentally changes the shape of our lives.

Application Questions:

1. Looking at your life and priorities, how would you finish the sentence: "Though I am free…I make myself a servant…that I might ___________."

2. What is the ultimate purpose for you living in LA? Is your answer different than how you think God would answer that question for you?

3. In what ways do you say "I am...so I can't"?

4. In what ways might God be calling you to say "I became...so I might"?

5. How does the hope of eternity motivate you to serve and sacrifice for those around you?

25. Christian Freedom and Love, Part 2

Sun, 02 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul transitions from talking about food sacrificed to idols, and takes focus on the rights that he has as an apostle to ask for financial support from churches. Instead Paul refuses to exercise this right because his highest priority is to not let anything be a stumbling block to the spread of the gospel.

Application Questions:

1. What does Christian freedom look like in your life? Where do you see yourself exercising those freedoms?

2. How can you lay down your rights and privileges for others in your life?

3. What areas of your life may be stumbling blocks for people around you? How can you remove those stumbling blocks so that you can point people to Christ?

24. Christian Freedom and Love, Part 1

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The value and importance of knowledge is undeniable when it is put to use to help us in how we live our lives. But the way in which it is done is the most significant thing. Paul shows us a better way to apply our knowledge through sacrificial love.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways are you tempted to let your knowledge "puff you up?"

2. How does being known by God change the way you view what you know?

3. How can you more sacrificially love others this week?

23. A Better Way for Singleness

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The story we tell ourselves about marriage determines how we think about our marital status. But God places our marital status (both single and married) within the larger story of his redemptive work and promised return, reframing how we think about every different season in our lives. In light of God's grace, and his promised return, singleness becomes a beautiful blessing that uniquely displays his glory and love. And God completely rewrites how we think about singleness, showing us a better way than the world or typical church culture has to offer.

Application Questions:

1. What is the story about marriage that tends to shape how you view and think about singleness? And how does God's story change that view?

2. In what ways is God-centered singleness a blessing that you may have not fully recognized before?

3. How does a focus on the promised return of Christ nurture a deep contentment in you, whatever your marital status?

4. How does a focus on the promised return of Christ nurture a deep wisdom in you for choices regarding marriage?

5. In what ways can you invest in the life of the local church that both allow you, in your life stage and marital status, to bless and be blessed by others?

22. A Better Way for Contentment

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In the context of a discussion of sex, marriage, and singleness, Paul tells the Corinthians that their circumstances are not as important as their relationship with Christ, and following Him. Instead of concerning themselves with improving their circumstances in this world their concern should be about how to honor the Lord in the midst of their circumstances.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways are you tempted to meditate on and fixate on your circumstances more than on honoring the Lord?

2. Do you struggle with lusting after other circumstances in your life? What are those?

3. How can you honor God in the circumstances you find yourself in right now?

4. What would it look like to cultivate contentment in Christ? How does the gospel anchor you in the swings of life?

21. A Better Way for Marriage, Part 2

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul’s specific counsel to the Corinthians on divorce is built on a rich understanding of marriage. Marriage is a covenant union, with self-giving love at its center. This changes how we approach marriage, divorce, and much more.

Application Questions:

1. What are common things you hear in our city about marriage and divorce?

2. Why does Scripture insist that marriage is a covenant? How is that good news for marriage?

3. How does the covenant love of marriage point you to the larger and better covenant love of God? How can that encourage you this week?

20. A Better Way for Marriage, Part 1

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Paul begins a long section on marriage, singleness, and spirituality for a divided church in Corinth. In this first section, we clear the table of some misconceptions about marriage so we can take a look at the heart of marriage, not just for married people but for everyone: love.

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever thought that marital status was connected to spiritual maturity? Why or why not?

2. How have you seen our city struggle with love as "giving of yourself”? What does the gospel have to say to that struggle?

3. How does marriage point all of us, not just those of us who are married, to the love of Christ?

19. God's Design for Sex

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Why did God create us sexual beings? What is the purpose of our sexual desires? What is the purpose of sex within marriage? The Corinthians were confused about the ultimate purpose of sex, and so are we. But, just as in every area of life, God brings clarity and peace out of the confusion through his Word.

Application Questions:

1. How does the way you've previously thought about sex differ from the theological understanding of sex revealed in his Word?

2. If you are single, how does the fact that sex is, ultimately, about God give meaning and purpose to your celibacy?

3. If you are married, how does the fact that sex is, ultimately, about God give deeper meaning and purpose to your times of physical intimacy with your spouse?

4. How should a more theological understanding of sex shape how you talk (or how often you talk) about it with your friends, roommates, spouse, or children?

5. How can you, specifically, strive to glorify God with your sexuality?

18. Glorify God in Your Body

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The Christian view of sex seems backwards to modern people, but it’s actually joyful and hope-giving. Paul shows us how by teaching us about our body. For Christians, the body is sacred and valuable and it matters how we use it.

Application Questions:

1. When it comes to our city, do you think we view the body as very important or not very important?

2. Why is it good news that God cares about your body and how you use it?

3. What would your life look like if you really believed that your body doesn’t belong to you but to the Lord?

17. Sin and Redemption

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom of God is something we all long for—whether we admit it or not. Paul sees that the Corinthians were losing sight of the kingdom, and their lifestyles showed it. So he refocuses them on the kingdom: what it is, what keeps us from it, and how the gospel gives us a new identity that brings us into it.

Application Questions:

1. How do you see a desire for the kingdom of God in your own life?

2. Can you think of any times you’ve felt the weight of sin and its effects in your life?

3. How does a new identity in Christ help you fight sin?

16. Why Not Rather Be Wronged?

Sun, 22 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In Corinth there are Christians who are handling disputes among one another by suing each other in secular courts. Paul shows them that this kind of action undermines the witness of the gospel in the church. Through the power of the gospel the church should be able to handle disputes through discernment, reconciliation, and unity.

Application Questions:

1. How different is authentic Christian community compared to the idea you may have in your head?

2. What role does discernment play in handling disputes, and how can you get more discernment?

3. How can you cultivate a heart and posture of reconciliation in the church?

4. In what way does forgiveness and long-suffering encourage unity?

15. Church Restoration

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

When we hear of someone being removed from the church community we inevitably have a lot of questions. Isn't that unkind? What exactly does that mean? Why would God promote that kind of shunning? But most of our questions stem from misunderstanding what is typically called "church discipline." But when we understand the biblical concept of "church restoration" things become more more clear and compelling.

Application Questions:

1. Who are the people that know you well enough to talk about your sin? How can you invite them deeper into your life?

2. Is there anyone in your life that you know is struggling with sin and God may want to use you to restore them to him?

3. How has the seriousness of sin and the beauty of the gospel been made more clear to you as we've talked about Church Restoration over the past couple of weeks?

4. What questions do you still have about the process of Church Restoration?

14. Grace and Discipline

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

What do you do when sin runs rampant in the church? How do you handle unrepentance in the body? Paul takes on some of the hardest questions facing the church in Corinth (and the church in LA) head on. And he does it with boldness, love, and a confidence in the restorative power of the gospel.

13. Loving Authority

Sun, 18 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul wields his authority in 1 Corinthians, but in a way that isn’t very familiar to us today. We struggle with authority, but Paul teaches us the better way of authority founded on the gospel.

Application Questions:

1. Do you tend to reject authority or embrace it?

2. What is compelling about Paul’s vision of authority as loving, worth imitating, and determined?

3. How does the gospel free us to pursue this better way of authority?

12. What Did You Not Receive?

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

We're all searching for a better way to live. But the only way to live that truly satisfies is backward from what we would expect. On the cross Jesus not only saved and redeemed us, but he also showed us the way forward in this fallen world. He showed us the truly better way to live. And it's the way of the cross.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you see the lie of achievement sneak into your heart?

2. In what ways do you see the lie of arrival sneak into your heart?

3. Why do you think the lie of success is the ultimate lie behind both the lies of achievement and arrival?

4. In what ways does your life resemble Jesus more than in resembles your parents, neighbors, or coworkers?

5. In what ways might your life resemble your parents, neighbors, or coworkers more than it resembles Jesus?

6. How does God's grace free you and transform you from the lie of success?

11. Judgment

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

In Corinth, like Los Angeles, everyone is climbing the ladder towards success and significance. And if you want to make sure you are significant, you have to do a lot of judging—of others, and of yourself. Paul explains how the gospel upends the way we judge others and ourselves: by giving us true humility in Jesus Christ.

Application Questions:

1. Do you care more about what others think of you or about what you think of you?

2. How would your life change if you cared more about what God thinks than others or even yourself?

3. How can the gospel practically move you towards that kind of humility towards others and yourself?

10. All Things Are Yours

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

We are God's temple and all things are ours in Christ. We must fight to keep our eyes on Him, to humble ourselves before the One who made us all the things that we are. When we do, He lifts us up and sends us out, empowered by His Spirit to do His work.

Application Questions:

1. What does it mean to you that you are God's temple?

2. How can you humble yourself more before the Almighty God?

3. How can your understanding of your positioning in Christ help you to better serve and love others?

09. How to Build a Church (and a Life)

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

How do you build a church? What do you expect from your pastors and Christian leaders? What do you expect from your local church? How you answer these questions will not only determine how you're involved in the local church, it will also determine how you build your life as a Christian. And, as Paul continues to show us: Jesus has a better way to build.

Application Questions:

Prior to this sermon, what do you look for most in choosing a local church? How do you hope the leaders will build it?

In what ways can you see the wisdom of the world seeping into your expectations of the church?

How might your own Christian life be different if you were to value the spiritual means of building the church over the pragmatic?

In what ways might you be building your Christian life with hay or straw?

08. A Call To Growth

Sun, 13 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul corrects a prideful church in Corinth, and as he does we get a lesson on spiritual growth. Like moving from an infant towards maturity, spiritual growth means we grow more and more into the image of Christ in our hearts and our lives. We receive God’s truth, and others help us, but ultimately it’s God who gives the growth.

Application Questions:

1. What is your experience with spiritual growth? How has it been a struggle? How has it been encouraging?

2. How does Paul’s metaphor of infants moving towards maturity help you understand Christian growth better?

3. What area would you like to see spiritual growth take place? How does this passage help you move forward?

07. Father, Son, and Spirit

Sun, 06 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

1 Corinthians 2 is shaped like the Trinity. The Father decrees the gospel before the ages, the Son purchases our salvation on the cross, and the Spirit applies that salvation to us as we perceive and enjoy the wisdom of God. Far from making things dry or overly intellectual, the doctrine of the Trinity enriches and deepens our spiritual lives as we appreciate God in his fullness drawing us into his own life and love.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways you’ve thought about the Trinity in the past? (Or what are some reasons you haven’t thought about the Trinity in the past?)

2. Why does our salvation only make sense if there is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

3. How can thinking more about the Trinity add richness and guidance to your spiritual life?

06. Spiritual Wisdom

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul is giving the Corinthians a better way for wisdom, and he finishes in this passage. In a city where the gospel can look so foolish to so many, Paul gives us confidence that it really is God’s wisdom and power in the world. But we receive that wisdom by the Spirit, not by our own intelligence, effort, or morality. That means we live in the city as humble recipients of God’s own Spirit, who base our lives on the wisdom of the gospel.

Application Questions:

1. Are there ways you have experienced the world seeing the gospel as foolish?

2. What about verses 6-9 encourage you to have confidence in God’s wisdom?

3. How do verses 10-16 encourage you to think of yourselves and others with humility?

4. What would confident humility in the gospel look like in your daily life in Los Angeles?

05. The Foolishness of Preaching

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Our hearts are always preaching and being preached to. The world and our own hearts naturally prize our own wisdom and strength. But the gospel is best received in weakness, so that we are better able to see what is most true and rest in not in our own wisdom, but in God’s power.

04. The Foolishness of the Church

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul transitions from talking about the foolishness of the cross to talking about the foolishness of the church according to worldly standards. God has designed the church to be weak and foolish according to the world's standards, because this brings Him great glory.

Application Questions:

1. What does allegiance look like in your life?
2. How does your job, your worldly "success," attempt to draw your allegiance and identity in ways that undermine your allegiance to Christ?
3. What does humility look like in your life in a way that brings Christ great glory?

03. The Foolishness of the Cross

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul teaches the Corinthians the difference between the wisdom of the city and God’s wisdom. Worldly wisdom focuses on success, significance, and strength, while God’s wisdom reveals itself in the seeming insignificance and weakness of Christ crucified.

Application Questions:

1. In your own words, how would you describe the “wisdom of the world” that Paul talks about in this passage?

2. How have you seen the gospel look like foolishness to others?

3. How do you struggle with the desire to be seen as significant and strong in the eyes of the world?

4. What would it look like for you to live with “Christ crucified” as the narrative for your own life?

02. Dealing With Division

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The world offers us countless social, religious, and political tribes. When these tribes show up inside the church they turn disagreements into divisions. These tribes tell us that they are our most significant identity and the reason for our hope. But, in reality, they're just God-replacements characterized by empty promises and fleeting belonging. Christ offers us a better way.

Application Questions:

1. What tribes are you tempted to look to for identity, wholeness, hope, and belonging?

2. In your most honest moments, who are "those kinds of Christians" that you have the hardest time with?

3. How does the gospel, and union we have with Christ, break down all the dividing walls that tend to pop up in the church?

4. What is a practical step you can take to fight against the temptation toward division?

01. A Better Way to Live

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The book of 1 Corinthians is written to Christians in a vibrant and challenging city. Paul writes to show them a better way to live than what their city has on offer, and in this introduction he lays the foundation: the grace we find in Christ.

Application Questions:

1. How does the description of Corinth compare to your experience of Los Angeles?

2. Paul mentions four blessings Christians receive by grace—identity, wholeness, hope, and fellowship. Which one stands out to you the most and why?

3. Do you find it hard to connect your faith to your daily life in Los Angeles? How can the truths in this passage help you see that connection?

See My Hands and My Feet

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000

On the first Easter, Jesus has to convince his own disciples that he really rose from the grave. His real resurrection transforms their lives, and can transform ours as well.

Application Questions:

1. How would your life change if you truly believed Jesus rose from the dead?

2. How can you relate to the disciples, who struggled to believe in the resurrection?

3. What led them to believe? How might that address your struggles?

20. Boasting in the Cross

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul closes the letter to the Galatians by reminding them not to boast in the flesh, but to boast in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Application Questions:

1. How has Galatians affected you over the past several months?

2. How do you experience the siren song of boasting in yourself or something in the world?

3. What about boasting in the cross excites you? What about boasting in the cross challenges you?

19. Sowing and Reaping

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000

A life of freedom is a life lived for the good of others. When we are set free from our self-salvation projects, we are able to live the deeply interdependent relational lives we were created to live. The problem is, living our lives for others often makes us tired and weary. It doesn't feel as picturesque as the Bible describes it. Paul meets us in our weariness with a surprising anecdote: a reminder about how God has created the world to function.

Application Questions:

1. How would you characterize your sacrificial generosity toward all those around you, the church family, and those that pastor you?

2. What about the generosity of others that you see inspires and motivates you?

3. What tends to make you weary in doing good?

4. How might remembering the sowing and reaping principle help give you energy and motivation to sacrificially love others (sow to the Spirit)?

18. Life Together

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul shows us how the fruit of the Spirit is meant to be directed outwardly to one another in the context of the Church. We are called to humility towards one another, not comparing and judging others. We are called to reconciliation with one another, forgiving and restoring. And we are called to sacrifice for one another, bearing one another's burdens.

Application Questions:

1. Do you view the church as an organization or as a family?

2. What does a posture of humility look like towards those around you? How can you stop the temptation to compare yourself to others?

3. How can you grow in restoration and reconciliation with brothers and sisters in Christ in your life?

4. Whose burdens can you bear now? How can you dedicate yourself to a life of burden bearing for the glory of Christ?

17. Walking by the Spirit, part 2

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The fruit of the Spirit is not a list of things to do but a description of what Christian growth looks like. Paul shows us the content, the nature, and the process of Christian growth so that we can participate more fully in what the Spirit is doing in our lives.

Application Questions:

1. What is compelling to you about experiencing the fruit of the Spirit in your own life?

2. Christian growth is organic, not mechanical. How can that be an encouragement to you this week?

3. What are some practical ways you can cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in your own life?

16. Walking by the Spirit

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Galatians insists that Christians are free in Christ. But what does that freedom look like in your daily life? Paul explains that the life of the Christian is marked by a conflict of desires: old selfish desires combat new selfless desires inspired by the Holy Spirit. When we understand this conflict, we understand ourselves better, and we find hope for growth.

Application Questions:

1. What are some everyday examples of your fleshly desires opposing your Spirit-led desires?

2. Why is freedom not a license to be selfish?

3. How can the Holy Spirit give you hope for change this week?

15. Freedom and Love

Sun, 07 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul's explanation of the ramifications of the gospel in our lives continues: the gospel sets us free from sin, guilt, shame, and the Law, and this freedom is an opportunity to serve others, as well as an opportunity to walk in the Spirit.

Application Questions:

Confession: What are some ways you use your freedom in Christ to serve yourself rather than others?

Transformation: How can you use your freedom to serve those around you in your life?

Application: What does "walking in the Spirit" look like for you on a day-to-day?

14. Living in Freedom

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 10:00:00 +0000

In this passage, Paul expresses his pastoral heart for the Galatians—he longs for them to hold fast to the gospel and its truth, reject the lies of the circumcision party, and use their freedom in Christ to serve one another.

Application Questions

1. What does gospel freedom look like in your life? How do you cling to gospel truth day in and day out?

2. Why does Paul use such aggressive language towards the circumcision party? What does it look like to reject lies in your life?

3. How can you form your thoughts to consider the freedom you have in Christ as an opportunity to serve others rather than an opportunity for your own flesh? What would it look like to grow in serving others in your life?

13. Children of Promise

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul wants the Galatians to live in the freedom of the gospel, and he uses an Old Testament story to show them. We can live trying to control our own future, or trust God to take care of us by his own power. One leads to slavery, the other to freedom. For Christians, life is lived secure in the promise of God.

Application Questions:

1. What are some reasons you might be tempted to live “under the law” and try to be in control of your own salvation?

2. Abraham and Sarah struggled to see how God’s promises would come to pass in their lives. Can you relate to that struggle?

3. The gospel is for those who don’t have the ability to save themselves. Why is that good news for you this week?

12. From Slavery to Freedom

Sun, 17 Jul 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul gives us a profound analysis of human beings, from our motivations to our decisions. Just like the Galatians, we are all tempted by idolatry: replacing God with something else we look to for stability and hope. It is so ingrained in us that we don’t see it, and it enslaves us. The solution, Paul says, is the knowledge of God—both our knowledge of him and, more importantly, his knowledge of us. Lastly, our church communities are the place we minister this to one another in love.

Application Questions:

1. What idols are you tempted to serve?

2. How does knowing God and being known by God free you from serving other things?

3. How can this passage change the way you minister to others?

11. Spiritual Adoption

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Our fractured, divided, and imperfect world keeps us from knowing and relating to ourselves and others as we should. But our union with Christ makes us all sons of God and heirs according to promise. Through Christ we have our identity shaped and established, our way settled, and our relationship with God secured, as we enjoy a sonship, through any and every circumstance, both in part now and one day fully with Him forever.

Application Questions:

1. Do you struggle to see yourself as a son of God (as a woman) and the bride of Christ (as a man)?

2. Do you ever think about the fact that, because of Christ, you will inherit everything?

3. How can you make the security of your adoption, as an heir through God, an anchor point in your life this week?

10. The Law and the Christian

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul finishes explaining God’s law with the image of a guardian or tutor in ancient Roman society. Like tutors, life under the law was a time of preparation, not a final destination. The law is meant to drive us to the promise of God’s grace in Christ, which gives us a new identity and forms a new community.

Application Questions:

1. Why does Paul think it's so important that we are no longer under the law?

2. What does it mean to “put on Christ” and how does that shape your identity?

3. How should our identity in Christ shape our church community?

09. The Law and the Promise

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +0000

What do we do with the Old Testament? Paul shows us that we don’t need to ignore it or downplay it. The whole Old Testament points to the promise of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Application Questions:

1. Why should we read the Bible as a cohesive story and not a big collection of truths?

2. Why is it important that Christianity is based on promise not law?

3. How would your life be different if you were “free to fail” and “free to follow” because of the gospel?

08. Law, Faith, and Life

Sun, 12 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +0000

We all want the blessing of the Spirit, even if we don’t usually think about it in terms of Abraham and the Old Testament law. When we connect our daily lives to this search for the blessing, we find a powerful lesson about faith in Christ who took our curse so we could share in his blessing.

Application Questions

1. How do you see a desire for the blessing of God in your own life?

2. Can you relate to the idea of the law showing you that you are condemned?

3. What holds you back from trusting in God’s full justification in Christ? How do you see that affecting your life?

07. The Gospel and Spiritual Growth

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +0000

How do we change and grow? We're all in the process of striving to change, mature, or grow in one way or another. We want to grow in our career, as parents, as friends, simply as humans. But how does real, lasting change actually happen? Self-help books and life-hack blogs promise they hold the keys to success. But what does God say? Surprisingly, the answer is a lot simpler than we could ever imagine.

Application Questions:

1. Where do you turn, other than Christ, to produce change in your life?

2. What is the difference between leaning on something that helps depend on the gospel for change and leaning on that same thing in a way that seeks to produce change apart from the gospel?

3. How have you seen God miraculously produce change and transformation in your life that you would be unable to do on your own strength?

4. What does it look like to rest in the gospel in the areas of your life that you long to change?

5. How does continually hearing and trusting in the gospel bring ongoing sanctification in the life of the Christian?

06. The Heart of the Gospel

Sun, 29 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

This passage is at the heart of Galatians, and it deals with the doctrine of justification by faith. Paul is extremely clear: we are justified by what God does, not by what we do. When we go to Christ with nothing, we get everything.

Application Questions:

1. How do you see a need for justification at work in your own life?

2. Why isn’t faith a “work”? How does that help you understand what it means to have faith in Christ?

3. Paul says that all Christians are “in Christ.” Why does that shape his identity so deeply? How could that shape your identity?

05. Shaped by the Gospel

Sun, 22 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Being a Christian means first, believing the gospel, and second, letting your belief in the gospel take such a deep root that everything in your life is then shaped by the gospel. Paul here confronts Peter, because Peter was not walking "in step with the truth of the gospel," and invites us to a life of consistency in which everything in our lives flows from and is shaped by the gospel.

Application Questions:

1. Why does Paul confront Peter? How does Peter undermine the gospel with his actions?
2. What does it mean to walk "in step with the truth of the gospel"? How does this relate to gospel-consistency and hypocrisy?
3. How can the power of the gospel confront fear and idolatry in your life?

04. Preserving the Gospel

Sun, 15 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

This passage doesn’t stand out to us, but it’s pivotal, because in it Paul is fighting for the future of the church. When we see how Paul and the apostles preserve the gospel, we’ll know how to preserve it ourselves so that we keep the freedom and the fellowship that Christ gives us by grace.

Application Questions:

1. What are ways you’ve seen people try to reconstruct the gospel? Why is that something we need to avoid?

2. How do you struggle with thinking some things you do make God love you more or less? How does that lead to slavery and not freedom?

3. Imagine a community that is built on the gospel and not other things. How would you describe it?

03. Amazing Grace

Sun, 08 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The life of Paul can often seem like one that is unassailable, out of reach for the average Christian. But Paul's own words remind us of the transforming power of the gospel that is available and at work in every believer, for the glory of God and the Christian's eternal joy and good.

Application Questions:

1. Does the initiating revelation of the gospel by God humble you? Why or why not?
2. Do you allow the magnitude of the gospel to fill you with gratitude and wonder?
3. In what ways can you change to allow what you say and do be more of a reflection and pointer to God’s glory?

02. Counterfeit Gospels

Sun, 01 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul normally starts his letters with thanksgiving and encouragement, but in Galatians he begins with admonishment. Paul is deadly serious about any adjustments people make to the gospel of grace in Christ, and in this short passage he shows us how to tell the difference between the true gospel and its counterfeits.

Application Questions

1. Why can’t you make any adjustment to the gospel without ruining it?

2. Can you identify some false gospels that promise good news but only deliver slavery?

3. What about the true gospel is better than the false gospels you identified? How can that help you in your life this week?

01. Introducing the Gospel

Sun, 24 Apr 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Galatians is a powerful book that has contributed to revivals in history and can do so today. In Paul’s introduction, we get major themes from the rest of the book on the importance of doctrine, the heart of the gospel, and the way we can put doctrine to work in our own lives.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways you’ve seen doctrine affect your life?

2. What about the gospel seems most relevant to your life right now?

3. What might it look like for you to apply doctrine to your life this week?

13. The Cost and Joy of Hospitality

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Missional hospitality is built to fit into a life of self-giving love. When we live as those who daily take up their cross, losing our lives to find it in Jesus, missional hospitality will fit naturally.

Application Questions:

1. Why do you think Jesus wants us to take up a cross to follow him?

2. How does losing your life for Jesus’ sake lead to saving it? What does that kind of life look like day to day?

3. How is missional hospitality a way of taking up a cross and losing your life? How does that lead to saving your life?

12. What Do I Say?

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 10:00:00 +0000

As we continue to explore how God is calling each of us to extend his welcome to our city, we look at a third practical question that often hinders us. "What exactly am I supposed to say?" Over the years you may have learned all sorts of different gospel presentations, but they inevitably all feel awkward or strange to deliver. How do we convey the message of the gospel in a way that is compelling and natural in a city that generally rejects the existence of God all together?

Application Questions:

1. How has this series on missional hospitality changed or affirmed how you view or think about the task of evangelism?

2. If the message we share is rooted in truth, what does someone need to understand about Jesus in order to be saved?

3. How might you personalize the saving message of the gospel to different individuals in your life? Try to come up with some examples.

4. In what ways does your speech fail to always be gracious and how might you strive to convey the message of Christ in a way that is saturated in grace?

11. How Do I Fit This In?

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Missional hospitality can seem daunting, but the example set for us by Jesus and Paul is one where people are invited into the rhythms of their lives. The same is true for us. We let our light shine before men by inviting them into the things in life that we already do: Work, Rest, Celebrate, and Eat. These are the contexts for welcoming in others around us, and these are the places where we will be able to share about Christ with them.

Application Questions:

1. How can you welcome others into all parts of your life?

2. What does missional hospitality look like at your vocation?

3. How can you invite and welcome others into your rest?

4. What practical steps can you take to welcome others into your celebration?

5. With the 21 meals you have a week, where can you invite and welcome others into your eating?

10. Who Do I Welcome?

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

As we seek to understand how God is calling each of us to extend his welcome to our city, a number of practical questions arise. The first question we're going to examine is: Who, specifically, is God calling me to welcome? In a city of millions of people, where do we start?

Application Questions:

1. When deciding who to spend time with, what usually determines your choice?

2. How does the example of welcoming in "whoever is there" simplify your understanding of God's call on your life here in our city?

3. Where do you see an openness to the things of God in the lives of those that don't know Christ around you?

4. Who, specifically, may God want you to welcome into your life for the sake of welcoming into a relationship with him?

09. A Welcoming Place

Sun, 13 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

When God’s family gathers in Sunday services or community groups, it’s like family dinner: our values, the way we treat each other, and the way we treat our guests are on full display. This sermon explores how God’s welcome extends through the church community to newcomers when we gather together.

Application Questions:

1. When was the last time you were new at church? What was that experience like?

2. How have you benefitted from services and community groups that focus on the gospel?

3. How might you know, serve, and speak to welcome others at our services and community groups?

08. Multiplication and Hospitality

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Multiplication has always been part of God's plan since He formed humanity in His Image. We should desire multiplication because we want those around us to hear the gospel's Good News. God does not want us to hoard the fruit of Spirit, but by our fruit, those around us should know we are His and desire Him. Multiplication is bittersweet because there is a cost to welcome others into God's family and mission. But it is glorious to see those who once were orphans now adopted as sons and daughters of the King.

Application Questions:

1. How is multiplication a sign of a healthy church community?
2. How is God using you to welcome and influence those around you for His kingdom?
3. Spend some time this week to pray and meditate on ways you can be intentional in multiplication and hospitality when it comes to the family of God.

07. Making Disciples and Hospitality

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

How did Christianity go from a local, Galilean, Jewish religion to a worldwide faith where we are worshipping Jesus 2,000 years later and 8,000 miles away? After the Resurrection, Jesus gives His disciples the command to go and make disciples of all nations, inviting all peoples to come to know and love God. The welcome that we have received from God we now turn and offer to others.

Application Questions:

1. How is the call to "make disciples" fundamental to being a Christian?

2. What kind of intentionality is needed in your life to live out this calling?

3. How can you extend the welcome of God to those who don't know Him in your life?

06. Welcoming in the Disabled

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

People with disabilities are often overlooked, but they are a valuable part of God’s kingdom. Learning more about those with disabilities teaches us how to be more welcoming, and gives us a vision for a community that truly serves one another.

Application Questions:

1. How have you or someone close to you experienced disability?

2. God creates, works through, and reveals his glory through people with disabilities. What about this stands out to you the most, and why?

3. How do disability and the gospel relate?

4. How might you know, serve, and speak to welcome others as part of a church family that includes various levels of ability?

05. Hospitality Starts at Home

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The church is more than just a building: it's a community, a God-ordained assembly where we are to be reminded of and refreshed by his goodness. We gather to enjoy and share the welcome of God with one another that we might be better equipped to share it with others.

Application Questions:

1. What does church mean to you?

2. In what ways can you work to see church as more of a community and a family than a building or a gathering?

3. How can you enjoy the welcome of God more through your church community this week?

04. Following a Welcoming God

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

As we reflect on the welcome of God, and the peace we have because we have been welcomed in, Jesus turns our attention toward being a welcoming presence in our city. Just as Jesus was sent from the Father, now we have been sent for a purpose and with a mission.

Application Questions

1. If Jesus welcomed in the disciples after they had abandoned him, what does that teach you about his welcome of you?

2. Do you see yourself as being "sent" by God just as Jesus was "sent" by the Father? Why or why not?

3. Do you see yourself more as a visitor in our city or a host/representative of the owner and creator of the universe?

4. How would your life and interactions with others change if you consistently saw yourself as a host sent to welcome the world?

03. Life With a Welcoming God

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

To understand how we are to be missionally hospitable to others we must understand and enjoy the hospitality of God. In His love God redeems us from bondage to slavery, and more so adopts us into His family. In Christ your identity is His child, and He invites you to savor your inheritance.

Application Questions:

1. What does it look like to find your security in your identity in Christ?
2. How ought your adoption into God's family change the way you view God and yourself?
3. What does it mean to savor God? How can you cultivate more affection for Him?

02. The Welcome of God

Sun, 16 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The gospel is God’s hospitality to us, and once you see it you’ll find it throughout scripture. Ephesians 1 is an expansive look at the way God welcomes us through Christ by the Holy Spirit. Once we see that we’ve received God’s welcome, and learn how to enjoy it, we’ll find ourselves ready to extend it to others.

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever thought of God’s love in terms of hospitality? Why or why not?

2. What about the gospel is emphasized when we think about it as God’s hospitality?

3. How does God’s hospitality through Jesus Christ help you in the struggles you have right now?

01. An Introduction

Sun, 09 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

We begin the year with a new sermon series exploring the calling of our church in our city. Why does God have us here? How does he want us to live here as his children? How is this unique moment a key opportunity for the church? As ones who have been welcomed into God's family, he has placed us in this city to reflect his welcome through lives of missional hospitality.

Application Questions:

1. As you look back over the past two years, what are some reasons to thank God for the family of Cornerstone WLA?

2. How might your view of yourself change if you saw us (the church) as the light of the world here in West LA?

3. How could Jesus' example in Matt 9:9-13 reflect how you engage with those outside the church in our city?

4. How is the biblical concept of hospitality different from what you tend to think of as "hospitality"?

Raised With Him

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Paul prays that we would know the message of Easter not just with our minds but in our bones. How? By seeing that Jesus’ resurrection can be our resurrection. God in Christ meets us in our sin and raises us to life, with more life to come for eternity.

Application Questions:

1. How does the resurrection show us the power of God? What does that mean for our spiritual life?
2. Why does Paul want us to know about the depth of our sin?
3. How is salvation bigger than we often think? What about forgiveness, new life, and new hope stands out to you the most?

04. Light in the Darkness of Death

Sun, 19 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The darkness of death is the natural culmination and pinnacle of the darkness of sin and suffering. It is an overbearing weight. But the coming of the true light in the person and work of Jesus rescues us from this burden and frees us from death's grip, to give back the life we were meant to have.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways you avoid thinking about death?
2. How does meditating on the true light of Christ coming into the world help you to treasure Him more in your everyday life?
3. What are some ways you can “number your days” so you can gain a heart of wisdom?

03. Light in the Darkness of Suffering

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The darkness of suffering is real, complex, and something we all struggle to deal with. Advent points us away from our attempts to cope with suffering on our own to Jesus Christ, the true light, who overcomes the darkness. While our suffering is still real and deeply painful, Jesus walks with us as one who suffered for us.

Application Questions:

1. How do you try to cope with suffering by controlling it, denying it, or not thinking about it? In what ways does that help, and in what ways does that not help?

2. What is your experience with lament in prayer?

3. What would change if you thought more regularly about how Jesus will one day remove all suffering?

4. What stands out to you the most about the ways Jesus transforms our suffering here and now?

02. Light in the Darkness of Sin

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Advent is a time of reflection on our need for the light of Christ in the darkness of sin, but we have a difficulty in understanding our hearts. We often try to utilize artificial light to help us navigate the darkness of the world and our heart, but it cannot take us out of the darkness. This sermon is about how dark our sin really is in each of us, and how precious it is that true light has come into our hearts and will expel the darkness forever.

Application Questions:

1. Why do we need the Light of Christ to shine in the depths of our hearts?

2. What are the artificial lights you are tempted to make as idols in your life?

3. How does the truth that Jesus is the light of the world change how you look at the darkness of sin in your life?

01. The Eternal Light

Sun, 28 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Advent is a time of reflection on our need for the light of Christ in a dark world, but we don’t always feel that need in our bones. We need to meditate on the brightness of the Light and the depth of the darkness to move Advent from our heads to our hearts to our lives. This sermon looks at the beginning of John’s gospel to get a sense of the brightness of the Light of Christ, and what it means that he would enter a dark world.

Application Questions:

1. Is it ever hard for you to "feel" the reality of Advent, even if you believe it's true? Why do you think that is?

2. What stands out to you most about Christ's brightness as the Word of God? Can that bring a helpful perspective to what's happening in your life now?

3. The Light came into the darkness out of love for you. How can that change the way you handle your hopes, disappointments, and other things affecting you this holiday season?

Pursuing Community

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

On this unity Sunday we step back to explore the importance of community, why we all need it, and why we all tend to find it more difficult than we expect.

Application Questions:

1. Who is are you traveling the journey of life with?

2. What makes living in community with others difficult for you?

3. How do you see comparison in your heart pushing others away?

4. How do you see pride in your heart pushing others away?

5. How does the gospel set you free from the prison of comparison and pride?

Praying for Each Other

Sun, 11 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Prayer is hard and it's easy for us to get distracted. But, there are two things that can fuel our prayer life and draw us into a deeper intimacy with God. One is remembering who it is we're talking to: the one who hears and acts. The other is who we're praying about. When our hearts are captivated by a love for others we're able to take our eyes off ourselves and pray, not just for our own needs, but even more fervently for the needs of those around us.

Application Questions:

1. When you pray, are you confident the Lord hears you? How can you be reminded of this as you enter into prayer?

2.When you pray, are you expectant that the Lord will answer you? How can you be reminded of this as you enter into prayer?

3. Who do you generally spend more time praying for, yourself or others?

4. Who around you is struggling and in need of your prayer?

The God of Comfort

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In response to this week's tragic fires, we take time to hear God speak words of gentle comfort and love to each of us in this frightening and disorienting moment.

Application Questions:

1. How does God's goodness bring you comfort in this moment?

2. How does God's power bring you comfort in this moment?

3. What "big questions" does this moment cause you to ask? Take time to ask them to God.

4. What does patient trust look like for you this week?

Christmas: An Exile Story

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000

As we reflect back on the book of Daniel, we discover one of the secrets of Christmas that frees us to enjoy the celebration like never before. The secret of Christmas is that Christmas is supposed to make you homesick. It's a story of exile promised to exiles in order to give hope in exile. And when we see it through the lens of exile, we find the true joy of what Christmas is truly all about.

Application Questions:

1. Is Christmas particularly joyful or difficult for you this year?

2. If it's joyful, are there still some difficulties? If it's difficult, are there still some joys?

3. How do the joys and difficulties of Christmas help you long for your eternal home even more this year?

4. What is a specific part of Christmas that can point you to your eternal home every time you hear or see it?

From Generation to Generation

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Today we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Cornerstone's sanctuary. Built in 1924, this building is filled with stories of God's provision, transformation, and the spread of his kingdom. As we commemorate this moment, we find that the reason this church has thrived throughout the generations is not a testament to our leadership, our character, or our vision - it is a testament to the mercy, power, and kindness of our God.

Application Questions:

1. What strikes you as you imagine all that God has done over the course of the last century in this place?

2. How have you seen God's mercy on display in our church and in your own life?

3.How have you seen God's power on display in our church and in your own life?

4. How have you seen God's kindness on display in our church and in your own life?

5. How is God calling us to respond to his mercy, power, and kindness in our own generation?

Follow Me

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Beholding the Son of God begets following the Son of God. When we see Jesus for who he is and remember what he has done, our hearts are drawn to follow him and orient our entire lives around him. Even when we don't know what the future holds, we can have confidence in the one that holds the future. And, as we enter a new year, he invites us to "come and see" all that he has in store.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you know Jesus is calling you to follow him this year?

2. How have you seen God nurture your faith in small but personal ways this past year?

3. How would you view the coming year differently if you remembered that God himself is dwelling in you?

4. What are your prayer for the coming year?

He Will Give You Rest

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The hope of the gospel is the hope of rest. We were designed by God, as finite beings, for rest. But what we often think of as rest is not God's design. Christ shows us the nature, need, and hope of rest.

Application Questions:

How is rest in Scripture different that what you imagine?

In what ways is your soul weary?

How does the future hope of eternal rest speak to your life now?

The Lord Builds the House

Sun, 25 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Guest Pastor Jim Newheiser preaches on Christian ambition and God's will.

Where Are You?

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In the Resurrection Jesus has defeated death- but where did death come from? We see in the beginning of Genesis that in the beginning Adam and Eve doubt God's goodness and His Word. In response to their sin they run from God and hide, but God chases after them, and invites them home.

Application Question:

How impactful has the Resurrection been for you this week?

Light of the World

Sat, 24 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Christmas can be a time of incredible darkness and pain, only highlighted more clearly because of the lights and joy of the season. But Christmas is a story of a God who knows our darkness, and who chooses to enter our darkness with us and for us. Christ is God in the flesh, God revealing Himself to a dark and broken world, and it is into the darkness Christ goes, the darkness of our world and the darkness of our hearts. And it is in the darkness that Christ shines the light of His love and grace most brightly.

Application Questions:

1. How is your darkness particularly dark in this season?

2. Why does it matter that God knows your darkness?

3. What hope does Christmas give you- that God is not afraid of your darkness but shines His light into your darkness?

How to Celebrate a New Year

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

New Year’s Day is usually a letdown. The real celebration is the night before, and we wake up in another year with another set of things we’d like to change. The Bible gives us a better way to celebrate the New Year, one that connects it to God’s faithfulness in the past, present, and future.

Application Questions:

1. Are you a New Year’s Resolution kind of person or an anti-New Year’s resolution kind of person?

2. Where in 2022 did you see God’s faithfulness, in good times or bad?

3. How does God’s forgiveness change your perspective on last year, and on this year going forward?

4. How can hope in God making all things new change the way you live this year, and this week?

Desperate Prayer

Sun, 02 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

King David is known as the man after God's own heart. His relationship with and trust in God is often held up as the goal for all of God's people to strive for, but in this psalm we see David pleading for God to deliver him from spiritual darkness. David shows us how to be honest, reach out to God, and request deliverance from God through desperate prayer.

What Happened Next?

Sun, 26 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The story of Jesus' life continues after Christmas in powerful and surprising ways. As a young child, his family flees an oppressive government, he lives as a refugee, and ends up growing up in a small, obscure town. Not quite the origin story we might expect for the hero of the world. But it's exactly the story God has been pointing toward and foreshadowing throughout all of human history.

Application Questions:

1. What about Jesus' life as a young child surprises you?

2. How should Jesus' identification with the refugee, oppressed, threatened, and obscure shape how we view others in similar situations today?

3. How does the identification of Jesus as the new and greater Moses shape your understanding of God's sovereign guiding of all human history?

4. How does what we've discussed today inspire your worship of God?

Thanksgiving and the Gospel

Sun, 21 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

God has been so good to us in so many ways that it is not that hard to be thankful to Him for our families, our jobs, our children, our careers, our health, etc. We also are thankful for things that we own, like our cars, homes, computers, cell phones, etc. It is good to cultivate a thankful heart for all those things we have received from Him. But what about our great salvation that He has given us? How often do we thank God for our salvation? And other people’s salvation? This sermon looks to exhort us to cultivate a thankful heart through a deeper appreciation of the Gospel. The Gospel is the place where God Himself has shown us how much He loves us, and it is also the best place for us to honor Him and give thanks.

Application Questions:

1. What about knowing that you don’t have to save yourself (by constantly obeying the law) can make you more thankful to God?
2. How does knowing that to be saved all you have to do is to believe help you to grow in thankfulness?
3. How do you think your life would be impacted if you had to pay for your sins constantly?
4. Can one be truly thankful to a god who breaks His own rules to save us?
5. God was under no obligation to pay for anyone’s salvation. How do you feel knowing that He chose to pay for yours?

05. Your Blessed Life Now

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus concludes his sermon with a stark illustration about the eternal implications of where we put our faith. The bless-ed life that Jesus has been describing isn't just about fulfillment and joy in this life, but is the basis for eternal human flourishing as well. In Jesus we find the fulfillment of our humanity both in this life and in the life to come.

Application Questions:

1. Have you put your faith in Christ? How is that demonstrated in the way you live and the shape of your life?

2. How does the security you have in Christ shape and motivate the way you live your life?

3. What are the "upside-down" values of this world that you find most compelling / tempting?

4. How does your personal relationship with Jesus help you to see reality right-side up each day?

04. Who You Are And What You Do

Sun, 07 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

As a fruit tree, the world will know us by our fruit. Our actions and responses to the things around us is an indicator of our heart. If we continually produce bad fruit, we need God to transform our hearts, and if we are producing good fruit, we need God to maintain it.

Application Questions:

1. Why do believers need to examine their hearts?

2. What is the fruit believers need to be producing? (Galatians 5:22-24)

3. What are the things currently in your life that is preventing you from producing fruit?

03. How to (Not) Judge

Jesus calls Christians to an upside down kind of life in how we treat other people. The world lives by law, and the law always leads to judgment. But in Christ we live by the gospel, and in the gospel we can see one another, and ourselves, through God's eyes.

Application Questions:

1. What does judging look like in your life?

2. How do you see the world living by "the law"?

3. Why is it so counter-intuitive to live by the gospel?

4. How do you see pride and insecurity in your heart and life? How can you find your security in Christ?

02. What Love Looks Like

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The call to love our enemies is one of the most difficult and paradoxical commands in Scripture. It neither makes sense nor comes natural to us. But when we look to Jesus, and understand the true nature of love, we find ourselves more appreciative of the love that we've received and are better able to extend that love to others - even our enemies.

Application Questions:

1. What is your honest reaction to the command "Love your enemies?"

2. Do you struggle with demonstrating the depth of love that God requires?

3. How does meditating on the depths of love God demonstrated towards you help you love others better?

01. Seeing Things Upside Down

Sun, 17 Oct 2021 10:00:00 +0000

As our Savior and Creator, Jesus is concerned with even more than our trust and our obedience, he has created us to flourish. But he has designed us to flourish in ways that are very different than what flourishing looks like on the surface. In fact, they're often the very opposite. In his most famous teaching Jesus pulls back the curtain and reveals that we've been seeing our entire world upside-down, and he gives us eyes to see what reality is truly like.

Application Questions:

1. How does your understanding of the Beatitudes change when you see them, not simply as "blessings" from God (though they are), but more fundamentally as proverbial wisdom statements about the nature of the flourishing life?

2. How would your life look different if you saw the poor as people the rich should seek to emulate instead of the rich as people the poor should seek to emulate?

3. How have you experienced mourning as a means of flourishing in your life?

4. What examples of persecution have you experienced or can you imagine experiencing that Jesus would point to as reasons for eternal rejoicing?

Unity in God's Church

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

What is the Church? God's Word makes it clear that the Church is God's people, redeemed from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Why does God build His Church this way? Because when we are united in Him across all the dividing lines of the world, it shows how glorious Christ is.

Application Questions:

1. In your mind, what is the Church?

2. How does the Church being from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation impact your view of the Church?

3. In what ways is your view of God too small?

4. How does God's grace speak to His purposes for the church?

5. What are some ways you can cultivate unity at Cornerstone across dividing lines?

The Right Way to Grow

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

It's safe to say that all Christians should be motivated to grow. We want to grow and be able to obey God for the rest of our lives, but sometimes we get stuck in our walk with Him. We've tried so many things and we're still stuck. If you find yourself struggling in your Christian life, my hope is that you'll realize that there's a better way to grow and obey God.

Application Questions:

1. If Christ came to empower you to obey through His Spirit, why do you keep trying to obey in your own strength?

2. Why will obedience out of obligation or fear eventually shut you down?

3. If Christ obeyed the law for us, why do we still have to obey it?

4. What is Spirit-empowered obedience?

5. Explain how obedience through the Spirit motivates you to obey more?

6. Why is love the best reason to motivate our obedience?

Salt And Light

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus tells his followers that they are salt and light in the world. Salt is a preservative put into things that otherwise would fall apart. This teaches us that Christians are in the city to help it hold together. Light is what allows us to see the reality around us. This teaches us that Christians are in the city to show God’s truth and love to those who wouldn’t see it otherwise. Being salt and light is not based on our moral achievement but on Christ’s grace and presence in our own lives.

Application Questions:

1. How might God be calling you to be salt for the city?

2. How might God be calling you to be light for the city?

Where Will We Go?

Sun, 25 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

At the beginning of John 6, Jesus feeds almost 20,000 people miraculously. By the end of John 6, the only followers He has left are His disciples. Challenging His disciples, Jesus asks them if they will leave Him as well? Peter responds with a declaration of faith and desperation that is true for all Christians everywhere.

Application Questions:

1. What does spiritual desperation look like in your life?

2. How can you live a life of dependence on the words of Jesus?

3. In what way can you build your life upon Christ's words of eternal life?

The Cost of Following Jesus

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Following Jesus is not easy, because He asks us to subordinate everything that competes with our love for Him. Our problem begins when we think that we can only follow Him with our imperfect love. When Jesus invites us to follow him, it is an invitation to give up our selfish love to receive his perfect love and when we do so that is when we find true happiness and eternal life.

Application Questions:

1. Why does Jesus want you to understand that to follow Him starts by loving Him the most?

2. How does the pursuit of your own happiness without Jesus can become an obstacle to follow him?

3. Why might not following Jesus be the greatest cost for an aspiring disciple?

Soul Rest

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Whether it's life stage, a special circumstance, or specific struggle, we're all tired. Sometimes exhausted. Jesus meets us in our need with an offer of his rest. In Him, we find the unexpected and potent peace of His presence - the rest we truly need.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways in which you look for rest?

2. How is Jesus' unexpected offer of rest actually good news?

3. How can you look to find your rest in Him this week?

The Eyes of Jesus

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus changed the world and impacts lives every day in a surprising way: zoomed in, one person at a time. He not only sees individuals and their specific needs, but he saves and celebrates, with a singular focus, each person adopted into his family.

Application Question:

1. Is there someone in your life who needs to seen by you the way Jesus sees you? Pray and ask God to show you who you need to see today.

Walking and Leaping

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Like the lame beggar, we all have needs that often go unmet, and we are far off from where we feel we ought and want to be. But Jesus offers far more than we could ever ask or imagine, and setting our minds and hearts on him profoundly changes us in a way that we can revel in and invite the world to enjoy as well.

Application Questions

1. What are some of the things in life you think you need but really just want?

2. What are the things in life that excite you the most?

3. How can celebrating all that Jesus has done for you help you to reorient your desires? What benefit do you think you would see in your life and the lives of those around you?

What is the Local Church?

Sun, 06 Jun 2021 10:00:00 +0000

What does it mean to be a single multi-lingual church? When we take the time to look back at the very first iteration of the local church we see a group of brothers and sisters that bear a striking resemblance to who we are today, and who God is continually calling us to become.

Application Questions

1. How are you tempted to neglect living out your faith as a part of a "gathered" community?

2. What are specific examples of times you have sacrificed for the needs of brothers and sisters in our church family? If you can't think of any, how might God be calling you to a more intentionally generous lifestyle?

3. What can you do this summer to intentionally devote yourself to the Word of God along with others in our local church community?

4. Who around you needs the hope of the gospel right now? What do you need to do to prioritize sharing that hope with them?

23. Knowing the True God

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 10:00:00 +0000

John concludes the letter of 1st John by reminding us of the truths that assure our hearts: Jesus protects us from the evil one, we are from God, and we know Him who is true. These truths give us confidence to follow Christ in the midst of a fallen world, keeping ourselves from idols by abiding in Jesus.

Application Questions

1. Why is it so important that in Christ we have a new nature?

2. How does it change your life to know that God protects you in the midst of a fallen world?

3. What are practical ways you can build your life on the God who is Truth?

4. How have you become complacent in your walk with God? What steps can you take to revitalize your relationship with Him?

22. Praying for Others

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 10:00:00 +0000

When we talk to God we can know that he hears us and that he will answer us. And when we ask for his kingdom to come and transform our hearts, we can know that he will do it. Therefore, when we pray for one another we can do so expecting God to produce the redemption we desire. Prayer is the Christian's superpower.

Application Questions:

1. In what way might God be drawing you deeper into your relationship with him through prayer?

2. How should the confidence you can have shape your prayers?

3. How can you more intentionally use the privilege of your relationship and communication with God to bless your brothers and sisters in Christ?

4. Where do you see sin in the lives of your brothers and sisters that you can take confidently to God in prayer?

21. Confident Prayer

Sun, 26 Sep 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. What is prayer, and why is it an essential spiritual discipline?

2. If God has answered your greatest need (you being separated from Him), what are some of the reasons that keep you from bringing your other concerns and needs to Him?

3. What does it mean to ask anything according to His will (1 John 5:14)?

20. God Testifies

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The message of the gospel has been validated by the testimony of God - the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. As Christians we carry that testimony in us, and in us it produces eternal life.

Application Questions:

1. How do the water, blood, and Spirit testify to the person and work of Jesus Christ?

2. If you reject God's testimony you reject God Himself - why is this so crucial for understanding how we submit ourselves to the gospel?

3. What does it look like for the testimony of God to be "in yourself"?

4. How does eternal life begin now for you?

19. Overcoming the World

Sun, 05 Sep 2021 10:00:00 +0000

In response to the gospel we are called to two actions: believe in God, and love God. Trusting in the message of the gospel is what it means to believe in God, and loving God above all else is what it means to love Him. Though the world may try to undermine our belief, and draw us away from Christ with false loves, in Him we have victory over the world.

18. God is Love

Sun, 29 Aug 2021 10:00:00 +0000

As John continues his meditation on the power of love, he invites us to think deeply about the abiding nature of God's love. What does it mean that God's love abides in us? What does it mean that we abide in Him? And how does this abiding love give us the confidence and the selflessness that every soul ultimately longs for?

Application Questions:

How does the abiding nature of love change how you view yourself or your relationship with God?

What's a practical way you can meditate on the love of God this week?

What are you tempted to fear? How does remembering and meditating on the love of God displace that fear?

What are some specific ways you can practically and intentionally love your brothers and sisters in Christ this week?

17. Part I God is Love

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 10:00:00 +0000

God is love. He defines and perfectly demonstrates love. And while God's love was demonstrated most radically through the cross, the cross did not mark the end of the pouring out of God's love. His love pours out uniquely in each generation and is being poured out uniquely today.

Application Questions:

How can you take time this week to meditate on the reality of God's trinitarian love?

How can you take time this week to meditate on the reality and significance of the cross?

How would your love for others look different if you saw it less as a Spirit-empowered duty and more as a manifestation of God's love to the world?

Who can you love more sincerely and practically this week? What might that look like?

16. Testing the Spirits

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The path from joy to truth comes through fellowship with God. In order to abide in Him we must be able to distinguish between truth and error, and in a world of deception where the spirit of the world vies for our attention and affection, we must hold fast to His truth in His Word, so that we can abide in Him and live in His joy.

Application Questions:

Why is it crucial for you to be able to distinguish truth from error?
How and where do you see the deception of the world in your life?
What would it look like to cultivate spiritual discernment according to God's Word?
How does the hope of God give you strength to hold fast to His truth?

15. True Confidence

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Doubt creeps into our hearts in all sorts of different ways. Sometimes we mess up and doubt the reality or extent of God's forgiveness. Sometimes we feel alone and doubt the reality of our relationship with God. But God meets us in the moments of doubt with a gentle confidence, upholding us and reminding us (again) that we are his, and nothing will ever change that.

Application Questions:

When are the moments you are most tempted to doubt God's forgiveness?

How does it change things to know that "God is greater than our heart"?

When are the moments you are most tempted to doubt the reality of your new identity?

How can you take time this week to identify (maybe with others) the evidence of the Spirit working in your life?

How can you enjoy the sweet intimacy and confident prayer that is yours through the assurance of your identity and forgiveness?

14. Love in Action

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 10:00:00 +0000

John has taught us that being a Christian means being adopted into the family of God. God’s family has a family dynamic: righteousness and love. This week John begins a long conversation on loving one another as Christians. He deepens our understanding of love and then shows us how to move towards it ourselves.

Application Questions:

1. Do you struggle most to love other with your actions, attitude, or attention?

2. Have you ever found yourself doing loving things for selfish reasons?

3. What is your reaction to hearing that you have to lose your life in loving others to really experience life?

4. How can Jesus laying down his life for you move you to love others the same way?

13. Family Resemblance

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 10:00:00 +0000

John speaks strongly about righteousness and being a child of God. In that language, we find a call to holy living and a motivation that is different than any other philosophy.

Application Questions:

1. Are there ways you don’t want God’s parental input in your life? What do you normally do when you feel that way?

2. Do you regularly think of yourself as a child of God, apart from your performance? How might your life change if you did?

3. Is God asking you, Father to child, to practice righteousness in a particular area of your life right now?

12. Seeing Him

Sun, 18 Jul 2021 10:00:00 +0000

In the midst of a rich passage, John gives us the different elements that we need for real, deep, meaningful change and growth. They range from the new birth to eternal hope, but all center on the person of Christ and the transforming love God has for his children.

Application Questions:

1. If you want to change or grow, how do you normally go about trying?

2. Do you feel like you have a relationship with God, or a relationship with ideas about God? What’s the difference?

3. What are some practical ways you can relocate your hope on seeing God in eternity? How might that reshape your life now?

11. Children of God

Sun, 11 Jul 2021 10:00:00 +0000

When we are insecure about our faith, how do we rest assure in the Father’s arm? John reminds us to find our home in the Father’s love as we abide in Him and see His love. God sees us as His beloved children even with our faults, and John also encourages us to live lives that reflect our Father.

Application Questions:

1. Do you view remembering the sabbath as an optional command? if so why? How does having a sabbath as a rhythm in life help us abide (rest) in the Lord? What are ways you implement sabbaths in your life, if taking a sabbath is not a rhythm in your life, what could a sabbath look like for you?
2. “Impure Gold is still Gold,” How does the fact that God see us as His beloved even with our faults change the way you view yourself?
3. What are some practical ways we can purify ourselves as He is pure?

10. Learning the Truth

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Today is a day of remembrance in multiple ways. Our country gathers every year on this day to remember an event that took place in Philadelphia, determining the trajectory of our country. The church also gathers every week on this day to remember the event that took place in Jerusalem that changed the course of human history. Today we gather to remember that more significant historical moment and in our passage today John helps us to see why regularly looking back and remembering is such an important spiritual discipline for our souls.

Application Questions:

1. Do you tend to live in fear of false truths, or do you tend to live taking truth for granted, not being careful about what you're meditating on or taking in?

2. What are the practical ways that help you remember gospel truth throughout your week (other people, time with God, corporate worship, etc.)?

3. How does the fact that God is abiding in you change how you view your current challenges and struggles?

4. How can you relate more directly and intimately with God this week, remembering his personal presence?

09. Loving the Truth

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 10:00:00 +0000

With all the division and controversy in the world, how do we think about truth? John makes it clear that spiritual truth doesn’t adjust to fit our preferences or desires. While we shouldn’t be overconfident in ourselves, the truth about God is secure and stable. This means it shouldn’t rattle us when people reject Jesus, and we can hold onto the truth about Jesus without shame. Most of all, John makes the case that the hard truth is where we can put all our hope and security.

Application Questions:

1. Are you ever rattled in your faith when you see people reject Jesus for something they think is “better”? How do John’s reminders about the time we live in and the way we know truth help?

2. What about Jesus’ identity is so important that John sees it as a test for whether or not we have a relationship with God?

3. What would it look like for you to let the truth about Jesus “abide in you”?

08. Loving the World

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The world around us is filled with distractions and temptations. It draws us and seduces us. How do we continue to live in the world without being lured into its traps? How do we even know what its traps are? And how do we navigate life in the midst of the world in confidence instead of fear? John gives us an exhortation and a vision for the path forward in our passage today.Application Questions:

Application Questions:

1. What are the aspects of the "system that takes the place of God" in this world that you find most compelling?

2. What things in this world do you covet that demonstrate your residual love for the world?

3. What things in this world do you take boastful (even internally) pride in that demonstrate your residual love for the world?

4. How does remembering the temporary nature of the things of this world help you to turn away from them? Or does it?

5. How does the love of God expel the love for the world in your heart?

07. Family Portrait

Sun, 13 Jun 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Having heard the first section of the letter of first John, it is normal for any of us to feel somehow discouraged. Especially when we read sentences like “…whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness…” John’s sentences are loaded with razor sharp truth that could shake the foundation of even a mature believer. John now takes time to assure his church family that they are true believers who can have a tangible relationship with God the father and His Son Jesus Christ. And out of this fellowship with God flows out a deep abiding joy that is available to all believers regardless of their spiritual maturity.

Application Questions:

1. How does it bring you joy knowing that your salvation does not depend on you?

2. First describe your relationship with a good friend and then describe your relationship with Jesus.

3. How does knowing that Jesus empowers you to overcome sin bring you joy?

4. How does Jesus coming in human form help you better understand God the father?

06. Knowing Love

Sun, 30 May 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Being in fellowship with the God who is Light radically changes the life of the Christian. God's disarming love changes us from the inside out, bringing us further into the Light of His love, and demonstrating that love to brothers and sisters in Christ around us.

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen the love of God disarm you?

2. Does your experience of God's love lead you to love others around you? Why or why not?

3. How can you grow in having a loving posture towards others around you as Christ has?

4. What would it look like in your life to model Christ's love with those around you?

05. Knowing Obedience

Sun, 23 May 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Being close to a God who is light means being transformed into someone who walks the way Jesus walked. This sermon takes a tour of Christian obedience, showing how it is part and parcel of a relationship with God.

Application Questions:

1. What associations do you have with the word “obedience”? How does that affect the way you think about obeying God?

2. Why do you think God wants you to obey him? Why do you think you might want to obey God?

3. Where do you see evidence that God is affecting your life based on your choices to obey him? How does that give you confidence that your relationship with him is real?

03. Knowing Yourself

Sun, 09 May 2021 10:00:00 +0000

John’s agenda is to give us fullness of joy through fellowship with God. So what is God like, and how will that affect our relationship with him? John teaches us that God is light: he is completely pure, completely wise, entirely holy. When we come close to a God like this, it exposes the darkness in us and in our world. But only there do we see Christ taking on our sin and cleansing us to be near God forever.

Application Questions:

1. What do you think fellowship would look like with a God who “is light”? How does that compare to your own relationship with God?

2. Have you experienced God’s light has exposing your own darkness? Are there ways you have avoided God so that you wouldn’t have to deal with exposure like that?

3.John sees confession as freeing because you can be honest before God and be forgiven in Christ. Is that your experience with confession?

02. True Joy

Sun, 18 Apr 2021 10:00:00 +0000

John begins his letter focusing on truth: the eternal life of God taking on flesh as Jesus Christ. To John, we have to get this truth right, not so we can know we are right, but so that we can know God, and find fullness of joy in him.

Application Questions:

1. Are you more of a math person or a music person? How does that affect the way you view the Christian faith?

2. How do the truths of the Christian faith lead to fellowship with God? Is that how you think about those truths?

3. Where are you looking for joy? How might you look to the truth John talks about for that joy in your daily life?

01. True Fellowship

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 10:00:00 +0000

John speaks of the truth of Jesus Christ and the joy we get from knowing him. The road from truth to joy runs through fellowship with God, a deep communion with him that is made available in Christ and deeply personal.

01. A Covenant Community

Sun, 14 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000

On the anniversary of our first livestream service, it's easy to see how the pandemic has changed our lives. As restrictions begin to lift, we'll need to learn again what it means to walk together as a church community. This sermon looks at 1 Peter 2 to see how our personal relationship with Jesus is inextricable from our relationship with the local church community.

Application Questions:

1. How has the last year affected your understanding of church—for better and for worse?
2. Peter sees a deep connection between your relationship with Jesus and your relationship with others in the church. How have you experienced that?
3. How might it look for you to enjoy interdependent, rich life in the local church over the next several months?

02. A Gathered Community

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The word "church" literally means "gathering". We are called to be relationally close and this requires gathering together physically. Though we have been apart physically for a year, as the pandemic wanes it is important for us to reestablish the rhythm of in-person relational connection.

Application Questions:

1. What steps can you take right now towards regathering in-person with brothers and sisters in Christ?
2. Do you see the importance of in-person gathering for relational closeness and intimacy?
3. How does in-person connection help facilitate relational closeness?
4. Why is it so important that Jesus came to earth physically, and dwelt among us? Why is it important that He comes back the same way?

03. A Missional Community

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000

As we wrap up our mini-series on how we can relearn to "walk" as the local church, we examine how the community of the local church was designed to be a missional community. While presuppositions regarding "evangelism" may come to mind when you hear the term "missional," the reality of what it means to be a missional community is much deepers. In our missional calling we see and experience the culminating aspect of our purpose as humans and a church: to experience, enjoy, and proclaim the glory of God.

Application Questions:

1. Do you tend to live your Christian life with an "I need to..." or an "I get to..." attitude?
2. How does meditating on the reality of your identity in Christ help to change this?
3. What about the nature of God's glory should help us see the proclamation of the gospel less as a chore and more as an incredible privilege and joy?
4. To whatever extent you are tired and discouraged in this season, how might God still be wanting to workthrough your season of weakness?

01. The Good News of the Son

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In the book of Colossians God directs our gaze to look closely and intently on his Son. And when our eyes are fixed on Jesus we come to realize that, even in this season of difficulty, God is inviting us into a season of gratitude. In Christ God has given us more than we could ever imagine, but the incredible thing is, he's not done yet! As we look forward to this new series we await with eager expectation the transformation and multiplication God is going to do in us and through us.

Application Questions:

1. As you look back over the last 9 months, what are some of the ways you seen the gospel grow and transform your heart? If you're having trouble identifying any, pray for God's help seeing them, and ask those close to you.
2. As you look back over the last 9 months, what are some ways that you have seen the gospel spread and transform?
3. How would the coming months be different if you were focussed not on what you can't do or what has been taken from you and instead on what God is doing and how he's working?
4. What is one practical way you can make the coming months a season of increased and focussed prayer? Tell someone close to you what you intend to do so you can encourage one another and keep one another accountable.

02. The Son of Creation

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In the midst of his letter to the Colossians Paul breaks into song, singing the praises of the preeminence of Jesus Christ in all things. Jesus is supreme over all things because of His Identity, His Authority, and His Glory. He is the exact imprint and image of the invisible God, is the Creator of the Universe, and all things exist for His glory.

Application Questions:

1. What does it mean for Jesus to be "preeminent" over all things?
2. Why is it important that Jesus is the "image of the invisible God"?
3. What does "firstborn" mean and why does it matter?
4. How does Jesus's authority as Creator impact who is in charge of your life?
5. If the fundamental purpose of all creation is to bring honor and glory to Jesus, what are you living your life for, and what needs to change to live your life for Jesus?

03. The Son of Re-Creation

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The gospel is about the person and work of Jesus. In the gospel Jesus displays that He is the preeminent one, the one by whom and for whom all things were created. This passage focuses on the work of Christ, establishing His church, defeating death, and reconciling sinners (and all things!) to Himself.

Application Questions:

1. Why does it matter that Christ is the head of the Church?
2. Where do you fit into the Body of Christ?
3. How does the resurrection of Jesus give you eternal hope?
4. How can you meditate on the cross of Christ in this season?
5. Why does Christ's work display His preeminence over all things and in your life?

04. The Son of Reconciliation

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

God sent his son to give us more than just personal blessings. He came to reconcile us to himself. When we remember the reason we need Jesus and the amazing work he has done for us, we are compelled to cling tightly to him, whatever the world may throw at us. Andthatmakes Christmas in 2020 one of the most special celebrations ever.

Application Questions:

1. How has this past year shown your need for Jesus in new and deeper ways (not just in the world, but also in your heart)?
2. Why do you need to remember the reality of God's birth, death, and resurrection?
3. What do you look to for hope and joy when things get tough (other than Christ)?
4. How can you strive to stand firm "not shifting from the hope of the gospel" this Christmas?

05. The Son Proclaimed

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Looking back on a year with so much uncertainty Paul gives us a reminder of the certainties we have in Christ. The certainty of hope, the certainty of suffering, and the certainty of transformation. Our hope in the New Year can't be in circumstances, but we can have great hope in our God who redeems all things for His glory and our joy.

Application Questions:

1. Do you have a difficult time finding joy and suffering at the same time?
2. What are some ways you see that God can and does use suffering for our good?
3. Can you see the joy in His purposes, even when those are painful? How?
4. What are some ways you can have hope in the coming year knowing that God is redeeming everything?

06. The Mystery of the Son

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

We all need the basics, but they can be frustrating. It's hard to think that the basics you already have are what you need to face new challenges. In this short passage, Paul teaches us how the basics of the Christian faith go to work in the Christian life, providing us more than we realize to explore, enjoy, and enlist to live life in a challenging world.

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever felt like "the basics" of your Christian faith might not be enough?
2. Where might Christ encourage your heart after this last year?
3. How might Christ knit you together in love with others in this coming year?
4. What are some ways you can grow in your knowledge of Christ?

07. Made Alive in the Son

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Life is hard and fraught with hardships and struggles. But even in the face of the many struggles of the last year, we can look to the one who has made us alive as the source of our comfort and strength.

Application Questions:

1. How have you let the hardships of the last year take your eyes off Jesus?
2. What have you been rooting yourself in other than Christ?
3. How can you let the truth of the gospel and your being made alive in him affect your walk with him?

08. Made Free in the Son

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

What does it mean to grow as a Christian? Lots of people have lots of different ideas about what it means to be a Christian and how you grow as a Christian. But the Bible is clear that growing as a Christian is not about our effort, nor is it about extra rules we add to our lives to make us seem more religious. Christian growth always happens as a result of holding fast to Christ, trusting in His Gospel, and following His commands.

Application Questions:

1. What does it look like to "hold fast" to Christ in your spiritual life?
2. In what ways are you insecure about your walk with Christ? How does the Gospel speak to those insecurities?
3. How can you cultivate grace-fueled sanctification in your life?

09. Looking to the Son

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

There are areas in all of our lives that we want to change, and that we know God wants to change. In different seasons we pursue growth in different ways. But, far too often, our pursuit of growth looks indistinguishable from the ways that those around us who don't know Christ pursue growth. Christian growth is fundamentally different, however. When we grow as Christians, what's taking place is more than just a change in habits or behaviors. Christian growth is the natural result of the realities of heaven and eternity taking deeper root in our souls. When heaven touches down, we don't just grow, we're transformed.

Application Questions:

1. Looking at the lists provided in Colossians 3, what is one area that you need to grow the most in?
2. What do you usually think of when you think of "spiritual growth"? And how does that compare with the picture of eternity taking deeper root in your soul?
3. What is one truth about God or the gospel that you need to be regularly reminded of this week?
4. What are three practical things you can do this week to regularly set your mind on the things that are above?

13. Sharing the Son

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

We often think wrongly about evangelism - we have fear about getting it wrong, about saying the wrong thing. Or we may think that it's not our gifting so it's not for us entirely! But Paul challenges us to realize the deep well from which every believer should draw and that the motivation for sharing our faith may not be what we think.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways you underestimate prayer? How can you make your prayer life more humble and consistent?
2. How do you think having a purpose can alleviate the fear you may have in sharing your faith?
3. How can you increase your passion for who Jesus is so that your speech is gracious and "well seasoned"?

10. Following the Son, Part 1

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Paul shows us that growing is part of the basic Christian life—not just once in a while, but part of our daily experience. In this passage, we find what growth really looks like and how we can pursue it ourselves.

Application Questions:

1. Would you describe your approach to growth as "putting to death"? Why or why not?
2. Do you focus more on changing your actions or your motivations? What would it look like for you to address both?
3. How does the gospel change the way we normally try to grow? How can you apply that this week?

11. Following the Son, Part 2

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

What characteristics come to mind when you think of spiritual maturity? All too often the way we define maturity has more to do with our cultural norms than it does the image of Christ. In today's passage Paul clarifies for us what true Christlikeness actually looks like, and he reminds us of the incredible joy that comes as we experience eternity taking deeper and deeper root in our hearts. We were created to live like Christ, and no other experience on earth compares to embodying that creative design more and more.

Application Questions:

1. How does the gospel shape the way you define love?
2. In what ways do you add to the definition of Christlikeness that we find explicitly in Scripture?
3. How do you see meekness and patience manifest in your life? How can you grow in putting them on?
4. How would your week be different if you walked through it with a posture of thankfulness?

12. Following the Son, Part 3

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

How does our new life in Christ work itself out in our daily life: marriages, family, work? Far from upholding cultural standards, or telling the Colossians to rebel against them, Paul teaches them to live under the authority of Jesus and watch as his love transforms things from the inside out.

Application Questions:

1. Why do you think we struggle with a passage like this today? How does understanding the background of the passage help us with that struggle?
2. How have you seen the gospel connect to your marriage, family, and/or work? What in this passage can help you make that connection stronger?
3. What is one practical step you can take this week to apply this passage in your own life?

14. The Community of the Son

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000

As we wrap up our journey through the book of Colossians Paul gets personal, giving us a glimpse into the spiritual family God had built around him. When we stop and pay attention to the stories represented in this list we'll find that the community that existed 2,000 years ago in Rome isn't all that different from the spiritual family God is continuing to built here and all around the world. The book of Colossians may come to an end, but the story of the Colossians is one that is still being written.

Application Questions:

1. How does understanding the stories of the people mentioned in this letter help to humanize the book of Colossians?
2. What are some of the stories of God's continued work that you are seeing in the lives of those around you?
3. How do you think God wants to use you in this coming season for the sake of his Kingdom?

01. Following Jesus in the Frenzy

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Politics can bring out the worst in people. Division, contempt, and frustration pop up anywhere things "get political," and far too often we ourselves get drawn into the fray. It's easy to be overwhelmed, confused, and hopeless that things can be different. But the Christian faith gives us a vision of political engagement that looks very different: the fruit of the Spirit. Far from focusing only on what we should vote for, the Bible emphasizes how we should conduct ourselves: with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen the works of the flesh at work in the world of politics? How have you been tempted by them yourself?
2. How would the fruit of the Spirit change your experience with politics? What would it look like for Christians to be known for the fruit of the Spirit in their political engagement?
3. How can you practically pursue the fruit of the Spirit in the way you think about, talk about, and interact with politics in the next two months?

02. Why Are Things So Crazy?

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Political discussion is crazy, and it seems like it's only gotten crazier recently. But why is politics such a heated topic when other important things aren't? It comes into focus when we see that politics can become a kind of religion, dealing with our fears, desires, and hopes for the future. When we understand this dynamic, we see how the gospel frees us to keep politics in its proper place.

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen politics function like a religion in the lives of others, or in your own life?
2. How have you seen politics function like afalsereligion, promising a kind of salvation but never delivering on it?
3. What are some ways you personally struggle with politics becoming a religion?
4. How does the gospel put politics in its proper place, and allow you to better engage with politics by the fruit of the Spirit?

03. Patriotism and the Kingdom of God

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

How should a Christian think about their country if they don't want to worship politics? People talk—and argue—a lot about patriotism, and how it fits into our current political landscape and the Christian faith. In Daniel 3 we get a good look at the ways patriotism can go wrong, and a model for how it can go right. What's more, we get pointed to our heavenly citizenship, which, far from removing us, sends us into our city and nation with love.

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen people (or yourself) confuse a political party or tribe with the kingdom of God? What have the results been like?
2. What would it look like for you to love our country and worship only God? What are some practical steps you can take?
3. How does Jesus give you the power to live this out? What can you meditate on this week to help you?

04. Christians and Government

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The question of why politics are important really begins with the question of why the government is important. Some see government as a savior. Some see the government as a necessary evil. But, how are we, as Christians, to understand the nature of government from a God-centered worldview? And once we understand the nature of government, how does God call us to relate to the government that is over us in our daily lives. Thankfully, God has clearly given us the answer to these questions, and so much more, in his Word.

Application Questions:

1. How does a God-centered understanding of the role of government challenge how you tend to view the government?
2. How would you think of and talk about the governing authorities different if you remembered that they were instituted by God?
3. What are some ways that you see the government restraining evil and instituting partial justice,even if imperfectly?
4. In what ways is God calling you to obey the governing authorities that you have not been and need to repent of?
5. How should you think through questions of civil disobedience? How can you be increasingly careful, wise, and thoughtful as you consider instances where that may be required?

05. Is There a Christian Political Platform?

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Plenty of people are ready to tell you what the "Christian" political platform is. But how do we know what policies, propositions, and candidates are the ones that Christians should vote for? The Bible does provide us with biblical principles that matter for politics. But we also need to know the difference between biblical principles and political policies, which takes wisdom, humility, and grace.

Application Questions:

1. Do you think a follower of Jesus could fit perfectly into one political party in America? Why or why not?
2. What makes biblical principles different from political policies? How does that difference force us to seek wisdom and embrace humility?
3. How can you show grace to yourself and to others when it comes to what Christians should vote for or against?

06. The Lens of Love and Politics

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Politics isn't known for its love. Whether it's online discussions, in person debates, or even our own internal reactions, the political climate is often more about condemning our enemies than loving them. But love is the thing that all Christians are to be known for, in politics and everywhere else. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a picture of love, showcased in Jesus' love towards us, that teaches us how to be loving, even towards our political enemies.

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen a lack of love in politics? How have you found yourself being unloving towards others?
2. What about the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 stood out to you the most? How can you practically apply it in your own life this week?
3. What would it look like to meditate on God's love more? How can you connect that to the way you think about and treat others?

07. How to Think in an Age of Soundbytes

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Loving God requires using our minds. God loves truth. He is the Ultimate Truth. And He calls on Christians to engage their minds to seek truth, even in the world of politics where truth is often obscure. We love God with our thinking by thinking: Humbly, Spiritually, Deeply, and Graciously.

Application Questions:

1. What does it look like to love God with your mind?
2. What are ways that youavoidtrue thinking?
3. How can you grow in thinkinghumbly?
4. What would it look like to view the world of politics through a spiritual lens?
5. How can you avoid shallow thinking? And what would it look like to practicecommunalthinking in your church community?
6. Have you rested in God's grace in this difficult season? If not, it's available for you now!

08. The Way of the Cross and Politics

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Politics is about who is in charge and who can make change in the world—and it's often connected to status, significance, and victory. But following Jesus gives you a different perspective on power. Jesus asks us to follow him by taking up our cross, which means embracing the humility and struggle that come along with loving our neighbor. Instead of constantly trying to amass power for ourselves, whether individually or politically, we take the posture of servants and know that our hope is in God.

Application Questions:

1. How have you pursued the way of glory—increasing greatness, success, and significance—in your own life?
2. Are there any ways God is calling you to take up your cross, serve others in obscurity, and humble yourself?
3. How does this affect the way you think about political change in general, and the election this week?

09. Elections, Hope, and Eternity

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Elections, nations, and world powers come and go. But the reign of King Jesus and his eternal kingdom are forever. Nothing gives us greater perspective and hope than catching the vision of our one true King and of his everlasting kingdom. In a world filled with political prophecies, few of which ever come completely true, God calls our eyes up to-his- prophecies - his promises - and the confidence and hope they bring us regardless of what is happening on earth.

Application Questions:

1. How often do you think about eternity? How often have you thought about eternity this last week?
2. What about the description of eternity in Revelation stands out to you the most?
3. What would it look like for you to "keep the words" of Revelation in your life?

10. Unity and Politics

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

As we wrap up our series on politics (and this entire political season) we ask the question: "Where do we go from here?" As always God's word gives us clear direction, teaching us that we go forward from here together. God has created the church to stand out in a divided world as a light of unity and hope. And the more we are captivated by the grace of his gospel, the more we can extend that grace to those around us. And as we do, we will fulfill his prayer that we would be united in a way that makes the world stop and take notice of just how magnificent and powerful the God we worship is.

Application Questions:

1. What other identities do you find creating unity in your life, other than your identity in Christ?
2. How does the gospel remind you of how much smaller (and less weighty) these identities are than your identity in Christ?
3. Who could you reach out to this week in order to cross a divide for the sake of the unity of the church? When will you reach out to them?
4. How could you pursue people this month in order to listen more and understand those in our church family who live or think differently than you?
5. Is there anyone in our church family you need to ask forgiveness for how you have allowed the divisions in the world to seep into our church family?

01. Adam and Eve

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

We're probably all familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. There's a tree, and an apple (or a "fruit"), and a couple of fig leaves. But when was the last time you took the time to really look carefully at what God was revealing about himself through this incredible historical story. When we slow down and walk through this story with our eyes fixed on God we begin to see things we never saw before. And we begin to understand God's goodness afresh, and in a way that we desperately need in this moment in time.

Application Questions:

1. When you think about the story of Adam and Eve, what comes to mind?
2. How do you see God's goodness on display in this story?
3. How have you experienced the kind of shame Adam and Eve experienced when they rejected God's goodness?
4. How have you experienced the kind of grace and kindness Adam and Eve experienced when God confronted them?
5. How do you see God's goodness on display in your life, through the gospel?

02. Noah and the Flood

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

We usually think of Noah and the ark as a kids story, especially the animals going on the ark two by two. But a closer look at the story shows us a rich message about what God is like, how we can be delivered from our sin, and how we find hope and a future. What's more, we see the kind of refuge God provides us in Jesus Christ that we can turn to now and forever.

Application Questions:

1. What parts of the story of Noah surprised you? How do they change the way you think about a familiar story?
2. What does this story teach you about sin and God's reaction to it?
3. What can we learn about faith from Noah? How can you apply those lessons in your own life?
4. What can we learn about God's desire for us and our world from this story? How does that encourage you and challenge you?

03. The Tower of Babel

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The story of the tower of Babel is about a lot more than language. It's about two ways of viewing the world, and two ways of finding security and significance. One comes from a city we try and build to keep our life safe and important apart from God. The other comes from God by grace. Christianity offers a city to come, that is built by God for us through Jesus Christ.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways that you try to be God in your life? What are some ways you see our society try to be God?
2. How are the ways we try to be God connected to our desire for security?
3. Why is God's grace the only sustainable way for humans to be united?
4. How can you pursue the eternal city God builds through the way you live your life now?

04. Abraham and Sarah

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Throughout the story of Abraham and Sarah, God continually initiates. God chooses Abram and calls him to leave his homeland. God unilaterally makes promises and commitments to Abram. God enters into a covenant with Abram on His own terms. God changes Abram's name to Abraham. God fulfills the promise of a descendant for Abraham. And God provides a substitute sacrifice for Abraham's chosen son. Abraham and Sarah respond with shaky, imperfect faith- showing us how we too, in our own imperfections, can confidently submit ourselves to the God who initiates.

Application Questions:

1. Why is it so important that God is the greatinitiator?
2. How have you seen God initiate with you in your life?
3. In what way does Abraham and Sarah's imperfect faith give you hope?
4. What practical steps of faith can you take in your life to take hold of the promises of God for you?

05. Joseph and His Brothers

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

When we look carefully at the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers, we find that the story is much more difficult, dramatic, and unpredictable than we tend to assume. In a time when all of life seems to similarly be more difficult, dramatic, and unpredictable for most of us it is the perfect story for this moment. It reminds us that not only is God always in control, but that is plan is perfect, even when it seems like that couldn't possibly be true.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you feel in a "pit" right now?
2. How does the perspective from the pit change knowing that God truly is in control?
3. What tempts you to forget that God is in control? In what ways do you try to assert your own control?
4. What "false happy endings" do you put your hope in?
5. How can you regularly be reminded of the ultimate happy ending promised and secured for us through Christ?

06. Moses' Deliverance

Sun, 19 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Deliverance is what every heart yearns for through the various suffering and struggles of life. Seeing God move in the life of Moses from his birth is meant to encourage us that God is always at work in the lives of his people and has nothings but the best in store for them, no matter the circumstances of life.

Application Questions:

1. What are some of the things in your life you want to be delivered from?
2. How does seeing how God delivered His people in the past help you to suffer well?
3. How does God delivering you from sin and death through Jesus empower you to better love God and love others?
4. What are some small acts of faith and obedience you can take today in light of the truth of the gospel?

07. The Exodus

Sun, 26 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The story of the Exodus is the story of God exercising His mighty hand and outstretched arm to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt. At the beginning of Exodus God's people are enslaved in Egypt, the most powerful and impressive kingdom on the earth. But God's power extends over and beyond the power of the kingdom of Egypt. In rescuing His people out of slavery God shows us His power over the kingdoms of this world, His power over the false gods of this world, and His power to rescue and save His people.

Application Questions:

1. Are there ways that the "kingdoms of this world" feel more powerful than God in your life? How does the story of the Exodus give you hope?
2. What are ways that God is demonstrating His power over false gods/idols in your life?
3. How does God's demonstration of His power in salvation lead you to worship Jesus more?
4. What is the connection between God's power and His glory? How does knowing His power lead you to give Him glory?

08. The Fall of Jericho

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The battle of Jericho—where the Israelites march around a city for seven days until the walls miraculously fall down—is well-known but confusing. What are we supposed to learn from a story like this? There's more to the story than meets the eye, and there's much to learn from the parts that come right before and right after. When we look at Jericho with fresh eyes, we find lessons on the life of faith, and how it intersects with our lives today.

Application Questions:

1. When Joshua asks God if he is "for us or for our adversaries," why does God say "No"? Are there ways you are tempted to use God for your own purposes?
2. Why do you think God has the Israelites win the battle this way? What does that teach us about life with God?
3. How does the story of Rahab and Achan teach us about God's grace? Are there ways you find your value in things that don't matter to God?

09. Samson

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The story of Samson is strange: he has amazing strength, and is used by God, but is also often foolish and led around by his own desires. How do we make sense of the stories the Bible tells about Samson and what are we supposed to learn from them? When see ourselves in Samson, and reckon with the deliverance he brought, we learn to look to Jesus for something better, and find how God's grace reached into places we might not expect.

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen yourself be your own worst enemy? How have you seen yourself make peace with sins that enslave you?
2. Highlight similarities and differences between Samson's story and Jesus' story. How does that teach you about the kind of savior you need? How does that compare to the way you normally think about being "saved" from the problems you have?
3. Do you feel like God puts up with you or do you feel like he enjoys caring for you? How does the story of Samson and the story of Jesus show you his heart for his people even when they are turned around? What would change about your life if you understood that God enjoys caring for you even when you fail?

10. Ruth and Boaz

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Ruth is an exemplary woman of faith. She models what perseverance looks like in the midst of suffering, and gives us a picture of what it looks like to possess godly faith, godly humility, godly boldness, and to experience godly redemption.

Application Questions:

1. How does Ruth's simple, everyday faith inspire you to trust the Lord more?
2. Why is humility such a powerful virtue in honoring God?
3. What does godly boldness look like in your life?
4. How does Ruth's redemption foreshadow Christ's redemption of us?

11. David and Goliath

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

David and Goliath may be the single most well-known story in the Old Testament. To read the story is to feel like we've heard it a thousand times. But a more careful look reveals that there's much more to this incredible story than the popular interpretations and applications show. Join us as we dig in and see how the story of David and Goliath not only reveals truth about how we can face our giants but about the nature of God and the unparalleled power of his rescue and salvation.

Application Questions:

1. In what ways do you feel unqualified to be used powerfully by God?
2. What are the voices that most discourage you from being used by God?
3. How does the pressure to feel like you need to "be like David" impact you?
4. How does the call to "follow someone like David" and continue to become like HIM free you?
5. In what ways is the story of David and Goliath more about Jesus than it is about you?

12. David and Bathsheba

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

David and Bathsheba is a story about secret sin, consequences, exposure, and unimaginable grace. In a time when we are all isolated, cut off from community, and spending more and more time on our screens, it contains numerous powerful reminders that we all desperately need to hear. Sin may be a secret for a while, but it never stays that way. But when it's exposed, God doesn't meet us with condemnation and shame, but with forgiveness and redemption that is always greater than whatever it is we have said, thought, or done.

Application Questions:

1. Is there any secret sin in your life that God is calling you to confess? In addition to God, who will you confess it to?
2. What are some poor choices you've been making that, if left unchecked, could easily grow into secret sins? Who will you talk with about these choices?
3. How does the story of David, Bathsheba, and Nathan demonstrate the radical and gentle nature of God's grace and forgiveness?
4. How does God's radical grace and forgiveness free you to be honest about your sin, confess it, and pursue genuine repentance?
5. Who in your life might you need to play the role of Nathan for?

13. Jonah and the Whale

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Jonah is a reluctant prophet, who doesn't want to preach God's word to his enemies the Ninevites so he runs away from God. But one can never truly run away from God because the God of the Bible is a God whopursues. God pursues Jonah, chasing him even to the bottom of the sea in the belly of a fish. When Jonah relents and turns back to God, then Godsendshim again to Ninevah and the people of Ninevah repent and turn to God. In the story of Jonah God shows us that He is a God whopursuesand a God whosends, and in Christ He has pursued us and brought us back into a relationship with Him, and now He sends us into the world to represent Him.

Application Questions:

1. How has God pursued you in your life?
2. Why is God's pursuit of you a powerful act of His love?
3. To whom are you sent?
4. What is holding you back from representing God and His message to the world around you?

12. Knowing God's Compassion

Sun, 31 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In a world where pain, struggle, and difficulty continue to mount, we instincitvely turn in all sorts of directions looking for comfort. But, we so seldom find it. What does it mean that God is the "God of all comfort?" And how can we access that true comfort when the waves of suffering keep coming? In our passage today God teaches us about the true nature of comfort, and about the ultimate purpose he has for the comfort he so consistently gives us.

Application Questions:

1. Where, other than God, do you tend to turn for comfort?
2. Whether you had a particularly comforting mother or not, how is God's comfort uniquely reflected in the God-given comfort of mothers?
3. How does remembering all of the different attributes we've studied over the past few months bring us greater comfort?
4. How can you practically help those around you turn to the God of perfect compassion for comfort?

10. Knowing God's Sovereignty

Sun, 24 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

God is sovereign over the entire universe. He is sovereign over the natural world, He is sovereign over individual people, and He is sovereign over the spiritual realm. His sovereignty is one of His perfections that makes Him absolutely unique in all the universe, and absolutely powerful over all things.

Application Questions:

1. How does the biblical picture of God's sovereignty over all the universe challenge your understanding of God?
2. What are ways that you think of God more like a "big, strong human" than as truly God?
3. How does God's sovereigntychallengeyour understanding of the world? How does God's sovereigntyencourageyou and give youhopein the midst of this world?
4. What three things should change in your life this week in light of the power of God?

08. Knowing God's Justice

Sun, 10 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Knowing God means knowing his justice, an often misunderstood aspect of God's character. Far from being something that repels us, God's perfect justice invites us to joy, comfort, and even a new way of being in the world.

Application Questions:

1. How do you react to the idea that God is just? Is God's justice compelling or dry, troubling or joyful?
2. What makes God's judgment different from our judgment?
3. How does God's justice affect how you relate to him? How does Jesus' death and resurrection fit in to your answer?

07. Knowing God's Nearness

Sun, 03 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

As we continue to set our eyes on God, being reminded of his never-changing nature in the midst of an ever-changing world, we are given hope and peace. But hope and peace don't come simply from recognizing God's holiness, love, and power. For these characteristics to be truly comforting the God of holiness, love, and, power must be near. He must be with us.

Application Questions:

1. How can you practically meditate on Psalm 139 this week (reading it, memorizing it, praying through it, etc.)?
2. Why is it comforting that God knows everything?
3. Why is it comforting that God is present with you?
4. Why is it comforting that God has always been with you?
5. Of the three responses modeled in the Psalm (intimate comfort, righteous anger, humble surrender), which are most familiar and which do you need to seek to develop?

09. Knowing God's Faithfulness

Sun, 17 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The author of Hebrews writes to people who are weighed down and struggling, and at the end of chapter 6 he points them to God's faithfulness as the anchor that can hold them fast even when the world is spinning around them. We also need God's faithfulness, not just in a pandemic but all the time. Without it, we have no anchor that can really hold. When we know God's faithfulness, we enjoy his security in our lives.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced your own need for an "anchor for the soul"?
2. How does the story of Abraham—and the story of Jesus—help you understand the depths of God's faithfulness?
3. How might knowing God's faithfulness change the way you approach the coming week?

11. Knowing God's Glory

Sun, 31 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

God's glory is the weightiness of his nature and character—the summary of what we've been learning in the entire series. When Moses asks God to show him his glory, he teaches us all about what we really needs, and what it means to be close to a God this significant.

Application Questions:

1. How has this series helped you get to know God better? How has that affected your life?
2. Where do you try to have an experience of glory in your life?
3. How does Jesus show you the glory of God and lead you to worship?
4. How is God calling you to respond to his glory in your life now?

06. Knowing God's Power

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Power is something we all look to as a means of having purchase on our lives. But God's power is overwhelmingly greater than anything else in the universe, which rightly elicits fear. But God's power is for us and changes everything in our lives, providing comfort and peace that nothing can touch.

Application Questions:

1. What are some ways you have related to power poorly or looked to it in the wrong way?
2. How have you failed to understand the depths of God's power?
3. What would it look like to meditate on the power of God?
4. How does Jesus laying down his power (and you laying down yours) bring you comfort in crisis?

05. Knowing God Practically

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Christianity is not about following a bunch of rules, or practicing a bunch of rituals. Christianity is fundamentally about having a relationship with God. There is a difference between knowing thingsaboutGod, and knowing Godrelationally. To know Godrelationallymeans to know Him deeply and personally,andit means to be knownby Himdeeply and personally. Jesus calls us to this kind of vibrant relationship by commanding us to "abide" in Him.

Application Questions:

1. What does it mean to "abide" in Jesus?
2. How are faith and repentance related to one another?
3. What is the difference between knowingaboutGod and knowing God relationally?
4. Why is it so important to also be knownby God, and what are steps you can take to grow in that area?

04. Knowing God's Hope

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Easter is the event that gives Christians hope that can't be taken away. When we look closely at the resurrection, letting it challenge our assumptions, and see what it means for our lives, we can be grounded and stable in a new way whatever comes next. In the midst of a global pandemic, the resurrection points a way forward, not just to this life but beyond.

Application Questions:

1. How have you experienced the difference between wishful thinking and realistic hope?
2. How do you respond to the idea that Jesus died for your sins? Why does Paul think it's a joyful, hope-filled idea that you should build your life on?
3. Where do you normally look for hope? How does Jesus' resurrection provide a better, deeper hope?
4. How can the hope Jesus' gives keep you secure as we live out the rest of this pandemic and beyond?

03. Knowing God's Love

Sun, 05 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In times of uncertainty and crisis, more than anything we need to be reminded of the truth of who God. But we need to know more than justaboutGod. We need to know God himself. To know God is to be loved, because God is love. This week we look at exactly what that means, and how it gives us comfort and hope in the midst of any storm.

Application Questions:

1. What sources, other than Scripture, tend to inform your functional definition of love?
2. How is God's love different than what the world calls "love"?
3. What is one thing you can that would help you be reminded of the love of God each day this week?
4. What is one way you can love someone in your house, apartment, or apartment building with Christ-like love.
5. What is one way you can love someone outside of your home with Christ-like love?
6. Who do you know that needs to be reminded of God's love for them this week? How will you try to help remind them?

02. Knowing God's Holiness

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

As we begin our series on Knowing God, we look at one of the overarching attributes of God: his holiness. While we often diminish the idea of God being holy as though it's not a very big deal, Isaiah teaches us differently: the holiness of God is something that comes uncomfortably close to us and changes us when we are exposed to it. It's an overwhelming and undoing experience, and it leads us to something amazing: grace greater than our sin and security we can have in God himself.

Application Questions:

1. What difference would it make if you thought about God's holiness more often?
2. What stands out to you about the connection between God's holiness and the grace he gives through Jesus?
3. How can you encourage yourself to meditate on God's holiness this week?

01. Knowing God By Name

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Knowing God is what anchors Christians in good times and bad. As we begin a series on the attributes of God, we first have to learn what it means to get to know God. Instead of learning more about God, the Bible teaches us to learn more of God in relationship with him. When we see how deeply and widely we can know the God of the universe, we find stability in unstable times and joy in places we didn't expect.

Application Questions:

1. How would you describe the difference between knowing God and knowing about God?
2. How have you experienced that in your own life?
3. How can knowing God anchor you through the coming week, whatever you may face?

01. Joy and Suffering

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

James begins his book with a discussion of trials, because living faith is seen in unique ways in the midst of suffering. He wants us to understand that it is actually possible, through faith, to count trials as joy without pretending they don't hurt. And he teaches us how by showing us what trials look like, what they produce, and how these things lead to actual joy that runs deeper than the pain of trials.

Application Questions

1. What are some of the multi-colored trials you have experienced or are experiencing? Have you seen those trials produce more endurance in you?
2. When you imagine yourself “lacking nothing,” what images pop into your head? How does that teach you what you think life is about?
3. What will it look like for you to “count it all joy” when you face trials this week?

02. Navigating Suffering

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As we try to navigate life in our fallen world, we are constantly confused by the situations we find ourselves in. We don't know what to do. We don't know where to turn. We don't even understand the reality of what's happening. Thankfully God gives us the lens of wisdomthrough whichto view the world, which provides clarity and an accurate picture of reality. But wisdom can seem like a difficult (if not impossible) virtue to attain. In our passage today, James teaches us the one sure-fire way we can all gain the wisdom we need. And the amazing thing is, it's a lot simpler than you'd think.

Application Questions

1. In what situations or suffering do you currently need wisdom?
2. What can help you practically remember who you're talking to when praying?
3. How often do you simply ask God for wisdom?
4. What would it look like to take time to think and listen with the glasses of wisdom on? What keeps you from doing so?
5. What keeps you from acting in the confidence of wisdom?

03. Suffering and Eternity

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

James gives us examples of trials we face when he brings up“lowliness” : having little money, little power, and little social standing. He also discusses the rich, who enjoy more power, comfort, and respect. But James turns things upside down: he encourages the low to boast in their high position, and the rich to boast in their low position. He does it because he is aware of eternity, and what it holds for those who trust in Christ—and he wants us to be aware of it too.

Application Questions

1. What are some things in your life that you boast in?
2. How could thinking of eternity change the way you look at your circumstances, whether “lowly” or “rich” ?
3. What are some ways you will be tempted to boast this week? How can you boast in Christ instead?

04. Sin and Temptation

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Whenever we experience a trial, temptation always follows close on its heels. As a result, we tend to assume that the trial is the source of the temptation. Our kids'disobedience tempts us to be angry. The size of our home tempts us to discontentment. The response of our roommate tempts us to bitterness. But James teaches us that this is not where temptations ultimately come from. Temptation is caused by something far more internal.

Application Questions

1. What do you tend to blame temptation on? What do you most often assume is the cause of your sinful thoughts, behaviors, or emotions?
2. What are some of the“over-desires” that most often fuel your self-serving choices?
3. How have you seen the indulgence in your temptations lead to death?
4. How is the gospel the key to remaining steadfast under trial?
5. How can you practically be reminded of the glory of the gospel in the moments when you face temptation?

05. The New Birth

Sun, 06 Oct 2019 10:00:00 +0000

James teaches us about the goodness of God, and how we often doubt it—especially in times of trial. When we look closely, we find ourselves caught up in a lie about God's goodness, and therefore caught in a web of control, anxiety, and distraction. But James teaches us the truth—God is good, all the way down—and shows us the evidence of that goodness: the new birth, though the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Application Questions

1. What are ways you doubt God's goodness in your life?
2. What are some of the good gifts from God you see in your life?
3. How does it encourage you to know that God is unchanging?
4. How does the gospel and the new birth deal with your doubts about God's goodness for you? How can you bring that to bear on your life this week?

06. How to Grow

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Anger in our hearts doesn't bring justice to our circumstances, nor does it produce godliness in our lives. The reason is that in our anger our hearts are not submitted to God above all. God's solution to this problem is for our hearts to receive His Word with a posture of humility, so that our lives can be transformed.

Application Questions

1. What does anger look like in your life? Horizontal? Vertical? Hot? Cold?
2. How can you identify whether your anger is righteous or unrighteous?
3. Why does your posture towards the Word of God affect your posture towards others and your circumstances?
4. What would change in your life if your heart and life were submitted to God's Word?

07. Hearing and Doing

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:00:00 +0000

James teaches us that authentic Christian living is based on humbly receiving what God has said in his word. But how do you know if that's what you're doing? James shows us that receiving God's word means not just hearing it, but putting it into practice in our lives, such that we see a lifestyle that mirrors God's values and priorities.

Application Questions

1. Why do you think it's so tempting to hear what God says but not do it? What are some ways we rationalize it?
2. What does it look like for God's Word to function as a mirror in your life? How could you practically grow in remembering that throughout the day?
3. Why do you think James included our words, our relationship to the needy, and our relationship to worldly values as part of“true religion” ? Which comes the easiest to you and which is the most challenging?
4. How does the gospel teach us that Jesus'commands are a “law of liberty” ? How does that motivate you to be a doer and not just a hearer in all of these things?

08. No Partiality

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 10:00:00 +0000

When we think of“worldliness” we normally think about drunkenness or adultery. But James shows us that worldliness also means living according to the world's system of showing partiality. But showing partiality on the basis of wealth, or race, or ethnicity, or able-bodyness, or nationality, is evil. It elevates the glory of the world and undermines the glory of God, and it undermines the power and beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must repent and ask God to help us see people the way He sees people, made in His image, precious souls in need of a Savior.

Application Questions

1. Where do you see partiality in your own heart?
2. How does partiality in your heart undermine the glory of Jesus?
3. In what ways are you more compelled by the glory of this world than the glory of Jesus?
4. How can the gospel of Jesus Christ destroy partiality in your heart?

09. The Law of Liberty

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

We all love others. As Christians we know it's our call to love our neighbor as ourselves. And all of us do so, one way or another. But James'concern here isn't that we might not be loving others, his concern is with the selection of who we choose to love. We tend to be selective with our love. We don't loveallof our neighbors as ourselves. We loveselectneighbors as ourselves. But in light of the gospel, under the law of liberty, God has a better way.

Application Questions

1. Who can you point to as examples of people you are striving to“love as yourself” ?
2. In what ways might you be loving these people selectively, and conveniently avoiding loving others?
3. Do you tend to think of this kind of“selective love” as sin? If not, why not?
4. How does the gospel and the“law of liberty” motivate you to love others and show mercy without partiality?

10. How Faith Works

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

What is faith, and how does it work? James confronts us with a hard truth: faith without works is dead. And underneath his argument, he teaches us about the nature of faith. Far from something you just say, feel, or think, faith is a trusting response to God that always leads to a changed life.

Application Questions

1. What are some different ways people define the word“faith” ? What do you think James would say to those different definitions?
2. Why do you think James wants so badly for us to know that faith without works is dead?
3. If faith never stops growing, how vibrant is your faith right now? Is there anywhere that God is calling you to grow that you are resisting or ignoring?

11. Faith and Self-Control

Sun, 24 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

How can we bless God and curse mankind made in His image and likeness? James exposes the sinfulness and hypocrisy of our words, their power and destructiveness, and their need to be transformed by the gospel.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways that you are too casual with your words?
2. How have you seen words in your life (yours or other's) be destructive?
3. Are there ways your tongue produces hypocrisy in your life? How?
4. How does the gospel, God's Word spoken to you, give you hope in this area of life?

12. Heavenly Wisdom

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

James looks closer at the genuine Christian life as he broaches the topic of wisdom. Who is wise, and how do you tell? While we often evaluate wisdom based on how much someone knows, James evaluates wisdom based on how someone acts. False wisdom might sound good, but it produces disorder and conflict in life. True wisdom produces a beautiful life that creates harmony and peace in life. When we see Jesus producing that peace and harmony in our own lives, at such personal cost, we learn to embrace true wisdom.

Application Questions

1. How do you normally evaluate wisdom in yourself and others? How does that compare to the way James evaluates wisdom?
2. How do you see earthly wisdom at work in your life? Where do you experience jealousy, selfish ambition, and disorder?
3. How do you see heavenly wisdom at work in your life? Where do you experience meekness, peace, and humility?
4. How can you grow in heavenly wisdom by focusing on Jesus Christ? What would change practically in your life this week?

13. Understanding Conflict

Sun, 08 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Do you ever wonder what causes you to say the things you say and do the things you do when you're in the midst of a fight or an argument? In the moment, the cause of our problems always seems so clear. But James helps us take a step back from the emotions of interpersonal conflict in order to really see what's going on inside. Our hearts contribute in a unique way to the instances of interpersonal conflict we experience. And in our passage today, James not only helps us see the reality of the problem, but he gives us a clear path forward.

Application Questions

1. What's an example of interpersonal conflict you've experienced recently?
2. What are you tempted to attribute this conflict to?
3. In light of today's passage, what was the actual cause of that conflict in your heart? What did you desire/covet that you weren't being given?
4. How could that conflict realistically have looked different if you had asked God for what you determined to take on your own?
5. How do you know that God a trustworthy place to turn to for your desires, whether he provides them when and how you would like or not?

14. Draw Near to God

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

James is about living faith—but what do you do when you aren't living your faith the way you should? In James 4:4-10, James confronts us with a truth about God's love that exposes how deep our sin runs. But then he points us to God's amazing grace, which leads us to repentance and newness of life.

Application Questions

1. What does it mean to you that God loves you with the commitment and care of a good spouse? Is that different than the way you normally think about God's love?
2. What values, attitudes, and goals of the“world” do Christians often pursue in their lives? Why does James see this as spiritual adultery?
3. Do you feel as strongly as James does about worldliness in your own life? Why or why not?
4. In the middle of a strong rebuke, James says that“God gives more grace.” What does that teach you about what God is like? How could you live out vv. 7-10 in light of that grace this week?

15. Who Are You To Judge?

Sun, 12 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

True Christian faith is lived out vertically (in relationship with God) and horizontally (in relationship with others). Judging others shows that we misunderstand who they are, who we are, and who God is.

Application Questions

1. What are the subtle ways that you “speak evil against others” in your life?
2. What is the difference between “discernment" and "judging” ?
3. How does judgmentalism misunderstand who others are, who you are, and who God is?

16. Anxious Planning

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

James explains the way humility works itself out in our life in a surprising area: the way we plan. We are usually over-confident in our ability to plan our lives, even though our plans rarely work out as intended. James teaches us that the Lord's will is bigger and better than our will, and when we ground ourselves in the gospel our plans will be made from a place of security and peace.

Application Questions

1. Are you the kind of person who feels better when you have a plan? Why do you think making a plan puts your mind at ease?
2. How does it help to pretend you have control over your life? How does it hurt?
3. How does the gospel free you from trying to control your life?
4. What is something in your life that makes you want to grab for control? What would it look like for you to trust God in that area and make a humble, wise plan instead of an anxious, controlling plan?

17. God's Economy

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Navigating our world's economy can be confusing and frustrating. Sometimes we feel like we don't have enough money. Sometimes we feel like we shouldn't desire money as much as we do. Sometimes we feel oppressed and powerless under the thumbs of those that have more money than we do. But in this week's passage, God shows us the way forward by providing a stern warning for the rich, and a promise of hope for for the rich and poor alike.

Application Questions

1. In what ways in your life do you experience the temptation to use your riches for dishonesty or fraud?
2. How might decisions you make or the things you do with your money contribute to economic injustice (dishonesty, fraud, manipulation, oppression)?In what ways in your life do you experience the temptation to use your riches for indulgent, self-focused comfort?
3. In what ways do you feel personally oppressed by the riches of others?
4. As you steward what God has given to you, what would a life of faithful patience look like?
5. As you respond to not having things you desire, or having things be kept from you by others, what would a life of faithful patience look like?

18. Patience

Sun, 09 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

James tells us that Christians are a waiting people, but we struggle to wait today. We are used to instant gratification, and so when things don't come quickly we are easily frustrated. But life is full of things that take time, and James shows us that anchoring ourselves in the future return of Christ can give us patience in the here and now.

Application Questions

1. Where are some places you need patience in your life now, and how are you tempted to be impatient in those areas?
2. How is your impatience related to your view of eternity and your faith that God will return?
3. What would gospel-centered patience look like in your life? How can you cultivate an eternal mindset as you pursue patience in your life?

19. Speaking with Integrity

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us to "let our yes be our yes", and James reiterates the same command. In Jesus's day people would swear oaths on things of the earth in order to get out of their commitments, and in order to manipulate others. Christ calls Christians to keep their commitments (and only make commitments we plan on keeping), and He calls Christians to speak with humble truthfulness, without manipulation, in love. Just as God keeps His promises and speaks openly and truthfully to us, so also we are called to keep our promises and speak openly and truthfully to others.

Application Questions

1. Are you over committed to too many activities? How can you grow in saying "no" to what you should say "no"?
2. Are you-under-committed-? How can you grow in saying "yes" to the things to which God wants you to say "yes"?
3. Do you ever speak manipulatively? Are you ever passive-aggressive? Do you ever gossip? Do you speak to others with an agenda, or see others as a "project"? What does repentance look like for these sinful ways of speaking?
4. How does God's promise-speaking and truth-speaking free you to speak with integrity?

20. Prayer

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

James closes his letter exhorting us to pray—and not just when things are bad. Prayer is a recognition that we have a Father who gives good gifts, and who is available to us any time in any situation. What's more, prayer actually has effects in the real world. James invites us to experience the power of a relationship with God in our own lives as we bring everything to God in prayer.

Application Questions

1. What circumstances drive you to prayer? What circumstances drive you away from prayer?
2. What are some ways you don't appreciate the power of prayer? What could you be praying for more fervently than you are now?
3. How can you create a habit of directing your thoughts to God throughout your day?

21. Bringing Back the Wanderer

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

As we wrap up the book of James, we find a closing exhortation to take what we've learned and strive to love those around us with it.In most sermons you would normally be encouraged to refrain from thinking about the person sitting next to you, and to instead make sure you're considering your own heart. But in today's passage we are called to take all that we have learned over the past six months, and all the warnings we have heard, and consider those God has placed around us in our lives. God is calling us to be the delivery mechanism of his message to those who desperately need it. And the stakes couldn't be higher.

Application Questions

1. Of all the instructions and warnings we've heard in James over the past six months, which have most significantly shaped your life over that time?
2. Is pursuing friends who wander from the truth something you've done?
3. Share a time you did so, and what happened (without disclosing the details of the situation).
4. Of the ways we are called to speak truth to wanderers that were discussed in the sermon, which do you find the most difficult and why?
-With Humility
-With Gentleness
-With Consistency
-With Boldness
-With Prayer
5. What generally motivates you to try to bring back those that are wandering? Do you recognize the stakes being as serious as James describes?
6. Is there anyone in your life that you ought to be pursuing as you seek to obey the call we've heard in this passage?

01. The Nativity: Mary and Joseph

Sun, 22 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Christmas is a season to ask: what do I really believe? In the story of the Nativity Mary shows us what true faith looks like. She yields herself to God'spromisesand holds fast to them. She trusts in God'scharactereven when those promises are hard to believe. And she remembers God'sactionthat affirms the trustworthiness of God's promises and character.

Application Questions

1. Where in your life are you putting your faith in something other than God?
2. What would it look like in your life for you to lean on God's promises in confident submission?
3. How does knowing God's character bolster and affirm your faith?
4. What are five ways that you have seen God work in your life that give you confidence in His-action-?

02. The Nativity: Shepherds by Night

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

We often go through the motions at Christmas, having gotten used to disappointments and the underwhelming nature of things most of the time. But the birth of Jesus Christ is a shot of much needed hope that pierces the hardness of our hearts to their core.

Application Questions

1. In what ways have you allowed yourself to become disillusioned by disappointment?
2. How can you take the example of the shepherds and their response to the hope they were given and apply it to your own life?

03. The Nativity: Three Wise Men

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Almost every nativity scene includes three wise men bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But what's the real story behind these characters? Were they actually there at the scene in the stable? Where were they from? Why did they come? In taking time to consider the place of the Magi in the biblical storyline we can learn a surprising amount about how our own hearts respond to the news of the gospel, and we find a picture of the kind of lives we are called to live in worship of the one true King of the Jews.

Application Questions

1. What does it look like when you respond to the good news of Jesus with self-preservation, trying to preserve your own plans and retain your own control of your life?
2. What does it look like when you respond to the good news of Jesus with generosity and love, trying to love others with the same kind of love that God has shown you?
3. What are some New Year's resolutions you could make that would makeotherslives better, instead of just your own?

01. Signs and Wonders

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

The miracles performed by Jesus are signs that teach us about God, ourselves, and the world around us. But today, many people struggle to believe that they happened in the first place. In a time when we assume there is always a natural explanation for everything, can we still believe in miracles? And even if we believe in them, how are we supposed to respond to them? The signs and wonders of Jesus are more believable than many assume, and they show us more than we realize.

Application Questions

1. Do you struggle with the idea of miracles? Why or why not?
2. How do Jesus' miracles teach you about who he is?
3. How do Jesus' miracles lead you to trust in him more?

02. Water and Wine

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Too often, we read our Bibles thinking,“If only I could have been there and seen these things, it wouldn't be so hard for me to believe.” But Scripture gives us a different picture. Jesus revealed His glory through the miracles that He performed, and in our Bibles we have all of the signs that we need to believe.

Application Questions

1. Think about this miracle in comparison to Jesus' other miracles. What is different about this one? How do those differences impact the way you understand and relate to Jesus?
2. Think about Jesus' interactions with the different individuals in this story. How do His words and actions towards them shape the way you understand His words and actions towards you?
3. In light of the glory of Jesus revealed in this passage, what are some steps that you can take in response to deepen your trust in Jesus?

03. The Official’s Son

Sun, 07 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In the healing of the official's son, we see Jesus perform a miracle from a distance, and he performs a miracle that could have possibly been interpreted as having a different cause. Because Jesus wasn't there and because the timing of the healing was conveyed secondhand, the official could have chosen to believe that it was all some crazy coincidence. But, because of his softened heart, the official (and his whole family) saw this sign for what it truly was: a demonstration of God's glorious power to stoke the fires of their genuine faith.

Application Questions

1. When you think of miracles, do you usually think of how limited they are in scope and impact? If not, why not?
2. How does the recording of Jesus'signs in the gospels stoke the fires of your genuine faith?
3. What keeps you from recognizing the“less common kinds of God's action” in your life as God's“signs” (miracles), designed to display his glory and stoke the fires of your genuine faith?
4. How do the“signs” (miracles) you have seen in your own life stoke the fires of your genuine faith?

04. The Lame Walk

Sun, 14 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

John's retelling of Jesus healing a paralyzed man and then encountering the religious authorities in a temple teach us about who Jesus is and what he has come to do. Far from just healing a man and leaving, he both chases the man down later and encounters the religious authorities. In both situations, we find Jesus pointing them away from where they thought they'd find wholeness, and pointing them to himself instead.

Application Questions

1. What are the situations you try to get into to find wholeness in your life?
2. Do you understand your relationship with Jesus as based entirely on his grace?
3. How are you tempted to get Jesus to partner with you to get what you desire? How would your life look different if Jesus was what you desired most?

05. Feeding 5,000

Sun, 21 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

It's so easy to get familiar with and enjoy the compassion and provision of Jesus.But if we're not careful, we will become enamored with His gifts, and reduce Jesus to a miracle-worker at our disposal. Treating Jesus this way will always result in our disappointment. Learning to see His compassion and provision as acts of mercy towards us will help us to come to Him as the True King that He is.

Application Questions

1. When are some times that you experienced God's compassion for you in striking ways? How did that compassion show itself as a mercy to you in the situation?
2. Have there been times when God's provision for you has shrunk from what you are used to? How did you respond - with thanksgiving for past provision, or with grumbling? How can seeing God's provision as a mercy help you to respond appropriately in the future?
3. What are some ways that Jesus has failed your expectations of Him? How were those expectations tied to your own desires or plans?
4. What are some of the dreams you have stopped bringing to Jesus but continue to pursue on your own?

07. The Blind Shall See

Sun, 11 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

To the disciples, the blind man who begged on the side of the road was simply a topic for theological discussion. But Jesus saw in him an image-bearer, desperately in need of divine mercy. Even after the man was given sight, the Pharisees still only saw him as a topic of theological discussion. And again, Jesus saw him as a beloved child who needed even deeper mercy than simply sight for his physical eyes. When we see people the way Jesus does, they move beyond being topics for our discussions and become recipients of the love and hope that God has called us to be generous givers of.

Application Questions

1. Who are the topics of your theological discussions? What are the situations/types of people you tend to talk or ask questions about?
2. How might life look different if you were to talk about those people less and be an instrument of God's mercy to them more?
3. Who in your life could use God's love and mercy?

08. Raising Lazarus

Sun, 18 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As we've looked at the signs of Jesus, they've revealed Jesus' glory.He has shown us who He is. The signs have been pointing us to Him. But here in the last sign of His public ministry, we are being pointed forward. It's calling us to do more than contemplate who He is, but to follow Him because of who He is.This sign is a call to trust Jesus finally and concretely with a living trust that actively shapes your life.

Application Questions

1. How have these stories of Jesus' signs reshaped your relationship with Him?
2. Which of the four foundations discussed is the most compelling to you? How does it encourage you to follow Jesus more confidently?
3. In what ways are you hedging on what's possible with Jesus? What action steps might be required by a confident trust in Him?

09. The Final Sign

Sun, 25 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

All of the signs in John lead up to the ultimate, final sign: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Much like the other signs, it teaches us about the authority Jesus has over the universe, death, and even our daily lives. It also teaches us about the love Jesus has in returning to life in such a way that we are drawn into it, now and into eternity. Unlike the other miracle stories, this miracle happens to us in forgiveness and eternal life, and should shape the way we live.

Application Questions
1. How have you seen Jesus' lordship and love in the miracles we've studied? How have they affected you over the last few months?
2. How does the resurrection show you Jesus' authority? How does that play out in your life?
3. How does the resurrection show you Jesus' love? How does that play out in your life?
4. What would it look like to follow Jesus more as a result of all this? How can the next few months be different for you because of what we've learned these last few months?

01. Why Be a Multilingual Church

Sun, 02 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Cornerstone is committed to being a multi-ethnic and multilingual local church. But why? Being a multilingual church is incredibly difficult, and there are always going to be divisions in this world, so why bother? But Christ calls us to do hard things for the sake of the gospel, and the local church is meant to be the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God on earth, a multilingual community declaring the message of the gospel and the supremacy of Christ in all things.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways it might be hard for you to be a part of a multilingual church?
2. Where in your life are you actively pursuing doing“hard things” (laying down your life) for the sake of Christ?
3. Why does language matter so much to God? Why should it matter to us?
4. How is the Bible's view of the church different from your own view? What are ways that should change how you live as part of the church?

02. How to Be a Multilingual Church

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

God has made us a family from among all sorts of different ethnicities, cultures, and even languages. In a linguistically diverse place like Los Angeles, we have the opportunity and blessing to live life cross-lingually with our brothers and sisters in Christ as a part of one local church. But, how do we do that? What does that practically look like? How do you build a relationship with someone who speaks a different language? Where do we start?

Application Questions

1. How can you best engage in our unity Sundays in a way that blesses your brothers or sisters that speak either Spanish or Farsi?
2. How might God be calling you to use your resources to serve and care for your brothers and sisters who speak different languages than you?
3. How might God be calling you to use your gifts to serve and care for your brothers and sisters who speak different languages than you?
4. What are steps you could take to build relationships with your brothers and sisters whose heart language is different than yours?

03. The Necessity of Unity

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

We know that Jesus died for us to be a family and we also know that unity is the glue that keeps us together as one family. God has made our family at Cornerstone so diverse that we represent and reflect our surrounding community. I believe that as we continue to grow in our diversity, God wants us to be a more unified family. We will learn this morning from the apostle Paul that there are lies that could separate us from one another. As God exposes those lies with His truth, we will continue to grow in unity.

Application Questions

1. Are you thankful for the church family that God has given you?
2. Have you ever felt that you do not belong in our church family? If so, why?
3. Are you spending time with people in our church family that are not like you?
4. Are you aware of the spiritual need you have for those who are not like you? If so, how?
5. What are some of the excuses that have kept you from being truly united from those in your church family?

01. Wickedness and Grace

Sun, 03 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Isaiah lived in a time of major social upheaval and personal struggle. In the midst of it all, he receives a vision of the LORD, and begins a ministry of telling everyone that the LORD is the central factor to everything in life. In the first chapter of the book, Isaiah teaches us about the LORD, his wayward people, and his plan to save them. At the center is the LORD's character, goodness, and love, which we see ultimately in Jesus.

Application Questions

1. How is the God of the Bible unique? Are there ways your default ideas about God don't line up with the way the LORD describes himself in the Bible?
2. Can you relate to Isaiah's description of human beings rebelling against God's desires and being hurt in the process?
3. Have you ever used religious activities to pretend that you love God when really they are just ways to do whatever you want and still feel spiritual?
4. What would change about your life if you understood the LORD is the biggest, the best, and loves you the most? How can meditating on the gospel remind you that it's true?

02. Holiness and Grace

Sun, 10 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Isaiah's call to ministry teaches us the pattern of true spirituality. Isaiah is overwhelmed by God's holiness and then met with undeniable grace. After that, he commits his entire life to God's service. This same process happens not once but regularly for anyone who relates to God. Today we face the same question the nation of Israel faced in the times of Isaiah: will we distance ourselves from the reality of God or acknowledge his reality and embrace his holiness and grace?

Application Questions

1. Do you underestimate God's size and holiness in your daily life? What impact does that have on you?
2. How have you experienced the connection between God's holiness and his grace? How might you cultivate an understanding of God'sholiness so that you can understand his grace more deeply?
3. Are there any ways you push away the reality of God in your daily life? How can you cultivate the reality of God's holiness and grace instead?

03. The Judgment of the LORD

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Judgment is an uncomfortable idea. Why would you ever want to listen to a sermon on judgment? In this sermon, we explore why we, in fact, ought to be deeply comforted and assured by God's judgment. God's perfect judgment brings about the justice that our souls crave in a rampantly unjust and unfair world. More than this, the more we come to understand God's perfect judgment, the more we come to comprehend the sheer magnitude of his grace. Isaiah pronounces judgment upon the nations of the earth, and upon the entire earth itself. Yet, in the midst of this focus on judgment we continually find hope, joy, and grace in the promise of a future Messiah.

Application Questions

1. In what ways do you find your soul longing for justice in our fallen world?
2. How does God'sjudgment of both the nations and individuals reflect the perfection of his character?
3. How does studying Isaiah help us to combat the false characterization of the God of the Old Testament being a God of judgment and the God of the New Testament being a God of love?
4. What is an aspect of God's judgment that you normally don't think about that you should probably strive to remember more regularly?
5. How does considering the reality of God's judgment help you to appreciate the magnitude of his grace?

04. The Victory of the LORD

Sun, 24 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

The LORD reveals Himself through the prophet Isaiah as the God who is victorious. No other god, no other person, no other thing will ultimately have HIs plan or purpose accomplished in the world, except for God. His victory now in our lives is not exactly the same as His ultimate victory when He will create a new heavens and a new earth, but His victory is real now, and will be secured and assured forever.

Application Questions

1. What does the word“victory” mean to you?
2, How does God's definition of victory in the“now” differ from what you thought victory should be?
3. How often do you think about God's future victory? Why do you not think of it more?

05. The Faithfulness of the LORD

Mon, 04 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

We are an increasingly restless people, constantly busy and always working on various parts of our lives. Humans have always naturally tried to work our way to strength, stability and security. In Isaiah, we've seen the the LORD is the only rational place to put our trust and hope for the future. But the people of Israel—and us today—turn instead to other ways of managing our fears and desires. Nevertheless, God is faithful to continue to show mercy, and we see it in a climactic way in Jesus Christ. When we turn to the LORD and see his faithfulness, we can find a deep rest for our souls that is available nowhere else.

Application Questions

1. How do you experience tiredness and restlessness in your life? How does it affect you?
2. Where do you look to find rest and blessing in your life?How have those things still left you restless?
3. What would it look like for you to rest in the Lord? How would your life change if you trusted the Lord exclusively?

06. The Comfort of the LORD

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As the book of Isaiah transitions to the message God gave the exiles for the time when they would inevitably be taken into exile, we find a powerful message of comfort. In the depths of sorrow, when dreams have been destroyed and lives have been turned upside down, God reminds us that he is near, he is holding us close, and he has the power to bring about his promised redemption.

Application Questions

1. Is comfort something you are currently longing for from God? If not, in what ways do you think keeping the message of his comfort in your pocket will be helpful?
2. When can you remember having experienced God gathering you in his arms and holding you close?
3. How does God's power make the promises of God's redemption truly comforting?
4. Where are you tempted to look for comfort, asking“are you my god?”
5. What truths do you need to remember in order to be able to truly trust God and wait on his perfect timing and redemption in your life?

08. The Song of the Servant

Sun, 24 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

All of human history points to and culminates in the person of the Servant. The entirety of the Bible up to the point of Isaiah asks the question,“Who is the Messiah? Who will save us?” , and the book of Isaiah itself leads up to this point where the LORD introduces His Servant to His People. This Servant is in the exact nature of the LORD Himself: gracious, just, merciful, powerful, and accomplishes the LORD's purpose to establish His Kingdom.

Application Questions

1. What would it look like for you to“sing a new song” to the LORD and His Servant?
2. What are ways that Jesus needs to be more in the foreground in your life, and less blurry and in the background?
3. How could you grow in praising Jesus this week?

09. The Love of the Servant

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

The center of Isaiah focuses on the Servant, whom the New Testament authors identify as Jesus Christ. This is the second of four“servant songs” that detail why Jesus comes into the world and what he comes to accomplish. Here we see the breadth and the depth of Jesus'mission, and also something more: we get a lesson in how to experience his love when we feel numb to it.

Application Questions

1. What about Jesus in this passage makes him worth “foregrounding” in your life? How might that affect different parts of a typical day?
2. Have you ever found yourself believing things about Jesus without being personally affected? Why do you think that happens?
3. How can you meditate more on the love of God in Jesus Christ? How do you think that would affect you?

10. The Disgrace of the Servant

Sun, 07 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Isaiah 50 is telling us an incredible story. You and I have dishonored the Lord, and He is right to reject us in everlasting disgrace. But, instead, He gives us His Servant as His instrument of redemption. The Servant accomplishes our redemption by leveraging the honor befitting His obedience and intimacy with The LORD for our sake. To rid us of disgrace, He embraced disgrace, to bring us a transforming honor that gives a whole new identity to disgraced sinners like us.

Application Questions

1. How does the concept of honor/shame affect the way you think about your sin and separation from God?
2. In what ways are you trying to manufacture your own honor to hide your shame? How can you“unmask” yourself and turn to the LORD for new honor?
3. Spend time meditating on the difference between the Servant's character and disgrace compared to your own. What response seems most suitable in light of these differences?

11. Awake, Awake

Sun, 14 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In the midst of the Servant Songs, we pause to look at Israel's ideas about God. Encouraged by his promises of redemption, they tell the Lord to“awake, awake” and come to rescue them. But this betrays their way of thinking: that thus far, God has been asleep to them. The Lord's response is to tell them and show them that He has been awake to them, but they have fallen asleep on him. The same can be said of us. God shows us what it means to be spiritually alert to him and centers us on the Servant, Jesus Christ.

Application Questions

1. Have you ever felt like God was asleep to your needs? Looking back, do you think that was true?
2. Are you awake or asleep to the reality of Jesus? Are there ways you see spiritual drowsiness in your life?
3. How can you cultivate spiritual alertness in your life?

12. The Death of the Servant

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As we meditate on the reality of the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering that Jesus endured at the crucifixion, we begin to understand the immense power of God's grace and love demonstrated at the cross. The horror of the cross is meant to show us the devastating nature of our sin, and the unfathomable lengths that God would go to in order to bring us back to himself.

14. An Everlasting Name

Sun, 05 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Like the leaders of Israel in Isaiah's time, we often are short-sighted, seeing this world and only this world. But when God breaks into our world we see with new eyes; we see a God who turns the world upside down, giving hope and everlasting joy to those who have none in this world.

Application Questions

1. What are the ways that you see short-sightedness in your life?
2. How can you fight the temptation to believe that“tomorrow will be like today” ?
3. What is significant about God offering an“everlasting name” ?
4. How would your life change if you viewed your life through the lens of eternity?

15. Comfort for Idolaters

Sun, 12 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In light of the Servant, what happens to people who build their security on other things? The LORD tells his people that all their attempts to find satisfaction outside of him leave them empty...yet they return to them over and over again. And yet God invites them to take refuge in him, and demonstrates that even though the problem is deeper than they realize, his love runs deeper still through the servant, Jesus Christ.

Application Questions

1. What are some things in your life that promise satisfaction and don't deliver, but you keep turning to them anyways?
2. How do those things take God's place in your life?
3. What would it look like for you to find comfort in God instead of those idols?

16. True and False Religion

Sun, 19 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As a church our deepest need is for redemption and renewal, and forgetting who we are and what God has done for us is dangerous, sending us off into practicing false religion.Isaiah 58 unmasks our false religion and shows us true religion that pleases the LORD, not to make religious people into better religious people, but totransform us from self-serving people to God-glorifying people. It's about remembering what God has done for you.

Application Questions

1. Do you tend to identify as an oppressed person who has been set free by Jesus? Why or why not? What are some ways that you can be more mindful of what God has done for you in Christ?
2. What are the areas of your life where you are placing an unfair burden on others? What does repentance and correction look like in these areas?
3. What is an action step that you can take at each level of oppression (societal, communal, personal) to help to relieve burdens?

17. The Return of the Lord

Sun, 26 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As we conclude our series through the book of Isaiah, we consider again how different life is when we remember that the LORD is the central reality of all of life. As the book concludes, its perspective shifts to remind us that the LORD is not only the central reality of this life, but also of the life to come. The eternal promises of God remind us that we have an eternal hope that is guaranteed and assured, even when we struggle in this fallen world with our fallen hearts.

Application Questions

1. As we look back on our series through the book of Isaiah, how has the fact that the LORD is the central reality in all of life shaped your perspective in new or renewed ways?
2. What injustice do you see in the world? How does the fact that the LORD will return and bring perfect justice give you hope?
3. What idolatry do you see in your own heart? How does the fact that the LORD will return and bring perfect joyful worship give you hope?
4. How can you remember the assured promise of Jesus'return in the midst of your daily life in this fallen world?

01. God's Heart for the World

Sun, 06 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

God's heart for humanity extends to every single corner of the globe. He longs to see his glory spread and his salvation extended to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation. As his children, we get the privilege of participating with him in the spreading of his glory and the inviting into his salvation. The announcement of his hope is the greatest movement taking place on the face of the planet, and he invites us to be a integral part of it. The question for each one of us is not whether or not we will participate, but simply how.

Application Questions

1. How do you see the two greatest commandments and the great commission fitting together?
2. In what ways might your life be different if you more fully embraced the opportunity you have to participate with God in the spread of his glory to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation?
3. How do you make your decisions of if/where to“go” in your life? How would those decisions be different if you treated how“reached” various communities were with the gospel as a leading factor in your decision making?
4. How are you currently participating in the sending of others to spread the gospel of God to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation? How else might God want you to participate in sending?
5. Why are you currently living in LA? Why are you staying? How might your time here be different if you stayed for the purpose of spreading the gospel of God to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation?

02. God's Heart for Us to Go

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Before Jesus departed this earth, he gave His church her marching orders: to go and make disciples of all nations. But if the Bible calls us as Christ followers to be his witnesses in all the world - to be part of the Great Commission that one day will result in people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation worshiping Christ before his throne - we have to acknowledge that some will need to go to the ends of the earth to bring the good news of the gospel to those who have never heard. Although the task is monumental, Christ does not send us out alone to fulfill His mission. Instead, He graciously sends us with His authority and His very own presence.

Application Questions

1. How does your identity as an ambassador of Christ (2 Cor 5:20), called to proclaim His excellencies (1 Pet 2:9), impact your life right now? What are ways you can actively grow in these areas?
2. In light of the Great Commission, have you considered whether God has called you to a new home for the primary purpose of making disciples among those who are under-reached or unreached by the gospel? If so, what has that process looked like, and what did God teach you through that process? If not, what has prevented you?Is“going” to the nations something you actively pray about? How could a proper understanding of the Great Commission change your prayer life?
3. How are you affected by the reality that Jesus gives us His authority and His presence for the fulfillment of the Great Commission? Do you consider these things in your everyday life?
4. As part of the local church, how can you help and be helped by your fellow brothers and sisters to actively participate in the Great Commission?

03. God's Heart for Us to Send

Sun, 20 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

The great commission doesn't just require some of us to go to spread the gospel in new places. It also requires the rest of us to send those who go in a manner worthy of God and his gospel. Instead of seeing missionaries as“having missions covered” , we are to understand ourselves as fellow workers with them by the way we support them before they go, while they are gone, and when they return.

Application Questions

1. Why do you think it's necessary for the church to send missionaries? How have you thought about that need personally in the past?
2. Do you resonate with the idea of being a fellow worker with missionaries by sending them?
3. What are some ways you can participate in sending missionaries at Cornerstone?

04. God's Heart for Us to Stay

Sun, 27 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Should I stay or should I go? When talking about living out the Great Commission, that seems to be the choice that is put before us. But what if “staying” is more about remaining faithful to the person and purpose of Jesus than it is about a location? What if the choice we think of between staying and going isn't a choice at all? Staying is what we do when we go, whether we go out into West LA or West Africa, because it's about staying with Jesus on His mission by prioritizing disciple-making in our lives.

Application Questions

1. In what ways have you been thinking of staying and going as opposing options? How have you been challenged to rethink what it means to stay and go?
2. What is the place/priority of disciple-making in your life? What changes do you need to make to place disciple-making in a higher priority than it currently is?
3. How can you engage with your community group to help each other think about where God wants you to stay?

01. Jesus is Fully God

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Celebrating Christmas is about more than thinking about Jesus towards the end of December. Christmas is about the doctrine of the incarnation: Jesus is fully God and fully man. It's this doctrine that inspires the greatest Christmas songs of hope and joy, because caught up in the incarnation is the great truth of the Christian faith that sustains us in our lives.

Application Questions

1. Is the idea that Jesus is fully God new to you, a struggle for you, or an encouragement to you? Why do you think it is the motivation for so many powerful Christmas songs?
2. Jesus is how we know what God is like. What is encouraging about that? What is challenging about that?
3. How does it affect you to know that God came“in person” to forgive you at such a personal cost?
4. Does Jesus function as your ultimate authority? Are there any ways you are pulling back from what he wants for your life?

02. Jesus is Fully Man

Sun, 16 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Christmas isn't just about God coming to earth, it's about the eternal Son of God becoming fully human. As fully human, Jesus experienced life on the earth in a way that means he can sympathize with us, be our example, and suffer for us so we might be forgiven. Understanding the doctrine of the incarnation brings real hope and joy to the Christmas season.

Application Questions

1. Do you struggle more with the idea that Jesus was fully God or the idea that Jesus was fully human? Why?
2. What does it mean to you that Jesus can sympathize with your struggles, challenges, and temptations? How can that be an encouragement in your life now?
3. When you think of the best kind of life you could live, do you think of a life like Jesus's? Do you look to Jesus as a practical example for your life now?
4. How does the idea that Jesus was fully human help you appreciate his death on the cross for your sins? How does it inspire you to worship him by following his will in your life?

04. What the World is Like

Sun, 29 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Ecclesiastes asks hard questions to show us what life is really like—and to show us the way to have joy in it all. It opens with an explanation of how fleeting and uncontrollable life really is. While we might pretend we know how to make things happen in the world, the truth is that outcomes are out of our control. Instead of coping by trying to make life obey our will, or by trying to find meaning on our own terms, we find joy by knowing there is someone above the sun who loves us and is in control of all things. Seeing Jesus come below the sun to live as one of us and die for us shows us that we can enjoy the gifts of life until he returns.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways you“play pretend” about the world and your life in it?
2. What do you think about the opening 11 verses of Ecclesiastes? Do they encourage you or discourage you? Why?
3. Are there ways you have experienced life as a vapor? Are there ways you have tried to“gain” from life and found it to be like chasing after the wind?
4. How do you finish the sentence:“There's nothing better than _______” ? How do you think Jesus would finish that sentence?
5. What about the gospel frees you to embrace being human instead of trying to“get above the sun” ?

05. Wisdom vs. Reality

Sun, 12 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

It's generally assumed that the more you know, the more you can control the things that happen in your life. The idea is that if you get the right knowledge and know the right techniques, you can shape your life into what you want it to be. But the Preacher in Ecclesiastes shows us that this is playing pretend: as human beings, we don't have access to enough knowledge to get control over life or create meaning for ourselves. But when we see God's wisdom in the gospel, it shows us that we don't need to use knowledge to grab control. God's love teaches us that we can enjoy learning as humans beings, the way we were created to be.

Application Questions

1. How do you look at knowledge as a way to find meaning and success in your life? Are there ways you see yourself trying to“get into the control tower” in your life now?
2. What are some ways you've seen the inability of human wisdom to get control over life or bring lasting significance? Are there ways you've tried to hide those things under the wood chips?
3. How does Jesus show us true wisdom? How does the gospel free us to enjoy learning for learning's sake, instead of trying to leverage it for our own gain?

06. Pleasure vs. Reality

Sun, 19 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

After having evaluated the wisdom of the world, the Preacher of Ecclesiastes next searches out earthly pleasure as a possible source of joy and fulfillment. Unsurprisingly, he also finds pleasure lacking the ability to truly satisfy. He tests entertainment, alcohol, work, possessions, and sex and finds that they are all fleeting and“vanity.” None of them truly last or satisfy. However, each one can be still be enjoyed as gifts from God when they are understood in light of his perfect design.

Application Questions

1. In what ways do you try to get joy and fulfillment out ofentertainment, alcohol, work, possessions, and sex?
2. How can you be ultimately satisfied in Christ? What practical steps might help you pursue true joy in God alone?
3. How would your engagement withentertainment, alcohol, work, possessions, and sex change if you were more fully satisfied in Christ and freed to truly enjoy them?

07. Work vs. Reality

Sun, 26 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Preacher is at the end of his tour of failed attempts to control life as a human being. We can't know enough to shape our lives, and we can't experience enough to shape our lives. Now, he shows us that we can't achieve enough to shape our lives. The various things we are working on day to day and week to week don't provide a soul-level satisfaction for us. Only God though Jesus Christ can put our hearts at rest. It's from that internal rest that our eyes are opened to the good gifts God gives us amid the normal stress and frustration of life in a fallen world.

Application Questions

1. In your life, what is the thing you are working towards? What is the main thing you'd like to accomplish in your life?
2. How have you experienced the promise of satisfaction and significance from hard work? What parts of that promise are particularly tempting for you?
3. How have you experienced the problem of work in your life? What does it look like when you“strive in your heart” for achievement?
4. How might the gospel free you to receive your work as a gift instead of looking to it for gain? What would it look like for you to work hard and also be at rest because of the gospel?

08. Knowing the Times

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Preacher tells us that there is a time for everything, but we rarely think of time that way. We like to think of time as something we control by filling the minutes with whatever we'd like. Instead, the Preacher shows us that we can't control the times and seasons we go through in life. The only one with any real control is God. But we can find joy when we embrace God's control, knowing that he uses it for our good even when we can't see it. Instead of wishing we were in a different season, the Preacher teaches us to respond wisely to the season we are in.

Application Questions

1. How do you think about time in your life? How does the poem in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 challenge that view?
2. Are there ways you fight against the“times” in your life? How have you experienced the way God has put“eternity in your heart,” and how has it conflicted with your desire to figure everything out?
3. How does the gospel help you trust God's control over the times?
4. What about God's control over your times comforts you? What about it challenges you? How can you look for God in the time he's put you in now?

09. From Dust to Dust

Sun, 16 Sep 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes identifies two realities of life in a fallen world that undermine the pursuit of“gain” under the sun: Death and Injustice. These twin evils show us our weakness and the extent to which the world is fallen and broken. All of this points us to the fact that we need to be rescued, and that one day God is going to bring life where there is death, and bring justice where there is injustice.

Application Questions

1. Do you shield yourself from the realities of the world, or do you honestly see the death, injustice, and brokenness around you?
2. What would it look like for you to embrace the reality of your human weakness and limitedness under God's sovereignty?
3. How deeply impacted are you by oppression and injustice in this world? How do injustice and power relate to one another?
4. What is the Christian responsibility towards oppression and injustice, and how should we think about oppression and injustice in our world?

12. True Satisfaction

Sun, 07 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Money will not and cannot satisfy your soul. In this world many believe that financial and career success will bring soul satisfaction, but the Preacher shows us the emptiness of putting our hope in money and wealth.

Application Questions

1. Which of money's lies does your heart find most compelling?
2. What are the ways that you seek to satisfy your soul in money, wealth, or possessions?
3. How can you fight for true contentment in your life

13. Finding Perspective

Sun, 14 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Preacher wants us to face up to the uncomfortable realities of life: death, grief, suffering, and more. And in order to help us do that, he highlights the ways we often try to avoid uncomfortable realities, turning instead to distractions. But living life avoiding reality has costs that we need to understand. And facing up to reality has benefits that we don't often realize. Ultimately, the realities of life push us to consider the work of God, that we see most clearly in Jesus Christ.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways you try to escape the realities of life? What examples from the sermon do you see in your own life?
2. What are some experiences you've had encountering death, suffering, or struggle? How did you respond to those experiences? What impact have they made on you?
3. What would it look like for you to choose to look at the realities of life and“lay them to heart” ?
4. How does considering the work of God in Jesus Christ open you up to face the realities of life instead of running from them?

14. Figuring Things Out

Sun, 21 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Our quest to understand life is often frustrated by the fact that we simply don't have the capacity to understand all that God is doing and why. He is in control, he is working things according to his perfect plan, but why doesn't it seem to make sense to us sometimes? In our complex passage today the Preacher of Ecclesiastes identifies the real problems in life and reminds us of the few fundamental truths in life wecanunderstand.

Application Questions

1. In what ways do you see your circumstances as creating your most significant problems in life?
2. How do you treat life like a system to be manipulated for your benefit?
3. When you realize that the most significant problems in life are internal, where do you turn?
4. What can help you remember God's overwhelming grace in the face of life's problems?

15. Christ Our Wisdom

Sun, 28 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus exemplifies for us as Christians exactly what wisdom looks like in real life. This sermon explores how Jesus embodied the wisdom that Ecclesiastes teaches- wisdom in humility, patience, and vindication.

Application Questions

1. How does Jesus embody the Wisdom of the Book of Ecclesiastes?
2. What would it look like in your life to embrace Christ's wisdom of humility?
3. How can you grow in your wisdom of patience?
4. How does the vindication of Christ give you eternal perspective?

16. Life, Death, and Joy

Sun, 04 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

In one of his last sustained meditations on death, the Preacher forces us to deal with the reality of our own death: its certainty, its evil, its finality. And he does it to point us to the kind of joyful life that stops pretending we can be God and starts enjoying the gifts of God right in front of us. As the great humiliator, death reminds us that we are human and dependent on God for things we don't deserve. This turns entitlement into gratitude for things as simple as a meal and our next breath. What's more, it points us to the ultimate gift, Jesus Christ, who changes our relationship to death forever.

Application Questions

1. Do you think you have reconciled yourself to the fact that you are going to die?
2. What are some ways that the realities of death tempt you to“madness of heart” ?
3. How might the reality of death help you enjoy the gifts of God in your life? What are some things you could actively seek to enjoy today and tomorrow?
4. How has Jesus changed what death means for us? How has that affected the way you live your life?

17. The Way of Wisdom

Sun, 11 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

This week was a Unity Sunday service, so the sermon audio is in both English and Spanish. After explaining that life is a vapor, the Preacher teaches us what wisdom looks like as a human being who isn't in control. He shows us that wisdom is extremely valuable, but easily overlooked. To prove the point, he spends an entire chapter detailing the different aspects of foolishness: its destructive nature, its tendency to prize volume over wisdom, and more. After reading the chapter through, we see our need to be wise. The rest of Scripture points us to Jesus Christ as the way to have hearts that incline towards wisdom.

Application Questions

1. How have you seen the different aspects of foolishness at work in the world around you?
2. How have you seen the different aspects of foolishness at work in your own life?
3. Is there a particular area in your life that you think foolishness is at work? How can you address that area with the gospel to pursue wisdom, even when it's hard?

18. Do Something

Sun, 18 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Life has too many decisions to know how to make them all perfectly right. But that doesn't stop us from trying. The problem is, when we analyze decisions and try to figure out the outcomes ahead of time, it leaves us paralyzed and often unable to actually make a decision. In our passage today we are reassured that the way to make good decisions is not to be able to control their outcome or even be able to see the future. Good decisions aren't made from fear. Good decisions are made in love as we simply step out in faith and just do something.

Application Questions

1. What are the decisions that you have the hardest time making?
2. What are you afraid of when it comes to decision making (big and small)?
3. What aspects of God's secret will do you try to know when you can't? What aspects of God's revealed will do you neglect when you shouldn't?
4. How would your life and decision making be different if you were to“just do something” and“enjoy life,” leaving the results and the outcomes up to God?
5. What is an area in your life in which you have been paralyzed by fear? What might faithful action in that area look like?

19. The Last Word

Sun, 25 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The last section of Ecclesiastes summarizes the book as a whole and leaves us with parting words to reflect on. In the midst of a life that we can't control, the Preacher tells us to remember our Creator, the giver of all good gifts, and rejoice in what he gives us daily. When we put the book together, we find that this lifestyle is what it means to fear God: knowing his power, knowing his goodness, we center our lives on him under the sun.

Application Questions

1. What has stood out to you the most as we've worked through Ecclesiastes? How have you seen your life change as a result of the truths in this book?
2. How can you actively seek to remember your Creator and rejoice in his gifts as we move on from this sermon series? What practical steps would help you?
3. Where has Ecclesiastes been“words of delight” for you? Where has it been challenging (like a“goad” ) for you? How have you seen God shepherd you in both?
4. Why is“fear God” the main takeaway from a book like Ecclesiastes? How can you carry the message of Ecclesiastes with you by fearing God in your daily life?

01. Psalms of Adoration

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The psalms teach us how to respond to life and connect our daily experience to God. As we begin a short series on the psalms, we start with the foundation behind them all: adoration of God. David teaches us to adore God in his greatness and his goodness, pointing us ultimately towards Jesus. True Christianity leads us to adore God for who he is in himself, and set our gaze on him as we live our life.

Application Questions

1. Is adoration of God a normal thing for you? What is your experience like?
2. How might the greatness of God draw out adoration? How might the goodness of God draw out adoration?
3. How can you do more to see the beauty of God in your daily life so that you can find yourself adoring him more?

02. Psalms of Confession

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

We often think of confession as something to be either avoided or endured. We don't want to think of ourselves as being “that bad.” But when we confess our sins to God, we acknowledge the truth of our imperfection and the holiness of God. In doing so, it draws us deeper into Him and frees us to live more authentic lives.

Application Questions

1. What comes to mind when you hear the word“confession” ? How do you react to the idea of having to do it?
2. Do you have an accurate picture of the holiness of God and depths of your sin?
3. How can you use eager and joyful confession as you remember the gospel to draw nearer to God?

03. Psalms of Salvation

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

What do we do when we need rescue? We bounce back and forth between feelings of confident joy as saved people, and treacherous despair when darkness surrounds us. By showing us what it means to live as saved people and as people who need saving, Psalm 40 teaches us how to live our life as people who are continuously being saved by God.

Application Questions

1. How often do you retell the story of your salvation, to yourself and to others? How does David's recollection of his deliverance shape the way that you think of your own?
2. In what ways does David's response to his salvation, both inwardly and outwardly, inform and correct the way you have responded to your own salvation?
3. How is your response to times of distress similar or different from David's response in Psalm 40? How does David's response change the way you think about your own?
4. In what ways have you tried to help another person, for better or worse, complete the distress/salvation cycle modeled in Psalm 40? How have others tried to do the same for you in the past? In what ways does Psalm 40 show you how you can improve your efforts in the future?

04. Psalms of Lament

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Laments are the most common form of Psalms found in the Bible. So, why are they so unfamiliar to us? Most often it's because we don't truly understand what lament is. Living in a fallen and broken world, lament ought to be an expected part of our lives and relationships with God. This week we explore how to correctly understand biblical lament and how to develop it as a regular spiritual discipline.

Application Questions

1. In what ways do you see suffering in your own life?In what ways do you see suffering in the world around you?
2. What would it look like for you to regularly speak prayers of lament regarding this suffering to God?
3. In what ways do you complain or grumble to others instead of lamenting to God?

05. Psalms of Thanksgiving

Sun, 15 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Thanksgiving should be a natural response to the God of the universe, but so often we forget to thank Him or choose not to take the time to. In Psalm 34 David draws our eyes to characteristics of God that will fuel our hearts for thanksgiving in all circumstances.

Application Questions

1. Do you remember to give thanks to God after He delivers you from difficulty?
2. Is your thanksgiving focused more on God's character or His gifts?
3. Which of David's reasons for thanksgiving do you spend the most time thanking God for? Which do you feel God calling you to dwell more on?

06. Psalms of Worship

Sun, 22 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

God calls us to worship Him, but what does that mean? The psalmist tells us in Psalm 84 that worship is about what is going on in our hearts towards God. Do you find your home, your comfort, in His presence? That is worship. Do you find your strength in His power? That is worship. Do you find your satisfaction in Him and Him alone? That is worship.

Application Questions

1. What would it look like in your life to find yourhomein God's presence rather than looking for comfort in other things?
2. Are there regular, weekly places you go to find your strength other than God? How do these“functional saviors” let you down?
3. Is God enough for you in your life? How can you cultivate your satisfaction in God?

02. The Good Life

Mon, 01 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus goes up on a mountain to deliver the Sermon on the Mount. The crowd is eager to hear how his kingdom will deliver them the good life: more comfort, more security, more approval. Instead, Jesus gives them the beatitudes, a jarring set of blessings that run counter to everything we think about the good life. When we look closely at Jesus'words, we find that he is here to deliver a blessing that runs deeper than our circumstances, and that depends entirely on him.

Application Questions

1. When you imagine yourself living the life you want, what do you picture? Try to write some beatitudes (“Blessed are you when ________” ) based on that picture.
2. How do those“anti-beatitudes” shape your attitudes, decisions, and struggles?
3. What about Jesus'beatitudes scare you? Why? What about Jesus'beatitudes excite you? Why?
4. What do you think it would take to make your view of the good life the same as Jesus'view of the good life? How does the gospel fit in?

03. The Christian Counterculture

Tue, 09 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus offers a different way of life that stands in sharp contrast to the world. He calls His followers to have a different purpose for their life (to live for God, not for ourselves), different priorities (to radically love God and others rather than radically loving ourselves), and a different posture (to serve others rather than serve ourselves). And yet this“different life” doesn't mean we are disengaged or disconnected from the world, but we purposefully engage and shine our light so that the world can see.

Application Questions

1. What are ways that you have lost your“saltiness” with regard to your purpose, priorities, and posture?
2. Do you embrace your weirdness (i.e. distinctness) as a Christian, or do you fight it?
3. Are you actively seeking the good of non-Christians around you?
4. Identify two or three non-Christians in your life that you should intentionally pursue and engage with this week.

04. The Law and Grace

Mon, 15 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

How do we handle God's requirement that we be righteous? Typically we try to either build our lives on being good enough, or reject the idea that we should be good in the first place. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses God's law. He tells us that we can't ignore it, and that we'll never live up to it. Instead, he has come to fulfill it in our place, giving us a righteousness deeper than we ever hoped.

Application Questions

1. Where do you struggle with the idea that you are not good enough? How do you handle it?
2. What is your reaction to Jesus raising the bar on how good we need to be (see especially v. 20)?
3. What is your reaction to Jesus fulfilling the law for you by grace? Does your life look more like someone under the law or someone under grace?
4. What do you think obedience looks like if Jesus has fulfilled the law for you? How should his fulfillment of the law shape the Christian lifestyle?

05. Replacing Anger

Mon, 22 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

We've all heard that Jesus said that being angry is like murdering someone in your heart. But, is that really true? Is this just Jesus using hyperbole, or is he genuinely laying down a radical ethic that is seemingly impossible to keep? In our sermon this week we explore how each one of us has a problem with anger that is greater than we knew, how God's grace is greater than we imagined, and how God's call to selflessly love others is greater than we ever thought possible.

Application Questions

1. How does your anger usually manifest itself? “Hot” through venting or “Cool” through quiet bitterness?
2. What are the situations in which your anger most often manifests itself?
3. Do you ever feel like God's grace isn't big enough for your struggles or sin? If so, how can you be reminded of the magnitude of his mercy and grace?
4. What are some practical ways you can show love toward those you are tempted to express anger toward? How can you actively replace anger with love?

06. Replacing Lust

Tue, 30 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The concept that looking at a woman with lustful intent is a form of adultery is ridiculous and offensive in the world today. But, it is just another part of the radical ethic Jesus is laying out in the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, he is so serious that he tells his disciples that dramatic steps must be taken to pursue his ethic. However, he gives them hope in the fact that through his sacrifice and resurrection he will fulfill this seemingly impossible ethic for them and empower them to live it out in ways they (and we) never thought possible.

Application Questions

1. What forms of discontentment and coveting tend to fuel your lustful heart?
2. What aspects of people do you tend to lust after (physical, emotional, relational, etc.)?
3. What are practical ways you can remember the glories of Christ and his grace to motivate your fight against lust?
4. What are some materialistic or consumeristic tendencies that you could fight to help in your battle against lust?
5. What are some practical ways you can grow in seeing people for the beautifully complex image-bearers that God created them to be?

07. Replacing Deceit

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The Pharisees were fixated on finding“loopholes” to the rules of God's Word. They weren't concerned about obeying and following God from their hearts, they were focused on doing what they were“supposed to” in an external way, but their hearts were far from Him. God calls us to something radically different in Christ- to be people who are so enraptured with what Jesus has done for us that we live a life of integrity for His glory.

Application Questions

1. What are ways that you look for loopholes in your obedience instead of seeking to love and follow God?
2. How do you see in your life ways that you are looking to get away with something rather than looking to love and care for people?
3. How does Christ treat us differently in the gospel than we often treat others?
4. What would a life of integrity look like in your home, neighborhood, and workplace?

08. Replacing Revenge

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus takes aim at our obsession to get what we think we deserve, and to give others what we think they deserve. Instead of operating our lives on“fairness,” Jesus asks us to operate on love. But how do we do that when our default mode is to live for ourselves and not for others? The gospel opens to door to a grace that leaves us eternally secure and reshaped to love others not based on what they have earned. Christian culture is about love and mercy, not keeping score.

Application Questions

1. What are some times you feel like others aren't giving you what you deserve? How do you typically respond in those situations?
2. Try to think of some friends and some enemies (those who make you angry or treat you unfairly). How do you treat them differently? Why?
3. In what ways do you see yourself living“for you” instead of“for others” ?
4. What about Jesus'death for you allows you to live for others? What would that look like in some of the situations above?
5. Be as honest as you can: what holds you back from living this way? What resources do you have in Jesus to make this a reality in your life?

09. Replacing Hypocrisy

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

This Sunday we invited new and growing preachers in our church to each preach at one of our three services. They covered the next section in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus teaching about the danger of religious hypocrisy. The Christian life is not just a bunch of religious activities, but a changed heart that is motivated differently. When we see how many of our good actions are actually motivated by looking good in front of others, we see again how precious the gospel is. Jesus, who was never a hypocrite, saves us knowing all of our poor motivations. And that produces a new motivation to be honest, sincere, and focused on God's glory instead of our own.

Application Questions

1. Where do you see hypocrisy in your own life?
2. How do the opinions of others affect you most deeply? How do you see that play out in your attitudes, emotions, and actions?
3. What would change in your life if you were focused solely on God's opinion and not the opinion of others?
4. What about Jesus and the gospel move you away from hypocrisy towards sincere godliness?

10. Learning to Pray

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

On this youth Sunday, we spoke about prayer on several levels. We learned with our children's church kids about how we always talk to people we love, which is why we pray to God. We learned with our junior church kids how God wants us to engage him about the real things in our life. And we learned through our shorter sermon how the Lord's Prayer teaches us to pray by remembering who God is, relating to Him personally, and making requests in light of His glory.

Application Questions

1. If someone overheard your prayers, but didn't know you were praying, who would they think you were talking to? What does that tell you about how you relate to God?
2. How can you remember who God is and what he has done as you pray?
3. What does it look like when you“go through the motions” in prayer? What would it look like to focus more on relating to God in prayer?
4. What kind of things do you ask God for? How can the Lord's Prayer serve as a model for your requests in prayer?

11. The Problem of Treasure

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

We tend to live out lives investing in temporary treasure, but God calls us to something greater, more beautiful, and more lasting. Investing in eternal treasure is one of the hallmarks of a disciple of Christ, and it is a radical call. But as we are empowered by the Spirit and motivated by the gospel, God transforms our generosity in ways we never even knew were possible.

Application Questions

1. What motivates you to invest in temporary treasure instead of eternal treasure?
2. Do you choose to serve God with your choice of lifestyle? What changes might be needed to do that?
3. Do you choose to serve God with your budget choices? What changes might be needed to do that?
4. Do you choose to serve God with your daily decisions? What changes might be needed to do that?
5. Who in your life could you ask to speak honestly and boldly into your financial choices that might help you to identify your blind spots?

12. Replacing Anxiety

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

In light of the call to lay up for ourselves“treasures in heaven,” most of us inevitably respond with some form of worry. If we are to give ourselves up for others, who's going to look out for us? We can feel alone, confused, and hopeless when anxiety washes over us and we feel paralyzed by our own fears. But Christ shows us a better way. He shows us the way to be freed from our anxieties and fears. He shows us the way to be truly content and find our peace in him.

Application Questions

1. What do you tend to be anxious about?
2. How does your anxiety tend to manifest itself in your life?
3. What truths about God do you tend to forget that fuel your anxiety?
4. What specific reasons has Jesus given you not to worry?
5. What are some helpful ways that you can be reminded of the reasons Jesus has given you not to worry?
6. What practical steps can you take this week to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness?

13. The Problem of Relationships

Mon, 17 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

As Jesus begins to sum up the Sermon on the Mount, he addresses the way we engage others. In a fascinating set of images, he demonstrates that disciples are to lovingly evaluate others for their good, not stand over them in condemnation. At the same time, disciples are to be wise in the way they move out into the world, always being discerning in relationships. When we live this out as Christians today, we become both winsome and wise.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways you are quick to condemn others?
2. What are some ways you are quick to excuse your own sin?
3. How does Jesus' love for you help you to be quick to love and slow to condemn?
4. What are some specific ways you can be more wise and loving in your relationships with others this week?

14. Our Problem with God

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Where do we get the resources to live out the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus addresses our need to ask, seek, and knock in prayer to God for this and much more. Our problem is not just that we don't ask, it'swhywe don't ask: because we doubt God's goodness. When we hear Jesus'teaching and see his death and resurrection, we find a God who is a good, generous Father. With this kind of Father, why wouldn't we ask for anything we need, and take our cares and concerns to him?

Application Questions

1. Where do you“take” your cares and concerns? What does that tell you about who or what you trust the most to give you what you need?
2. Where in your life do you see evidence that you doubt God's goodness and generosity? How do you handle those doubts?
3. Do you pray (and live) like someone who has a good, generous Father in heaven? Or do you pray (and live) like someone who is orphaned and on your own?
4. What are some concerns or desires that you haven't taken to God? What would it look like to bring those to him as your good, generous Father in heaven?

15. The Golden Rule

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

It is very hard to go against our natural selfish desires and it is easy to love ourselves only. The whole world around us continues to tell us that our lives are more important than the lives of others. And in the mist of this way of living, Jesus commands us to be empathetic to the needs and suffering of others. Jesus knows that the path of empathy will bring life to our souls if we choose to obey Him. But, he also knows that the way of apathy will only bring destruction to souls.

Application Questions

1. In what ways do you pursue the comfortable life above the well-being of others?
2. What is a practical step that you can take to cultivate a heart of empathy?
3. Who or what is in the way for you to love others as yourself?

16. Cardiac Arrest

Mon, 07 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000

There are people who pretend to speak for God and who pretend to act for God. But God is not deceived. One day standing before the judgment seat of Christ, there will be those who will receive the judgment of eternal condemnation. Some will be confused because they have spoken for God as prophets. Others will be confused because they have done mighty works for God. But salvation is not based on us speaking for God or doing mighty works for Him, our salvation is based upon Christ and His finished work alone . This passage is a sober warning for us to be people of substance, not flash, to be diligent to know God and to be known by Him, and to enter through Jesus Christ, the narrow gate who leads to salvation.

Application Questions

1. Why is falsely speaking for God such a big deal?
2. Do you carefully examine the sources of truth you hear from in your life?
3. Are you more compelled by what is flashy (external and showy) or what is substantive (authentic and deep in the heart)? How do you know?
4. Have you considered the reality of“false conversion” ?
5. What is your hope built upon? How do you know?

17. How Firm a Foundation

Mon, 14 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount with a simple but powerful image: homes built either on sand or on the rock. One is fragile and eventually washed away; the other is secure and withstands the storm. In this image Jesus is summing up the entire Sermon. What is above ground and external can be beautiful, but anchored to sand. It will eventually fall. But what is anchored to the rock—to Jesus himself—brings a perfect stability that can withstand anything. Only by building on the rock will we be empowered to live out the Sermon on the Mount, not as an ideal but as a reality.

Application Questions

1. When you think about your life, do you tend to focus more on the house (the externals you build) or the foundation (what's underneath that holds you up)?
2. How have you experienced the freedom and security of building your life on the rock of Jesus? Are there ways you still live as though your foundation is fragile?
3. What about the foundation of Jesus Christ allows you to live out the Sermon on the Mount in your day to day life? How can you embrace that more this week?

04. Lent: Sin and God’s Wrath

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Christianity has always believed in a God of wrath, who stands in judgment over humans in their sin. But we don't talk about it much. What's more, for people in the West, God's wrath is hard to reconcile with God's love. If God is love, should he ever get angry? The Bible helps us make sense of God's wrath, square up to the reality of our situation, and appreciate the love of God displayed on the cross.

Application Questions

1. Do you think much about God's wrath? When you read passages in your Bible about God's anger or judgment, what do you do with them?
2. Where have you seen your own rage against God come out? What form does it usually take?
3. How does understanding God's holiness give us a key to understanding his wrath? How does God's wrath differ from human anger?
4. How does God's wrath make sense of the cross? Does understanding God's wrath make the cross more powerful for you?

05. Lent: Sin and Our King

Mon, 10 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Palm Sunday is the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem to begin the last week of his life. In that way, Jesus the King arrives in his capital city to do battle with sin. We cannot understand sin without seeing how it intersects with our King. When we do, we are humbled, repentant, inspired, and most of all beloved.

Application Questions

1. Why does it matter that Christ“knew no sin” ?
2. How does understanding that Christ“became sin” increase your love for him?
3. What are some times you need to remember you are in Christ, and therefore fully righteous in the eyes of God?
4. What are some times you need to remember that Christ is in you, and therefore fully empowered to live an obedient life?

02. Discipleship: Walking with God

Tue, 21 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus teaches that the greatest commandment, which encompasses all others, is love—love for God and love for others. In this sermon, we look more closely at growing in love for God as his disciples. Across the Bible, we find that loving God means listening to him in Scripture, speaking to him in prayer, and working what he says into our hearts. These large categories—Bible, Prayer, and Heart Work—help us understand and enjoy our walk with God.

Application Questions

1. Do you feel like you are walking with God in your life? Why or why not?
2. What are some ways you have grown in love for God over the last year or two? How did that growth happen?
3. Are you listening and learning from the Bible? What does that look like for you?
4. Are you talking and relating to God in prayer? What does that look like for you?5. Are you internalizing and applying what God says? What does that look like for you?

03. Discipleship: Walking in the World

Mon, 27 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Jesus teaches that the greatest commandment, which encompasses all others, is love—love for God and love for others. In this sermon, we look more closely at growing in love for others as his disciples. Across the Bible, we find that loving others means close relationships with Christians, close relationships with non-Christians, and pursuing our God-given roles and responsibilities. These large categories—Community, Mission, and Calling—help us understand and enjoy our walk in the world.

Application Questions

1. Do you feel like you are walking in the world as a Christian? Why or why not?
2. What are some ways you have grown in love for others over the last year or two? How did that growth happen?
3. Do you have deep relationships with other Christians? What does Christian community look like for you?
4. Do you have deep relationships with non-Christians? What does Christian mission look like for you?
5. What are the different roles and responsibilities that God has given you? How are you pursuing those callings?

04. Discipleship: Walking Towards Christ

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 10:00:00 +0000

We all want to change and grow, but we are sometimes fuzzy on the end goal. In what direction should that change and growth take us? What are we aiming for? God makes clear that the basic Christian life is growth in a single, encompassing direction: Christlikeness. As we walk in love for God and love for others, God is growing us to look more and more like his Son. We need to keep our eyes on him, then, as we walk, so we are walking in the right direction.

Application Questions

1. When you think about how you'd like to grow or change, what areas of your life or personality come up? What do those tell you about your goals in life?
2. What's on your "list" of a good person or a good Christian? Where did you get your list from?
3. If you haven't already, identify some of the false goals you are tempted to pursue. What about reaching those goals would be satisfying? What about reaching those goals would be unsatisfying?
4. Do you think that Christlikeness is ultimately satisfying? Why or why not?
5. How would your "list" change if you saw Christlikeness as the end goal of your Christian growth?

01. Imago Dei: Made in His Image

Sun, 08 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Every human being is made in the image of God. How should that change the way you treat the people you work with, socialize with, and live with?
2. When we take God out of the equation, what reasons are there to treat all people with dignity? What do you think would happen in a society that wants dignity for all but doesn't ground it in the image of God? How do you see that at work in our society?
3. What would a church community that reflects the image of God look like in Los Angeles? How can you participate in that at Cornerstone?
4. Think of some people you find it difficult to treat with dignity and worth (it could be individuals, people who disagree with you, etc.). How does the gospel lead you to treat them with deep and genuine respect? How can you put that into practice?

02. Imago Dei: Race and Ethnicity

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How does God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 tell us about God's ultimate plan of redemption for all peoples? How is this reflected in Revelation 7:9?
2. What is the difference between race and ethnicity, and why is it so important?
3. How in your life can you stop being a wall to other ethnicities, and function as a bridge?

03. Imago Dei: The Unborn

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How have you tended to be pro-baby or pro-woman in the past in exclusion of the other?
2. How can we love and communicate God's grace to those who have had abortions in the past?
3. How can we as a church community serve and love prenatal children and their parents in ways that empower parents to know that they aren't stuck and that they have realistic choices other than abortion? 4. What are practical ways that you can sacrifice and set your own life and desires aside for the blessing and support of prenatal children and their parents?

04. Imago Dei: Orphans

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions
1. Why is it important to understand the reality of orphans in our city? Why do you think it is easy to forget? What can you do to help yourself remember?
2. Why should a Christian identify with orphans and value them? Do you see that at work in your own life?
3. Everyone is called to do something to care for orphans. What are some of the ways that you can care for orphans as a part of Cornerstone? What next steps will you take?

05. Imago Dei: The Poor

Mon, 06 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions
1. Why does God have such a profound heart for the poor and the marginalized?
2. Who are the poor and the marginalized in Los Angeles?
3. How can you cultivate a love and compassion for those who are suffering in these ways?
4. How is God calling you to serve the marginalized?
5. What stands in the way of Cornerstone being a community that is welcoming to the marginalized? What can you do to help make that a reality?

05. Portrait of a Pastor, Part 2

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Has there been a moment when news about someone's faithfulness or salvation has caused you to feel "really alive"?
2. Is there something so important to you that you find yourself committed to pray earnestly "night and day" for it? How did God respond to your prayers?
3. If "holiness" means adopting the character of God as our character, where are you feeling progress? Where do you need support?

06. Trademarks of a Disciple: Holiness

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How could you make the pursuit of holiness a more prominent goal in your life?
2. What areas of sexual immorality is God calling you to confess to him, confess to a brother or sister, and repent of?
3. How can we make our church family a place that draws people out of the hidden corners?
4. What aspects of the gospel do you think people need to be reminded of the most when it comes to sexual sin?
5. Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to produce holiness in your life? In what ways do you struggle to believe this?

08. Trademarks of a Disciple: Hope

Mon, 01 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How does Jesus'return change your view of death?
2. How does Jesus'return change your view of your life?
3. How does Jesus'return change your view of your possessions?
4. How does Jesus'return change your view of disappointment and suffering?
5. How does Jesus'return change your view of love and blessing?
6. What are some practical ways you could encourage those around you with reminders of Christ's return?

09. Trademarks of a Disciple: Sober Thinking

Sun, 07 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How should you respond to your non-Christian neighbors, co-workers, and friends in light of the Day of the Lord?
2. What does a life of eager expectation look like?
3. How often do you grieve the brokenness of this world and long for the next? Are you awake, or asleep, to spiritual realities in your life?
4. What habits can you develop in your life that can stir and awaken your soul for God and His Eternal Kingdom?

11. Trademarks of a Disciple: Perseverance

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How has God taught you to grow more and more through the letter to the Thessalonians?
2. In what areas of your life are you "half-living"? What steps of faith can you take (or spiritual habits you can put into practice) to grow in those areas to live abundantly?
3. What parts of life do you need to let go of in order for you to be able to "take hold of that which is truly life"?

12. Our Identity: Christ's Servants

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How does understanding the story of Paul's imprisonment change how you read and understand the letter to the Philippians?
2. How might the following verses take on a different meaning in light of understanding Paul's experience?

-Philippians 1:2
-Philippians 2:3
-Philippians 2:14
-Philippians 4:4
-Philippians 4:6
-Philippians 4:11
-Philippians 4:13

3. What parts of the story of Paul's imprisonment in Acts 21-28 set an example that you can follow in situations in your life?
4. What additional study, prayer, meditation, etc. could you do to get the most out of our study through Philippians this fall?

13. Our Joy: Your Partnership

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How can you live with the purpose of being a partner in the gospel?
2. Are you overjoyed that your life is a painting and God is the master artist? What kind of painting do you expect God to paint in your life? What would give Him the most glory?
3. What would it look like for you to partake of the grace of God every day? What would it look like to see your whole life, the good times and the hard times both, as God's grace?

14. Our Prayer: Your Love

Sun, 25 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What habits exist in your life that help you grow in Christ?
2. What are ways that you grow in your love for God and for others?
3. How can you refocus your life around things that are “excellent” and God-glorifying?
4. What fruit of righteousness do you see in your life? Whatshouldyou see that you don't?

15. Our Hope: The Gospel

Mon, 03 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How much do your circumstances affect your attitude? Take a moment and think about why that is. What is it about different circumstances that influence you so much?
2. Think of times you've seen the gospel advance in your own heart, in the lives of Christians around you, or in the lives of non-Christians who have come to believe. What were your circumstances like during those times?
3. What are the ways you choose fake safety over joy in your life? What would change in those areas if you focused only on the advance of the gospel?
4. What scares you the most about focusing only on the advance of the gospel in your life? What excites you the most about focusing only on the advance of the gospel in your life?
5. What's the next step you can take this week to focus on the advance of the gospel and experience a surprising joy?

16. Our Purpose: Your Growth

Mon, 10 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How often do you take time to consider death? What might be a benefit of you considering it more?
2. What does “to die is gain” mean to you?
3. What are the things in this world (apart from Christ) that are “really living” for you?
4. What is one thing in your life that you look to for joy and satisfaction that is really just “McDonalds” ?
5. If God desires to keep you here (on Earth) for the next year, whose “progress and joy in the faith” would you remain here to help with?
6. What specific activities or plans could help you to meditate on God's word, kindling your heart to a sole passion for Christ?

17. Our Encouragement: Your Unity

Sun, 16 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions
1. What are the ways that fear prevents you from growing in Christ?
2. Are you in a state of surviving or thriving?
3. How can you continue to strive forward in the gospel regardless of your circumstances?
4. What areas of life do you need-courage-? What courageous act is God calling you to next?

18. Serve Like Jesus

Sun, 23 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What are ways that you find yourself pursuing surface-level unity, not empowered by the gospel?
2. In what ways are you tempted to think of yourself as more significant than others?
3. How would your relationships at work change if you considered others more significant than yourself?
4. How would your relationships in your Community Group change if you considered others more significant than yourself?
5. How would your relationships at home change if you considered others more significant than yourself?

19. Think Like Jesus

Sun, 30 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How does pride (concentration on the self) look in your life? Where do you see it affect your attitude, relationships, and decisions?
2. What strikes you most about Jesus' attitude in vv 6-11? Where in life are you trying to grasp your own significance instead of giving it away for others?
3. What would have to change for you to experience true humility? What is some of the encouragement, comfort, and love you've received in the gospel that can lead you there?

20. Shine Like Jesus

Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions
1. What would be different in your life if you saw God's salvation as a gift to be enjoyed?
2. Are you growing in your faith? How can you tell?
3. What do you complain about? Have you confessed and repented?
4. How does your security in Christ anchor you from the storms of life?

21. Plan Like Jesus

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What are some of God's greatest blessings in your life?
2. Are you truly cherishing and enjoying those blessings? If not, what hinders your enjoyment?
3. In what ways are you planning / preparing to part with those blessings for the sake of the Gospel?
4. How would your life be different if you lived it "ready to share," planning to part with many of your blessings for the sake of the Gospel?
5. What might God be calling you to prepare to part with now? In the next 2, 5, or 10 years?

22. Suffer Like Jesus

Mon, 21 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What are some ways that you "put your confidence in the flesh" (build your own identity outside of Christ)? What is on your "resume"?
2. What would it look like for you to "count these things as loss"for the sake of knowing Christ? How wouldyour life (attitude, relationships, decisions) change?
3. For you, is Christianity primarily about building a resume for yourself or receiving acceptance by grace?
4. How can you avoid the temptation to build a resume and focus on the surpassing worth of knowing Christ this week?

23. Strive Like Jesus

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Think of some of the reasons you are motivated to improve yourself. Which of them flow from the Gospel? Which of them flow from other desires?
2. Do you tend to view growth as following the rules better or getting to know Christ better? How has that view affected your growth?
3. Are you more focused on the direction you're headed in your growth (trajectory) or where you are right now (location)? Why?
4. How much effort do you put in to growing as a Christian? Why do you think that is?
5. What are some areas of growth that could use greater Spirit-empowered, grace-motivated hard work?

24. Persevere Like Jesus

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Who are the faithful Christians in your life that you can seek to emulate?
2. How would your life look different if you were more consistently emulating those people?
3. Who / what are the“enemies of the cross” that you find yourself imitating? Who shapes your life that you need to pay less attention to?
4. What are some of the key rights and responsibilities of being a citizen of heaven that you need to remember?
5. What are some practical things you can do to help be reminded of your citizenship?

25. Rejoice Like Jesus

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How do you view and respond to conflict in the church? Do you know the process of gospel reconciliation?
2. How do you view and respond to worries and anxieties in your life?
3. What are ways that you can make prayer a more sustainable part of your life?
4.What do you dwell on during a normal day? How can you fill your mind with worthy truth rather than unworthy lies?

26. Be Content Like Jesus

Mon, 19 Dec 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Which areas can you identify discontentment in your own heart and life?
2. What does a life of passion-filled contentment look like? How can you have both (passion and contentment)?
3. How do circumstances reveal what is in your heart? What created things do you put your hope in, and how can you redirect that hope into Christ?
4. How does the future glory speak to your current circumstances?

01. Making Disciples

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Do you feel like there is a purpose for your life? How does that impact the way you live?
2. What is your purpose in life? (What gets you out of bed in the morning?) Where does that purpose come from?
3. Which do you prioritize more in your own life: being a disciple (your personal life with God), walking with other disciples (close Christian community), or inviting new disciples (reaching out to others with the gospel)?
4. Why do you think that is? What gets in the way of you fully committing to the purpose Jesus gives us?
5. How does it help to know that Jesus has been given all authority (v. 18) and that he will always be with you (v. 20)?

03. Being a Disciple: A Disciple Listens

Mon, 29 Feb 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How well do you listen to God through his Word?
2. How could you take steps to regularly remember who is talking when you spend time in the Bible?
3. How would recognizing how God is talking help you listen to him?What practical ways could you pay closer attention to the actual words God has spoken in his Word?
4. Is your heart regularly ready to respond when you are listening to God? If not, how could you prepare yourself for ready obedience as you hear God speak through his Word?
5. Here are a few suggestions of places you could start to listen to God speaking. Try to spend some time in a few of these passages this week truly listening:

-Genesis 12:1-9
-Psalm 32
-Psalm 42
-Proverbs 12:1-9
-Matthew 18:21-35
-Romans 8:1-11
-Colossians 3:1-17
-1 Timothy 6:6-19

04. Being a Disciple: A Disciple Communes

Mon, 07 Mar 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Do you relate to God more as an employee or a friend? Why do you think that is?
2. Do you feel like you are abiding in Christ or abiding somewhere else? What does that do to your attitudes, emotions, and relationship with others?
3. How would meditating on God's Word help you draw closer to God and enjoy his friendship?
4. Are your prayers honest and open? What are some ways your prayers are insincere or distant, and what would it look like to be more honest and open in your prayer life?
5. Below are some Bible passages that you can enjoy as a conversation between you and God in meditation and prayer. (Consider meditating and praying on one of these passages together as a community group as well.)

-Deuteronomy 10:12-20
-Psalm 32
-Psalm 100
-Romans 8:1-11
-Ephesians 2:1-10
-1 John 1:5-2:2

05. Being a Disciple: A Disciple Repents

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. How do you typically handle your guilt over doing something you shouldn't have? How do you think, feel, or act?
2. When you do confess and repent (to God and others), why do you do it? If you don't confess and repent, why not?
3. Why do you think it's true that the person who is forgiven much loves much? How have you seen that at work in your own life?
4. What practical ways can you encourage yourself to repent in your daily life?

06. Being a Disciple: A Disciple Loves

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What are ways in your life where God is testing your love and loyalty?
2. Why should we love God more than anything else?
3. How can you identify idols in your heart?
4. What are practical steps you can take to expel idols from your heart?

07. A Disciple Rejoices

Tue, 29 Mar 2016 10:00:00 +0000

08. Loving Community

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. What has your experience been with Christian community?
2. How have other Christians have helped you grow, and vice versa? Do you think that same growth could have happened individually?
3. If someone looked at your life, would they say you have deep, interdependent relationships with other Christians? Why or why not?
4. How can you build others up in love in your community this week?

09. Living in Community

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. Do you think of deep Christian community as central to your life? How does that affect the way you live?
2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says that we can't love our idea of a perfect community more than the actual community around us. How have you experienced that tension? What has it looked like for you to embrace the messiness of real community?
3. Are you more intentional or passive when it comes to your Christian relationships?
4. What does it look like for you to be generous with your time, possessions, and your self?
5. Have you invited anyone into your needs, honest struggles, and life decisions? Why or why not?

10. Community in Action

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. How is the glory of God revealed in everyday, mundane acts of love?
2. What do you possess that you could share with others around you (possessions, gifts, talents)?
3. How can you bear burdens with brothers and sisters in Christ around you?
4. What are ways you can cultivate your affection, unity, and selflessness towards others?
5. How does the example of Christ motivate and empower you to actions of love?

11. Community in Conversation

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. How have you seen your friends and those in your CG need words that inform?
2. What holds you back from speaking words that inform?
3. How have you seen your friends and those in your CG need words that affirm?
4. What holds you back from speaking words that affirm?
5. How have you seen your friends and those in your CG need words that modify?
6. What holds you back from speaking words that modify?
7. How have you seen your friends and those in your CG need words that anticipate(words of hope)?
8. What holds you back from speaking words that anticipate (words of hope)?

13. Loving Evangelism

Mon, 09 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. What has your experience been with evangelism? What appeals to you? What doesn't appeal to you?
2. What are some reasons you are motivated to evangelize? What are some reasons you aren't motivated to evangelize? How do these reasons compare with Paul's motivations in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21?
3. What are some ways you can (a) internalize and (b) act on the motivations to evangelize this week?

14. Living Evangelism

Mon, 16 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. How would seeing yourself as an ambassador change your perspective about your life?
2. In what ways do you live like an ambassador for Christ? In what ways do you live more like a tourist?
3. What would evangelistic intentionality look like in your life?
4. Who are two or three non-Christians you could make space in your life for? How could you pursue them?

15. Evangelism in Action

Mon, 23 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. If you haven't already, draw a map of your street or apartment building. Fill in the map with the names of your neighbors.
2. How could you most pray for each of your neighbors?
3. Which of your neighbors' stories do you know?
4. Which of your neighbors do you know how you could serve them?
5. What is one thing you could do to take the "next step" with each of your neighbors?
6. Spend dedicated time this week praying for your neighbors.

16. Evangelism in Conversation

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. What holds you back from speaking the gospel to non-Christian neighbors, co-workers, and friends?
2. Think of your non-Christian friends and what's going on in their lives. What are some ways you can lovingly speak the personal gospel to them?
3. Think of the five words Brian mentioned that make up the full gospel: God, Man, Sin, Jesus, Faith. What words do you have a hard time explaining? What words do your non-Christian friends have a hard time understanding? What would it look like for you to speak the full gospel to your non-Christian friends?
4. Have you ever invited someone to believe the gospel (instead of just sharing what you believe)? Think of people in your life now who have heard the personal, full gospel from you. How can you take the next step and lovingly invite them to believe?

01. Jesus Is Born

Sun, 27 Dec 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

Reflecting on all the centuries that the people of God were pining in sin and error, what do you think it was like for the Messiah, the Savior to finally come?

What does following the humble example of Christ look like practically in your life?

What would it practically mean for you to make the following three resolutions for 2016:

1. To love others sacrificially
2. To deliver the message of the gospel of peace to those who haven't heard
3. To address oppression as Christ's hands and feet in our city and our world

02. Jesus is Baptized

Mon, 04 Jan 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What parts of your life do you feel like you hold back from Jesus? Why do you think that is? What do you think he would do with them?
2. Do you lean into or lean away from the idea that you are a sinner in your daily life? What are some attitudes, actions, or relationships where you see that at work?
3. Do you believe that God celebrates over you because of Jesus? What evidence can you find in your life? Is there anything that holds you back from believing that?

03. Jesus The Prophet

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. What is a prophet, and how is Jesus a prophet?
2. How does Jesus the prophet expose truth from pretense?
3. What in your life do you see a need for God's Word to expose?
4. How does Jesus the prophet displace all other prophets?
5. What in your life do you listen to as a prophet that needs to be displaced?

04. Jesus The King

Sun, 24 Jan 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. What part of your life (money, time, energy, effort, energy, etc.) is Jesus looking at you, saying "I need that"?
2. Are there trials in your life that are unexpected for you? How can you actively seek to trust God's Kingship over you in the midst of that trial?
3. In what ways do you care more about the benefits of Christ than Christ Himself?
4. How should you respond to the difference between Christ's first coming, on a donkey, and His second coming, on a horse?

05. Jesus The Priest

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions

1. Recall some of the ways that the Old Testament looked forward to and anticipated the cross.
2. How has the cross changed everything in your life? How is it the pinnacle of the story of your life?
3. What areas in your life have yet to be transformed by the cross? How could regularly meditating on the story of the cross help to facilitate that needed transformation?
4. What are some practical ways that you can make meditation on the story of Christ's sacrifice a regular part of your life?

06. Jesus The Lord

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Application Questions:

1. How has the resurrection changed the past? (read: 1 Corinthians 15:17-19) How does the truth of the resurrection provide an anchor to your faith?
2. How has the resurrection changed your future? (read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) How does the promise of a future resurrection give you hope and peace?
3. How does the resurrection change your present? (read: Romans 6:5-11) How does the resurrection give you hope and power for living a godly life?
4. How does the resurrection change your calling? (read: Matthew 28:16-20) How does the resurrection clarify the purpose of your life?

01. Torah: Genesis

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Genesis is an origin story, explaining where our universe and our species come from. It tells us why we are the way we are, and what we are meant to be. Surveying the book of Genesis shows us what it means to be human, and accounts for how complicated our hearts and our world really are. But more than anything, Genesis shows us the beginning of the plan of God to pursue us through promises that are fulfilled, one day, in Jesus himself.

Application Questions:

1. Do you think of God as your Creator, Judge, and source of joy?? What are some times you are particularly aware of those things? What are some ways your life would change if you remembered God that way throughout your day?
2. How do you explain the problems in our world and in your own life? When you complain, what do you complain about? How does the idea of sin help explain the world more fully than your usual explanations?
3. "To be truly happy is to know that you are loved." How does Jesus' sacrifice for us when we didn't deserve it assure you that you are loved? What makes you doubt that love? How would you be able to live more as God intended if you were assured that God loved you?

02. Torah: Exodus

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Exodus continues the story of Genesis, following Abraham’s descendants into Egypt where they are delivered from slavery with God’s own power. God reveals more of himself as he rescues his people. We see God’s ultimate deliverance in Jesus, who brings a new exodus from slavery to sin and death. When Jesus is our deliverer, we find true freedom.

Application Questions:

1. Why is it powerful to think of the gospel as a new exodus? What makes it better and deeper than the first exodus?
2. How have you experienced sin as slavery? How have you experiences Jesus deliver you?
3. What are some ways you experience temptation “presenting the bait but hiding the hook”?
4.What can you do to “behold the lamb of God” more in your daily life to increase your joy and motivate an obedient life?

03. Torah: Leviticus

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Now that God's people are set free from slavery, God must show them what it's like to have a relationship with Him. But how can a holy and perfect God have a relationship with sinful people? Leviticus shows us what that relationship looks like, both for the people of Israel and for us today: our need for a substitute, our need for forgiveness, and ultimately our need for God Himself.

Application Questions:

1. What the central focus of God in Leviticus (i.e. what is God doing?)?
2. What does Leviticus tell us about who God is and who we are?
3. What is the difference between the feeling of guilt and the objective reality of guilt?
4. How does Christ incarnate the similarities and differences between the Levitical Law and the Law of Grace?
5. What does this all mean for how we deal with our guilt and shame?

04. Torah: Numbers

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:00:00 +0000

In the book of Numbers the people of God set out to enter the promised land but were derailed repeatedly by their own sin and idolatry. Each instance of the people's sin was followed by a consequence given by God. While the sin and consequences were ever present in the lives of God's people, so was God himself. The generation that left Egypt may have lost the privilege of entering the Promised Land, but God was still faithful to his promise to the nation. In Numbers we can see much of our own hearts reflected, as well as how God graciously allows consequences of our sin for our warning and guidance.

Application Questions:

1. Why might it be a good idea to make reading Numbers a regular part of your Bible reading plan? What is God doing in Numbers that you need to be regularly reminded of?
2. How can you experience consequences of your sin even when there is no condemnation for your sin because of Christ?
3. What are some ways that you have experienced consequences of your own sin?
4. How could God be using those consequences as a warning for you, and pointing you back to God?
5. How have you seen God redeem consequences in your life for his glory and your Christlikeness?

05. Torah: Deuteronomy

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Deuteronomy sums up the first five books of the Bible on the edge of the promised land, with God renewing his promises to a people that so far have been stubborn and sinful. Before the go into the promised land, Moses gives them a long sermon on what it means to be in a covenant relationship with God. Deeper, wider, and broader than any other relationship we can know as humans, God's covenant draws us close and saturates our life with His presence and love.

Application Questions:

1. When you think of your biggest problems—now and in the past—do you focus more on your circumstances or your own heart? How might a closer relationship with God change things even if your circumstances stay the same?
2. Are you more tempted to have a "business" relationship with God (going through the motions to keep everyone satisfied) or a "personal" relationship with God (having lots of positive feelings but not a changed life)? Why do you think that is?
3. What are some ways your live your life based on pride and/or fear? How does the gospel change our motivation for obeying God? What are a few ways you can apply that to your life now?

06. Former Prophets: Joshua

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Joshua shows God's people receiving the gift of a land to call their own. Originally settled by Abraham, after 400 years God delivers Abraham's family back home. While there are difficult issues to deal with in the conquest of Canaan, the book of Joshua shows us a God who keeps his promises—and points us to a Jesus that brings us a better gift of salvation, rest, and changed life.

Application Questions:

1. When you think of your biggest problems—now and in the past—do you focus more on your circumstances or your own heart? How might a closer relationship with God change things even if your circumstances stay the same?
2. Are you more tempted to have a "business" relationship with God (going through the motions to keep everyone satisfied) or a "personal" relationship with God (having lots of positive feelings but not a changed life)? Why do you think that is?
3. What are some ways your live your life based on pride and/or fear? How does the gospel change our motivation for obeying God? What are a few ways you can apply that to your life now?

07. Former Prophets: Judges

Sun, 08 Nov 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The book of Judges gives us a long-range historical perspective that is difficult to find anywhere else. It provides realism about life and human nature apart from God. The people of Israel's rebellion continues in a downward spiral that is both shocking and tragic. However, through it all, God is weaving his redemptive story, and story that highlights his patience, grace, goodness, and power to redeem even the darkest story.

Application Questions:

1. How does the book of Judges help you see that the world is worse off than you think?
2. How does the book of Judges help you see that you're worse off than you think?
3. How does the book of Judges help you see that your redeemer is greater than you've ever imagined?
4. How do the examples of Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi demonstrate what faithfulness looks like in your own daily life?
5. How do the examples of Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi demonstrate how God might use you to bring redemption in the world?

08. Former Prophets: King and Covenant

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Israel asks God for a king, but Samuel warns them that while a king defeats your enemies, he also has absolute authority over you. God then promises to King David that an eternal King is going to come, and we too must ask ourselves- are we ready for King Jesus to defeat our enemies AND have all authority over our lives?

Application Questions

1. How does Hannah's prayer in 1 Sam. 2:10 reflect a transition in Israel's history?
2. What are the two responsibilities of a king and what is the warning God gives to Israel about appointing a king (1 Sam. 8:10-18)?
3. What does God promise King David in 2 Samuel 7?
4. How does Jesus fulfill the promise of 2 Samuel 7, and how is He a different kind of King?
5. What is the difference between "you must do" and "let there be"? In what ways in your life is God saying "let there be..."?
6. How are you fighting against His loving Kingship by seeking control?

09. Writings: Wisdom Literature

Sun, 22 Nov 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The Old Testament takes time to reflect in the wisdom literature, five books in the very center of the Bible. Instead of telling more history, these wisdom books examine how to live life well in light of what God has done in history. As we look through three of the wisdom books, we find the importance of wisdom to give our lives meaning, the center of wisdom in the fear of the Lord, and how to cultivate wisdom in the psalms that teach us how to encounter God. In the New Testament, we see Jesus becomes our wisdom and opens the door to a life of fearing the Lord.

Application Questions:

1. Where in your life do you forget the reality of God? How does that affect your attitude, decisions, and relationships?
2. Think of some ways you have looked for meaning from things on earth that can't provide it. How would wisdom help you treat those things differently?
3. Do you fear God? Why or why not? How would fearing God change your life for the better? How would fearing God make you more of a blessing to others?
4. Why do you need to encounter God through his word to be wise? Are you regularly engaging with God in scripture?

10. Latter Prophets: Kingdom

Sun, 29 Nov 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The period of the United and Divided Kingdom in Israel is both the Golden Age of the Kingdom of Israel and the most devastating. Under David and Solomon the Kingdom experiences great peace and security, great provision and prosperity, and a distinct presence of the LORD, and yet when they turn their eyes from Him and lose sight of eternity these promises begin unravelling, leaving God's people longing for a future Kingdom with a perfect King. When Jesus comes He brings this Kingdom with Him, and its far greater than anyone ever could have imagined.

Application Questions:

1. What are the three Kingdom Promises of God and how do they relate to the Garden?
2. How is the Kingdom of God Jesus brings greater than the Kingdom of Israel?
3. Why does it matter that the Church is now the representative of the Kingdom of God on earth?
4. How can Cornerstone be a place that reflects the Kingdom values of Christ, bringing peace, provision, and presence to our community? How can you make that happen in your own life?

11. Latter Prophets: Exile

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The people of God were taken into exile not only for judgment, but also so that God could free them from their idolatry of the kingdom and set their hearts back on the true King. But for us, instead of sending us into exile to save us, Jesus was exiled on our behalf, so that we might be brought back to God by grace. In response to this grace, we are now called to live as exiles in a world that doesn't know him, and to be the beacons of his glory for the good and blessing of our city.

12. Latter Prophets: New Covenant

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 10:00:00 +0000

During the time of the exile God, through the prophets, got more explicit than he had ever been before about what he had planned for his people. It was this time that God promised he would establish a New Covenant with his people, a New Covenant that would fulfill and supersede the old covenants, a New Covenant that would be the climax of all history. This is the covenant that we live under, through Christ, and it is the covenant that has changed everything.

Application Questions:

1. How does having instant forgiveness change your life and how you view your future? Why does having instant forgiveness not just cause you to sin as much as you want?
2. How does having an invigorated heart change your life and how you view your future? In what ways are you tempted to worship things that naturally result in a heart of stone?
3. How does having the internalized law change your life and how you view your future? In what specific ways do you find yourself empowered to obedience when it would have been impossible before?
4. How does having the indwelling Spirit change your life and how you view your future? How does having God dwelling inside of you shape your relationship with him?

13. Latter Prophets: Return

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 10:00:00 +0000

The last chapter of the Old Testament story shows us God bringing his people out of exile, just as he promised. But while the people lived in their historic land again, their hearts were still elsewhere. The Old Testament ends with the people needing their hearts to come home, and in Jesus we find the one who can bring all of us all the way back home to God.

Application Questions:

1. If "home is where the heart is," where does your heart look for home here on the earth? Think about your relationships, vocations, and activities. Which of those "homes" are an extension of the home you have in God? Which of them are an attempt to seek a home apart from God?
2. Are there areas of your life that you are neglecting or fighting against because your heart is looking for home somewhere else? How would you treat those areas of life if you knew you had a permanent home in God that could never be taken away?
3. Brainstorm together with your Community Group: what are some practical ways we can abide in Christ? Share the ways you still "live in your old home" with your emotions, reactions, and more. How can we help each other move in to our new home in Jesus?