Life is full of surprises. Things rarely happen the way we expect them to. And yet in the midst of the twists and turns, the build-ups and the break-downs, breakthrough is possible. The Christian story is a story of all these things. It is the story of death and resurrection—not one or the other, but both. It is the story of depression and deliverance. It is the story of the broken and the beautiful. It is the story of being overwhelmed and yet learning to overcome. So if you are broken, depressed, overwhelmed or feel like death has taken you captive, maybe it’s time again to hear the other side of the story. And maybe in hearing it together we will continue to believe that resurrection just might be meant to be an everyday reality.

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“Where are you from?” What if I told you I was from Eden? Yes, that one. Not the one in Minnesota, but the one in Genesis. What if I told you my family was royalty–that we were living in exile but there was a revolution in the works, and the King was going to restore Eden?

This week we are going to explore our roots, and our roots are in a garden–not just any garden but the Garden of Eden. What would a home in Eden look like?

We have all seen advertisements for “McMansions,” promoting features like grand kitchens, master bed rooms, and home theaters. Funny, I have never seen an ad promoting the amazing foundation of a home, but without a foundation, all the features fall.

The foundation of Our Story is found in the answer to this question: “What is God like?”

If we want to restore our lives we must dig into the foundations and re-story our lives.

This is our story and we are sticking to it.

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“What’s your story?”
We all have one, but we seldom consider the reality that “our story” actually has us. “Our story” develops and defines us. “Our story” shapes what we believe about who we are; it answers the questions of where we’re from, who we know, and who knows us. It shapes our very identity.

For the next several weeks we are going to re-story our lives. We are going to take a look at where we are from and to whose family we belong. It might seem strange to say, but the truth is, our story is the same story–it is One Story.

This One Story is found in Scripture. Over the next several weeks we are going to journey through the Bible Story from beginning to end. We are going to learn how the pieces form the big picture. We are going to see where it all fits, and where we fit in it.

Job, after great suffering, responded to God’s voice by declaring, “I have lived on rumors of you, now I know you in realty.”

Let’s go on this journey together.

PS: Over the next several weeks, we will attempt to answer any questions you may have after the 5:15 gathering. I think this series is going to be loads of fun.

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“Pray that we shine like bright lights in a dark world!” This is the message that Jamie Winship brings to Grace, teaching out of Philippians chapter 2.

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Do you feel like you have enough time? Or would you like a little more, even a lot more? This time of year is mostly filled with thoughts of new goals and ideas and we start burying ourselves under a never ending to-do list. This year we want to invite you to take a moment and listen-to first make some reflections before we make our resolutions. We are going to talk about the invitation of the Sabbath and the freedom that is promised to us in finding a rhythm to our lives, and how to turn time into an incredible blessing instead of a ceaseless burden.

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Peace.

This is the time of year that we remind ourselves that peace is not a place but a person, and His name is Jesus.

The Incarnation is not simply a doctrine; it is God’s Peace Plan. Peace is not only possible, it is inescapable because the PRINCE OF PEACE has invaded a world contaminated with the plague of the consequences of our choices. He has announced the long anticipated Reign of God has arrived.

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This week on the Advent calendar is traditionally devoted to joy. For some, joy is a wonderful topic in harmony with this happy time of year. But for others, the thought of joy in the Christmas season can feel as fleeting as an Atlanta snow flurry. The truth is that God has wired us to be joyful. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Hebrews 1:9, where God says Jesus is “anointed with the oil of gladness above all your companions.” Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Jesus is the most joyful person ever.  But for us, Jesus’ joyfulness is incredibly important because when we begin to follow him and become like him, we will learn to receive his joy in our own lives as well. We will look at several biblical examples of those who tasted the joy of the Lord in the Christmas story and explore how we too can enter into His joy.

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If you had to say farewell to your family what would that farewell conversation sound like?
If you sat with a gathering of close friends whose friendship had been forged in the fires of doing life intentionally for the Kingdom, and you knew this was the last time you would look into their faces on this earth, what would shape your conversation?

How would you complete this kind of sentence?

Always remember this ….
Don’t ever forget this …
Above all else, this is central….

If you were the pastor of a church where you had poured out your very lifeblood and you knew you would never see those people again, what would you say?

We will take a look at two of the churches in which Paul invested intensely and we will see what the Holy Spirit told him to say.

I think you know the answer.
But it is worth saying again.

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How do we move from “Hope so?” to “So hope!”

Hope is not a mindset; it is a heartset.
The root of hope is the resurrection.

We do not define hope; we are defined by hope. The deeper we swim in the reality of the resurrection, the greater our prospect in discovering the joy of overwhelming hope. We do not hope in the future, we hope in the now.

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Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God.

The good news is that because we can know Jesus, we can know God.

If there has ever been a time the world needs God, surely it is now. To know God we must take time and create space where we cultivate our hearts toward God.

Grace will spend the next few weeks opening our Bibles and our hearts, along with churches all over the globe, celebrating Advent. The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning “coming.” During Advent the church not only looks back and reflects how the promises of the Old Testament found their fulfillment in Jesus’ coming, but also, building on those promises kept, we cultivate the anticipation of the promises Jesus made of being with us now and returning. That faith of Kingdom now and not yet infuse every moment with meaning. This Sunday we dig more deeply into Paul’s message in Athens where Paul declares, “As I was considering the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this inscription ‘To the Unknown God.’ Therefore the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you!”

This year let us come and not only adore Him, let us come and know Him!

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Jesus offers abundant life. Life of meaning and significance. Lives of influence and power. But how many of us have made the decision to follow Jesus, and now wonder where we’re supposed to go, what we’re supposed to, how we’re supposed to live? How many times have we rushed through the day, the week, the year, looked around and thought, “Now how in the world did I get here? Where did the time go? What have I done with my life?” This week we’ll look at how Paul chose to live an intentional life following the command and example of Jesus, and how the effect of that kind of life reverberated around the world.

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Do we worship the same God?

Can we assume that people know what we mean when we talk of God?

How are we to talk of God with those who not only do not know the God of whom we speak, but hold polluted–even pagan–ideas about the very nature of God?

We will explore how God used Paul to rock a world saturated with religion, but barren of truth.

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Last week, Acts 15 reminded us that we are a mess; the early church was a mess; that everyone everywhere is a mess. We also discovered that Jesus’ presence in our lives can make us a beautiful mess. It is undeniable that there is longing inside every human heart to be more than a mess.

In Acts 16, Paul will show us the secret that can satisfy that longing. In that one chapter, his circumstances swung like a violent roller coaster ride from incredible blessing to devastating struggle. Through all the ups and downs–and the upside downs–Paul had a steadfast contentment that can only be found in Christ.

What circumstances are you facing? Closed doors? Open doors? Blessing? Trials? Spiritual Breakthrough? Spiritual disappointment? Through every circumstance of Acts 16, Paul was much more than a beautiful mess, he actually was a beautiful attraction for the Gospel! Let’s learn from and step into Paul’s great secret–and, let’s do it together!

-Scott Kindig

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Life is a mess!

You don’t have to be an investigative reporter to validate that statement! The simple act of knowing people affirms this fact. Life is a mess because we are a mess!

Jesus, God’s perfect Son, was sent into this mess on purpose. He willingly came into this mess for us! He lived a perfect life fulfilling all God sent Him to be and to do. He completed His assignment by atoning for our sins through the sacrifice of His own life on the cross, raising from the dead, commissioning the church and ascending to heaven to sit at the right hand of God to intercede for His Church. Jesus’ presence brought beauty into the middle of the mess in this world.

In the book of Acts so far, we have noticed the spread of beauty through the rapid advance of the Gospel. Sunday, we will open the Bible to Acts 15, to notice that the early church was — a MESS! There was a theological controversy, a personality conflict, and a heated discussion amongst leaders. Yet, in the midst of the mess, the Gospel continued to advance! The early church was, and the modern church can be a beautiful mess.

The messy part? you and me
The beautiful part? Jesus
The attraction for the Gospel to continue to advance? Christ in you, the hope of Glory!

Can’t wait for the beautiful mess when we gather, and when we scatter Sunday!

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The Antioch Idea was revolutionary. Revolutions are not the same as resolutions. Resolutions are decisions with the intention toward motion. Revolutions are not incremental. Revolutions are not small alterations of the existing reality.

Revolution brings a new reality.

The American Revolution was not a repaired relationship with England.
The Declaration of Independence defined a new reality:
“We are no longer a colony!”
“If you want us as allies or enemies it is your choice, but we are no longer subjects.”

Antioch was the first place anyone ever called someone else a Christian. Antioch was not a revival; it was not a reformation; it was a revolution. We will ask why, what, and how could this happen again.

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The church at Antioch changed the world.

Why? What happened? What happened in that place among those people that had never happened before?

In the world of chemistry it is called catalysis! It is where elements are brought together, and because they gather, they change–really they mutate; they change each another. Something happens that cannot un-happen.

The Atomic Bomb was catalytic both in history and in category. The church at Antioch was a spiritual explosion that changed the course of human history. In the chemical world there are substances called “inhibitors;” sometimes they are called “negative catalysts.” If “inhibitors” are introduced into a catalytic environment the potential of exponential explosive impact is negated. The church at Antioch was absent “inhibitors” and the environment was rich in catalytic components. The results were the releasing of earthshaking new realities.

Antioch was not a church, as we would recognize it; was a Kingdom-quaking movement. The spiritual reservoir became a spiritual river overflowing its banks and flooding entire cities. Antioch was a resourcing center that set its sights on the world. We will explore this spiritual explosion that changed the world. Let us pray that we could do more than explore the explosion; let us pray that we can experience Antioch!

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“He was eaten by worms and died, but the Word of God multiplied.”

Yes, that is a direct quote; it is from Acts 12:23-24.

The prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever; all men are as grass!”

Some seasons of life are a bit confusing. Sometimes we wonder, “Whom should we trust?” “Where shall we stand?”

In the 16th century, Luther faced trying times and troubling choices. When he was brought before The Emperor of Rome and asked to recant his writings, this was his answer: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound. Here I stand, God help me. Amen.”

As we read Acts we find people whose conscience is captive to the Holy Word and hearts are fired by and filled with the Holy Spirit.

We will open this very book that shook the world and ask the Holy Spirit to do again what He did then.

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Radical Grace!

I really don’t know what else to call it.

There is a man right in the middle of Acts that had spent his life killing people; he was really good at it. It wasn’t personal, it was professional. He is called a “Centurion.” There are several of them in the New Testament, but this one in Acts 10 is the only one named. God set his gaze of grace upon this man who had spend his life as a professional killer–leading, training and executing justice upon all who dared defy Rome.

This Centurion is like Paul but different. Paul killed out of religious passion, the Centurion is described as a “just man” and a “praying man.” This pagan solider of fortune hungered for peace, and God heard his prayer.

What kind of God is this?

These are deep waters. We will dive in.

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On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, we’re asking the question, “Where was God?”

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