Mission Church: Teaching Podcast

For the last five weeks of Wait No More we've been looking ahead at the new ground God has for us. This week (before we celebrate next week) we wanted to pause and recognize all God is doing, real time, over these last few months!

This weekend hundreds of us chose to STEP IN. Two years from now, when we complete our Wait No More Commitment, we will look back on this river crossing and say: Look what I did, look what WE did, and look what GOD did! If you weren't able to be with us this weekend, you can make your commitment here: https://www.waitnomore.wearemission.com/commit

We need a guide and God is the perfect one for us! To break camp and advance we will need guts, unity. inspiration, direction, and encouragement.

Every time you commit yourself to a vision of life transformation, get ready for a river! There is new ground that God is inviting all of us into. It's time to pursue His promises!

When it comes to the camps that God has lovingly invited us to break from and advance to, the truth is - we have been here before. But together we have been asking and need to continue to ask: Who is God and what has he done?God is faithful. God is our provider. God is our leader through His Word and His Spirit.

It's time to break camp and advance. We're all invited into this two-year generosity campaign we're calling Wait No More. What do we need to get in order to get ready to go? Strength, courage, and wisdom.

Darryl Strawberry joined us at 82 Stratford Drive this weekend! Jon and Darryl had an honest conversation about his career in the MLB, the struggles he faced, and the transformation Jesus made in his life.

Over the past few weeks we've talked about how to receive more power and what to do with it, but today we're asking: What's this power for?

If we want access to more power, we've gotta find it in the Holy Spirit! Today, Jon dives into two ways to grow in our dependency on the Spirit: expect waiting and embrace weakness.

We've all got races in our life and we all need power to finish them. When we think of "power" we often think of the flashy, superhero kind of power. But the power of the Holy Spirit isn't loud or flashy. It can be subtle, it can look different than we imagine, but when we humble ourselves to God, he'll give us just enough power to get us through the day.

We've all been asked, "So, where are you from?" But today, our Co-Founding Pastor Tommy Bowman dives deeper into our "fromness". It's less about where you are from and more about who you are from. Because when we truly know who we're from, fullness is experienced.

Jesus left the crowd behind to minister to one. Who is your one?

Our relationship with Jesus is our own, but our responsibility to GO is on all of us! Together, when we obey Jesus' command to "go and make disciples", that is when a movement of Jesus happens.

You've probably heard the story about Jonah and the big fish, but do you know what got him there? God said, "Go!" and Jonah said, "No." Today Jon teaches us the importance of our primary job: believing God! Jonah may have lacked trust in the beginning of His story, but He knew who to call to when he was in trouble. Jonah was helpless but Jonah was not hopeless!

God asked Moses to go back to Egypt, a place filled with a lot of hardship for Moses. So often when God calls us to "go" it is filled with doubt, fear, or discomfort. We see in Moses' story that he wasn't uninterested, it was that he felt inadequate. But God still calls us to go! It just requires us to put more faith and trust in Him.

God has been saying "Go!" from the beginning and today we learned about how God said it in Abrams story. We must all go from a life of self to a life that's sent!

Today, our friend Jeff Brooke teaches us what servanthood is all about: God's heart, our mindset, and the Mission.

Many of us have said this sentence or something like it, "I want to feel closer to God." That's a great thing to desire! And that's where the Holy Spirit comes in. Today, Tommy shows us seven ways we can grow in our dependency on the Spirit.

Confession... not everyone's favorite topic! But an important one in our relationship with Jesus. This message will teach you that confession isn't rehashing how bad you've been, it's rehearsing how good God is.

Prayer is powerful. But it can often leave us feeling as though our prayers are going unanswered. Today, Shawn Williams reminds us that God sees, cares, and loves us deeply.

Savoring scripture isn't always easy, but it is simple. Today, Dan gives us three hacks to start and a really helpful example of how to study the bible.

When it comes to slowing down, celebration probably didn't come to your mind. But today, with some help from the infamous griddle, Jon, Tommy, and Dan are going to help us understand the spiritual practice of celebrating.

There's a major problem in our culture: hurry. But we've gotta plan for you! The practice of slowing. Today, Jon breaks down the acronym SLOW for us.

We loved having Coach Swider with us for Father's Day! It was a powerful message that challenged all of us to examine where we place our identity. We fail because we forget who we are!

Loving our neighbor can be complicated. While we are called to love everyone, we are not called to love everyone the same way. Jon gives us a clear distinction on how to love different people well.

Jesus wants us to be a part of the work He is doing! All we have to do is position our heart to be open and available to love our neighbors.

Loving thy neighbor is uncomfortable when we go over to where they are and get involved in what they need. But it's what Jesus has called us to do! What “neighbor” is God calling you to love this week?

In the midst of a wounded world, what is your response? Instead of throwing up our hands, as followers of Jesus, we need to open our hands with love. Love expressing itself in compassion doesn't turn a blind eye, love sees with eyes wide open.

For Mother's Day this year, we had the pleasure of welcoming Jeanne Stevens back to Mission! She taught us all about the importance of presence from her new book, What's Here Now?

Your giving is relational with God. It's not about a transaction, it's about asking God what He has for you, believing in His promises, and committing to be generous.

Instead of wishing for change, we can create habits that cause change. Are our habits leading us toward a more pure life or just a more productive life?

Change isn't easy, but it isn't impossible! One holy habit at a time can make a huge impact in our life.

Closing the gap doesn't just come from us or just from God, but it comes from all of God AND all of us, all the time. Our habits with God shape who we are. We all have some misconceptions about habits. Today, Jon shows us that a vision of tomorrow creates habits of discipline for today. 

What are the odds that death is the end of the story? We know that death wounds, but death doesn't win!

Every sheep is the same but not every shepherd is. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Luckily for us, we have a good shepherd who came to our rescue.

Jesus is inclusive. He offers to all people the way in which is exclusive; our eternity in Heaven. We know that we will have trouble in this world, but as followers of Jesus, we can count on the promise of eternity with Him.

Jesus is our shepherd. We are all invited to enter through His gate and receive His protection and provision. The Shepherd is calling, will you respond to His voice?

Jesus is the true vine! When we are connected to the true vine of life, we will bear good fruit in our life. Today, pray, "God I trust you, and God I thank you."

Jesus is the bread you have been hungering for! This message will help you open the door and receive the bread of life.

Our position in the world is dark, but Jesus provides our light! Jesus not only provides light in the darkness but offers it to us. We can be light for others through Jesus! When we allow Jesus to be light in us, we will walk in light. Reject the darkness, receive the light, reflect the light. 

Who is Jesus? Well, Jesus answered that Himself! He said, "I am". Today, Jon Peacock helps us understand what that means to prepare us for the next seven weeks of diving into all of the "I am..." statements found in John.

We want to see families following Jesus together throughout the week in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Kaylee Frank and Dan Lovalgia join Jon Peacock today to help us do that! If you want to win at parenting, this message is for you.

If we want to be built to last, we have to depend on the Holy Spirit. If we want to remain in the power of the Spirit, we must constantly be filled with the Spirit!

Today, we had the honor of welcoming Hugh Halter to Mission! He and his wife have been on mission for over 30 years. Him and Dan Ruta share God's larger story for us, the church, and how we can be the church, just not at the church.

When the unexpected test comes, it's too late to get ready, you're either ready or not. If you stay ready, you won't have to get ready! 

Your life is telling a story! Are you making sure yours is of transformation? Today's message is all about how you can be "never the same" in Christ.

Today Jon teaches us how to go from a consumer of the church to a contributor to the church. We are better together!