The world needs more churches centered on Jesus, what He modeled for us, and what He taught. Jesus illustrates two houses in Matthew 7:24 - 27. One house was built on the rock and the other one on sand. The house built on the rock stood firm despite everything. Jesus asks that our lives be built on His teachings and His foundation. When a community of people live out of that foundation and financially support it - God can do beautiful things through us, with us, and move His mission forward of being a Christ-centered church that loves people as Jesus taught.

Life can become complicated and one of the greatest gifts we can give our families is learning when to say so we can say yes. We see in Acts how the church grows and changes over a relatively short time and how the disciples intentionally decide what other people can do so they can focus on the things that only they can do. When we identify the things in our lives that only we can do we learn where our most important yeses are.

Whatever family you come from we all need a seat at the table. Chairs may seem mundane and ordinary, but if you are invited to sit at the table - they become a significant form of acceptance. The definition of family is having a seat with them. In the book of Matthew, we see Jesus model this for us. We are all a part of God’s family and God has a seat for us with Him. Who in your life needs a seat next to you?

Paul wrote letters to churches to encourage and help in their struggles. This week we read through Philippians 2:1-4 and explored the ways a church is like a family and how we can put the ideas Paul shares into practice. When we find ourselves existing in different types of tension within our families, how can we refocus our energy on valuing others despite our differences?

We define family as the people in your life that you care about. This could be the family you were born into or the family you created. Anytime we let people into our lives, things can be complicated. This week, we read Proverbs 14:26 and what it can tell us about living in the unconditional love of God and learning how to put the weight down that others might place on us or that we unintentionally place on them.

It’s becoming more difficult for people to find God these days. Statistics show us that more and more people declare that they have no affiliation with any beliefs. We want to be a different expression of what a church should be. Our mission is to love people into the acceptance and freedom of Jesus Christ. Still, beyond that - Jesus is our way and our path forward - His way supersedes anything else and we want everyone to join us to experience His love and grace.