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Topic: Love
God is Waiting
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus teaches about the love of God. Instead of using his power to force us to choose what’s best, God loves us so much that he gives us room to cause him pain in our relationship with him. And then when we do, he waits for us to return to him and runs to meet us. God runs to us because he loves us more than we can fathom. Read More
The Lord is My Shepherd
In the familiar Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus shows us a God who, out of his great love, goes after outcasts deprived of opportunities, safety and rights. Sharing from her own personal experience, Shawna illustrates this love and helps us understand the extreme nature of God’s goodness. Read More
The Fire God
God is a FIRE. To all who are open to him, God’s presence is a fire of love, salvation, healing and purification. To all who are not, God’s presence is experienced as a fire of destruction. Jesus reminds and warns us to build our lives on him; depending upon where our hearts are, God’s fiery and holy love either saves and purifies us, or it destroys. Read More
Trusting Dad
So many of us have a messed up view of God. We don’t understand how our Father in heaven loves us beyond imagination. Because we lack a clear picture of God’s love, we cling to this world and all of its concerns. Our lives can get consumed by worry. But when we see the reality of God’s love, this world’s problems are small by comparison.
Rich Towards God
Many times the modern American church views God as a judge or lawyer and the main goal of the church is to enforce certain rules. While God is the ultimate judge, he is also madly in love with humanity and wants to see everyone restored. If we look at how God has been extravagantly rich towards us, we begin to see what it means for us to be rich towards God and others. Read More
Free to Shine
Jesus came to set us free so that we can shine with his love. But sometimes darkness in our own heart gets in the way of the life he wants for us. Many times our own thoughts, beliefs and feelings are at the root of why we don’t live as Kingdom people. A key to addressing this darkness is to realize that our perceptions are not what’s real, and instead align our thoughts and feelings with God’s truth. Read More
Fighting the Right Enemy
Is there really a spiritual war? Do we believe that there is such a thing as a spiritual reality? If we don’t, we will engage the wrong enemy. Instead of fighting the powers of Satan, we will target other humans, often with hatred and violence. Spiritual warfare practiced through love and prayer is central to the Christian walk, but we need constant reminders in our Western culture that there really is a spiritual war going on. Read More
Taking Back the House
In Luke 11, Jesus talks about this world as a “house” that Satan guards. As Kingdom people, what do we do with that? If we look to Jesus, he simply tells us to take back the house. And how exactly do we do that? We don’t adopt the patterns of Satan and try to overcome violence with violence. Looking again to Jesus, he shows us that the only thing that can overpower evil, and that is self-sacrificial love. Only love can conquer evil; only light can dispel darkness. Read More
Extravagant Forgiveness, Extravagant Love
When we look at the fallen world around us, we often see division, separation, and seclusion. Whether it’s separation by family, country, ethnicity, religion, there is a tendency to sort ourselves into people groups by what we like or do not like. Though this may be natural in this world, it is completely opposite of what the Kingdom of God is about. Jesus came and demonstrated a radical willingness to associate with people of all walks of life with the love of God. Read More
Unexpected Enemies
To follow Christ is to live a life of love. Love is at the center of Jesus’ message and is the central teaching given in the Sermon on the Plain. To love like Christ is to love even when it is not deserved or expected. It is a radical love that calls us to love our enemies. The call to love also includes loving those who are close to us, even when it’s messy. Read More
