Recently on a surf trip in central America, we were all surfing at a firing right hander. As set wave approached, I called my buddy into a wave at the point, "Go Go Go!" I was in the position but I had already gotten a few of the medium ones so I decided to be generous, or so I told myself at the time. As I was duck diving, coming up looking over my…

In Luke 6:38 Jesus said: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." This month we are unpacking the concept of Christ-centered generosity. In Luke 6 Jesus gives us the principle for generosity. Jesus encourages us to be generous with our resources whether that be time,…

After being rejected in Nazareth, Jesus gathers His apostles and sends them out in pairs to preach the Good News in the surrounding towns. Now trained as His emissaries, the disciples cast out unclean spirits, anoint people with oil, and perform many healings. In the ancient world where medicine wasn’t the most refined, healing the sick and removing unclean spirits (or people who suffer from mental health issues) must’ve quickly turned you into a…

One of the greatest deceptions is believing that we can find true refreshment through Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, or whatever your preferred form of entertainment may be. In the book of Mark, after Jesus fed the crowd, He went up the mountain to pray. It was His time in the presence of His Father that brought genuine refreshment. As the book of John begins, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word…

John 1 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." I love how John starts his…

In the month of April we looked at what it means to be a disciple of Christ. This month we’re looking at the fruits of discipleship. Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, with Jewish disciples living in a first-century Jewish world. The majority of Jewish kids from the age of six would attend school to learn the Torah, they would learn the Torah from the age of six to ten and by the end of…

Last month we unpacked the idea of #CostlyGrace inspired by the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, ‘The Cost of Discipleship’. Dietrich writes - which cost God much, cannot be cheap for us. The natural conclusion to a grace which cost much is discipleship to Christ.  When Jesus called Matthew, Matthew was sitting at his tax collectors booth. “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the…

In March, our focus will be on exploring the concept of Costly Grace. As part of our themed approach for the year 2024, each month delves into a specific theme, and this month, as previously announced, we will be examining Costly Grace. This theme holds particular significance as we approach Easter towards the end of March, commemorating Jesus' death and resurrection. The inspiration for this month's theme stems from the teachings of theologian Dietrich…