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[unleashedya]

Do you love me?

Hey folks! A few weeks ago Pastor Sean preached about John 21 and how we can stand in the way of our own relationship with him. What’s with that? Let’s find out.

Have you ever had a life changing moment? Something that changed how you saw or understood things before? Or even changed your behavior?

Please take a moment to read the whole passage. It’s rich and important and so much more than what you’re going to find on this little webpage.

So Jesus is resurrected and has already visited the disciples twice before. And the disciples are waiting for him at Galilee, but he hasn’t shown up yet. So Peter says, “Let’s go fishing,” which is what they did before they met Christ. It’s a return to their old habits and comforts. A whole night passes and they catch nothing. But then the next morning Jesus shows up and they catch so much they can’t even haul it in.

Then Jesus and Peter have this conversation where Jesus asks Peter, “Simon (Peter’s old name), do you love me?” using a word for love (agapas) that means a deep and unconditional love. And Peter responds, “Lord, you know that I love you,” using a word for love (phileo) that means something along the lines of the love of friends or a fondness. Not the same as agapas. It’s like Jesus asks, “Simon, do you love me deeply and fervently?” and Peter says, “Lord, you know that I’m fond of you.” That’s not exactly a fitting answer considering the weight of the question.

And Jesus responds, “Feed my lambs.” Peter is acting like his old self, fishing, when he should be acting like his new disciple self, and shepherding people.

Again Jesus asks about his agapas love. Again Peter says yes, he has phileo love for him, and again Jesus tells him, “Take care of my sheep.” But the third time, Jesus basically asks Peter, “Simon, are you fond of me?” and Peter says yes, and he’s distraught because Jesus just lowered the bar for Peter to meet. And Jesus again tells him to feed his sheep.

God will always meet us, even if that means he has to meet us at our level. If we won’t rise to God’s level, he’ll come down to ours. And we’re quite possibly limiting what we let God do in our lives when we stay at our own level.

So back on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter was so sure of himself, he promised he would never deny Christ, yet on that same day, Peter denied him three times before the rooster even crowed. Peter probably felt incredibly guilty, heavy, weighty with his own mistakes. How could Christ ever forgive him or use him again? he may have thought. How could Peter say, “Yes, I love you unconditionally,” yet his actions didn’t show it?

Yet Jesus is saying he’s got a plan for Peter, for us. We might say, “That’s all well and good, Jesus, but you don’t actually want me. Didn’t you see what I did back there? I betrayed you. I abandoned you. You don’t want me. I’m no good.” And we go back to fishing because it's what we know and what we can do, but Jesus wants us to keep following him and shepherding.

You might feel like God is meeting you where you are, and you miss God, miss the closeness of your relationship. You might feel like you’ve sinned too much, that you can’t go back, but Jesus is here to meet you.

And Jesus tells Peter about how he will be crucified in Jesus’ name, a great and noble sacrifice, incredibly deep and committed evidence of Peter’s love for Jesus. Jesus is telling Peter how he will still do great things, still honor his King, still be the man he desires to be. He will follow his Lord and spread the gospel. It’s not over for Peter, far from it.

Where we see a mess, Jesus sees potential. We think we’ve screwed it up too far for repair, yet God still uses us. He still has a plan. He meets us where we are and pulls us out of the muck. We're wallowing in our past and he's already ready to move on. He reminds us to quit fishing and start shepherding. He tells us to follow him, and we’re back on track!

And Jesus calls Peter again by his new name, which means “rock,” recognizing again his strength and his right choice of action.

So when God asks if we love him, what do we say? Are we ready to follow Jesus on the adventure of a lifetime?

In Psalm 139, David writes, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

We weren't accidents. God very carefully created each and every single one of us. That's how much love and attention he has for us. A little mud on his beautiful creation doesn't scare him. He's still got his arms wide open.

[unleashedya]

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

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Still Trusting

What type of trust do you live in today? What type of trust do you want to live in? Do you worry about what's going to happen tomorrow? Next week? A year from now? Life can be intimidating. 

In 1 Kings, we see a severe famine in Samaria that has lasted three years. The Lord then tells Elijah to go talk to Ahab. Except Elijah is a prophet, and Ahab is a prophet killer. You can imagine why Elijah may be a little less than eager to see this guy. But God goes with him! People repent and give up their idols! And that's when God sends the rain.

Elijah had to have incredible faith in order to walk up to this king that would likely have killed him. God may be asking you to do something you don't think is possible. It could be something huge, or it could be something that doesn't seem that big a deal at all. But we never know how God may be using us to affect other people's lives.

Is there an area that you're resisting to hand over to God? A relationship? A hope? A job? God wants to be involved in all of it. He wants to bless you in all of it.

It's easy to trust someone you're close to. So spend more time with God! Get to know him! Learn that he really does want what's best for you and will never stop taking care of you. Fall into his trust.

Relevant verses: 1 Kings 18 Matthew 6:34

[unleashedya]

The reality of naked trust is the life of the pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious, and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it his presence and his promise.

Brennan Manning

[unleashedya]

Trusting God, Even When It Doesn't Make Sense

Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! This message is about trusting in God. Our hope is to inspire you, to help build your trust in God. And if we're talking going to theme up with independence and 7/4, trusting in God is one of the most liberating things you can do!

Proverbs 3:5,6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (This is one of those verses you just want to post up all over your place and scribble in your notebooks. :])

Ever hear about Noah? God tells him to build a giant boat for a flood that no one believes is coming, right? And he's working on this thing for over 100 years, even while everyone around him is laughing and making fun of him, because God told him to do it.

It's not uncommon for God to test us, asking us to do things that require a ton of trust. Like studying something and you don't really know why, or breaking up, staying together, volunteering without any reward, or being willing to be used by God. But it's not easy to follow God's will without any idea of what in the world he's doing.

That's why we need to "not depend on [our] own understanding." Noah didn't ask his friends how to make this boat, nor did he tell God he would figure it out on his own. That, or not building the boat at all, would've been following his own understanding. And, believe it or not, God has a much better and clearer idea of what's going on in the universe than we do, so maybe it does make sense to follow his directed path...

If you're still not convinced, 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become "fools" so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight...The Lord know that the thoughts of the wise are futile."

So if you think you're wise by this world's standards, you need to give that up. To be wise here is to have it all under control, to be in control, to have a plan. To be wise in God is to give it all up to him, to trust him, even when that doesn't make a lick of earthly sense.

Unless you trust, which will allow God to do impossible things in your life, then you won't be able to believe. Until you actually let him catch you and see all he can do, you won't get it.

So it's our job to seek his will in all we do. Instead of keeping a firm grip on all we got going on, we need to hand it all over to God daily. Every part of life, from your commute to your classroom to diaper changing to conference calls should be handed over to God. 

And Jesus is the most incredible example of that trust. It's up to us to make a choice for either God's will or our own will every day, every hour. Jesus asked his Father to take him out of his dire situation, but even then Jesus said, "Yet not as I will, but as you will."

It's not easy to trust, and often we can't understand it, but God has good plans for us. And he will bless you abundantly.

Verses from this message:

Proverbs 3:5,6 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 Genesis 6:11-14 Matthew 26:39

[unleashedya]

Christian Atheism - Do I Have to Forgive?

Hi folks! So we're still in our this series about Christian Atheism, what it looks like when we say we love Jesus but we're not really acting anything like Him. Sure, we're generally good people, but what does it mean to reflect Christ? This week's recap is about forgiveness. It's not always easy, and certainly not always fun, but it is seriously important. So let's talk about it!

Matthew 18:18-35

So when Jesus is talking about the kingdom life and not living for earth, Peter asks him how many times we're supposed to forgive someone who wrongs us. 7 times? That's more than enough, right? But Jesus' answer isn't limited to a number; it's explained by a story.

The rules back then were very similar to the rules now. If you owe, you pay. If you can't pay, you sell your stuff. You sell yourself and your family into indentured servitude. There's no way around that. You owe, you pay.

But Jesus tells this story of this lord settling the debt owed to him by several people who are now slaves to him because they can't pay. One of these guys owes the lord 10,000 talents (and as a slave, you could only earn 1 talent (which is a fat chunk of money) every 15-20 years. You do the math.). How he racked up that much debt, we can only guess. The point is that the lord wants to collect on this crazy debt, even if that means this man's whole family has to go into slavery. And this slave, who knows he doesn't have a hope in the world of getting out of this debt, throws himself on the floor and begs the lord for time to pay the sum back (which is impossible, by the way. as It would take him more than 500 years to work it off).

And the slave knows the rules. You owe, you pay. That's it. He's essentially screwed; he's out of options. But then this lord does something crazy. He feels compassion for this slave and forgives his entire debt. Just like that. All gone. Poof. From 500 years' slavery for him and his entire family to the entire weight lifted off. He is a free man once again and doesn't owe a dime.

But if the rule is "you owe, you pay," who's going to pay? Someone has to! Yet this lord is establishing a new system: You owe, he pays. This is the economy of grace.

Well, another slave owes this guy, the one who was just forgiven, 100 denarii, which is like three-months' wages (not 500 years'...). And do you know what he does? He grabs his fellow slave (think coworker) around the neck and demands that he gets his 100 denarii back right now! The man says, "I'm sorry, I can't pay right now! Just give me time!" But the first guy doesn't listen and throws his coworker in jail.

Wait a minute, wasn't this guy just forgiven of 2000x that amount by another? Isn't he punishing him for a crime he himself was also guilty of? What's the deal? So another coworker sees this and gets upset enough to tell the lord, their boss, what he saw.

Then the lord comes to the first guilty guy and says something like, "Dude! I forgave you! Why couldn't you forgive him? You thought you could just take what I gave you and keep living the same selfish way? No, man! It doesn't work like that!" And the lord hands this man over to torturers until he can pay back all that he owes.

And Jesus ends the story with, "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” Woah. Heavy stuff.

We have to put it into perspective. Every time we sin, every time we cheat someone or lie or think impure thoughts or do something we know we ought not, those sins are stacking up into this enormous pile of debt, this huge case against us. Way more than 500 years of labor that we can never repay.

When we recognize that Jesus changed the rules, that he paid for our massive debt, separating our sins as from us as far as the east is from the west, how can we dare to not forgive those around us for a few pennies' worth of harm done in comparison?

You may think that what your mom said is unforgivable, or what your dad did is atrocious, or what someone from high school did was cruel. However, holding a grudge only hurts you. It poisons relationships. It cripples your life. It's not worth it.

Again, that doesn't mean it's easy. Heck, forgiving can be incredibly hard. And it doesn't generally happen overnight. But that's why we make the effort and God gives us the tools. When we show up, he'll get our hearts there.

Read about Corrie Ten Boom's incredible experience of God's forgiveness of a Nazi soldier responsible for her sister's death here. This forgiveness stuff is real, guys.

Who do you need to forgive? Who do you want to punish? You need to hand that over to God. Let him be the judge. And remember your incredibly towering, massive debts have been forgiven. Let that change your heart.

And if you think God could never forgive you, because you've done too much, look at Paul. The man literally murdered Christians before he found Christ. If God could not only forgive him but also use him to witness to the world, even to write part of the Bible, then why can't He do the same for us? It's time to open our eyes.

[unleashedya]

Christian Atheism - My Stuff Is My Stuff

So we're in this series where we examine our lives to determine whether or not our actions and attitudes are really reflecting Christ or not. We may believe in God, but are we acting like Christ or are we acting like atheists? It's a seriously tough question. 5/8's sermon was a really broad view, but in 5/15's sermon Pastor Sean zoomed in on a topic that's relevant to each of us and took a look at two different stories. Ready to see what it's all about? Awesome.

First Story: Rich Man & Lazarus In Luke 16 we hear Jesus teach a parable about a rich man, who lives a life of utter luxury, and a poor man, who begs for scraps at the rich man's gates and can barely move because of his open sores. After time, both the rich man and Lazarus die. The Lazarus goes to heaven, and the rich man goes to torment. But why?

And if he's going to torment for being rich, which is a hard pill to swallow, then how is "rich" defined?

Who's Rich? When we're kids, it's obviously when you have a million dollars, right? Who wants to be a millionaire? Betting a million dollars with your friends. "If I had a million dollars..." Being a millionaire could easily be the rung to define being "rich."

But when Fidelity interviewed 1000 millionaires, each with an average financial worth of $3.5 million, asking if they believed they were rich, and the majority of them said no. They said they would define themselves as rich around $7.5m, more than double of their current worth.

Because we tend to define ourselves financially by comparison. "Well, I'd be rich if I had the net worth of Bill Gates or Donald Trump. Then I'd be rich!" Likewise, we define our moral integrity by comparison. "I'm essentially a good person. I mean, it's not like I'm Charles Manson or anything. In fact, I'm a great person!" Frankly, we need to think about our standards and our goals.

As far as financial worth, in biblical times a rich person would likely be defined as having the luxury and security to throw away old food to make room for new food. While 800 million people around the world will not eat today, including 300 children, others of us, the rich, will be throwing away food because we let it spoil, or it was just too much on our plates.

Rich People Lead Rich Lives (Prepare yourself for a little bit of snark...) Rich people also go to grocery stores where there is a grand selection of different types of foods and even different brands of different foods. Rich people will then face the challenge of having to agree with their family members on which foods and which brands they can all enjoy. When cooking is just too much trouble, rich people can also go out to eat, where someone else will cook and deliver whatever is ordered from a wide selection of food, not to mention a wide selection of restaurants. These rich people will often pay for a bottle of clean, potable water, another luxury in many parts of the world. Rich people have even been known to pay for a caffeinated addition to their water in coffee or tea. And sometimes rich people will look in their closets of many clothes and declare that they simply have nothing to wear. Rich people will often have a garage to park their car(s), when there are people around the world without a roof for their heads, let alone their nonexistent vehicles. And sometimes these rich people will voluntarily trade their working cars for newer working cars.

You might say, "C'mon, rich is really a relative term. I can have a closet and a car and go to In-N-Out and still be far from rich." But Jesus teaches us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." If you have enough physical food for more than today, you're rich. 92% of the world does not have that luxury. But, in all likelihood, you do. You're rich. I'm rich. Jesus was talking about us when he used the word "rich."

Back to the Rich Man & Lazarus So why did the rich man go to torment? Just because he was rich? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 1 Timothy 6:17-18 warns the rich not to be arrogant but to put our hope in God and to do good, rich, giving deeds. So being rich and godly can go hand in hand.

And Jesus is telling this parable with the Pharisees around, who believed that wealth had to do with spiritual maturity, which is ridiculous, but they loved their wealth. The rich man walked past Lazarus daily and did nothing to help him. The point of this parable is a challenge in how you use your resources. 

So the rich man didn't go to torment just for being rich. It's much deeper than that. The rich man didn't have his heart right with God, which kept him from having the right heart about his resources and the people around him, which led to torment. It's cause and effect.

When God's in you, you love what he loves. You care about what he cares about. It's easy to be generous because you're serving God, not your wealth.

Second Story: Zacchaeus In Luke 19, there's this tax collector named Zaccaeus, and being a tax collector was one of the most traitorous and dishonest positions you could have. You were serving Rome instead of your Jewish brethren, and you usually demanded extra taxes, so you could cut a big chunk off the top. It was common practice as a tax collector to put money first.

But when Jesus comes to town, Zacchaeus, this terrible sinner who steals from his fellow Jews and is hated by everyone, wants to see him. He wants to hear what Jesus has to say. But he's short. The Bible says so. And it's not like anyone is going to make room for this short guy to get a good view, because they all hate him. So he does something that, at that time, was truly considered humiliating behavior for a grown man. He climbs a tree, sacrificing his dignity, just so he can see Jesus.

Up to this point, Zacchaeus had been serving money, which became his master and his idol. His goal was to get enough money, then he'd have peace, but that wasn't working. We sometimes do that too, "If I could just marry this girl!" "If he would just propose!" "If I could just get this job, then my life would be perfect! Then it will all fall into place. Then my life will be complete." But only God can give you that peace and contentedness. There is no other checkpoint.

Where's your peace? Are you at peace based on how much money is in the bank? Or on God? If someone were to say, "There is no God," or "You don't have any money in the bank," which one causes you more stress? 

Zacchaeus was miserable. He had money and he could get more, but he must've realized that wasn't getting him anywhere. He was still going to die one day. But then he hears about Jesus, this guy who loves tax collectors and prostitutes.

And Jesus sees Zacchaeus' desire for change, and of all the people there, including religious leaders, he goes to Zacchaeus' dinner, the thieving traitor's house! Jesus accepts Zacchaeus first, then Zacchaeus realizes Jesus' heart, then his own heart is changed. Then his actions change too, returning stolen money at interest and giving half of all he owns to the poor! (Does that pattern sound familiar? Accept, believe, behave....)

Actions Follow Heart Actions are a result of a changed heart. When Jesus tells Zacchaeus "Today salvation has come to this house" it's because Zacchaeus believed, not because he gave. He is saved by grace, and that's what changes his actions. Likewise, we forgive others because our hearts are changed and we understand how crazy it is that God forgave us. It's a cause and effect of God's love in our life.

So then you may be tempted to ask, "Okay then, what am I supposed to give? Z-man gave 50%, tithe says 10%, so what's the right answer?" Well that's a religious-focused question instead of a God-focused question. The right questions would be, "God, what can I give? How do I give?" Instead of looking for the "right" answer, we should be looking for opportunity to love like God loves.

What are you doing with your stuff? So what are you doing with your physical stuff? Your skills and talents? Is your attitude where you're looking for opportunities to use them for God, or one where you're looking to keep them for yourself and your own gain?

Across our country, people only give away 1.5% of what they earn, except Christians, who give away 2.5%. Wait, what? That's it? And at our young adults group, 86% of us give little to nothing. Man.

And this isn't about heaping a ton of guilt on you or telling you what to do. It's about you and God. Start praying and asking God both about how you can get your finances right and where you can give what you really want to give. It's about a change of attitude and seeking him. And God will certainly meet you and tell you what you need to hear. And he's going to change your life along the way. :]

Relevant passages: Luke 16 Luke 19 1 Timothy 6:17-18 Matthew 6

[unleashedya]

Christian Atheists - What do you actually do?

Hey all! Welcome back. :] Pastor Sean is starting a new series (a rather challenging one) that makes us ask ourselves an important question: our words may reflect Christ, but do our actions? Are we living like Christians or are we living like atheists? If we want big change in our lives, in the world, if we want revival, we need to act. We're not waiting for God. God's waiting on us. Woah, that raised the stakes a little, didn't it?

So we've got 3 questions we need to ask ourselves to honestly figure out where we stand. Whether we've been walking with God for awhile or we're just looking into what Christianity is all about, these are important things to consider.

1. Am I distracted by affluence?

In Acts 5, we see the apostles being beaten half to death for speaking in the name of Jesus. But when they're released, they don't complain. They rejoice, because they were considered worthy enough to suffer in God's name. And they didn't stop teaching about Jesus!

How the heck did they find that kind of joy after being beaten? How did they see that in a positive light?

During the South African Reconciliation Commission, there was one white police officer who confessed to brutally torturing and murdering this Christian woman's husband and son. And do you know what she did? She forgave him and, more than that, asked for him to periodically come over for dinner, because she had a lot of love to give and no one to give it to. You can read more about the event in Rob Harley's The Power of the Story. 

How did she come to that place of forgiveness? Like the disciples, she made an incredible choice that wasn't logical from earth's perspective. God forgave her. So she chose to forgive others.

Whom do we need to forgive? God forgave us. How can we say we're following Christ if we're not passing on the grace that He showed to us? If we're seeing God's forgiveness clearly, then how can we cling to that hurt?

More than that, she prepared her heart with scripture. She memorized the Word to guard her thoughts from a more natural and negative disposition to what God had in store.

Though the apostles didn't have the Bible in text like we do today, perhaps they had memorized the Sermon on the Mount, including Matthew 5:10: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Being in a Christian in this first-world country doesn't usually cost us our lives or the lives of our family. We're not generally physically persecuted or threatened. But if we were, would you stick it out? Or would you fold?

Are you distracted by affluence? By money or new electronics or the goal of a new car? How do you spend your time? Where's your mind? We spend more time on Facebook than on our face before God. Sometimes even during service, we can find ourselves checking our texts, as if that were more important. The comforts with which God blesses us can become the idols that distract us if we're not paying attention.

When we choose to stop the distraction and put God at the helm, we will have victory and freedom over the issue and head towards victory over the world. By giving God domain, "The battle is won long before the fight begins," to angle a quote of Mohammed Ali.

2. Am I living out grace?

Grace means unmerited favor. That means that you did nothing whatsoever to place yourself in a right position for God to love you. You haven't earned it at all. You could never earn it. It's all God's grace.

Religious people often don't like grace because it means they're not rewarded for their merit. It means they're unworthy, like we all are. In Acts 5, we see that it's religious priests that are arresting the apostles, not anyone from the secular world, because they can't accept grace because it negates their perceived value of their own actions.

In Romans 6, Paul teaches us that sin is not a part of us. Sin is a separate entity that borrows our body parts when we give it permission to. Sin can borrow your eyes to stare at a pretty girl walking down the street for too long. Sin can borrow your mouth to say unfair things to a family member. Sin can borrow your ears to listen to inappropriate words and attitudes. Sin can do a lot of damage, but only if you give it permission to use those parts of you. Through Jesus we can tell sin no. Through his sacrifice we can conquer sin.

So how can we expect anyone who hasn't yet discovered what all Jesus can do in their lives to not sin? It's easy to say, "Fix yourself, behave, then we'll accept you," but the Bible says, "We accept you, and hopefully because you're loved and accepted, you'll believe, then you'll behave." It's be accepted, believe, behave.

Are we living out grace? Are we acting like a church brimming with love and grace, embracing each other from all walks of life? There are practical applications. When someone comes in and you don't think they're dressed right or they look "weird," talk to them, be kind to them, don't ignore them or look at them funny. 

And Jesus hung out with the sinners, so we should be doing the same! It doesn't matter what other people think or say. If we're the kids of God, shouldn't we be really looking for the marginalized? The abandoned? The lonely and hurt?

Where do we need to go within SCV? Or your own city? Most likely in the same areas with the drugs, the poverty, and the homelessness. You might say, "But it's dirty and uncomfortable..." If we only stick to what's easy and clean and comfortable, change is only going to be shallow and temporary. If you want to plant seeds, you're going to get your hands dirty.

We can't expect people to change before they get to the cross. Let's get them here, and let them hear the good news. The Holy Spirit will do a lot better job of transformation than we can do trying to tell someone to change.

3. Am I willing to suffer or sacrifice for the cause of Christ?

In Acts 5, the apostles were beaten half to death. In Sri Lanka, Christians today are abused, threatened, and killed. Seriously. This still happens. But what's amazing is how that opposition strengthens their faith, and they see miracles and healing every day! Through trial, through pain, through suffering and sacrifice, their faith grows, which grows the Kingdom.

You might be tempted to say, "But you just reminded us that we're saved by grace, not by our own efforts." But "Grace is not opposed to effort! Grace is opposed to earning!" –Dallas Willard. We should be opposed to earning grace, not opposed to discipline and discipleship and sacrifice.

And suffering needs to have its perspective too. It's easy when something bad happens to say, "God, why did you abandon me? Why did you have to make my life so sucky?" In Sri Lanka, with their kind of faith, they may respond with: "Wow, God considers me worthy enough to suffer for his name! I know God will use this like he uses everything, and his Kingdom will be expanded because I live for him! Here I am, God! I'm all yours!"

The disciples understood the weight of worthiness. They understood Christ on the cross, that you can be feeling lonely, depressed, lost in a dark world, and you're still in the middle of the will of God. When was Jesus in the very center of the Father's will? When he was on the cross dying for the sins of the world.

So how do you respond? If you say, "God, things suck. I don't know if I trust you with my life," God may say something like, "You're giving up that easy? I don't know if I can trust you with all I've got for you."

When the disciples were in prison, the walls shook and the shackles were loosed. God used their imprisonment to show his miraculous power! When you're in prison, will you trust God even when he isn't shaking the walls? Will you hang on a little longer to see what he does?

Here's another challenge for you. Are you giving your all to God or just the leftovers? How do you use your time, your money, your talents, your attitude? Do they glorify God? Sacrifices aren't just in the Bible or Sri Lanka. They can be in our daily choices.

If we really want revival, we've got to confront ourselves first. Distracted by affluence? Make a choice to stop. Living out grace? Apologize. Forgive. Who's around you that you think is unworthy? Well, we're actually all in the same unworthy boat. Praise God. ;] Will you give it all away? Give your life to God, both in words and actions.

When we get there, then revival will come and change this valley, change this world.

[unleashedya]

He Died on the Cross

Jesus' death is a really tough story to tell, but Pastor Sean did a fantastic job a couple Thursdays ago in bringing it and its history to life. So I only have a few words for everyone here.

Jesus experienced more pain than was humanly possible. By the abuse he received, he should've died hours before he made it to the cross, but his Father kept him alive to fulfill prophesy. He sweat blood, making his skin incredibly sensitive. He took hours of beatings and blood loss and lashings with barbed bones literally tearing off his flesh. He was humiliated and spat upon. A crown of thorns was forced into his skull. He was alone for so much of those two nights, abandoned by his friends and disciples when he needed them most. He asked his Father for a way out, but received none. He didn't fight back. He didn't call all of the angels and creation to rescue him. He screamed in pain. After all that, he finally died of asphyxiation on the cross, saying, "It is finished."

And he did it all for you. He went through all of that for you. So that you could live. So that you could be reunited with God.

If we accept Jesus and his sacrifice, we never have to know that pain. And that's God's gift to us. That we live because his Son died. It's by no means fair. But it is love.

[unleashedya]

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Oscar Wilde

Couldn't help but share when the "I Choose You" message is so much about being the wonderful human being God created you to be. Love yourself (in healthy doses)! God already does! ;]

[unleashedya]

Too silly and fun not to share. Happy Sunday!

"Time Travelers in Paris"

[unleashedya]

I Choose You!

Despite the title, this message has nothing to do with Pikachu or Ash Ketchum. I mean, I could try to draw the parallel, but I think I'll just stick to Pastor Sean's message instead...

We all remember playing sports when we were kids and standing in that dreaded line up, just waiting to get picked and praying that you weren't last. And as we grow up we feel similar pressure while we wait to be accepted into college or we hope we're chosen for a promotion. We like being picked and we don't want to be picked last!

In 1 Peter 2:9 we're told, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

You are a chosen people. Jesus chose you! He wants you on his team, and he picked you first. And you don't have to worry about how good you are, because he's good enough.

But society without God doesn't really get it. People are under all this pressure, always trying to change themselves, to look more attractive, to be thinner, to get a glamorous job, to do whatever they have to in order to be our media's prescribed definition of "successful." We want to be accepted, but no matter how well we fit the criteria, the truth is we still won't feel good enough.

In Psalm 139:13-16 David writes about how carefully God created each of us, "knitted me together in my mother's womb." That we were expertly crafted personally by God, that he even knows every day we live before we drew our first breath.

How AWESOME is that!? God knew us before we were born, before anyone here ever had a chance to reject us or accept us or love us. Before we made any mistakes or victories, he chose us. He said, "I choose you!" He looked at what he made, the whole beautiful package he created, with the bright eyes and the curly hair and the big nose, and he chose us. Before we existed on earth, God chose us. God chose you. He wants you on his team.

God even wanted Paul on his team. And before Paul became the passionate man of God who wrote much of the New Testament, he was intensely persecuting and killing Christians. No joke. In Acts 9 we see what happened.

One day on his journey, Saul (this was before he was called Paul) was stopped by a light from heaven, and the voice of Jesus confronted him and told Saul to go into the city of Damascus and follow his further instructions.

Meanwhile in Damascus there's a disciple named Ananias, and God tells Ananias to go find Saul. Well Ananias knows exactly Saul's reputation and he's not too keen on the idea. He says something like, "Uhh, are you sure God? Have you met Saul? I think you're thinking of another guy, because you don't want Saul on your team."

And God says, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."

Some of you might think you're not qualified, or that Jesus overlooks you, that there's no place in the kingdom for you.

But Jesus chose you. He chooses you everyday. So when temptation comes along and the world says to you, "Hey, we want you on our team. Come do what we do. You're coming with us," God says, "No, back off, he's not yours to take!"

God chose you. And nothing is going to deter him. Not how you look, not how you dress, not what you did last night or last year. God still says, "I choose you!" And he's not going to stop saying it. 

God chose Saul, a murderer, to become the man who wrote much of the New Testament, performed miracles, healed people. Imagine what God can do through you if you give your life over to him.

How exciting! Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out the verses below to see in greater detail God's love for you. We'll see you Thursday! 

1 Peter 2:9 Psalm 139:13-16 Acts 9:3-15 Romans 10:9 Matthew 11:28 Deuteronomy 31:8 Ephesians 2:10

[unleashedya]

A Greater Purpose - Changing Lives

Hi friends! This week's sermon was part of Pastor Sean's series on our Greater Purpose, this time focusing specifically on Changing Lives. Check it out!

Our Purpose Alright, so it's no secret that our purpose at Unleashed is all about Loving God, Serving People, and Changing Lives. We want to live lives of impact and purpose. We don't just want to wade through life, right? So in Matthew 22 we see Jesus explaining to the Pharisees about how to live a life with purpose, to set our priorities straight. He tells them (and us) “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’...and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Well the Pharisees weren't exactly focused on loving God and loving and serving what He loved (people). They were much better at the self-righteous check list of keeping the laws than really living and acting in love. Jesus told them to fix their priorities. And when you do get it lined up, your (1) vertical relationship in loving God and your (2) horizontal relationship in serving His people, then (3) Changing Lives is the assured result! What a promising consequence! One plus two equals three! Every time.

Peter & John at the Temple Gate In Acts 3, we see Peter and John head to pray at the temple. On their way, they pass through the "Beautiful" gate, where a beggar man with a deformed ankle, who would not be classified as beautiful himself, asks them for money. Peter says he has no money, "but what I do have I give you." And in the name of Jesus, he offers his hand and the beggar man stands and is healed! Like his ankle was deformed and out of joint and totally useless before, and now he's jumping up and praising God!

So what all just happened? First off, Peter and John took action to love God. They went  to pray. If they hadn't gone to pray, they wouldn't have met the man at the gates.

Then there's this crippled man hoping for handouts. Peter and John could've walked past, like so many others had. They may have even passed him on previous occasions. But this time they serve people. When Peter offers his hands, he doesn't give him $1 or some spare change or even $20. He gives this man healing, by God's love.

And it doesn't end there. This man was leaping and praising God. That man's life is changed. And people noticed! How could they not! God's power was spilling over from Peter and John and onto those around them. The incredible and inevitable consequence of Loving God + Serving People => Changing Lives. 

And it has no limit. One changed life affects another which affects another. 

There's a church in the Midwest with an emblem of baby dragonflies, and here's why: “Our logo depicts a Dragonfly Nymph becoming an adult Dragonfly. They crawl around underwater in the mud until a time when God calls them to climb up to the sunshine and get their wings.”

It's a choice to climb up to the sun and leave behind the muddy, dirty past. That man by the "beautiful" gates sought beauty and purpose, though he wasn't beautiful, yet God called him. God is calling us up to the light to serve others he loves, so they can climb out of the mud and into the light too. 

Now may be a good time to ask ourselves, where are we out of alignment with God's purpose? Is there something or someone we're really attaching ourselves to, when we should be depending on God? He's got such wonderful lives full of purpose and light and love for us. Let's seek Him, love Him, serve whom He loves, and change the lives of others as well as our own. <3

Thanks for stopping by! Here are some of the verses we looked at this week:

Matthew 22:34-40 Acts 3:1-10

[unleashedya]

A Greater Purpose - Serving People

Hello all! This past Thursday Pastor Sean continued with our series on our Greater Purpose, this week focusing on Serving People. Take a look!

Our Purpose at Unleashed Loving God, Serving People, Changing Lives. It’s what we do. It’s a way of life. It’s what we want written on our hearts and sitting on our lips. It’s our defining purpose.

Last week we talked about Loving God, our primary purpose. God absolutely comes first. And that’s the vertical relationship we have with Him. When we make loving God our foundation, that opens up avenues to doing amazing things for God!

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Then Jesus takes it to another level. Our relationship with God isn’t just vertical; it’s also horizontal.

Loving What God Loves When you love someone, you not only love them, but you also love the things they love.

The Pharisees didn’t get that. They may have been loving God as best as they knew how, but they weren’t loving what God loved, and they were making it impossible for the people God loved to love Him.

God loves people. Jesus wanted the Pharisees, and wants us, to love people like He does. To act on it.

It’s easy to get upset if someone cuts you off on the freeway, makes a rude remark, or does something to irritate you. It’s easy to think that you’re better than that person. But we’re here to serve. We’re here to love.

So Purpose #1 is Loving God.

Purpose #2 is Serving People. Which is exactly what Jesus was all about. And He told the Pharisees that if they loved God, then they would love what God loves.

The Bible talks about loving one another over and over again.

In Galatians 5:13, Paul says, “Serve one another in love.”

The first four of the Ten Commandments about Loving God, and the last six are about Loving and Serving People. FIVE: “You shall honor your father and mother.” SIX: “You shall not kill.” SEVEN: “You shall not commit adultery.” EIGHT: “You shall not steal.” NINE: “You shall not bear false witness.” TEN: “You shall not covet.”

In Romans 13:8-12, Paul says “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law…” He goes on to describe how the latter commandments are indeed summed up in “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and how we must act now to “cast off the works of darkness.”

In a world without purpose, we as believers must have purpose. In a society that looks at the Church as a judgmental and irrelevant institution, we can show them through love and service how untrue that is. And by loving and serving those He loves, we’re ultimately serving and loving God! How cool!

Serving is Healthy

Serving at the church is not only necessary for its operation, but it’s also an opportunity for us to contribute. It’s healthy for us to give and be humble, and builds wonderful community.

Serving at home, in chores or otherwise, is an opportunity to exercise teamwork, sacrifice, and, perhaps most obviously, love.

When we give of ourselves, we grow. We develop as leaders. We change the world.

Where Are You Serving?

If you’re looking for a place to serve, we have lots of opportunities with the Tech, Experience, Worship, Outreach, Prayer, Security, and Hospitality teams. Please challenge yourself to volunteer.

If you’re already serving, ask your leader about ways you can take leadership over your area.

If you’ve got a heart for outreach, we have a College of the Canyons outreach that may be perfect for you.

If we want to grow as a church and really impact our community, we need to be ready to receive what God sends our way. We need to challenge ourselves and rise to the occasion, to love and serve others to the best of our ability.

Relevant Bible Verses:

Matthew 22:34-40 John 15:13 Galatians 5:13 Romans 13:8-12 1 Peter 4:10 Deuteronomy 10:12

[unleashedya]

A Greater Purpose - Loving God

Hey everyone! Here’s your nifty recap of Pastor Sean’s message this past Thursday, all about our greater purpose in loving God.

You may have noticed that Unleashed is all about “Loving God, Serving People, and Changing Lives.” But we don’t just want to talk about it; we want to live it. As a church we want to understand why we’re here and what we need to be doing while we’re here, starting with Loving God. So let’s talk about it!

In Matthew 22, we see the Pharisees and Sadducees trying to stump Jesus and get him in trouble with all these questions about what’s truly right, and to no avail. Finally in Matthew 22:34-38, Jesus stumps them, saying the greatest commandment is “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.”

From an outside perspective the Pharisees may have seemed obsessed with God, but they weren't living it. Their belief system was focused on themselves. How many rules could they keep and how well, and that’s what their world revolved around. It was about image and self-accomplishment. God had little to do with their actions.

In so many churches, they expect someone to come through their doors and be some cookie cutter type of person. This doesn’t work though! People think you become, then believe, then you belong here. When in fact it’s the opposite. Unleashed is a place where you belong; feel a part of us, accepted, and welcomed no matter what; then hopefully, when you experience the love of God from people here and through the power of the Word and worship, you’ll believe in Jesus. It's at that point when the Lord will bring power and transformation in your life. But that’s not until the end. It’s belong, believe, become.

So Jesus says: Put God first! It only makes sense! Then everything will fall in place after.

The first four of the Ten Commandments about keeping our focus on God: ONE: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” TWO: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” (no idols) THREE: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” FOUR: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Now do we do all we do with God and the church to love God or to feel good? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to feel good or wanting to get your life in order, as long as God is put first. As long as He is your focus. Then everything else will fall into place.

So let’s make it our purpose as a church to love God and seek Him first and foremost! Whether it’s through daily Bible study at home or life groups once a week or a really active and awesome prayer life, we can put God first and see Him take care of the rest.

How awesome! We hope you got some good stuff out of this week’s message. See you all next week!

And here are some of the verses we checked out this week that show how important it is to put God first:

Matthew 22:34-38 Matthew 6:33 Luke 10:38-42

[unleashedya]

Real Love - Looking for Fulfillment

Hey all!

This past Thursday, we had another awesome night at our Unleashed Young Adults service. This week Pastor Sean continued with his series on Real Love and how to have really wonderful relationships.

Here are some of the big pictures he illustrated, in case you missed it or you want a recap! (And we know it's lengthy...but bear with us! Later blog posts will be shorter, we promise!)

The truth is we’re flawed creatures. And this can become really obvious when we’re in a relationship and we start asking questions like “what can I get out of this?” and “how can this benefit me?” And sometimes we don’t even realize it, but we’re really thinking way too much about ourselves and our needs.

But the number one enemy of relationships causes more problems then you can wrap your head around. And it has nothing to do with hogging the sheets or leaving the seat up.

Pastor Sean told us a story about how he has this one friend with a pretty tough life, and he’s working through it, doing his best. But then there’s this girl…and suddenly it’s all about how if he gets her, then everything else will fall into place. It’s like every other problem will be solved if he can just get this girl. Finally then life will be smooth and awesome. You might know someone like that or that might sound like something you’ve experienced yourself. Believe it or not, there’s an old-school real life story that deals with this same problem in Genesis 29. (And you should really read the whole story when you have time, because it's crazy, and this blog post is not going to do it justice!)

Jacob and Esau Father Abraham had many sons-- er, one son that we’re talking about, named Isaac. Isaac married Rebecca, and then they had two sons named Jacob and Esau. So to sum up a pretty brutal brotherhood, Jacob deceives his brother and father into getting his older brother’s birthright and blessing, which is a really big deal. Well once his brother Esau finds out what Jacob has done, Esau swears to kill his brother, so Jacob has no choice but to run away to his Uncle Laban’s place far away. At this point, Jacob has nothing. He’s ruined his relationship with his brother and father, deceiving them both. He’s miles and miles away from the one woman who loves him, his mother. His life appears worthless, lonely, insignificant.

Jacob and Rachel Once Jacob arrives at his Uncle Laban’s place, Jacob meets Laban’s two daughters, Leah and her younger sister Rachel. Well Rachel is curvy and beautiful and Leah has “weak eyes.” Guess who Jacob wants to get with? And he’s so desperate to get with Rachel, that he promises Laban he’ll work for 7 years herding sheep just to marry Rachel, which is crazy, even back then. But it’s not because he’s so in love with Rachel, it's not this incredibly romantic gesture. He’s desperate for validation, for feeling worthy, feeling fulfilled. His life is a real mess, and he thinks that if he could just get this girl, then everything will be alright. His life will be restored. The void will be filled.

Our Pseudo-saviors In Denial of Death, secular atheist Ernest Becker writes about how Americans "aren’t willing to admit the degree in which we will go to make up for [our] lack of spiritual fulfillment." So we go looking for it in our soul mates, the perfect solution to our problems.

You know what that looks like in our world? Men doing whatever they have to in order to have sex with attractive women in order to feel successful and fulfilled. And women will go out looking to have sex with powerful men so she can feel important. Jacob did it. We do it. We make saviors of the opposite sex, hoping that they will save us from our own hurt, fill our void, make us important.

Not What He Thought Alright, back to Jacob. 7 years pass, the wedding day finally shows up. As is tradition, the bride is veiled for the entire wedding event, sun up to sun down, in a veil you can barely see through. And that night, Jacob and his wife spend the night together in the dark, but in the morning, he sees it’s Leah in his bed, not Rachel! What!? It was Leah veiled the whole time! But when Jacob goes to yell at Laban, and says, “You deceived me!” Jacob realizes his father Isaac said the exact same thing when he had stolen his older brother’s blessing. Ouch. Then Laban says Leah needs to be married first, because it’s not custom for the younger to be preferred over the older. Double ouch. Isn’t that exactly what Jacob did to his own brother?

So Jacob was looking for a savior, but he comes out deceived, disillusioned, and disappointed. His perfect solution to all his problems was all for naught.

Leah and Jacob Okay, so about Leah. The Bible tells us she had “weak eyes,” which probably means she just wasn't very attractive. Meanwhile her younger sister is stunning, and their dad Laban is just trying to get rid of Leah at the first opportunity. She’s living in her younger sister’s shadow. So you can guess how much self-esteem Leah has right about now, right? Well to Leah, Jacob is the answer to her problems! Leah’s got Jacob on that pedestal just like Jacob has Leah on a pedestal! So she starts popping out baby boys, which is the ultimate act of fulfillment for a woman in Hebrew culture. And she names them in hopes of Jacob taking notice, Rueben (to see), Simeon (to hear), and Levi (to attach), hoping Jacob will see her, hear her, attach himself to her. No cigar. Here’s the deal: Jacob made a pseudo-savior out of Rachel. Leah made a pseudo-savior out of Jacob. And it’s not like this only happened back then. We still make pseudo-saviors out of each other, our spouses, family, our children. We even make pseudo-saviors out of our future achievements and our stuff.

Have you ever found yourself thinking: once I pass this class… or once I graduate… or once I get a job... once I get that job... if I could just go out with this guy... if I could just marry this girl... once I get that car... once I get that house... then everything will be perfect!

Sound at all familiar? C.S. Lewis said it best: “There is always something that we have grasped at the first moment of longing that just fades away with reality. The thing we thought we were going to get in the new experience always evades us! In the morning, it’s always Leah.” Here's the number one enemy in any relationship: when you enter into a relationship and you think the other person is going to save you. No one can live up to those kinds of expectations. Back to Leah: she asked God for sons, so she could gain her husband‘s approval, and God gives them to her. And that’s another thing we do. We run to God praying for these things, these idols, hoping they will fulfill us, and God is saying, “Wait a minute, you want me to give you these idols to fulfill you, even though I’m the one who is going to take care you?” And we say something like, “Yeah! If I can just have this thing, then it’ll all be great!” Well Leah keeps praying, because she isn’t fulfilled, until her relationship with God grows and deepens, then she realizes her fulfillment is in God! And she names her last son Judah (praise) because it’s about God now, not about impressing Jacob. And she stops having kids, because she’s not looking for fulfillment in Jacob and child bearing anymore. She discovers the great secret (that’s not a secret at all): that God is the answer. Not her husband, not her children, not her stuff, not her situation.

So here’s what we’ve learned from this crazy (and true) story:

If you’re expecting your husband or wife to save you, you’re in big trouble. No one can live up to that expectation except God. Those expectations will bring a whole lot of problems and pressure into your relationship that you don’t need. 

If you’re single and loving God, but you’re dying to be married because you think that will be the answer to all your problems and the achievement of your life, God might very well delay your spouse’s arrival. Because you’re not ready for marriage if you think that’s what marriage is. 

When you look to God as your savior, when you start giving Him the passions and desires of your heart and trust Him to fulfill you, then He can safely bring the love of your life around. 

Focus on what you do have instead of what you lack. That can be in a relationship or out. Build on what you have, and the lack won’t be so apparent. Besides, God is going to take care of it anyway. 

Forgive each other. God forgives us everyday. We need to forgive each other everyday too. Don’t hang on to old hurts. When you forgive each other, you grow together and become more like Christ. What an amazing opportunity! 

Only God can fix you. You can’t be fixed by another person or by a situation. Nor can you fix your spouse. Fixer-uppers are for God and God alone. And He does a truly beautiful job. 

Make your relationship intimate. You know the number one counseling issue men face? They wish their wives had a desire for more intimacy! You know the solution? Pray to God and pray together. Men, when your wife knows that you live for a purpose greater than yourself and she knows you’re following someone bigger than yourself, she’ll follow you because she knows you pray and you will lead you both in a spiritual relationship with God. There is something special that happens, that she wants to give herself in ways that she never has before.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next Thursday!