Counter Culture.
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March 24, 2024
Who is able to worship in the waiting?
The Crucifixion - Grief and Hopelessness
March 17, 2024
Who sacrifices status for an opportunity to serve?
Washing of the feet/ Going to the cross
March 10, 2024
Who sits with someone they know betrayed them?
Forgiveness | Matt 26:14-25
March 3, 2024
It is easy to go with the flow. It is natural to go with the grain. Very rarely in life do we muster up the courage to go against the crowd. We are going to look at the week leading up to the death of Jesus and see how He did many things during that final week that were very counter cultural. He was one that always seemed to swim upstream and go against the grain. This was not done arbitrarily, oh no, he had a lot of purpose behind this way of life. We are going to look at Jesus and the way he embraced difficulty throughout this passion week. He forgave those who seemed unforgivable and loved in a way the world had not seen before. He was counter-cultural and calls us to live a life where we follow him even when it's difficult, even when the rest of the world may say otherwise.
The Belonging.
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January 28, 2024
What does it really mean to belong? We know we are tribal as a people and that we are designed for community. Not only do we need it for survival, but we also need it in order to experience meaning and purpose. What does it do to our humanity when we don’t feel like we belong? This series we are going to look at the one on one encounters Jesus had with people who did not feel like they belonged. We are going to see what a one on one encounter looks like with Jesus, and how we can have similar encounters today with God, through His word and the community he has placed around us..
Human.
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January 7.2024
"Human" is a series about who we are, how we got here and how we come alive. The big idea this week is - Vulnerability: both what we are hiding from and what we need.
We Are _____.
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October 22
The gospel is the most exclusive inclusive thing the world has ever experienced. What is different about christianity compared to every other religion is the exclusivity of it, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. In that same breath what is also different about christianity is how inclusive it is, it is for everyone. Jesus died once and for all, so that all could experience eternal life. This week we are continuing our vision series and we will look at when the gospel crossed over barriers no Jew thought possible, a gentile was saved! This is a monumental moment in the life of our faith and gives us an example to follow.
October 15
It is impossible to hate something without also simultaneously experiencing love. God hates sin because he loves us. This week we see what happens to two individuals named Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 when they lie to the Holy Spirit. What do we do with this passage of scripture? This week we see God’s heart is for all of us to be real, to experience intimacy in relationships, and live an authentic life. Authenticity is not something any of us are born with, we have to choose it. We have to sacrifice our ego in order to be known and loved. We have to be real in order to be healed.
October 8
As we approach Acts 2 in our vision series we are confronted with the reality that the early church was one of the most radically generous groups of people the world had ever encountered. We see how radical generosity has changed the world in the past, even leading up to the actual development of hospitals as Christians led the charge in giving away their very lives to care for the needy and sick. If God is generous, we are created in his image to live out that standard of generosity. This week we will be looking at the scriptures and seeing what a biblical definition of generosity looks like when it is lived out and how it truly does change the world.
October 1
Jesus made it very clear in his discussions with the disciples that even though he had the power to start a movement we would play a large part in its implementation. As we begin our journey through the book of Acts the obvious questions are: “what was the early church tasked with” and “have we as a church upheld the instruction given?” Over the next few weeks we will discuss four areas in which we believe God has called Vertical to live these things out, but before we immerse ourselves in this instruction to go we first have to make sure we are holding ourselves back from being the church right where we are.
Make Way
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September 24
The focus of the Gospel According to Mark, from the very beginning until the very end, is the good news that Jesus has made, is making, and will make a way. This good news is both an event to understand and an experience to embrace.
September 17
We are getting closer to the end of the gospel of Mark and rightfully so Jesus is being even more intentional with his time. Jesus does not want to waste anytime and he also doesn’t let anyone else waste his time. Because of this we see Jesus spending time with a very peculiar group of people. People who are more aware of their brokenness. We are going to be revisiting the words of Jesus when he said “it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick, I have not come to call the righteous but sinners” and ask ourselves why Jesus chose to pursue these people and what exactly he meant in saying that?
September 10
As we continue in the book of Mark this week we will see Jesus descend into the city where he would ultimately die. However, as bleak as this week leading up to the crucifixion could have been, Jesus’ interactions seem like a very intentional template for how to build something hopeful out of brokenness. This week we will be answering the question of how to lead like Jesus and what exactly constitutes a holy movement.
September 3
We approach the climax of the gospel of Mark in chapter 8 as Jesus clearly defines who he is to his disciples. We see the problem of spiritual blindness and how destructive that can be when we do not see Jesus clearly. This week we will look at our own blind spots and the false expectations we have placed on the person of Jesus. What kind of Messiah is he? What exactly did he come to do? This changes the way I live my life as a servant of the King. A king who doesn’t simply long for my allegiance but longs for a relationship.
August 27
As Jesus continues to make his way towards the cross we see him very intentionally take a moment to address a problem point within religious circles. Mark takes great care to cover this conversation in chapter 7 of his gospel to ensure that the reader is very clear on Jesus’ awareness and affection for the outsiders of the world. This passage will give a very important insight into the most surprising and exciting parts of the gospel.
August 20
As we make way for the king, we approach Mark 2 and encounter another one of Jesus’ most famous miracles, the healing of the paralyzed man. It was the faith of 4 friends that played a huge role in both the healing of the man and the forgiveness of his sins. Scholars for years have contemplated the words of Jesus when he said, “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” This week we will unpack this passage together and see what Jesus was implying when he both healed this man and forgave his sins. Let’s make way for Jesus to reveal more of himself to us.
The Unexamined Life
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August 6
God is calling all of us to move from revelation and contemplation to decision and action! We will be looking at Philip the evangelist and how he continued to make decisions to follow God's call on his life and how they ended up impacting a whole nation. We can do the same as we move from contemplating the things God is asking of us, to actually living then out.
July 30
We miss out on authentic connection when we try to hide and cover up our own brokenness and shame. We do this by judging other people's spiritual journey. We fail to let others be themselves before God and miss out on real connection when we project our own discomfort with ourselves, by condemning them and their actions. This week we are looking at the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to see the ways we all can fall into the trap of judging others and their spiritual journey and how God calls us to fight against that.
July 23
When we experience hardships in life we often also experience a pause in our spiritual journey. Pete Scozzero describes this hard stop as “The Wall” which limits our ability to move forward in our discipleship and the sanctification process. There are many responses to this phenomenon, the most common of which is typically attaching ourselves to a person and their teachings rather than what we know to be true of God. This week in an effort to guard ourselves from wasted time and heartache we will observe the story of a man named Job who possibly knew this process of the spiritual pause like no one else in Scripture.
July 16
The work of growing in Christ, otherwise known as sanctification, does not mean we do not go back to the past as we press on ahead into our new future. It actually demands we go back in order to go forward. As we go back to revisit the parts of us we thought we left behind, we realize just how much our past affects our current reality. The apostle Paul admonished us to put off the old self so that we can put on the new self we have access to in Christ. This week we will learn how to recognize the old self so that we can break free from old patterns and ways of living in order to put on the new self and experience the new life that God has given us in Jesus.
Enemies of the Soul
Overcoming the things that sabotage our peace.
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June 25 Teaching
There is a battle going on for our soul. In order to fight back we have to know our enemies and their strategy. Once we learn how to fight back we leave the bondage of lies and enter into the freedom truth brings. The first enemy is the devil and he is also called the father of lies. Lying is his tactic. The problem is we start to believe the lies and live them out in our reality. Jesus came to set us free from the lies by the truth. The only way to truly be set free is to know and believe the truth of who God is and who you are.
July 2
The second enemy we are going to break down this week is our flesh. Our flesh is this animalistic drive for self gratification, especially as it pertains to things like pleasure, entertainment, and security. A lot of times we have a knee jerk reaction to certain things and people in our life as well as think thoughts that absolutely terrify us. This is all a part of our sin nature, or our flesh. If we do not know how to recognize our flesh rearing its ugly head we will never be able to win this battle. We are not called to simply follow these desires or give into them, we are called to crucify them.
July 9
Our final enemy of the series is the world around us. While not as demonic as a devil or as intimate as our bodies, the world in which we live can provide plenty of harm in its own right. But when we get down to it the world taxes our peace not out of existence but out of our own inability to decipher the good from the bad, the original from the counterfeit. This is a tension that even Jesus spoke of on multiple occasions. This week, in a very Vertical way, we will observe the story of a man who was able to differentiate the sin of the world from the people who needed saving and take in the template God gave him for living a life in the world but not of it.
Father’s Day
Resources
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June 18
The Trap of Time
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June 11
We get it. We have been given gifts that we are responsible for investing intentionally. But what about the reversal? How are we supposed to think about our time, talents, and treasure when timidity sets in? In our final week of the series we will find that God has not only provided us with a capacity for certain skills but he has also given us a template for perfecting those things. An ancient rhythm used by generals, diplomats, and even a king after God’s own heart. This method has the potential to change entire communities if we learn to let it change us first.
June 4
When God is not our ultimate treasure, lesser treasure captures our heart and becomes an idol that wreaks havoc on our lives. When God is our ultimate treasure, lesser treasure becomes a resource to advance his kingdom and shape us into the people he has called us to be. We have to become aware of the traps set before us that cause us to treasure earthly things more than God. Things like money, sex, relationships, and power are all good things God has called us to steward. When they become ultimate things they have the potential to destroy us.
May 28
The best use of our time is to double down on our talents. How do we double down on our talents? By focusing on our character and ability, not the outcome. And when we focus on our character, we focus on the one who gave us any ability at all, and that's God. When I focus on God I trust that even when I fail, he is using that failure to mold me and grow me more into the person he has called me to be; and when I succeed and reap the rewards that earthly success affords me, I remember that it is because of Him and the ability He has given me. That brings freedom to use both my talent and my resources the way that He is calling me to, because He can be trusted.
May 21
The way we observe time informs the way we live our lives. Any misconception that we have regarding time will ultimately lead to a lack of potential fulfillment that Jesus would want for us. Luckily for us, Jesus speaks plainly on the topic of investment when it comes to the privileges we have been given in life. As we open our series we will discuss the correct way to view our years here on earth, discover categories to help label seasons of life, and move towards action the steps that God may be calling us towards.
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Mother’s Day
Better than Before
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April 30
Anyone familiar with Christianity knows that the acceptance of Jesus comes with a certain amount of life change. But we often overlook the fact that change is not all positive. In fact, change is often very challenging. In week two of our series we will navigate the struggles that often come with change and investigate whether or not Jesus’s empathy ends with the resolution of our eternal needs.
April 23
It can be all too easy for us to float through life never having experienced the spiritual growth that we would like to. Some of us have the best of intentions, some of us just grow used to masking stagnation. Either way Jesus says plainly in Scripture that for us to mature intentional change has to occur. In week one of Better Than Before we will open a discussion on the chain reaction of hope that change can provide us when we make the decision to trust this process.
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Reconsider
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March 19
Living a fulfilled life often comes down to learning the lessons that God gifts us along the way. The steps to do so may be straightforward however they are far from simple. In the first week of our series dedicated to the parable of the two sons we will discuss how to look at our story through the lens of Jesus’s heroic grace and build boundaries to ensure we are living in the purpose he has set for us. Each of us has a role to play in the greater story of God but that position can only be realized through action based intentionality.
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Humble Beginnings
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February 19
As Christ-followers we often make the mistake of attributing any tension we feel in our spiritual lives to a disconnection between ourselves and our Creator. We wonder if maybe we made a mistake along the way or missed some critical piece of information we weren't listening intently enough for. The reality is that even when we make all the correct choices and live faithfully there will be continual stressors due to the fact that we live in a world that is in contrast with our spiritual state. Today, as we close our series on the mustard seed, we will discuss how to continue growing in a world that seems to be running in reverse.
Podcast coming soon!
February 12
Whether it comes from work stress, family issues, or just the general hardships that life throws at us there are many ways to find ourselves overwhelmed. Overwhelm is an obstacle that can be tricky to overcome, especially in a godly manner. We tend to settle for temporary fixes and distractions but the truth is that we need an example for how to grow even when things aren’t going well. Today we will pair the parable of the mustard seed with the story of a woman named Ruth to see if we can build a template to rely on.
February 5
We often have an easy time believing that God has a plan for us, but tend to stall whenever we are not able to perform perfectly along the line. Jesus was clear in his belief that small things could have a great impact if they were properly developed and he spoke this truth over the lives of the people that he loved; even those that failed from time to time. As we begin this series, we will take a closer look at the life of a woman named Rahab who’s faith in God’s ability to show grace allowed her to exceed what most of us could dream up over our own stories.
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Way of the Heart
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January 29
January 15
In order to be good soil, we must be humble soil. According to Jesus, it is those with humility that will be given status by God. However, we must acknowledge that humility is anything but easy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come naturally to us. That’s why we have each other. The key to humility is community. When we share our life with others, we are able to see clearly not only our life’s effects, but also its purpose. Today we learn through the lives of Jesus and his followers what good soil in action looks like.
January 8
If God is a sower then the status of our life’s soil probably plays a much greater role in our individual stories than we may have given it credit for. It has the potential to sideline us from the roles He has planned for us and the redemption He would wish for our life. It can be tempting to settle for just salvation when God wants to give us that in addition to soil maturation. Luckily for us, this process is much less complicated than we often make it and this morning we will watch Jesus prove this with his own words.
January 1
We live in a world where consumption based on cravings is the norm. If we want it, we take it. If our unhealthy desires become our focus, then our cravings become our master. It’s undeniable, what we feed, grows. There’s an ancient spiritual practice that serves as the interrupter in this deadly circuit. It’s called discernment. If we are to maintain a healthy focus, we must develop the ability to say yes to the right things and no to the wrong ones.
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