tHE sERIES
At one point or another we’ve all found ourselves in the intersection of anxiety and apathy. We’ve entered 2020 with the highest level of uncertainty and angst. The stacking weight of growing academic and social demands, racial injustices, and political turmoil invite us to feel overwhelmed, making worry and mind-numbing indifference easier. The temptation to react quickly without proper reflection risks us pulling each other apart rather than closer together. Each heated argument, social media post, or new article reveals more chaos and fractured relationships throughout our community.
While the world appears to collapse around us and certainty is swept from beneath our feet, Jesus calls us to fix our eyes on Him. While culture invites us to believe that hope and unity is an ideal of the past, Jesus calls us to embrace the uncertainty and walk together as community. We can root ourselves in the faithfulness of Jesus with the understanding that our future has glimmers of clarity only if we remember how God has been revealed to us in the past and our present find purpose only if we understand where we’ve been and where we’re going. We can look deeper into Scripture, each other’s experience, and our own stories to develop a more meaningful relationship with The One who is constant throughout the ages and daily speaks to say I AM with you yesterday, today, and forever.
This year, we're taking a closer look the various components of the Christian lifestyle and how a global pandemic has affected us. With each component, such as faith, worship, and identity, we ask the following:
Yesterday – Has it always been this way?
Fake news, illegitimate influencers, systemic injustices go unchecked and perpetuate a cycle of chaos. What has our history revealed about today? How long have injustices been a part of our systems? Where has God been this whole time? Has division really been all we’ve known? It’s time to ask the difficult questions that expose the wounds that have prevented us from moving forward?
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. John 1:1-5 NIV
Today – What can we trust?
Every platform is filled with voices publicly promoting subjective standards and shifting stances as a counterfeit gospel, easy to chase, yet impossible to live by ... No wonder anxiety and apathy abound while we’re left exhausted from searching for solid ground … Is there anything we can trust today? Where is God in all of this? Who are the people we can trust? We can choose the counter-cultural movement of accepting each other as siblings in Jesus and standing together in praise and protest.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 NIV
“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. John 1:46 NLT
Forever – When can we rest?
And still there is endless skepticism, even when we find ourselves wanting something more sacred, something more virtuous. How can we not be drawn to find rest in that which is eternal? What is our role in the future? In building the sacred Kingdom? What is next? What does breaking a cycle of chaos look like and what do we replace it with?
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 4:31 NIV
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 NIV
It is my prayer that we will experience Jesus in a new and irresistible way. Even in the face of chaos and uncertainty, we can count on the fact that God is indeed, constant. The team and I are excited to dive in!
-Pastor JO Cordero
While the world appears to collapse around us and certainty is swept from beneath our feet, Jesus calls us to fix our eyes on Him. While culture invites us to believe that hope and unity is an ideal of the past, Jesus calls us to embrace the uncertainty and walk together as community. We can root ourselves in the faithfulness of Jesus with the understanding that our future has glimmers of clarity only if we remember how God has been revealed to us in the past and our present find purpose only if we understand where we’ve been and where we’re going. We can look deeper into Scripture, each other’s experience, and our own stories to develop a more meaningful relationship with The One who is constant throughout the ages and daily speaks to say I AM with you yesterday, today, and forever.
This year, we're taking a closer look the various components of the Christian lifestyle and how a global pandemic has affected us. With each component, such as faith, worship, and identity, we ask the following:
Yesterday – Has it always been this way?
Fake news, illegitimate influencers, systemic injustices go unchecked and perpetuate a cycle of chaos. What has our history revealed about today? How long have injustices been a part of our systems? Where has God been this whole time? Has division really been all we’ve known? It’s time to ask the difficult questions that expose the wounds that have prevented us from moving forward?
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. John 1:1-5 NIV
Today – What can we trust?
Every platform is filled with voices publicly promoting subjective standards and shifting stances as a counterfeit gospel, easy to chase, yet impossible to live by ... No wonder anxiety and apathy abound while we’re left exhausted from searching for solid ground … Is there anything we can trust today? Where is God in all of this? Who are the people we can trust? We can choose the counter-cultural movement of accepting each other as siblings in Jesus and standing together in praise and protest.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 NIV
“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. John 1:46 NLT
Forever – When can we rest?
And still there is endless skepticism, even when we find ourselves wanting something more sacred, something more virtuous. How can we not be drawn to find rest in that which is eternal? What is our role in the future? In building the sacred Kingdom? What is next? What does breaking a cycle of chaos look like and what do we replace it with?
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 4:31 NIV
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 NIV
It is my prayer that we will experience Jesus in a new and irresistible way. Even in the face of chaos and uncertainty, we can count on the fact that God is indeed, constant. The team and I are excited to dive in!
-Pastor JO Cordero