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Jesus calls Christians to an upside down kind of life in how we treat other people. The world lives by law, and the law always leads to judgment. But in Christ we live by the gospel, and in the gospel we can see one another, and ourselves, through God's eyes.Application Questions:1. What does judging look like in your life?2. How do you see the world living by "the law"?3. Why is it so counter-intuitive to live by the gospel?4. How do you see pride and insecurity in your heart and life? How can you find your security in Christ?

When most people think of prayer, they think of asking for things. In the middle of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus tells us to ask God for our daily bread, which means we are to bring our needs to God and expect that he will meet them as a Father cares for his children. When we meditate on this, we find that the way we ask changes: we ask in a way that is far more confident, grateful, generous, humble, and satisfied.Application Questions: 1. Why do you ask God for things? How do you go about it? How does it make you feel when you do it? 2. Why does Christian prayer emphasize the fatherhood of God, especially when it comes to asking for things from him? 3. How might God be leading you to change the way you ask him for things? 

The third line of the Lord's Prayer invites God to have his way in our lives and our world. For many of us this runs against the grain—we want more control over our lives, not less. But when we understand God as our Father in Heaven, and see his son Jesus Christ pray this same prayer in Gethsemane, we find ourselves desiring God's kingdom and will from the heart. Application Questions: 1. What do you find desirable about God's kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven"? 2. How do you find yourself resisting God's kingdom and will in your own life? 3. What about the gospel can lead your heart to sincerely desire God's will above your own? 4. What would it look like to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done" in your life today? 

Jesus continues to teach us how to pray by reminding us of who it is that we're praying to: A God who is holy. And, as we approach him, we are reminded that his holiness is not only overwhelming but also our greatest comfort.Application Questions: 1. How do you view God when you come to him in prayer?2. How does the combination of God's fatherhood and his holiness shape how you relate to him?3. How might meditating on his holiness bring about his name being hallowed in your heart?4. How might you strive to live in a way that hallows his name in the world?

When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, he gives them the Lord's Prayer. This short prayer shows us how to relate to God and gives us a window into the whole Christian life. It begins in a way that would shock Jesus' audience: addressing God as Father. Christian prayer is unique because in Christ, God is our Father. This provides a different foundation for prayer than any other religion or philosophy. When we understand it, we can pray with far greater intimacy, depth, and joy. Application Questions: 1. What is your personal experience with prayer? 2. What do you find encouraging and what do you find challenging about the Lord's Prayer? 3. How do you think God feels about you when you pray? Why? 4. How might knowing God is your Father through Christ change your prayer life? 

Romans 8 is one of the most radical expressions of joy that you can find, and it's all based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When the resurrection lands on your mind and your heart, this joy goes to work in your life, connecting you to God's own love now and forever.Application Questions: 1. Why do you think Jesus did or did not rise from the dead? What difference does that make to your daily life? 2. How do you handle feelings of guilt, shame, and condemnation? Do you think the message of Easter offers a better way? 3. How do you handle adversity, suffering, and the reality of death? How could that change if the message of Easter is true?

Jesus is invited to a Pharisee's home for a meal and doesn't follow all of the rituals they follow. He uses this as an opportunity to outline the difference between external religion and internal heart transformation. The hope of the gospel runs deeper into our souls than any behavior modification ever can.Application Questions: 1. What are ways that your walk with Christ is too shallow, aiming to change external behaviors rather than the heart?2. How does a life aimed from the inside out bring wisdom?3. What kind of humility results from the gospel touching down in the depths of your heart?4. How do pride and insecurity feed each other? And how does the gospel free you?5. Are you seeking your own glory or Christ's?

Many are looking for a sign, argument, or circumstances that will settle the issue about Jesus once and for all. If only we had more illumination than we do now, we could come to a deeper faith and move forward fully convinced. In a challenging set of teachings, Jesus confronts us with the reality that the issue is not a lack of light, but a lack of sight. Jesus's teaching and ministry are more than enough light for us to come to a deep and satisfying conclusion about who he is. What we need is eyes that can see—and if we turn to Jesus, we'll find our eyes healed and beholding him.Application Questions: 1. Do you find yourself wishing there was more evidence that God was real and Jesus Christ is who he said he was? How so? How does that affect your life, spiritually and otherwise?2. Jesus shows us that our doubt is complicated. What are some ways your doubt might be more complicated than you realized?3. How do the cross and resurrection of Jesus help with our doubts?4. How might you turn to Jesus and ask him to open your eyes?

 In a passage full of references to demons and Satan, we get a surprisingly practical lesson on our own struggles and how we can be delivered from them. The Bible paints a realistic, complex picture of the forces that work against us in the world and in our own hearts. When we experience those forces, we turn to a variety of places for deliverance, yet the changes we experience are short-lived, superficial, and leave us worse off. Only Jesus can deliver us from the forces arrayed against us thoroughly and permanently.Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced "the world, the flesh, and the Devil" interacting in your own life? 2. Are there places you are tempted to look for deliverance other than Jesus? Have you ever felt they left you worse off? 3. How can you apply the power of the gospel to enjoy more freedom in your daily life? 

It can be easy to think of God like a genie or a butler when it comes to prayer. But the Lord's Prayer shows us the true purpose and power of approaching the throne: getting more of God. Application Questions: 1. In what ways might your prayer life be disordered? How can the Lord's Prayer reorient your approach? 2. Are you worried about bothering God with your prayers? 3. How does the promise of the giving of the Holy Spirit change the way you pray?

Sisters Martha and Mary invite Jesus into their home- Mary sits at the feet of Jesus to listen and learn, while Martha is serving and handling logistics. In the midst of her serving Martha's heart is off- and Jesus gently corrects her, reminding her that He must be the first priority of her life.Application Questions: 1. Why is Jesus so concerned with our inner life?2. What are areas of distraction you see in your life right now?3. How does worry manifest itself in your life?4. Do you battle against distraction and worry in your life by remember Christ as the "good portion"?

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus provides a picture of what the Christian ethic looks like in practice. It is rooted in love that is compassionate, risky, and sacrificial. Exactly like the love he has shown us.Application Questions: 1. In what ways have you found yourself trying to justify your life and your choices the way the lawyer did?2. How does the way Jesus has loved you echo the love of the Good Samaritan?3. How have you seen the love of the Good Samaritan lived out in our church family corporately?4. How have you seen the love of the Good Samaritan lived out in your life individually?5. What is one way you could manifest the love of the Good Samaritan more faithfully in your life?

The 72 disciples return from their mission full of joy at the success they experienced. But Jesus cautions them: their joy needs a deeper foundation than success. Instead, Jesus urges the disciples to ground their joy in the reality that their names are written in heaven. Here we find the secret to lasting joy that can carry us through a life full of victories and setbacks. When Jesus himself rejoices—even on the way to the cross—we see how solid and eternal our joy can be. Application Questions: 1. Where are you tempted to look for joy in things that can't always provide it? 2. How can God's grace give you joy in the midst of the circumstances you're dealing with now? 3. How does it anchor your joy to know that Jesus rejoices over your salvation, despite what it cost him? 

Jesus sends out 72 of His followers to heal and teach people about the Kingdom of God. The harvest is plentiful, Jesus tells us, and the laborers are few—so pray and ask the Lord to raise up more laborers, and be diligent in the work. Application Questions: 1. How does the "mission of God" intersect with your daily life? 2. What would be different if your life was lived first and foremost for the spread of His glory and kingdom?3. How does the need and opportunity of the gospel speak to your life and interactions with those who don't know Christ?4. What simple steps can you take in your life to live missionally?5. How does your experience of the gospel inspire and empower you to live missionally?

Jesus was singularly focused on his mission to redeem his people. He was unwilling to be distracted or deterred, even when those around him didn't understand what he was doing. Following him means being singularly focused on his mission too. And this means being willing to follow him without excuse and without delay.Application Questions: 1. In what ways might you be able to relate to James and John's mistaken enthusiasm?2. What are the aspects of life that distract you from following Jesus?3. When do you find yourself saying to him: "Let me first..."?4. Who are the people in your life that may be telling you "You should first..."?5. Who are the people in your life who are helping you follow Jesus more closely?

When Jesus comes off the mountain, he finds a world in disarray. When he brings his majesty to bear by healing a young boy, people marvel—but then he says this majesty will take him to a cross. Throughout the passage, we see ourselves in the disciples as they struggle to following Jesus. The message they need—the gospel that moves toward suffering to bring healing—is the same message we need to follow Jesus in our own lives. Application Questions: 1. How does it encourage you that Jesus moves from the mountaintop into the mess of people's lives? 2. The disciples find themselves moving toward self-sufficiency, status, and worldly security. How do you find those things at work in your own life? 3. How does the gospel free you from those things to find your sufficiency, status, and security in Christ? 

Three disciples follow Jesus up a mountain, and it seems like heaven comes down to earth. Jesus' true glory is unveiled, and we are again pressed with the question: who is this? This event, the transfiguration, reveals to us Jesus' identity, his mission, and the way we access it in our own lives. Application Questions: 1. Are there ways you have Jesus playing a supporting role in your life? What would it look like for you to put him in the center? 2. How does the Transfiguration deepen your appreciation for the cross? 3. What would it look like for you to listen to Jesus as the authority in your life? What areas of your life would be shaped differently? 

We enter back into the Gospel of Luke with Jesus asking his disciples who they say he is. In asking them, he poses the same question to every one of us. It's the most important question every person ever has to answer: Who do you say Jesus is?Application Questions: 1. Where are you in your response to Jesus? Rejection, Curiosity, Confusion, or Recognition?2. What is your next step in considering who Jesus is?3. What does it look like for you to take up your cross daily? How can you grow in that?4. Who do you say Jesus is?

At the heart of Christianity is the idea that God himself took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. While other religions suggest that God has made appearances on earth, in Jesus the true God dwelt among us as a full human being. This gives us remarkable hope in difficult times, support in our suffering, and a sense of purpose and meaning to our existence. Most of all it shows us the lengths to which God would go out of love to save us. Application Questions: 1. Why does John stress the fact that Jesus was fully human? What would we lose if Jesus only appeared to be human? 2. How might it help you to know that God knows what it is like to suffer as a human being? 3. How can the miracle of God taking on flesh give you hope in difficult circumstances this week? 

John's gospel opens with a stunning prologue, bringing us all the way back to before time began. This is where the story of Jesus begins, and John forces us to reckon with the fact that Jesus of Nazareth, fully human, was also fully God. This is the miracle of miracles, and means Jesus can show us what God is like, be the authority over our lives that we need, and rescue us that we might live forever with God. Application Questions: 1. Why is it so important to John that we understand Jesus as fully God? What would we lose if Jesus was just a very godly human being? 2. Why does John want us to think of Jesus as the word of God? 3. How can Jesus, as fully God, give you direction, purpose, and meaning in your life in a way other things can’t?4. What does it mean that to you that Jesus came to rescue you, not just inspire you? How can that change your perspective on your life this week? 

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas we consider what the mystery of the incarnation: that the God of the universe became a human. How do we respond to such a glorious reality? And how does that response shape our Christmas celebrations?Application Questions: 1. What is one way you can spend time meditating on the reality of the incarnation this week?2. What false Gods do you need to let go of as you respond to Christ in worship?3. How might your Christmas celebrations look different if you were to reflect the incarnation in your relationships with others?

As we finish our series on the attributes of God, we come to a central truth: the one God exists eternally in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity challenges our minds but it can also bring awe and joy to our hearts. Because he is triune, God is overflowing with love, life, and goodness. This means reality is about love, not power, and that Christianity is ultimately an invitation into the love and glory God has in himself. Application Questions: 1. What is your experience with the doctrine of the Trinity? How have you thought about it in the past?2. What difference does it make that God is triune? 3. How can you enjoy the triune God in prayer, Bible reading, and more this week? 

God's faithfulness is directly related to His promise-making and promise-keeping. He voluntarily limits Himself by making covenants with His people. These covenants define the relationship His people have with Him, and they show that He is a God who makes glorious promises, and keeps those promises. We can have confidence that He will keep His promises because of the blood of Jesus.Application Questions: 1. What is a "covenant" and why does it matter for how we relate to God?2. How is it shocking that the eternal, infinite God of the universe makes promises to His people?3. Why are the promises of God essential for your life?4. How does the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus give you confidence that God will always keep His promises?5. How can the promises of God anchor your soul this week?

Just as God is holy, good, and loving, God is just. His righteous character means he brooks no evil, shows no partiality, and overlooks no injustice. Peter tells us that one day God's justice will come to cleanse the earth and expose our deeds. And yet he says that judgment day can be a day to look forward to! We all long for justice, and yet can't face it ourselves without being consumed. But in Christ we see the judge who came to be judged for us, so we can make it through judgement day to a renewed heaven and earth with him.Application Questions: 1. How do you respond to the idea that God is just? What questions or reactions do you have? 2. Why do some people find God's justice a reason for hope? 3. How does Christ allow us to long for judgment day instead of recoil in fear? 4. How might God's justice change the way you react to the circumstances in your life now? 

"Good" is such a mediocre word, we can often misunderstand what it means that God is good. But when we open our Bibles and consider God's goodness we see that all the beautiful aspects of his character flow from it. It's not just that God is good. Our greatest joy and only hope are in the fact that is perfect goodness.Application Questions: 1. How do you tend to define "goodness"? Is it rooted in God or your own ideas?2. What are some big moments in life in which you have seen God's goodness/kindness?3. What are some small moments in life in which you have seen God's goodness/kindness?4. What are some ways you have seen God's goodness/kindness in creation?5. How does the gospel prove the perfect nature of God's goodness?6. What are a few ways you would treat others differently if you were more consistently living out God's goodness toward them?

If you had to pick one word to describe God, the Bible would tell you to use the word "holy." God's holiness is a way of talking about the all the things that set him apart. God's holiness means his power, goodness, and love, are a purer, richer, and deeper than any other. Isaiah encounters God's holiness and finds himself transformed. By looking at Isaiah's experience, we learn what it means to encounter God ourselves. Application Questions: 1. The word "holiness" means different things to different people. How have you understood the idea of holiness in the past? 2. Have you ever felt overwhelmed and undone by God's holiness? What led to those experiences? How did you respond to them? 3. How do you understand the relationship between God's holiness and God's mercy? 4. What about God's holiness makes you holy? Have you seen that at work in your own life? 

God speaks and the universe is created. His Word is a manifestation of His power- it accomplishes His will, and there is no insecurity or uncertainty. God's power is infinite and gracious, and He chooses to use His power for our good.Application Questions: 1. What are some ways you see your own heart drawn towards earthly power?2. What insecurities do you see in your own heart and life regarding power/getting what you desire?3. How does God's power induce fear? How does God's power induce hope and peace?4. What is gracious about God's power?5. How can God's gracious and infinite power embolden you and strengthen you in suffering?

Thinking about the nature of God can make him feel distant. When we realize that he is transcendent, sufficient, and eternal it's hard to think of him as close. But, the eternal God is not far away, but is always fully present with us. And recognizing his presence changes everything.Application Questions: 1. Do you constantly recognize that God is with you, or do you often slip into a functional Deism (believing he is far away)? And why do you think that is?2. Do you tend to think of God as always fully present with you? Or do you think of him as possibly being distracted? How does that change how you live?3. Does the thought that God is fully with you initially bring you comfort, fear, or both? Why?4. How might you follow David's example in praying a prayer of confession in light of God's constant presence?

One of the most comforting attributes of God is that he is unchanging. Unlike everything else in creation, God is perfectly stable, never wavering, never shifting, a rock that will never fail. James finds this truth very practical for dealing with the realities of life. In suffering and struggle, it's God's unchanging goodness that anchors us in the storm.Application Questions: 1. How does the idea of an unchanging God comfort you? How does it challenge you? 2. How do you think about the gifts in your life? How might they point you to God?3. What about God's stability makes the gospel more comforting and more joyful? 

We are working through the attributes of God, and this week we come to God's eternity. God is "from everlasting to everlasting." He stands above time, with no beginning and no end. Compared to God's eternity, we realize how temporary we are, and how all the things we put our hopes in will fade. When we understand that God is eternal, we will treat the past, the present, and the future differently, because Christ holds all of our time in his hands in love.Application Questions: 1. Have you ever thought about God's eternity? How might it change your perspective on things in your life now? 2. Why does the psalmist focus so much on the brevity of life? Do you resonate with what he is saying? 3. How have you put your hope in temporary things? 4. How is the gospel richer and more beautiful knowing that Christ is eternal yet stepped into time for us? 

Exodus 3 is the place where someone first asks God for his name. What do we learn about from this encounter? First, we learn that God is knowable—he is not an impersonal force, but a God with a name. Second, we find he is all sufficient. Everything in existence depends on God, but he depends on nothing; we can offer him nothing, he gives us everything. Finally, we find a radical love. When the all sufficient God desires to know you, it's can't be because you offer him something. It must be pure love, which we see in its fullness in Jesus Christ.Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced the difference between knowing about God and knowing God? 2. How does God's sufficiency feel humbling you? How does God's sufficiency feel freeing to you? 3. How does God's sufficiency make his love more striking—especially when seen in the death of Christ? 

We are in a series on the attributes of God, and this morning we look at God's transcendence. When we talk about God, we're talking about someone who is bigger than we realize, above and outside of the created world. This means he is radically different from us. He is infinite, limitless, and endless. Surprisingly, it's these lofty ideas about God that are the most important for shaping our lives here—particularly because he does not stay high and distant, but comes close in love through Jesus Christ. Application Questions:  1. How does the transcendence of God adjust the way you've thought about God up until now? 2. How does the transcendence of God help you see the power and beauty of the gospel? 3. How does the transcendence of God meet you in the struggles you face today? 

We are starting a new series on the attributes of God: who is He? What is He like? And it makes sense to begin with his reality, the fact that he really does exist. The natural world provides clues that point to God's existence, and our own hearts add clues as well. Yet the Bible suggests that we all have a complex relationship with these clues. One part of us experiences them deeply, while another part fights against them. Ultimately it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that can reconcile us to ourselves and show us the grace and love of the God who is there. Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced the clues of God's reality, either in the created world or in the human heart? 2. What reaction do you have to the idea that God exists? What do you think motivates that reaction?3. How does the gospel make God's existence good news? 4. How would your life be different if you kept God's reality in mind throughout your day?

As we look to a new series on the attributes of God, we start with a questions: how do we know what God is like in the first place? Much of our lives is based on what we think about God, but how do we know? In Psalm 19, David celebrates the God who speaks—in the natural world, and in the scriptures, and in our own hearts.Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced the "silent" word of God in the natural world? What has it communicated to you?2. Why is the "silent" word of nature not enough? Why do we need a spoken word?3. What about scripture stands out to you from Psalm 19:7-11? Can you relate to how David talks about scripture here?4. Have you experienced the "searching" word of God? How can that lead you to the gospel more this week?

What is the Church? God's Word makes it clear that the Church is God's people, redeemed from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Why does God build His Church this way? Because when we are united in Him across all the dividing lines of the world, it shows how glorious Christ is.Application Questions: 1. In your mind, what is the Church?2. How does the Church being from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation impact your view of the Church?3. In what ways is your view of God too small?4. How does God's grace speak to His purposes for the church?5. What are some ways you can cultivate unity at Cornerstone across dividing lines?

Jesus' kingdom is a kingdom of power and authority, grace and mercy, love and compassion. When he reveals himself to us it leaves us not just acknowledging that he is the one true King, but wanting him to be our King. And as our king he has sent us to proclaim his kingdom that all those around us might come to know him too.Application Questions: 1. What initially comes to mind when you think of the concept of a "kingdom"?2. What does Jesus revelation of himself through his life and death teach you about the nature of his kingdom?3. Are you looking to recognize big movements of God and participate in them by the power of his Spirit? How might you grow in sensitivity?4. Are you looking for opportunities to proclaim God's Kingdom even in inconvenient moments? How might you grow in awareness?5. Are you looking for opportunities to proclaim God's Kingdom through his provision for daily needs? How might prayer help fuel the proclamation of the kingdom in each of these contexts?

When Jesus brings healing to two very different people, he teaches us a lesson on faith. Faith doesn't begin with a certain personality or set of experiences. It always begins with a desperate realization that the world can't save you, and coming to Jesus as someone who can. From there, Jesus cultivates our faith in the same way he does with the woman and Jairus. He changes our focus, so that our faith becomes about him and not what he can give us. And he comforts our fears, so that our faith isn't about getting control, but giving control to him. In both healings, we see Jesus as the one who delivers us to true life, hope, and peace, through his own death and resurrection.Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced what Jairus and the woman experienced—that the world can't save you?2. Is your faith characterized by need, or something else?3. How have you come to Jesus for something, and found him showing you someone?4. When have you struggled with God's timing? How can the gospel comfort and embolden you to trust him regardless?

Jesus has the power to calm storms. But, what does that mean for your life? Through two different but related stories Jesus shows us how we can trust him whether the storms in our lives are raging around us or inside of us.Application Questions: 1. What are the external storms you have experienced or are experiencing?2. What are the internal storms you have or are experiencing?3. Do you tend to respond to storms with weak or obedient faith? What are some examples?4. How does remembering who Jesus is strengthen your faith when it's weak?

In a famous parable Jesus teaches us about hearing. He comes with a word about the kingdom of God, which is different than any other kingdom. While other kingdoms come with a sword, Jesus' kingdom comes like a seed: small, unassuming, and yet with incredible power to transform. But this power is only released when the word is received deeply into our own hearts. The question for every person is, "Have I really been listening?" Application Questions: 1. What is compelling about the idea that God's word is like a seed? What is challenging? 2. How have you seen the various soils Jesus describes, in your own life or the lives of others?3. How can you cultivate habits of good listening to Jesus in your life now?

Simon, a Pharisee, invites Jesus over for dinner. A sinful woman with a bad reputation arrives, lavishing Jesus with ointment and tears, and honoring Him. Simon is disgusted by this- but Jesus explains the experience of grace leads to love. She has been forgiven much, therefore she loves much. Simon, though, is self-righteous and doesn't think he needs forgiveness- and therefore misses out on a relationship with God.Application Questions: 1. In what ways do you see your own heart like Simon's?2. How does judgmentalism show up in your life? How does the gospel kill it?3. What does the woman teach you about how to have a relationship with Jesus?4. Do you see the depth of your need for forgiveness? Do you see the greatness of Christ's love and sacrifice for you?5. How can you worship Christ this week like the woman?

John the Baptist sends his followers to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah- thousands of years of eager expectation and anticipation are wrapped up in their question and concerns. Jesus responds to them by demonstrating His fulfillment of prophecy- declaring without hesitation that He is the One. The claims of Jesus inevitably lead to demands from Jesus for us, calling us to submit to His loving and gracious authority.Application Questions: 1. How does the history and overall narrative of the Bible speak to the question of John the Baptist's followers?2. What would it look like for Christ to be supreme in your life in all things?3. How does the fulfillment of prophecy speak to the claims of Christ? What does that mean for how we must respond?4. Why is it significant that the Pharisees reject God's "purpose"? Why is it different than what we'd expect?

Whether a wealthy and successful military man or a destitute and grief-stricken widow, everyone has deep need; need that we are incapable of meeting on our own. Faith in Jesus and his great power opens the door to true and abundant life in the kingdom of God.Application Questions:1. What are some struggles in your life that you feel are insurmountable?2. In what ways can you let yourself marvel at all that Jesus is for you?3. How would your day-to-day life look different if you believed that Jesus is "the same yesterday, today, and forever?"

The Sermon on the Mount concludes with two illustrations that expose the depth of our problems and give us unfathomable hope. When we are confronted with the darkness of our own hearts, Jesus calls us to come to him and hear his words of grace and comfort. In doing so he gives us hope and transforms our entire lives.Application Questions: 1. Do you consider the bad things you do "evil"? Why or why not?2. When confronted with the darkness of your own heart, what are the words of God you need to remember?3. What instructions from the Sermon on the Mount do you struggle to follow and how is God calling you to respond to the sermons over the past four weeks?4. How would your life look different if you truly believed Jesus was actually serious about everything he taught in the Sermon on the Mount?

In a famous passage, Jesus teaches about judgment. Contrary to popular belief, he does not rule out all judgment. Instead, he is highlighting a problem we all have: a proud spirit that stands over others in condemnation. This makes us useless and even harmful to those around us who need our help, and cuts us off from the help we need from others. Embracing Jesus and his grace allows us to become like him and engage others with a humble and loving spirit.Application Questions: 1. What are some ways you are quick to condemn and slow to love others?2. How can God's grace for you in Christ help you to be quick to love and slow to condemn?3. What are some specific ways you can look at others through a lens of grace this week?

Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount with one of his most famous exhortations ever: "Love your enemies." As we explore this radical call it illuminates the very nature of love that pours into our hearts through the Spirit and pours out of us indiscriminately to all those in our lives, even those who are hostile toward us. Application Questions: 1. In what ways do you understand God's love through the lens of our upside-down world? 2. What are examples of natural (reciprocal) love you can point to in your life?3. What opportunities do you have to show supernatural love? 4. Who is hostile toward you or opposed to you (or people like you) that might be who Jesus is referring to when he talks about "enemies"?5. How is God calling you to love differently this week?

Jesus introduces a revolutionary kingdom in Luke chapter 6. He appoints leaders and preaches a sermon outlining his kingdom program, starting with a value system laid out in the "beatitudes." These blessings and woes run against our natural instincts and the values of our world. Yet they line up with reality in deep ways, leading us to a far richer life now and into eternity. Application Questions: 1. How do the beatitudes challenge the normal approach to life in Los Angeles? 2. What about the beatitudes scare you, and why? What about the beatitudes excite you, and why? 3. What do you think it would take for your value system to match up to what we find in the beatitudes? How does Jesus and his gospel fit in? 

We all need rest. But where do we get it? And how does Jesus offer it? On two separate occasions Jesus shows the Pharisees (and us) how badly we misunderstand the nature of rest, and clarifies that true rest is only found in him.Application Questions: 1. What are areas in life you tend to "human-splain" to God about how things should be?2. How do you usually pursue rest?3. Is your pursuit of rest primarily self-focused or God-focused?4. How is Jesus' vision for Sabbath rest more conservative or libertine than you expect?5. What is one thing you can do to pursue more God-oriented Sabbath rest on a weekly basis?

Against the assumption of many, Christianity will inevitably bring joy into the human heart. In this passage from Luke, we find Jesus bringing joy to a tax collector and his friends. When pressed, he describes life with him as a wedding celebration. This morning we will look at the joy Jesus brings and see what it can mean for our own lives following him.Application Questions: 1. Do you naturally associate Christianity with joy? Why or why not? 2. In what ways do you see "religion" (apart from Christ) keeping you from joy? 3. How can you embrace the joy Christ offers you this week in your own life? 

On this unity Sunday we step back to explore the importance of community, why we all need it, and why we all tend to find it more difficult than we expect.Application Questions: 1. Who is are you traveling the journey of life with?2. What makes living in community with others difficult for you?3. How do you see comparison in your heart pushing others away?4. How do you see pride in your heart pushing others away?5. How does the gospel set you free from the prison of comparison and pride?

Jesus' ministry is full of healing: the blind see, the lame walk, and the sick are raised to full health. This passage describes two healings in detail, and they teach us about the healing of Jesus overall. Jesus heals a leper, addressing a variety of needs with his grace. He touches a man many considered untouchable, demonstrating a rich compassion for those in need. And when Jesus heals a paralyzed man, he surprises everyone by diagnosing and addressing his greatest need and our own.Application Questions: 1. How can the comprehensive healing of Jesus give you more patience, endurance, and love in your life now? 2. What would it look like for our church community to follow Jesus lead and refuse to keep others at arms length, especially in their places of greatest need? 3. Do you agree with Jesus' diagnosis that your greatest need is the forgiveness of your sins? How does your answer influence the way you live?