Nelly D'Alessandro

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Come Alive: When we are washed by Jesus.

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Come Alive: When we are washed by Jesus.

As we continue to look to Jesus to “Come Alive,” we’re considering the layers of meaning in Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in John 13. In spite of our resistance, Jesus is constantly moving toward us to show us his strength, his care, and ability to set things right in our lives. His Spirit is washing us from shame, fear, anxiety, or even just the disappointment of life.

Are we slowing down enough to let him care for us, and show tenderness to the more “unsightly” parts of us?

By Nelly D’Alessandro

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Come Alive: What needs to be awakened?

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Come Alive: What needs to be awakened?

In this introduction to our “Come Alive” series, we explore Lazarus’ coming-alive moment in John. Mary and Martha’s friendship with Jesus is a great model for us, as we ask ourselves what parts of our selves still need to be awoken by the sound of Jesus’ voice.

We’ll also consider together the counter-cultural pursuit of Rest as another invitation to “coming alive” in Jesus more intentionally this summer.

By Nelly D’Alessandro

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Philippians: Good Work

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Philippians: Good Work

As we kick off our series on Philippians, we find a powerful origin story of the church at Philippi in Acts 16: where two women of wildly different social statuses find deliverance through Jesus. Paul and friends are then thrown into prison, bound, and they worship the Living God deep into the midnight hours. In the midst of their worship we have a dramatic prison-break—an earthquake shakes them out of their chains. About a decade later, Paul writes to this small church in Philippi, reminding them of his love for them in Christ. Picking up in Philippians chapter 1, we will explore the power of the Spirit’s kind voice, resilient joy in suffering, and the insistence that Jesus will finish the work he began in us.

By Nelly D’Alessandro

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If Jesus is Supreme, You'll be Prayerful

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If Jesus is Supreme, You'll be Prayerful

Paul’s final call to the Colossians is to stay devoted to prayer. As modeled by Jesus, prayer isn’t a boring religious duty, but a natural outgrowth of love for God. In this talk, we’ll dig into what prayer is, how we need the Spirit to do it, and why it can transform a community.

Rebuilding & Reconnecting with God

God’s insanely loyal love is like a line-leader, always showing us the way back into vibrant, close relationship with Him. Whether you’re in the midst of rebuilding your faith (after perhaps a time of disassembling it), or just needing to find time to reconnect with Jesus, we can do this together, as a community. Staying connected in any relationship takes time and intention and our relationship with God is no different. Discover some creative new ideas for rebuilding and reconnecting with God in this podcast.

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Back To The Start: Garden

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Genesis 2 tells a second creation narrative that is told from the ground-up, whereas Genesis 1 tells the story from a more cosmic perspective. It speaks of Eden as a space where luxury and pleasure had no limit. It contained a garden where God himself walked with humanity, along with some symbolic rivers and trees. In this poetic-narrative we see a mirror-image of where all humanity is headed, when Jesus finally restores the earth. This series is called Back to the Start, but part of that is remembering where we are going. We aren’t headed back to Eden, but we are headed toward an earth that is restored and renewed by Jesus himself, when he will finally set all things right.

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The Paradox of the Triumphal Entry

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On this important day en route to Easter, we celebrate Palm Sunday as a paradox. Jesus was not the sort of king that God’s people were expecting. In the same way, Jesus experienced the heaviness of disappointment in God’s people missing the point. This message digs into the paradox of the now-and-not yet of Christ’s kingdom and how we can make room for Him and listen to the Spirit in new ways.

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Where Help Comes From – Honestly Confronting & Waiting on the Lord

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In Psalm 130 we’re shown one way to approach our Righteous God: crying out honestly, demanding God’s attention, but also remembering his compassion and mercy. Even more, as a “Psalm of Ascent,” the poet of Psalm 130 insists that waiting is a legitimate and embodied prayer. Waiting is an under-rated theme in the whole of the scriptures, and the second half of this Psalm gives us some encouragement in how to embrace waiting as a spiritual practice in our own lives. Ultimately, we wait for Jesus’ return to set all things right, and as he is even now “making all things new,” we wait in the now-and-not-yet of his Kingdom, in hope.

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1 John - This is the Message - Of God's Deep Compassion

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As we wrap up 1 John, we take a fresh look at John the Beloved. Why does it matter that he saw himself as “the one Jesus loved”? Perhaps it’s connected with the reality of the depth of God’s womb-like compassion for his children…and that, says 1 John, is what we are! When we reflect on 1 John in light of the gospel account of John, there’s a richness to the character of Jesus that we see more clearly. We are invited to look closer at the power of the Spirit, of testimony, and one final “p.s.” of 1 John 5.