Concluding the theme of the alpha day away, we look at the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Paul says as Christians we have an obligation to be people of God’s Holy Spirit. This means knowing who he is, what he does and how we can grow in our experience of him. We’re told the Spirit adopts us, frees us, makes us joyful and empowers us. An ongoing experience of all these things is vital to our growth as Christians.

By Ed Flint

Jesus’ first significant acts in Jerusalem are to curse a fig tree and clear the Temple courts. The two are related. Jesus’ intention is not to call the temple sacrificial system to reform, but something more dramatic: to prophesy its destruction. It is no longer fit for purpose. God’s presence will no longer reside in a building, but in the temple of Jesus’ followers’ hearts. And the atoning temple sacrifice will be once and for all replaced by Jesus’ bodily sacrifice on the cross.

In light of this, all attempts to save ourselves or our world at the altar's culture offers are futile. But when we receive the gift of God's presence at the core of our very beings, achieved for us by Jesus at the cross, we are enabled and empowered to live out the lives that offer real salvation to us and our communities. This is how Jesus saves the world.

By Ed Flint

In Mark 11:1-11, Jesus finally arrives into Jerusalem, the place that he has laid out as where he will spend his final days. By riding into town on a donkey, he is not only fulfilling the prophecy laid out to us in Zechariah 9:9, but also is subverting expectations of what it means to be a king. This approach, while completely countercultural then and now, invites Jesus' followers to walk in similarly humble footsteps.

Jesus is building with us a KIN-dom relationship -- where we become partners alongside him and continue the work that Jesus started. Through this passage, he demonstrates to us what can happen when we allow God to move, when we involve others in our lives, and when we admit that maybe we don't know best. Jesus' humility is an invitation to us to embrace the gifts we have not for our own glory or satisfaction, but for the good of others. 

By Rebekah Covington

Our beloved treasurer, board member, and spirit-filled friend Casey delivers his first (and final) sermon before he leaves for a new chapter abroad. 

Jesus uses whoever is available, regardless if they’re listening, qualified, “ready,” etc. In this farewell word, Casey uses the callings of Samuel and Matthew (in 1 Samuel and Luke respectively) to look back at the last 10 years of bread - where we’ve come from, and where we’re headed.

As Casey departs, we’re left with a challenge - what might this community look like, in 2025 and beyond, if we take the words of Jesus, to follow Him, seriously? Who will be called, and to what, if we truly open ourselves up to the power of the holy spirit?

Jesus steps down from his mountaintop experience of glory into the chaos of scribes, crowd, demonic oppression, and most importantly, the other disciples’ failure to represent Him in their battle with evil. They have not remembered what they have been taught. They have not been able to manage without him, and it shows us (and it showed Jesus) quite how far they still have to go, in their journey as His disciples. 

Commentators call this section of Mark’s gospel ‘a study of discipleship,' and as we continue to follow Him in our response to great need in our city, this passage could not be more timely. In it, we see Jesus' call be undermined as ours will always be too; we see Jesus' authentic frustration about that, and yet His doubling-down in commitment to His mission; and we see how it is that He keeps going to fulfill what He has been called to.

For any of us asking ‘where do we go from here,’ let’s look again at Jesus' example, and let Him remind us what it looks like to follow Him.

By Hannah Flint

The transfiguration is a rare moment of respite and balm for both the disciples, and Jesus, in the middle of the struggles of ministry. Despite the teaching, the healing, the deliverance and the miracles, Jesus is still opposed, threatened and misunderstood. Even his closest friends don’t really get it. And soon, he will make it to Jerusalem where suffering and execution await.

But here, on the mountain, Jesus is glorified. It is a moment of glory and wonder: the cloud of God’s presence enveloping all who witness it. It must have been wonderful to experience! If Jesus needed such a moment of respite from the brokenness of the world, how much more do we?

This week in Los Angeles has been a terrible reminder of the chaos of our world. But, thanks to Jesus, his glory and the presence of God is available to us all the time. This talk is a call to worship the divine Son of God and enter into his presence. Especially in times of trouble, there is no better place for us to be. In his presence, we are transformed - our motives, our prayers, our thoughts, and our desires are all aligned with his - and we are best able to be his people to a world in need.

By Ed Flint