Journey Community Church La Mesa, California

Message Summary: We are all about helping ordinary people disconnected from God to access the depth of life “with God” through Jesus Christ. In every great endeavor, at every critical moment, there were people who have to try something big, difficult and even crazy. This is true of those who have participated in the life of Journey these past 25 years. We are currently in the midst of I Live the Journey, making changes that will enable us to reach those who are not yet connected to God. As we move into the future, we will engage with a desire for more of God, sacrifice and faith. 25 Series: Join us as we celebrate and commemorate 25 years of this community called Journey. 25 years of being a come as you are church. 25 years of life-changing stories. 25 years of partnering in our local and global communities. 25 years of helping people access the depth of life “with God” through Jesus Christ.

Message Summary: God changes peoples’ lives as they connect with Him. He has great authority, power and love to do so. God also changes lives by bringing people to Himself through this thing called “the church.” He is already working in your story to bring about change. As we choose faith/trust in God, God’s activity in our lives is activated. 25 series: Join us as we celebrate and commemorate 25 years of this community called Journey. 25 years of being a come as you are church. 25 years of life-changing stories. 25 years of partnering in our local and global communities. 25 years of helping people access the depth of life “with God” through Jesus Christ.

Message Summary: There are four mega themes that run through the Bible: God, God saves, sacrifice and faith. God reveals Himself in the Bible as the Lord. What does the Lord do? He saves. He is the hero of my story. How does He save? He saves through sacrifices, that all point to the ultimate sacrifice: Jesus. Our response is faith or trust in the work of the hero. This faith is marked by baptism. Living Biblically Series What would it look like to live Biblically?...Really! There’s a new TV series out where the main character begins living his life 100% by the Bible to find direction. Is it an absurd idea? Is it even possible? How do we make sense of the Bible in our fast-paced, media-driven world? Join us as we explore the possibilities!

Message Summary: God invites us to bring our questions and He promises to show up for us as we sincerely seek Him. But we also have to be aware that sometimes we can take a wrong turn and forget that reasoning, questioning, and research have limits. We can’t answer every question but we can move forward when we release our fears that the Bible needs us to defend it, when we discern the difference between doubt and unbelief, when we remember that the goal of seeking is to find and when we realize that we must at some point decide to trust God in spite of our questions. Living Biblically Series What would it look like to live Biblically?...Really! There’s a new TV series out where the main character begins living his life 100% by the Bible to find direction. Is it an absurd idea? Is it even possible? How do we make sense of the Bible in our fast-paced, media-driven world? Join us as we explore the possibilities!

Message Summary: There are a few ways to become stronger interpreters of the Bible. The starting place is thinking about reading the Bible like a conversation that is guided by questions. It’s helpful to change our question to “God what does this say about you?” rather than “What is this saying to me?” Realizing that the New Testament writers use the Old Testament as a launching pad to help bring clarity to situations, we need to interpret through the lens of the bigger story of God. We can practice these strategies on our own this week. Living Biblically Series What would it look like to live Biblically?...Really! There’s a new TV series out where the main character begins living his life 100% by the Bible to find direction. Is it an absurd idea? Is it even possible? How do we make sense of the Bible in our fast-paced, media-driven world? Join us as we explore the possibilities!

Message Summary: There are plenty of people getting weird from getting into the Bible. However there are ways to be into the Bible and still avoid being weird. Weirdos ignore context. Weirdos forget what the Bible is. Weirdos petrify the scripture. So we stick with Jesus, we dive in to the Bible and know that God has given us what we need to understand it. Living Biblically Series What would it look like to live Biblically?...Really! There’s a new TV series out where the main character begins living his life 100% by the Bible to find direction. Is it an absurd idea? Is it even possible? How do we make sense of the Bible in our fast-paced, media-driven world? Join us as we explore the possibilities!

Message Summary: We all have picked up some distorted pictures of God and need to be intentional about sorting through them. When we read the Bible, we need to read it carefully, in community and through the lens of Jesus. We can read with the Jesus lens by becoming aware of three plot spoilers as we read: Jesus is the denouement, Jesus is the ultimate and final revelation of God and the point of the Bible is restored imago dei and an invitation of interactive conversational relationship with God. We move forward into clarity as we read the Bible through the lens of Jesus, try living Jesus-focused and wrestle with the question, “Do I have the Son?” Living Biblically Series What would it look like to live Biblically?...Really! There’s a new TV series out where the main character begins living his life 100% by the Bible to find direction. Is it an absurd idea? Is it even possible? How do we make sense of the Bible in our fast-paced, media-driven world? Join us as we explore the possibilities!

Message Summary: We clearly need something that can help us to navigate life. Jesus was clear that we could find what we need in the Bible. The Bible is about God’s calling and dealings with Israel. But the story is bigger than them and has everything to do with what God was doing for all humanity. It is a place for all to meet God and it is actually beneficial to us. If we want to actually profit from it, we need to start by reading it and taking it up on its offer of LIFE. Living Biblically Series What would it look like to live Biblically?...Really! There’s a new TV series out where the main character begins living his life 100% by the Bible to find direction. Is it an absurd idea? Is it even possible? How do we make sense of the Bible in our fast-paced, media-driven world? Join us as we explore the possibilities!

There are three questions that Easter brings up: “Just who is this guy?”, “What’s this got to do with me?”, and “Now what do I do?” Jesus was asked who He was repeatedly during the trials He experienced leading up to His crucifixion. His answer was, “The Son of God.” He authenticated His claims with the power of the resurrection that has been made available to us. This establishes Him as the Lord we can trust to give our lives to. As Lord, He lays down His life. We can count on the fact that Jesus has overcome death and really begin to live. It’s now our move to seek Him, ask Him to show Himself as real and to entrust our lives to Him.

Message Summary: Jesus gave notice to the Sadducees and Pharisees that they kingdom of God they were waiting for had already arrived. But somehow they missed it. In spite of all the commotion that surrounds Jesus as He enters Jerusalem, He stays present to what’s happening in God’s kingdom. He invites us to open our eyes to His kingdom and refuse to let past wounds or future worry get in the way of being present. We have the opportunity this week to take notice of the kingdom of God in the midst of us. Field Notes Series: Whatever terms we use — Christ follower, Christian, Disciple, Believer — authentic relationship and apprenticeship to Jesus is not a check box or merely a set of beliefs. It’s not a religion we belong to. It’s not a stationary thing — it’s a journey, a movement and it is disorienting at times. In fact, as you read the story of Jesus in the book of Luke, the longest section —the part that gets us to Good Friday and Easter — is called “the Travel Narrative.” It reads like a travelogue of

Message Summary: Often on our journey with Jesus, we find we need to adjust our course and move toward Him with Him. We will be distracted by gifts and need to return to the healer who is the only one who can truly satisfy. We go back when we realize God gives us stuff so He can give us Himself and when we understand and pray, “God, be my all encompassing one thing.” Field Notes Series: Whatever terms we use — Christ follower, Christian, Disciple, Believer — authentic relationship and apprenticeship to Jesus is not a check box or merely a set of beliefs. It’s not a religion we belong to. It’s not a stationary thing — it’s a journey, a movement and it is disorienting at times. In fact, as you read the story of Jesus in the book of Luke, the longest section —the part that gets us to Good Friday and Easter — is called “the Travel Narrative.” It reads like a travelogue of sorts. Luke 9:51 says, “As the days approached…He set His face to go to Jerusalem.” On the way to the most defining event in history — Jesus

Message Summary: On our travel journey there are some facts that kind of hit you in the face. Jesus wants us to feel the force of these. The chief among them is: clearly it’s possible to miss out. It’s up to us if we miss out or not. The synagogue official in this Luke passage is a clear example of this. Ed suggests three ways to keep us from missing out: watch your religion, understand the heart of covenant and keep the person of Jesus as the point and the message. Field Notes series: Whatever terms we use — Christ follower, Christian, Disciple, Believer — authentic relationship and apprenticeship to Jesus is not a check box or merely a set of beliefs. It’s not a religion we belong to. It’s not a stationary thing — it’s a journey, a movement and it is disorienting at times. In fact, as you read the story of Jesus in the book of Luke, the longest section —the part that gets us to Good Friday and Easter — is called “the Travel Narrative.” It reads like a travelogue of sorts. Luke 9:51 says, “As the days appr

Message Summary: Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem, knowing He would die there. He had conversations with three men as they considered following Him. Jesus laid out what that would mean for each one of them; dying to security and comfort, detaching from religious and cultural expectations and releasing attachments to family. We can learn what it means to follow Jesus as we stay tuned and respond to His inciting voice. Field Notes Series: Whatever terms we use — Christ follower, Christian, Disciple, Believer — authentic relationship and apprenticeship to Jesus is not a check box or merely a set of beliefs. It’s not a religion we belong to. It’s not a stationary thing — it’s a journey, a movement and it is disorienting at times. In fact, as you read the story of Jesus in the book of Luke, the longest section —the part that gets us to Good Friday and Easter — is called “the Travel Narrative.” It reads like a travelogue of sorts. Luke 9:51 says, “As the days approached…He set His face to go to Jerusale

Message Summary: We default to doing life as "soul" proprietors: owner-operators. God is calling us to a life as friends in partnership with Himself so that we can participate with Him in His good work. Jesus pulled this off and demonstrated his “technique” for us. He centered every scene with total conscious dependence on God, observed what God was already doing and joined Him. We can show up in the name of Jesus as we surrender and activate. Activate Series: When you’re in motion you generate energy. In fact, the active, engaged life is a fulfilled and energized life. When we find ourselves living out rhythms of existence in which we are lethargic, despairing, lonely and static we may have experienced a subtle slip — a slip from vibrant to stagnant movement with God. An active life that moves in God rhythms taps a surplus of “God” energy. Who doesn’t want more Spirit juice? Through our Activate series we will embrace four lanes of activation — calling, mystery, interaction and partnership.

Message Summary: Our interactions with people shape us for good or for bad. High quality interactions have the potential to enable us to experience our best selves. Jesus taught us how to engage in high quality interactions through experiencing and expressing agape love. This kind of love is the fruit of living in connection with Him. Activate Series: When you’re in motion you generate energy. In fact, the active, engaged life is a fulfilled and energized life. When we find ourselves living out rhythms of existence in which we are lethargic, despairing, lonely and static we may have experienced a subtle slip — a slip from vibrant to stagnant movement with God. An active life that moves in God rhythms taps a surplus of “God” energy. Who doesn’t want more Spirit juice? Through our Activate series we will embrace four lanes of activation — calling, mystery, interaction and partnership.

Message Summary: Our faith is activated when it becomes alive and dynamic. Last week we recognized God’s calling on our lives. We respond to this calling with faith. Our faith is activated when we say “yes” to the call; when we move into tangibly loving our neighbors and when we make and keep commitments to show up. Our faith is also activated when we surrender to God, putting Him radically first. Sometimes this means giving my loss to God and trusting that life fully works when He alone is worshiped. Activate Series: When you’re in motion you generate energy. In fact, the active, engaged life is a fulfilled and energized life. When we find ourselves living out rhythms of existence in which we are lethargic, despairing, lonely and static we may have experienced a subtle slip — a slip from vibrant to stagnant movement with God. An active life that moves in God rhythms taps a surplus of “God” energy. Who doesn’t want more Spirit juice? Through our Activate series we will embrace four lanes of activation — call

Message Summary: As beings made imago dei, we are all called by God, to God and for God. Calling is how God rolls. Our calling is all-encompassing and self-forgetful. It always involves connecting and reconciling people to God. Within a life that moves into God’s calling will come power, help and leading into frequent specific callingS. Activate Series: When you’re in motion you generate energy. In fact, the active, engaged life is a fulfilled and energized life. When we find ourselves living out rhythms of existence in which we are lethargic, despairing, lonely and static we may have experienced a subtle slip — a slip from vibrant to stagnant movement with God. An active life that moves in God rhythms taps a surplus of “God” energy. Who doesn’t want more Spirit juice? Through our Activate series we will embrace four lanes of activation — calling, mystery, interaction and partnership.

Message Central Thought: Spiritual health and financial health are connected probably more than you think. Message Summary: Jesus had a lot to say on the relationship of spiritual and financial health. We can use money to direct and move our hearts to a new place of keeping God first. When we use God as a means to an end in order to satisfy our desires, we fall into idolatry which is disastrous to our spiritual health. But financial health moves us to seek God first and trust Him to satisfy and provide. There are some steps to take us toward financial health: learning Bible principles of financial health and installing the keystone habit of tithing. Series Central Thought: To get really healthy, you’ve got to get spiritually healthy.

Message Summary: We flourish when we experience transformation. In fact, growth or “transformation” is God’s intention for us as Christ-followers. However, we seem to get stuck in the pattern of same old habits, same old me. Transformation is not something we can do, but is the inevitable work of God in our lives. We focus on trusting God, not pleasing God. God then changes us with our cooperation, participation, and effort. Series Summary: Life can be so busy — full schedules, distractions and financial stress! Time has a way of escaping our grasp. This treadmill, non-stop life can place our spiritual, financial and relational health in the back seat, or for some even in the trunk! Coming into the New Year, how do we deal with life fatigue? We combat it by developing some “healthy” habits. Join us as we kick off the year by exploring habits that will help us flourish in 2018.

Message Summary: We flourish when we experience relational health. In fact, there is a theology of relational health. We are made for and by a God who is the source of relationship. But something always goes wrong because our brokenness creates a condition of alienation, separation and exile. Jesus makes connection possible through the reconciliation He offers us. We can get more relationally healthy in the new year. Series Summary: Life can be so busy — full schedules, distractions and financial stress! Time has a way of escaping our grasp. This treadmill, non-stop life can place our spiritual, financial and relational health in the back seat, or for some even in the trunk! Coming into the New Year, how do we deal with life fatigue? We combat it by developing some “healthy” habits. Join us as we kick off the year by exploring habits that will help us flourish in 2018.