Tension is a natural part of relationships. Most of us hate it for sure. But tension can make us even better versions of ourselves. And, tension can only be “lived out” where deep trust exists. If trust isn't there, the relationship might actually snap.

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It’s easy to punt the promises of God to the future- to a time and space after we die. When do this, we turn the stories and the principles we see in Scripture into nothing more than allegories and tales about what COULD be rather than what SHOULD be in the moment. A lot of us live like...

In session 6 at The Advance, we talk through the power of relationships. One of the biggest takeaways is this: every significant turning point in your life- good or bad- is probably marked more by a PERSON that it is a PLACE. That is, we rarely make decisions “in a vacuum.”...

 The Bible outlines a few contradictory things about us- things that we need to hold in tension.

First, everything that happened to Jesus has already happened to us. We were crucified with Him, we died with Him, and we were buried. We also arose with Him AND we’ve been seated with Him...

To encounter YOU is to encounter the presence & power of the Kingdom. End of story. 

But let me explain… 

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a jillion times. I mean, if we're completely honest with one another, I've actually said it- or something like it: 

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There’s a rabbinical tradition that says Moses’ burning bush was always burning. Or, at least, that it had been burning for quite some time before Moses stumbled upon it.

Furthermore, tradition says that God was there and was READY to speak the entire time. It was only after Moses...

I worked in a rehab /re-entry / restoration center for about 7 years. Actually, 8 years- if you count my year-stint working under a grant program at the other one.

One thing I noticed is this: the boomerang. A lot of people walked through the front doors of our ministry center to...

I grew up hearing this phrase a lot in church world: “Love the sinner, but hate the sin.”

The problem with that statement is two-fold:

First, sin doesn’t exist apart from sinners. That is, it takes a person actually DOING something in order for sin to occur. 

Second,...

The message of Jesus is bigger than the forgiveness of sins. The Gospel affects all of life. Jesus desires for the Kingdom to come present, now. The goal isn’t simply to get people to Heaven; the goal is also to get Heaven to people.

Some background on that...

At the beginning of the...

As He approached the Cross, Jesus said a few important things- things completely relevant to how we often feel about how we relate to God. Whereas we tend to think God is out to “get us” or “judge us,” Jesus said- 

“Now is the time of judgment. The ruler of...