Gateway Fellowship

This is the first time someone was so tall I could barely fit them in the baptismal tub. :)

I wrote this for me, but shared it in case others may find it helpful.

What is it that God most wants from and FOR you and me?

"A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out."

An overview.

Fear and mere human reasoning are not the life God intends us to live by faith and the insights of his self-revelation. There is a better, way more peaceful, way more hopeful way, by the Word of God.

I'm loved by God as is. I trust God as is. My life is blessed as is. I love others as is.

Jay is a fervent member of the Wednesday Club.

Mark walks with a light step and an ease in his spirit. He serves as our overseer.

This Wednesday conversation was about Isaiah 55.

"No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:18)

5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now after carefully weighing the facts, I see them as worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For Jesus’ sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as dung, as filth, as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer depend on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through trust in Christ. God’s righteousness is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to su

This is based on the gospel of John.

Don't stuff your tears. Don't dump your tears. Sow your tears.

This is a NO condemnation gospel.

In the midst of our pain, God doesn't merely send answers. He sends love in the flesh to be with us. This chat is about embodied pain, love, and spirituality centering on the meaning of the incarnation and the cross.

If we are a home in which Christ comfortably dwells, it will impact every sphere of our lives like the waves from a drop in concentric circles. What does it mean to "dwell well" in Christ so that we bear good fruit?

This is a guided meditation on loss and the restoration of hope based on Ezekiel 37.

God's grace is creative, bringing order and light out of darkness and chaos. A mature Jesus-follower helps others get out of sin instead of throwing them away (Gal 6), extends creative welcome to outsiders (Acts 10), and experiences God creating a new heart and cleansing of their own sins as well (Ps 51).

At the core of our faith is forgiveness, with a view to restoring true heart to heart intimacy with God.