Mill Creek Church

As our world grows more connected, our neighbors are closer than ever. But how close are we to our neighbors? We might not share a fence but we can still share their burdens and joys. And as we live this out, we bring Jesus to the neighborhood.

The great command is to love God with all our heart and soul and mind. The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. But who is our neighbor? For many of us, some of our neighbors are children without a family. How might we embrace the orphan?

We don't have to look far to find people struggling financially. They are in our backyards, they are our neighbors. But what is poverty? And how can I really help someone in that struggle? Instead of being overwhelmed by the total need, what if I was willing to go deep with one situation?

In spite of the super-connected world we live in, loneliness can be a very real struggle for many. In order to be a good neighbor to the lonely people in life, we might have to change a few things in our heart and schedules. ** If you would like to go deeper with us in this study, search under "Events" in the Bible app for Mill Creek and a reading plan "How To Neighbor".

The question posed to Jesus is still the same question we ask today. Who is my neighbor? The common answers would be the people we have something in common with, the people we enjoy being around, the ones who look like us. But Jesus answers the question differently. Who are the "they" in your life?

Are we who we say we are? Do we actually practice our values as we parent, as we spend our money, as we work? Sometimes there can be a gap between what we say we believe and how we actually live. The first followers of Jesus were so connected to his message of life and love that it flowed through them in their everyday encounters. They were simple people, yet the power of Jesus was evident. Is the same true for us?

One of our greatest fears is having to explain why we go to church or why we believe in God. Faith conversations can be very awkward and most of us shy away from them because we never know what to say. Our faith is meant to be personal but maybe it shouldn't be private. Maybe the reason people don't want to talk about faith is because they haven't been told the right story!

Hang around any church long enough and the topic of money will come up. It will usually be awkward and uncomfortable yet money is a huge part of our lives. Jesus often taught about money because he knows how attached it can become to our lives. But he doesn’t really want our money, he wants our hearts and when he has our hearts, its not about money, its about generosity.

Show up to any church and you will find people singing. Nowhere else in culture do we gather big groups of people together and sing. It can be uncomfortable and just hard to do. Even as followers of Jesus, when life is hard, what's the point of singing? We discover the church has always been a singing group of people but the real question is why?

Worship in church can contain many elements and taking communion can be one of the confusing ones for people on the outside looking in. Communion has caused many disagreements and debates through the years. As we look at the origin story of communion we find some parts to the story that maybe we have never heard before, a story of family and unity at the foot of the cross.

Religious people tend to have some strange traditions. Many times we have emotional attachments to the way we are used to doing church and church things. Baptism. Communion. Worship. Pews versus seats. Why do we do the things we do?

Every athletic event has that moment where momentum changes because of a special play, the right substitute or crazy coaching decision. There is one simple thing that can radically change the momentum of our relationships. The central relational ethic of Jesus was always love, it was all about how we use our power and authority to benefit others. Want to change the relationships of your life? It all starts with one question.

Every parent knows the value of relationships. Technology allows us to keep track of who our kids are interacting with, what they are saying and who they are saying it to. We care because we know how important relationships and friendships are for our kids. They are also important for us as adults. Our closest relationships often influence the quality and direction of our lives. So who is close to you? Who are you allowing into the circle of your life?

We are taught early in life to play fair, to be fair. But fair doesn’t work well in a relational context. We can be good to people who are good to us but what about those who are bad – hurtful – disrespectful? In order to live at peace with everyone, we can’t be fair. So how do we live at peace? How do we handle the relational debts that are owed us? Chris takes us deeper into the idea of forgiveness and how it is more about giving someone what they need rather than what they deserve.

Relationships break down. People leave. Hurt and brokenness are a part of our relational culture. How should we deal with the broken and shattered relationships of our lives? While the idea of peace sounds good, the reality seems impossible. But maybe we have been using the wrong template of peace, maybe there is a way to find peace with others.

There are lots of ways to define ourselves, lots of words to use to label ourselves. But how often do those labels match the ones God might use? Do we see ourselves the say way that God does? Often we believe our perceptions of us are the same as God. If we are going to be at peace with ourselves, we have to learn to see ourselves as God does.

Relationships are in every part of our lives. To be successful and enriched in life, we have to be involved with people. Relationships are complicated and tricky and the source of great pain and hurt. But if God made us to live in relationships, maybe they don't need to be as chaotic, maybe relationships can be simple. For that to happen, it all starts with peace. How do we find peace?

The story of Easter and an empty tomb is hard to comprehend. It doesn't make sense. But for the first followers of Jesus, it was THE message. The story of the empty tomb changed them forever. The movement of Jesus wasn't based simply on an idea or a teaching, it was based on an event. Because of that event - everything changes!

The person you are has been shaped by those who have loved you and those who have hurt you. Others' behavior toward us has a lasting impact. And Jesus understood this so well that his most urgent command to his disciples was about how they should treat each other. For Jesus, his chief concern was how we behave towards others but over time, the debate has become focused on what we believe.

Religious people love loopholes. They tend to live in the gray areas and can be very theological. They have their lists of top 5 sins but none of it ever seems to apply to them. They use the Scriptures but never seem to obey them. Rather than look for the loopholes, disciples ask one question: What does love require of me?