It is so good to be back home. It’s always good to be away. But, it’s great to be back.

As the Maguires spent the last 10 days in Texas with Amanda’s family (and the mosquitos… and the suffocating humidity), I spent time praying and dreaming about the future of the Mariners MV community. What kind of impact will we have in the surrounding neighborhoods? How many people will find repair for their troubled marriages? How many estranged friends will find reconciliation and forgiveness? How many people might be released from the power of addiction? How many people will discover a community overcoming the cynicism of the world with a vibrant hope in Jesus? My time away has given me such a powerful sense of optimism about the next season of life and ministry together.

I am so excited to be back teaching this weekend. We’ll get a tangible look at one of the most compelling pictures of the Kingdom of God. We will give people an opportunity to come forward to receive prayer for healing — emotional, psychological, physical, spiritual, relational. This is a weekend requiring the triumvirate virtues of courage, humility, and faith. Consider in your own life what might require healing. But, also consider the people in your life who are in need of healing. What might it look like to include them this Sunday at Mariners?

Then, after church we’ll celebrate together at our 39th annual Mariners MV beach day on Sunday afternoon at Doheny. What a great opportunity to bring, not only your own family, but also your friends and neighbors who are looking to find a way into the church. Let’s surf together. Let’s get a sunburn together. Let’s be clever, ambitious, and winsome about the ways we enfold people from our community into life of the church.

Grateful to be home,

Jeff