Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon. Psalm 31:24

This weekend, across all Mariners’ campuses, we’ll familiarize ourselves with a phrase that has become one of our rally cries: BE FEARLESS.

That idea is somewhat unconventional in a world governed by fearfulness. Corporations spend exorbitant amounts of money to artificially create fears that can be (for a small price) alleviated by the purchase of the goods they sell. The statistics on the use of anti-anxiety medication are quite telling – up 30% from a decade ago. People generally resign themselves to a life that is, at least somewhat, centered on coping with fear. Foremost of the anxiety creating factors in peoples’ lives: money. People talk often about how money-issues create a kind of captivity that feels virtually inescapable. School loans, car loans, mortgages, saving for the future, keeping a roof over our heads, and an occasional Starbucks all add up. We find ourselves fearful that we’ll never be able to get out from underneath it all.

While the issue of money is a broad conversation, with a multitude of implications, one of the most compelling remedies for the grip money (or, the stuff we’ve accumulated with it) has on our lives, is learning to release our control over it by taking courageous steps toward generosity. This Sunday, we’ll take those steps together. We’ll look into the face of the needs surrounding our church community – big needs like: feeding and clothing at-risk families and children, education programs for the underprivileged, extending basic medical care here and abroad, job training and literacy classes, homeless shelter renovations, and improving the living conditions of kids in foster care among others.

Perhaps you’ve heard us use the phrase: “The beauty of our church is always best expressed outside the walls of the worship center.” We believe in it wholeheartedly. This weekend, we’ll put that idea into practice. We’ll raise money and keep NONE of it for our interior church needs. The church never looks more beautiful than when it’s generous. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we bravely live out generosity

See you Sunday,

Jeff

It is one of my great hopes — passions really — that we would be a church of people who are committed to reading the Bible. So many people have their image of God shaped by everything except the Bible. Yes, the Bible is occasionally confusing. Yes, God appears to do things that don’t make sense. And, yes, without context some of it can be a bit tedious. But, the broadly sweeping story of God is one in which He longs to rescue people out of captivity (whatever that might be) leading them into wholeness, becoming the people He intended them to become. We miss that story when we only read the Bible in excerpted form.

We may hear about God’s goodness from something quoted to us. We may hear about Jesus’ life during a Sunday sermon. We may get wise insight on how to live from a devotional website. But, generally, we aren’t forced to wrestle with the difficult stuff of the Bible when we encounter it in tiny chunks. Our faith grows when it is stretched. We need to ask big questions and wrestle with weighty doubts. I want us to be a church where people can own their faith — not with arrogance but with humble confidence — with a persistent heart for people who don’t yet know the full story of God’s great love. Let’s read together. Pick up a Daily Message at the bookstore or download the mobile app.

Last week, I mentioned something in my note about the “mobile-app” version of the Daily Message (Mariners’ daily Bible reading plan). A number of people either stopped me and asked about it on Sunday or called the church to ask about the mobile app. So, let me walk you through the process of downloading the mobile plan for reading your Bible on an Apple device. I know many of you do not have an Apple (iOS) device. But, the process should be virtually the same for those of you with Android and Windows smartphones as well.

1. Visit the app store and search: “YOUVERSION.” Then, add the app to your phone.
2. Open the app and search: “PLANS”
   
3. In plans, search: “DISCIPLESHIP JOURNAL’S BOOK AT A TIME”
4. Start your reading. 

See you Sunday,

Jeff