Verve City Church: Weekly Messages

This week:A few weeks ago (June 18) we spent time talking about the idea of blessing: we will typically bless people to the extent that we feel blessed in our inner being. In this online-only message, Josh further explores the story of Jacob, discusses the four reasons we often don’t feel blessed, and reminds us that God is often present where we least expect to find Him.Series overview:Since 1938, Harvard Medical School has been conducting a long-term study of 724 men aimed at answering the question: "What makes a good life?" They tracked how people lived, loved, and worked in their twenties and thirties, and then studied how their lives turned out over the following decades. These researchers have determined the single most important trait of “Happy-Well” elders is healthy relationships. As one researcher puts it, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” For anyone who is interested in beginning, maintaining, and deepening the relationships they have with others, we will find much wisdom in the teachings of Jesus and in the Scriptures he believed in. 

This week: Jesus said in Mark 10 that anyone who gives up a house or their family for his sake would receive 100 times more houses and family members. And not in some distant future: he said we would receive that now. The key to discerning what Jesus intended by this saying seems to be understanding the kind of community he was inviting us into. Series overview:Since 1938, Harvard Medical School has been conducting a long-term study of 724 men aimed at answering the question: "What makes a good life?" They tracked how people lived, loved, and worked in their twenties and thirties, and then studied how their lives turned out over the following decades. These researchers have determined the single most important trait of “Happy-Well” elders is healthy relationships. As one researcher puts it, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” For anyone who is interested in beginning, maintaining, and deepening the relationships they have with others, we will find much wisdom in the teachings of Jesus and in the Scriptures he believed in. 

This week:You were young and impressionable and still figuring your life out. And someone said an unkind thing to you. And it was years ago, and it was really no big deal, and you’ve totally moved on. Except that you kind of haven’t. Because all these years later: you still remember the thing they said. We have the power to curse people in ways they will remember forever. How do we choose instead to live a life of blessing?Series overview:Since 1938, Harvard Medical School has been conducting a long-term study of 724 men aimed at answering the question: "What makes a good life?" They tracked how people lived, loved, and worked in their twenties and thirties, and then studied how their lives turned out over the following decades. These researchers have determined the single most important trait of “Happy-Well” elders is healthy relationships. As one researcher puts it, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” For anyone who is interested in beginning, maintaining, and deepening the relationships they have with others, we will find much wisdom in the teachings of Jesus and in the Scriptures he believed in. 

This week:The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over the course of their life time. That’s 90,000 hours of labor, projects, meetings, TPS reports, KPI reports, strategy sessions, and hard conversations. So how does a follower of Jesus think about their relationships at work and their relationship to work? If we’re not thoughtful, our relationship to work can overcrowd our lives and leave us very little room for the friendships we so desperately need.Series overview:Since 1938, Harvard Medical School has been conducting a long-term study of 724 men aimed at answering the question: "What makes a good life?" They tracked how people lived, loved, and worked in their twenties and thirties, and then studied how their lives turned out over the following decades. These researchers have determined the single most important trait of “Happy-Well” elders is healthy relationships. As one researcher puts it, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” For anyone who is interested in beginning, maintaining, and deepening the relationships they have with others, we will find much wisdom in the teachings of Jesus and in the Scriptures he believed in. 

This week:Great Britain recently appointed a “Loneliness Minister.” The U.S. Surgeon General released a warning in May of 2023 that loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking. It feels like we’re more connected and more isolated than we’ve ever been before. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way.Series overview:Since 1938, Harvard Medical School has been conducting a long-term study of 724 men aimed at answering the question: "What makes a good life?" They tracked how people lived, loved, and worked in their twenties and thirties, and then studied how their lives turned out over the following decades. These researchers have determined the single most important trait of “Happy-Well” elders is healthy relationships. As one researcher puts it, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” For anyone who is interested in beginning, maintaining, and deepening the relationships they have with others, we will find much wisdom in the teachings of Jesus and in the Scriptures he believed in. 

This week: Where and how you start the story determine the kind of story you are telling. But they don’t determine how that story will conclude. What did Jesus say about the end of our lives and the end of the world? Where is all of this leading and how do we determine our purpose in the midst of it?Series overview:One of the most unchallenged beliefs in Western culture is that life is about finding happiness. There is an ancient alternative to living for happiness, however: to live for meaning. To “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something out of you.Is it possible that there is something about the way of Jesus that holds a fundamental key to unlocking our own sense of purpose in the world?This series revolves around two fundamental questions: (1) What is Christianity? (2) How does Christianity teach us to live with meaning, purpose, and joy?

This week: Why does the Christian church exist? What is its purpose? Why belong to one? Wouldn’t it be easier and less mess to simply invest in a more individualistic faith? It turns out that Jesus had a bold, beautiful plan for the church that we’re invited to execute. Series Overview:One of the most unchallenged beliefs in Western culture is that life is about finding happiness. There is an ancient alternative to living for happiness, however: to live for meaning. To “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something out of you.Is it possible that there is something about the way of Jesus that holds a fundamental key to unlocking our own sense of purpose in the world?This series revolves around two fundamental questions: (1) What is Christianity? (2) How does Christianity teach us to live with meaning, purpose, and joy?

The Bible is not a guide to parenting. While it contains principles for raising children, it never attempts to give step-by-step instructions for how we should pour into the next generation. There is, however, much to be learned about parenting from the examples of Jesus and countless other Christian leaders who have spent their lives raising up future generations.

This Week:Understanding the grace of Jesus requires us to acknowledge our faults and our sin. As Donald Miller once wrote, “Grace only sticks to our imperfections.” Thankfully, those imperfections are not the end of our story.Series Overview:One of the most unchallenged beliefs in Western culture is that life is about finding happiness. There is an ancient alternative to living for happiness, however: to live for meaning. To “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something out of you.Is it possible that there is something about the way of Jesus that holds a fundamental key to unlocking our own sense of purpose in the world?This series revolves around two fundamental questions: (1) What is Christianity? (2) How does Christianity teach us to live with meaning, purpose, and joy?

This Week:Is it crazy to believe in angels, demons, or some kind of “devil” figure? What did Jesus seem to believe about the existence of a spiritual realm? And even if any of those things are real, what implications does that have for us?Series Overview:One of the most unchallenged beliefs in Western culture is that life is about finding happiness. There is an ancient alternative to living for happiness, however: to live for meaning. To “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something out of you.Is it possible that there is something about the way of Jesus that holds a fundamental key to unlocking our own sense of purpose in the world?This series revolves around two fundamental questions: (1) What is Christianity? (2) How does Christianity teach us to live with meaning, purpose, and joy?