Mosaic - Erwin McManus

In week three of his Genius of Jesus series, Pastor Erwin McManus brings us an important message that redefines how we value what is good. Despite a cultural focus that focuses on doing what is ‘right’ over everything else, Pastor Erwin reminds us that Jesus was not concerned with doing what was most right, but what was most good.  Drawing from 1 Kings, Pastor Erwin brings us into a story of two women who were fighting over a child that they both claimed was their own. This story reveals the genius of the good, as Solomon wades through the confusion of one woman’s treachery and reaches the heart of the matter. He suggests cutting the baby in half for each mother to have a part; the true mother is revealed as she begs that the child be given to the other woman, ensuring it can stay alive.  Pastor Erwin shares that a church culture which is focused on sin, or never doing what is wrong, has missed a crucial point of the scriptures. He shares a lesson learned from personal experience that when he focused less on his bad habits and more on doing good, he ran out of time for the wrong things. He explains that doing good is always based on one’s essence and not their performance.  If you’ve been struggling to figure out what the next right thing is for your life, this message will compel you toward the good!

In an important new message from his ‘Genius of Jesus’ series, Pastor Erwin McManus compels us to see the purpose of power differently. Based on the principles Jesus presents in Matthew chapter 5, this message unpacks what it means to use power to sacrificially serve those around us.  Though human history is filled with examples of power being misused, Pastor Erwin emphasizes that Jesus radically shifted what it meant to live powerfully with his teachings. Jesus empowers us to live a life of service to others and never a life of obligation. When we live a life of intention, determined to live in the power of service to others - there’s simply nothing others can take from us that we’re not already willing to give away.  If you’ve been wondering how you can take control of your power to fuel your genius, this message is for you!

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t find the uniqueness within you? In this insightful message based on his brand new book The Genius of Jesus: The Man Who Changed Everything, Pastor Erwin McManus helps us understand that we all carry a unique genius given to us by God. In Luke chapter 2, Pastor Erwin points out that Jesus showed genius as a young boy. He was asking questions that left the scholars of the day astonished at his insight. Jesus showed signs of genius from a young age in his ability to see to the heart of people and lead them into being fully human again. Pastor Erwin helps us understand that true genius is discovered when we become like children again, led by curiosity without the weight of shame and fear. Our truest selves emerge when we are trusting Jesus like children do. We were made for adventure and discovery. Our relationship with God enables us to unlock the purest form of genius inside of us when we are motivated by curiosity, wonder and a longing for adventure. If you’ve wondered how to access the genius inside of you, this message will be a roadmap to help you discover it once again.

Have you ever considered that intellect and faith are not at odds with one another? What if God intended to draw us closer to Him through our minds? In this life-changing message from Mosaic Conference in 2019, Pastor Erwin McManus encourages us to lean into the power of intelligence instead of being afraid that it will draw us away from a life of faith. Opening up the scriptures in Genesis, Pastor Erwin proposes that our capacity before the fall of man was infinite. For example, Adam was able to name and remember countless animals that God gave him authority over. Pastor Erwin wonders: Why do we have fantasies of being able to fly and have superpowers? Could it be that these fantasies are a shadow of the life we once lived  - a life of incredible capacity? From 2 Corinthians, Pastor Erwin emphasizes the beauty of our relationship with God, that we get to be connected to his thoughts. Our minds are where God wants to speak to us, imagine with us and create a new future through us. In our relationship to God, we have limitless potential. If you’ve wondered how intellect fits into a life of faith, this message will encourage you to be unafraid in your pursuit of higher thinking.

Has life ever left you feeling like you are stuck in time and space? In his inspiring message from Mosaic Conference in 2019, Pastor Erwin McManus gives us a new understanding of what it means to live from our connection to eternity. He helps us see that we were never meant to live from the material of our old selves because God is constantly regenerating us into the new. Based on Isaiah 55 and Ephesians chapter 1 & 2, Pastor Erwin points out that it wasn’t only Jesus that was raised from the dead and seated in eternity with God. In Ephesians 2, it states that we have been raised up with Jesus and seated in eternity as well. This means that though we live in time and space here on earth, we also exist from an eternal position. Just as an artist is meticulous about the material used to create their masterpiece, God places material inside of us that is eternal. We are meant to create a beautiful masterpiece with our lives from our connection to the eternal life Jesus died to give us. We are eternal beings living in time and space. If your life has felt mundane and you are looking for a way to come alive in your present moment, this message is for you.

Have you ever wondered what the role of the Church is in the world today? In this message from Mosaic Conference 2018, Pastor Erwin McManus examines the power of a community that is empowered by God’s intention. He helps us see that alone, our lives can be explained - but together, we tell a story that brings an unexplainable beauty to the world. Out of Ephesians 3, Pastor Erwin unpacks the mission God had in mind all along. Together as the Church, we were meant to tell the extraordinary story of God to those around us. Just like fireflies are beautiful on their own but at times can go unnoticed, we are meant to be a community of light that not only shows the way to others but expresses an astonishing beauty along the way. Pastor Erwin encourages us to read the Scriptures through the lens of ‘we’ instead of ‘me.’ God intended us to dream together instead of in isolation. Our dreams are meant to be connected to others and the wide-reaching story God is telling. If you are ready to step into the beauty of community through the Church, tune into this incredible message!

Do you ever feel as if your future is already written? In this beautiful message from Mosaic Conference 2018, Pastor Erwin McManus reveals how all of us are co-authors of the future. The future is not a concrete reality, but history that is ready to be created. Out of 1 Corinthians 2, Pastor Erwin explains that we can have access to the story God is telling because we have the Spirit of God inside of us. In our connection to God, we are able to create history the way God intended: a history filled with hope, joy and imagination. God gives us access to the eternal story he is writing into history in the present moment. Though we can feel limited by our circumstances, we are not trapped in time and space. We have access to the mind of God, who is eternal. Our lives are meant to be a portal between the present moment and the beautiful story that God is telling through us. If you need a new perspective that brings hope to your view of the future, this message is for you!

In a powerful, thought-provoking message from Mosaic Conference in 2018, Pastor Erwin McManus casts vision for the future of humanity. Based on Ezekiel 36, he highlights the promise God has for us as we take on the future: that our hearts of stone will be replaced with hearts of flesh. Pastor Erwin highlights that though at times he would rather have the heart of Iron Man instead of a heart of flesh, God doesn’t want to restore us to be hurt, but to bring us back to our original intent as humans, created with the imagination of God. Because God imagined us into the future, we were made to create the future we dream of as well. In his message, Pastor Erwin states that we create from our essence. This is why it is essential to create from a heart of flesh. When God gives us a new heart, we can create from our original intent-from a heart filled with compassion, empathy and intelligence. If you’ve been longing to create a future that right now you can only dream of, check out this amazing new message!

Many of us wonder ‘Is prayer really THAT powerful?!’ In part three of Pastor Erwin McManus’ series ‘Why This Matters,’ he helps us grasp the power of connecting with God through prayer. Growing up in El Salvador with a religious background, Pastor Erwin was mostly taught that the power of prayer was found in repetition. In this conversation, he helps us shift our perspective as he shares that the true power in prayer is found in listening to God. Based on the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18, we learn that prayer connects us to what God wants to do in and through us. Elijah prayed for the rain to stop and it did at his command. Similarly, Pastor Erwin shares about a time when he prayed for the rain to stop for an event he had planned in college. The rain stopped specifically on his college campus and enabled his event to go as planned when many classmates expected it to be canceled. Tune into this incredible message to learn how to connect to God through prayer.

Why is living a life of generosity so important? In part two of his new series, ‘Why This Matters,’  Pastor Erwin McManus emphasizes the impact generosity has on our souls, as well as on others around us. From Proverbs 11, he teaches us that generosity helps posture our hearts. It helps us to be open to what God wants to pour into our lives and how to hold loose what is already ours, so what we own doesn’t own us.  Pastor Erwin shares a beautiful story of God providing an essential gift for him and his wife, Kim, exactly when they needed it. He reminds us that though the ‘prosperity gospel’ is misguided, God truly wants our lives to prosper. As we are generous, we are refreshed, healed, and restored. Tune into this powerful message to learn how to make an incredible impact through generosity.