Mosaic - Erwin McManus

Merry Christmas, Mosaic! Pastor Erwin McManus sits down on Christmas Eve and explores the often forgotten role of Joseph during the birth of Jesus. Pastor Erwin highlights how Joseph's place in the Christmas story can mirror our own—how in the middle of God's work in the world we can find ourselves inconvenienced or forgotten, yet we have the ability to chose the future that God has for us.  — "Home For The Holidays - Christmas Eve" message given by Erwin McManus, recorded in the McManus home. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201224

We've faced so much this year. It’s been a year with challenges that have at times felt endless. In moments like these, we must remember to look back and single out moments that we can express gratitude for. When we look back at 2020, we don't only want to remember the struggles. We must remember the moments that have been gifts to us. The story of Jesus may be familiar but we can choose to lean in with wonder as if we've never heard it before. In Luke 2:11 it reads, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” One birth changed human history. 2,000 years ago Jesus didn't wait for the perfect time. The perfect time is sometimes in the middle of what looks like a disaster. Love sees a disaster and brings the healing. God will push through all things to create a scenario where he could get to us. 2020 was disastrous but we must not miss the miraculous. God always has a plan for redemption. Christmas is a miracle story and we are vehicles for the miraculous. “God makes himself known through the unexplainable." - Kim McManus — "Home For The Holidays" message given by Erwin and Kim McManus, recorded in the McManus home. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201220

Although no one knew her, God saw her. Overjoyed by the message from God, Mary burst into song. "My soul glorifies in the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant." After Mary was told by an Angel that she would carry a baby boy, the son of God, she was shocked and overjoyed responding “I'm your servant, may your will be fulfilled." God can take the humble and raise them up. When we want God to see us we must choose humility, honor and courage as Mary did. When we’re full of ourselves or unkind, we move out of God sight. God’s mercy extends to those who fear him and scatters those who are arrogant. Mary’s song is a declaration that God is doing something to be remembered forever in human history, through those who humble themselves. We must remember the more we are full of ourselves the more invisible we become to God. Kindness and compassion is what God sees. This is the material that God uses. “Jesus points the way to what God celebrates.” - Erwin McManus — "Home For The Holidays" message given by Erwin and Kim McManus, recorded in the McManus home. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201216

While we’re home we can choose to make this the best Christmas ever. We can’t let this season pass by uncelebrated! In the first chapter of Luke, the author documents Jesus’ extraordinary life in real time. Luke knew the that the things Jesus was doing were so incredible and it would be hard for people to believe. Because of this, he wanted to make sure to make a historical record of what he saw. Luke took on the role as an eyewitness and servant. To be a servant of the world, we must do our part in the history we’re living through. We may find ourselves wondering if God knows what to do in this moment. He does! This is the moment where we need to be sharing how God has been good to us. We need to make sure we’re telling the orderly account of what God is doing in our lives. Even if the middle has been rough, it’s how the story ends that matters. We need to be eyewitness of Gods activity and servants of that reality. We’re all supposed to be like Luke, writing the orderly account of God’s work. God is grounded in this moment and He is here with us. But we need to ground ourselves in Him or this moment may overwhelm us. “A story can never be as powerful as a history.” -Erwin McManus — "Home For The Holidays" message given by Erwin and Kim McManus, recorded in the McManus home. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201206

How do we navigate this moment in history through rumors, chaos, and uncertainty? Pastor Erwin McManus invites us to look back as we look forward. Acts chapter 4 lays the foundation of the Church. They had little history with Jesus, and therefore they had to trust. This is a beautiful parallel to life right now. 2020 has been a year of instability-and this reality is new to us. Nevertheless, we are deciding to trust God and each other. This moment of crisis has compelled our community at Mosaic to be creative and to ask, ‘How do we thrive and make an impact during this time?’ In 2020 we’ve had 4,439 people trust Jesus with their lives. This year our community has decentralized through new technology we’ve had 444,580 people attend Mosaic virtually. We’ve had 278 people became reoccurring givers; 887 different people have chosen to give to Mosaic. We must step into this moment without fear as they did in Acts. In Luke 4:33 we learn that their giving was motivated by wanting the message of Jesus to be taken to the world. When Jesus is the core of the Church, it is unstoppable. We must remember the Church is here to bring hope to every single person. We must continue to serve and invest. The Church is God’s instrument to bring life, hope, and love to the world. “Every time we give to the Church we’re establishing a foundation for the future of humanity.” –Erwin McManus — "Foundation Weekend" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201108

Life is a series of choices. So many moments in our lives are reflected by our reactions. The choices we’re aware of are our conscious choices. When we quickly react-that’s a response to an unconscious choice. When we make an unconscious choice, we’re not taking in all of the information. An unconscious choice is a direct reflection of our internal world. It’s a result of information that comes from our character. The only way to change how we react is by changing the material of our inner world. In Mathew chapter 8:21 when Jesus invites a disciple to follow Him, the response He gets is, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” How many times have we been frustrated with God because he didn’t pick us? Often times we think that God hasn’t chosen us, but in reality God has chosen us first but our response to Him starts with “but first…." Whenever God is not first on our list he is not on our list. If we want our life to have an alignment with God, we must align our hearts first. Jesus isn’t saying we can’t have our own passions and desires. He is telling us there must be a proper alignment in our pursuit of the good things in our lives. “If God is your first love, your unconscious decisions will move you toward Gods intention.” - Erwin McManus — "First Up" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201025

There’s a divide between being a visual learner and an auditable learner. To truly follow Jesus, we need to be good both. The Bible is not trying to heighten our visual reading skills-it’s trying to heighten our auditory skills. We must learn to hear God's voice clearly so we can identify it. Throughout the Scriptures, there’s an overwhelming theme of the power of God’s voice. We simply cannot navigate the life that God has called us to unless we learn to listen to it well. When God speaks He creates, and when He creates He brings life. If we want to experience the life that God has for us, we must hear God’s voice. In Hebrews 12:25 it says, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks.” Scripture gives us a compass to know what things God would and would not speak. But when we only trust our compass rather than God's compass, we hit the same obstacles repeatedly. God is trying to shake us free from things that are holding us down. But the things that God has given us will be unshakable. If we want God’s voice to shape our lives, we need to realize God is always speaking and His voice creates life. We must look forward because God's voice always calls us forward to a life of freedom initiated by Him. “Everything in the Scriptures begins with the voice of God and ends with the voice of God.” -Erwin McManus — "Hearing God's Voice" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20201004

We as humans don't have a perception of time, we have a perception of change. If change is not a given, we often feel as though we’ve wasted our time. Jeremiah chapter 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Pastor Erwin McManus reminds us that there is a difference between stepping into tomorrow and stepping into our future. God reminds us that with His love we not only receive hope but also a future. The future is where hope exists and everything in our present is committed to our future. We need to stand in this moment knowing we have a future. God has a plan for our future, not just for tomorrow. A futureless tomorrow is filled with fear and doubt. When filled with faith, hope, and love we can step into the future. If we’re filled with fear, we don't have the material to step into our future. In the moments we’re filled with fear, we must see the markers that call us into our future. There will be moments in the future where we need to remember how good God is. “A connection to God is a connection to the future. – Erwin McManus “ The future is ours. — "Finding God In Your Future" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20200920

There are two different experiences within humanity: those who are ‘highborn’ and those who are ‘service class.’ One is born into privilege and one is not. The Scripture makes it clear that all of us have an inheritance that has been passed onto us. But most of us aren’t living as if we have received this legacy. This legacy invites everyone into promises that may only seem accessible to the ‘highborn.’ In Galatians 4:1-5 Paul address the reality that we can be the recipients of all the generosity God has given us. He tells us we’re all heirs. And as we mature we begin to step into our inheritance. We’re not all highborn, but when we enter a relationship with Jesus we’ve been invited into a full inheritance. We must move toward maturity so we can handle the full inheritance God promises us. A relationship with God will transform us and that is an undeniable promise. But, we must step into this relationship ourselves. We are heirs, but we can choose to live like slaves; the choice is ours.  We must allow God to give us full freedom so that we are able to receive our full inheritance. “God is not limited in His generosity.” -Erwin McManus — "Highborn" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20200830

In any season of life, it is easy to get lost in what we do not have. More than ever, we get to take hold of what God has given us for the sake of those around us. God is always at work and beauty surrounds us. Do we see it? As a tribe, we believe that we are never limited in our ability to bring hope, love, and faith. Instead of becoming paralyzed by what we have lost, we are choosing to be mobilized by what we've gained.  To create momentum as a community, we can use the vehicle of joy. I any situation, there is beauty and wonder to behold. People need to experience the presence of Jesus in us and we can express it through the joy we have in any circumstance. We need to walk so profoundly in the presence of God that wherever we are Jesus is present and undeniable. Out of Zechariah 8, Pastor Erwin McManus reminds us that nothing can stop us from doing good in the world. We can live lives so profoundly impacted by God that we cannot help but create a rumor of God’s goodness everywhere we go. What if those around us asked to journey with us simply because God’s work in our lives was undeniable? This is the life God has called us to. "We need to become the rumor of God." -Erwin McManus — "The Rumor Of God" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood. For more information, visit mosaic.org. © MOSAIC / Erwin McManus. #20200809