The story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (later, St. Paul) gives us pause to reflect on the many conversions and turning points that a full life includes... and also on what must come after conversion experiences in order to truly experience lifelong change.
Read MoreThe encouraging stories of the earliest Jewish followers of Jesus beginning to connect with non-Jewish peoples in their region -- like Philip the Jew and a Eunuch from Northeast Africa -- feel like models for the kinds of interactions our church today experiences all the time.
Read MoreAccording to the book of Acts, collective spiritual experiences (like what we hope for anytime we gather on Sunday) are meant to build bridges beyond us and connect us to others.
Read MoreCould experimenting for a set amount of time as though you have high faith in God's ability to be actually (not just theoretically) good be an awesome experience for you? Could it be an awesome experience for our whole church as we hope to grow to a level of long-term sustainability? We think so! Join us for our 40 day prayer experiment...
Read MoreAn obscure passage in the Old Testament book of Proverbs has lots to say about what happens when people of privilege (royalty in that day, white males in our day) are blind to the way that privilege affords them options that the rest of the world doesn't have. Bringing to a close our series on what we can improve on as a church, Kyle acknowledges the reality of white, male privilege in our community.
Read MoreFor this talk Vince wants you to remember double what you usually remember from his talks, so he made it a multimedia presentation... Even better, maybe he should take a page from Jesus in Luke 10: Maybe the best way to learn is to be empowered.
Read MoreBLV's Sunday prayer team leader Laura Doo shares her story, and encourages us on the benefits of surrendering (yes, surrendering!) our lives to Jesus
Read MoreIf we want alive and lasting spiritual fulfillment (and not just a passing experience of faith that's nice but nonetheless fades), Jesus tells us to "seek first the Kingdom of God" -- in other words, set our sights higher than just our own selves, and look to participate in the grand, all-of-history-spanning story of all life. This Kingdom of God story, it seems, is as relevant as ever in light of current events.
Read MoreContrary to what highly religious and highly guilt-based environments have led us to believe, repentance is actually awesome! So Kyle led us in both some individual and corporate repentance...
Read MoreA key assumption behind everything we plan and do here is that you (yes you!) can hear from God, and that (there's probably a more profound or punchy way to say this but...) well, we think you're going to like that!
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