Reality Santa Barbara (audio)

Summer of Love: A Series Through 1 Corinthians 13 1 Corinthians 13:5 shows us that the person who is full of love does not feel threatened by outside disappointments or offenses, and is therefore free to give love where it is needed the most.

God created all people in his image, with dignity and equality, to worship Him and cultivate His creation. Sin distorted that design, in part, by driving barriers of racial prejudice between people. When Jesus died on the cross, he broke down those dividing walls of hostility, enabling people to come together as part of a new family in Christ. Part of walking in that new family is speaking out and working against racial prejudice in all it’s forms, and weeping with those who are hurt by it.

Summer of Love: A Series Through 1 Corinthians 13

Summer of Love: A Series Through 1 Corinthians 13 In 1 Corinthians 13:5, we see what rudeness reveals about us, and how we can be free to love other’s and receive God’s love.

Summer of Love: A Series Through 1 Corinthians 13 In 1 Corinthians 13:4, we see how arrogance is rebellion that needs the answer of love

Summer of Love: a series through 1 Corinthians 13 In 1 Corinthians 13:4, we see how boasting is often merely a cover for something deeply wrong

Summer of Love: a series through 1 Corinthians 13 In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 13:4, we see how envy is poison to the soul and to community, and what we can to do about it.

Summer of Love: a series through 1 Corinthians 13 Love is able to suffer the shortcomings of others and even go beyond into kindness.

Summer of Love: a series through 1 Corinthians 13 In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul outlines what really matters in our lives (and what doesn’t).

Messy Church: Where We've Been and Where to Go from Here This is a recap and summary of our nine week series together on the heart and the emotions.

Messy Church: Slowing Down Through the Daily Office We can train ourselves to become more aware and conscious of God’s presence. We do this by cultivating small units of time throughout the day where we can slow down to be with Jesus. This sermon introduces an ancient practice that does just that.

Messy Church: Slowing Down Through the Sabbath The Sabbath is a command, not a suggestion. This sermon outlines why, and it could change your life.

Messy Church: Contemplative Spirituality: Slowing Down to be with Jesus Your purpose in life is not primarily to be active for God, but to be with God. In Mark 3:13-15, Chris Lazo shows from the life of Jesus how our ministry must flow from intimacy.

Messy Church: Enlarging Your Soul Through Grief and Loss Many Christians have been taught that the unpleasant emotions, like sadness, anger, and anxiety are “bad,” while the more pleasant emotions, such as happiness, are “good.” In this sermon, we see from Scripture that this is not only wrong, but unhealthy. God made us to feel the full range of human emotions, including unpleasant ones like grief. In fact, God can enlarge our soul in grief in a way that happiness cannot.

Messy Church: The Gift of Limits and Margin The reason most of us do not cultivate the most important things in our lives, like our relationship with God, family, and friends, is because we are “busy.” It tuns out, busyness is not a characteristic of our Lord. In this sermon, we learn from Jesus how to create some margin in our lives.

Messy Church: Journey Through the Wall Have you ever felt like the momentum in your spirituality came to a grinding halt? Have you ever wondered why God sometimes feels distant, silent, or inactive? You may have hit a “wall” in your spirituality, the proverbial “dark night of the soul.” It turns out, this season may be the greatest gift you’ve ever received. In this sermon, learn what to do with this mysterious and often painful gift.

Messy Church: Going Back to Go Forward Part of growing in self-awareness (last week) is learning how deeply our past has shaped us, especially our biological families. The apostle Paul says that “the old is gone,” yet he also tells us to “put off the old self.” Part of putting off the old self, is to identify old patterns, habits, and addictions that we have inherited, and allowing the power of Christ to break us free. IN this way, we must go back in order to go forward.

Messy Church: Self Awareness and the Christian Emotional and spiritual health starts with an ongoing journey of self-awareness. Knowing God is intricately tied to our knowledge of self. It was the Psalmist who asked the Lord to examine his heart and reveal anything wayward within (Psalm 139). In this sermon we look at Jacob to see why we should pray and pursue the same.

Messy Church: Emotional and Spiritual Health God created us to feel the full spectrum of human emotions, which can often tell us true things about ourselves when we open up before God--even if they are sometimes unpleasant. Unfortunately, many of us have neglected our emotions, and hide behind pretend versions of ourselves, instead of being vulnerable and transparent with the mess that is sometimes our hearts. But emotions and spirituality are inseparable. This series is called "Messy Church" as a way of affirming that we are in fact "messy," it's ok to be real about it, and God actually wants to enter into the mess with His healing presence if we let Him. This series is meant to help Christians live more fully out of their hearts with God and each other.

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection Today’s sermon, from Luke 24:1-12, is about how the ways we try to cover the stench of death, and why “He is Risen” are the three most powerful words ever spoken.