Upon This Rock

Finding your way toward spiritual health in the chaos of modern life can prove quite difficult. When you survey the mental health landscape in our culture, things don't get any rosier. It can feel like solid ground to stand on is hard to come by, so we are taking a season to study and meditate on five simple verses that offer a robust Christian worldview--a place to stand against the winds and lies around us--not only so we can stand, but so we can provide much-needed hope and stability to those in our neighborhoods and workplaces.

These words are from the Apostle Peter, who himself went through the agony of failure, and felt the throes of instability around and inside of him, only to come out on the other side standing firm, offering these words of life to us so that we might stand on the truth they convey as well:

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:6-11

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Upon This Rock

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Humble Yourselves

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Cast All Your Anxieties on Him

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Watch Out for the Lion

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: Resist Him, Firm in Your Faith

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: Know You are Not Alone

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: The Bad Won’t Last Forever

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 8: Forever and Ever, Amen

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

We want to focus on tools to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. Therefore, we'll do a couple of things for this series to help us in our spiritual formation.

The first is to memorize 1 Peter 5:6-11. In LifeGroups, we'll tackle one verse at a time each week.

Second, we want to focus on one of the five spiritual practices below. Each is proven to improve mental health. Just click on one of the practices for tools to grow in that area. We're asking everyone to spend the next five weeks focusing on that particular practice.

• Meditation/Abiding

• Journaling

• Serving

• Community

• Gratitude

In Christ

The terms “In Christ,” “in Him,” and “in the Lord”  are used in the New Testament over 150 times to describe what it means to be a Christian. For the biblical authors and the early church, this concept was foundational in understanding who we are with God and with others. So, what does it actually mean to be “in Christ”? 

For seven weeks, we will unpack this theological concept and its practical implications for our lives. As a church family, it’s our hope that as we do, we can further meditate on what Jesus has done for us and enjoy Him more.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Enjoying Our Union with Him

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: From In Adam to In Christ

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Adoption

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Imputed Righteousness

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: Sanctification

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: New Creation

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: Restored Honor

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

For this series, we want to focus on a particular tool to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. Given that this series is helping us further meditate on what it means to be in Christ, our corporate practice is Gospel Fluency.

For those looking for additional reading to go along with our series we recommend checking out the following:

• Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God by Rankin Wilbourne

Work

Work is more than your 9-5. It’s everything that God calls you to do.

Whether it’s clocking in at the office, attending classes, raising children, managing your budget, all of it falls under the category of “work.” And this work is actually all part of God’s plan to redeem all of creation.

Our aim for this series is to see our work as part of God’s bigger story. We want to see our work as actively partnering with God to help accomplish what He’s doing throughout the world.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: You Need A Story (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: You Need A Calling (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: You Need A Sabbath (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: You Need A Stable Identity (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: You Need A Mission (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: You Need Meaning For Your Frustrations (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: You Need Your Work (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

To explore more recommended resources, check out our digital bookstore.