Framing Your Pain - Peacemaking E3
May 19, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Genesis 4:1–12, Mark 14:32–42
One of the hardest parts of our lives to make peace with is the pain and suffering that follows us. All of us experience hardship, and for some, it’s the defining attribute of our lives. Whether from death, loss, infertility, chronic illness, sudden diagnoses, relational hurt and betrayal, or simply from apathy and the monotony of life, all of us have painful experiences. Making peace with our pain doesn’t mean we ignore its reality. It actually means the opposite. Unlike Abel in https://biblia.com/bible/we/gen%204 don’t allow our pain to stir up bitterness in our hearts. Instead, framing our pain is a way for us to vocalize our pain to God. We name the emotions connected to our pain, and we voice these emotions back to God. But we also declare God’s faithfulness back to ourselves. Like Jesus in the Garden before His crucifixion, we use our pain as a reminder that God is still faithful and in control. And even in our lowest, God is still near.
Gospel Simplicity E4
August 27, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Mark 10:13–31
In https://biblia.com/bible/csb/mark%2010, Jesus interacts with a man who many of us can relate to — he’s wealthy, sincere, and desires to follow Jesus. But when he asks Jesus what else he can do to experience a joyful life in the Kingdom, Jesus responds by targeting the one thing he’s still clinging to: his wealth. Many of us struggle with the same issue today. We want to experience life and life in abundance, yet we’re unwilling to let go of what that life might cost us. And while the gospel isn’t about earning anything from God, it does require us giving up our idols and attachments that we’re seeking eternal life from instead. But like the rich young ruler, Jesus lovingly invites us to simplify our lives so we can trust our past, present, and future completely to him.
Digital Simplicity E1
August 6, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 3:16–17, Matthew 4:1–2, Mark 4:1–20
We live in the age of the attention economy. From social media ads and online shopping to streaming and news, our hearts and minds are often cluttered and rewired for discontentment. We live chasing accumulation, or what Jesus calls “the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things.” And for most of us, this discontentment comes directly from our digital consumption. But the way of Jesus is an invitation to simplicity — learning to be content with less, not more. To start this practice, we must first train ourselves to curate our digital consumption. By limiting our digital intake, we can rewire our brains towards contentment and train ourselves to be more present and attentive to God and to those around us. For resources on simplicity, go to: https://formedbyjesus.com/simplicity TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Formation is happening whether you like it or not. 2:20 - Mark 4v1-20 7:48 - Nothing crowds our time and attention like the digital world. 19:05 - The Practice of Simplicity 20:53 - Our definition of simplicity 22:35 - Jesus practicing solitude 28:18 - The way OUT of the digital chokehold 36:32 - Don’t fear the desert.
DELIGHT: Dayenu at Dinner (Sabbath E3)
February 26, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Genesis 1:31, Genesis 2:1–3, Mark 2:23–28, Mark 3:1–6
A key element of Sabbath is the practice of delight. When we take the time to stop and to rest, we find ourselves more aware of the goodness and beauty in the world around us. This recognition and enjoyment of creation is called delight, and it’s something that God himself does. Scripture is full of God delighting in his creation, including us. God delights when we delight. But most of us are too unaccustomed to delight. Simply put, we don’t know how to play. We know how to indulge, how to escape, and how to numb, but few of us have cultivated the Godly qualities of playfulness and joy in our lives. God institutes Sabbath not as a day of restriction and rigidity, but as a day of delight so we become people defined by our joy. When we use Sabbath to practice delighting in God, in others, in creation, and in ourselves, we allow the Spirit to form us into people of delight.
For Others in the Neighborhood - Vision Series E8
September 18, 2022 • Trey Van Camp • Mark 2:13–17
It is becoming increasingly difficult to share the way of Jesus with our lost neighbors. Political tribalism, spiritual suspicion, and the recent phenomenon of religious deconstruction all form a perfect storm of hostility towards Christians who try to invite others to follow Jesus. In Jesus’ day, the world was much the same. But rather than combat or retreat from the world, Jesus confronts the world’s hostility with hospitality. The meals that Jesus shared with others were invitations to relationship, opportunities for reconciliation, and a demonstration of the love that God has for all people. Today our mission and outreach must come from our discipleship to Jesus, and not the other way around. This means that we must learn the practice of hospitality as a way to invite others to witness the love of God. When we share a meal with others, we remind ourselves that God chose to seat us at his table in the Kingdom despite our sin. We also demonstrate to our neighbors that the love of God is on offer to everyone who wants to accept it.