Forgiving Your Past - Formed by Peacemaking E1
May 5, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Genesis 12:10–20, Genesis 26:1–11, Exodus 34:6–7, Matthew 18:21–22, Matthew 6:14–15
All of us are shaped by our past. Where we come from, who we come from, and the way we were raised all shape who we are today in profound ways. Most of us have a basic awareness of our family of origin, but few of us have done the hard work of learning about our past to better understand who we are today. As a result, all of us unknowingly transmit the same narratives, patterns, pains, and expectations as our family before us. To make peace with our past is to return to an ancient tradition from the scriptures. Throughout the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, God tells His people to remember where they’ve come from, what God has saved them from, and the promises He has made (https://biblia.com/bible/csb/deut.%206.12, https://biblia.com/bible/csb/isa.%2046.9, https://biblia.com/bible/csb/ps.%20143.5). Making peace with our past means we must forgive our past. We must take intentional time to see where we come from. We learn about our family of origin to better understand where our behaviors and patterns come from, both good and bad. But most importantly, we look back in order to recognize God’s providence and care for us in our lives. By recognizing both positives and negatives in our past, we’re able to see how God has used our family of origin to shape who we are.
How to Make Friends - E4 - Mission
January 28, 2024 • Caleb Martinez • Jeremiah 29:4–7, Matthew 28:19–20
Throughout the Biblical story, the people of God usually find themselves in the minority. From slavery in Egypt to oppression and persecution by Rome, God’s people have always had to learn how to live in a culture that isn’t their own. In the prophet Jeremiah’s day, the Israelites found themselves exiled in Babylon surrounded by enemies and paganism. But rather than assimilate into the culture or separate themselves from it, God instructs his people to pursue the well-being of their city. We find ourselves in a similar situation today. As we form tight-knit communities of proximity, vulnerability, and practice, we will become increasingly at odds with the world around us. And yet, it’s through these very communities and friendships that God intends to renew the world. By committing to accomplishing the mission of God, our friendships can do what God instructed the exiled Israelites to do: renew our city.
How to Make Friends E3 - Practice
January 21, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Deuteronomy 5, 2 Kings 21, 2 Kings 22, Matthew 11:28–30
When it comes to developing deep friendships that form and shape us into the image of Jesus, one barrier often stops us: preferences. Rather than commit to a community of people who hold us accountable and build us up, we find it easier to surround ourselves with others who think like, act like, and approve of us. But the people of God have never flourished this way. In https://biblia.com/bible/csb/exod%2020 and https://biblia.com/bible/csb/deut%205, God institutes a set of practices and behaviors (the 10 Commandments) meant to shape and form his people into his image. And when Jesus starts his earthly ministry, he chooses 12 unlikely men who wouldn’t normally get along to reorient their lives on him. For us today, becoming a community of practice means putting aside our preferences, committing to each other no matter how different we are, and reorienting our lives on Jesus.
Material Simplicity E2
August 13, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 6:22–25, Luke 12:13–21
As Americans our identities are often shaped by the quantity and quality of the stuff we own. Security, stability, and satisfaction are only possible when we buy and accumulate more wealth. And while we’re really after deep contentment, we falsely believe that the very joy we’re searching for is still on the other side of the next purchase. Cue our endless cycle of buying more so we can desire less. But Jesus offers us a better way. He does this by confronting our attachment to our stuff and our lack of trust in him, and also by modelling a life of simplicity. When we study the Scriptures, we find a deeper truth than the lie we’re trained to believe — real contentment is actually found by limiting what we own and increasing what we give.
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.
Obey It (E4)
May 28, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 7:24–29, James 1:19–27
At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus ends with a warning: our obedience to his Word is what makes us true disciples. While most of us would agree with this idea, few of us live it out. We’re either too afraid of becoming legalists, too obsessed with information alone, or too unwilling to humble ourselves and live out what we read. In each of these cases, we fall short of the blessing of being formed into a person of love. But the cross frees us from falling short. By accepting this gift of grace from God, we have freedom from earning God’s love. And by embracing this freedom we’re able to truly live out God’s commands and experience the transformative power of His word.
Authority (E1)
May 7, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 5:17–20
We’re bombarded with messages from political pundits, popular culture, social media ads, and news stories, all urging us to be true to ourselves, vilify those who are different, and pursue our own happiness no matter what the cost. These lies offer happiness but instead bring us slavery, just like how Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden. Satan still uses lies to lead us astray from God today. To follow Jesus in today’s world, we must seek and live by the truth. Reading Scripture helps us understand what’s true about the world, God, and ourselves. However, just reading the Bible isn’t enough. We must also let it shape us by setting aside our assumptions, presuppositions, and personal experiences to submit to its authority. Matthew 5:17-20; Mark 2:23-28; Matthew 22:23-28
Together in Groups - Vision Series E6
September 4, 2022 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 4:18–22
Honest relationships, genuine connections, and healthy friendships are all hard to come by in our modern age. While we might experience increased connectedness through the internet and social media, most of us lack real friendships with other people. As a result, we default into radical individualism or rugged tribalism, both of which feed our experienced loneliness and isolation. But the way of Jesus offers us a remedy to our loneliness by way of community. When Jesus lived on earth, he entered a world of broken people and invited them to live life with him. And the community that he formed with these people wasn’t jeopardized by their drastic differences. Instead, their relationships with each other were strengthened by their commitment to their rabbi. Today, we can experience the same type of life-giving relationships by adopting Jesus’ 4 components of community: Proximity, Vulnerability, Practice, and Mission.
How People Change - Vision Series (E1)
July 31, 2022 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 11:25–30
In week one of our vision series, we learned about what it means to be formed by Jesus. Rather than allowing ourselves to be formed by the world, the flesh, and the devil, Jesus offers us a better way to live. When we allow ourselves to be formed by Jesus, we slowly become steadfast people who are able to love others the way that God loves us. In order to do this, we must position ourselves to be formed by Jesus’ love, life, and leadership. Leaving out any one or two of these elements makes us stuck, stubborn, or stingy.
Palm Sunday - Who is Jesus to You?
April 10, 2022 • Caleb Martinez • Matthew 21:1–11
Vision Sunday
March 27, 2022 • Trey Van Camp • Matthew 9:9–17
Every human is on a search for the good life. And society assures us the only wrong path to take is the one forced upon us. But how often do we stop to consider if the path we are taking is fulfilling its promises? 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth made the audacious claim that He is the only way to the good life (Jn. 14:6). According to Jesus, our apprenticeship to Him will lead to a life filled with love, peace, and joy. But this abundant life doesn’t happen from mere mental assent. It is a life that spends its time: (1) being with Jesus, (2) becoming like Jesus, and (3) doing what Jesus did. In tonight's message, we will cover the different paths people take and discover how Jesus is the only one delivering on His promise.