NEW YEAR, LESS ME - Part 5, The Selfless Church

February 24, 2020

“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” Pope Francis

We wrapped up our New Year, Less Me series and special thanks to Steve Messeh for talking to us about what it means to apply these principles at the church level. Just like our personal lives, we need to make sure our churches are “others-focused” and continue to be the Body of Christ in our local communities.

Why? Because as we’ve been saying throughout this series, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

HAPPY Part 3 - Blessed are the Pure in Heart

June 17, 2019

“Blessed are pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

We’re talking about purity this week, but not the kind of purity that we usually think of. We’re not talking about pure eyes or pure thoughts or pure words; we’re talking about something much more significant to your happiness in life: PURITY OF HEART!

What is purity of heart and how do I attain it? Check out part 3 in our series HAPPY and find out for yourself.

Healthy Relationships - SPEAKING OF HEALTH, Part 4

June 25, 2018

It's the finale in our series, SPEAKING OF HEALTH, and as always, we like to end with a bang! We not only talked about our need for authentic and vulnerable relationships, but we had a live example of what that authenticity and vulnerability looks like.

Be sure not to miss the special cameo appearance from a special guest at the end of this week's message.

And stay healthy everyone!

PASSIONATE PURSUIT OF GOD - Family Matters, Part 2

October 23, 2017

"Without effort, everything becomes lukewarm."

Part 2 of Family Matters and this week we're talking about PASSION. Christianity isn't just about going through the motions; it's about passionately pursuing the one who passionately pursues us. We're either passionately pursuing God, or we're slipping away into lukewarmness; those are the only two options.

In this week's message, we discuss what a passionate pursuit of God looks like and what are the most common "passion killers" that hold us back.

Habit 3: EAT WITH TWO PEOPLE - Seasoning Life Part 4

March 28, 2016

This week's habit is gonna be a fun one! We're on our third habit in the Seasoning Life seriesand this week our goal is to EAT WITH TWO PEOPLE, one of whom is not a member of my church.

Why are we talking about eating? Because whether or not you realize it, eating and drinking was a big part of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, sharing a meal was such a point of emphasis in His life that people even accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard!

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” Luke 7:34

What is the significance of sharing a meal? Is there more to it than just eating some food? Why must we as Christians embrace and practice the habit of eating with others on a regular basis?

TALKING YOUR WAY OUT OF A HOSTAGE CRISIS - Confronting Conflict Part 4

February 22, 2016

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." ~ George Bernard Shaw

Final installment in Confronting Conflict and after spending 3 weeks preparing our hearts and our minds to address conflict, we finally delved into the actual process/methodology of speaking the truth in love.

That process is based on the "5 skills and 2 tudes (attitudes)" of Critical Conversation. What are those skills and attitudes?

I Can’t Believe It’s Been 3 Years!

April 29, 2015

Happy Easter everyone! Christ is risen and THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING! I hope you had a blessed Holy Week and Easter (regardless of when you celebrated it) and that you're now living in the light of His glorious resurrection and viewing all things in light of that truth. Last week was also special because it marked the FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY of STSA on April 28.

So in order not to let such a historic day pass, I am reposting some thoughts I put together last year as we celebrated the 3 year anniversary. Enjoy

GROWING OLD VS GROWING UP - The BodyShop Part 4

March 16, 2015

"God uses COMMUNITY to lead us to MATURITY."

God's plan for humanity has always been clear - that we "may GROW UP in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). As any parent, God isn't content for us to merely be born into His family; He desires that we would grow and reach the point of maturity. His desire is that we wouldn't just grow OLD, but that we'd grow UP as well.

How does that maturity happen? I believe that a major portion of the process takes place in the context of community. Without community, you'll never reach the level of spiritual maturity that God desires for you life.

How can I say that? Check out Part 4 in The BodyShop series as we continue to look at the different markers that make for a healthy member of the Body of Christ.

MANY MEMBERS, ONE BODY - The BodyShop Part 2

March 3, 2015

We began our exploration of what does it mean to be a "healthy" member of God's Body on earth by delving into the topic of COMMUNITY. Community is one of those things that every church talks about but very few church members actually find. It's one of those church "buzz words" that just sounds good and looks nice on our websites.

But is that all community is? Just a buzz word? Or is it something that we can actually find in our church? And if so, what do I need to do to find it?

Those are the questions that we discussed this week in the 2nd message of The BodyShop. We talked about what community means and where it comes from and why you can't be a healthy member in the Body of Christ without it. Check out the video above and hopefully it'll open the door for you to deepen your relationships with the fellow members in the Body of Christ.

Welcome to The BodyShop - Part 1

February 23, 2015

If rain, sleet and snow won't stop the US Postal service, then it certainly won't stop us either! We had a foot of snow in the DC on Saturday and that stopped us from being able to meet together in person; but it didn't stop us from Church!

Because as we saw in yesterday's message, the Church isn't a place we go... the Church is who we are! I am the Church and there is no greater honor than for me to say that and identify myself as a member of the "theanthropic" Body of Christ (big word explained in the message).

That's the point of our newest series, The BodyShop. We'll been given a great honor in being part of the Body and every week in this series, we'll look at a different aspect of what it means to be a HEALTHY member of that Body.

Welcome to The BodyShop!

A "Not Applicable" Promise

October 17, 2014

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

That's the promise God gave me at the start of 2014. And to be honest, I spent most of this year confused by it.

We’ve heard quite a bit about the encouraging promises of God on this blog, but when I looked at my promise on January 1, I was a little disappointed. Others were given promises of hope, of victory, and of slicing through bronze while I was given a promise that was seemingly "not applicable" to me. I had no idea what to expect in 2014.

THE DANIEL PLAN, Part 4 – We're Better Together

July 28, 2014

Community - one of the most overused words in churches everyone. Everyone talks about it, but so few actually experience. Is it possible to live healthy lives without it???

NO! Check out week 4 of THE DANIEL PLAN as my good friend Michael Guirguis talks about the importance of community and why it is essential for a balanced, healthy life. And make sure you stay tuned till the very end of the video for a memorable ending to this week's message.

And come join us for The Daniel Plan - either in person or by following along at TheWellAtSTSA.com - and find out what it means to "glorify God in your body." Enjoy!

UnFriending - #reFriending PART 4

February 17, 2014

Series finale in the #reFriending series and the subject was the toughest one of all...UnFriending.

What do you do when you realize that your "friends" are bringing you down? Do you distance yourself from them? Do you try to help turn them around? What is the right thing to do?

That's the topic in this week's message. Check out the video and see for yourself what I believe is the right approach that we need to take.

I Owe Jonah An Apology

February 14, 2014

Years ago, I read the Old Testament book of Jonah and decided that I didn’t really like Jonah very much. Whenever I say that out loud, I imagine myself getting to Heaven and running into Jonah as he stands with his hands crossed, head shaking, waiting for an explanation. This week, I got to thinking about what I would say in response. Why am I so quick to discount him?

Every Sunday School teacher will tell you that Jonah’s main struggle - the reason the Ninevites were almost destroyed - is because he was disobedient. Obedience is not my struggle. When God asks me to do difficult things, I do them. Now, never mind that when I do them I am worried, afraid, doubtful, begrudging and searching for every way to justify cutting corners and that those things are just as sinful. But in the end, I obey. And Jonah didn't.

And that makes it easy for me to look down on Jonah; because his sin is different than mine.

Finding Community - #reFriending PART 3

February 10, 2014

Community. One of the most over-used and least-realized words in churches today. We all want it. We all talk about it. We all think we know what it means.

SO HOW COME WE CAN'T FIND IT?

Check out Part 3 in the #reFriending series and see for yourself. Maybe the reason we can't find it is because we don't know what we're looking for.

Building Community Part 2 - RELATIONSHIP BUILDERS

September 23, 2013

"He who runs alone runs fast; he who runs with others runs far."

Part 2 of the Building Community series and this week the focus was on RELATIONSHIP BUILDERS - things we need to work on if we're serious about transforming our superficial relationships into meaningful ones.

Check out the video below and as you're listening, try to discover ways to put these principles into practice today.

The World's Original Problem

September 18, 2013

Trivia question - what was the first “problem” that ever existed in the world? The first dilemma that man had to solve?

a) Rush hour traffic
b) Long lines at the DMV
c) In-laws
d) Loneliness and lack of relationship

If you guessed D, you are correct!

Look no further than the second chapter in the Bible and you’ll see that before there were wars and disasters and violence and diseases – all the things that came as a result of sin – there was another problem...LONELINESS.

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

Keep in mind that at the time, everything was good in the world. No problems. No pain. No sickness. No unemployment. No fighting. No construction on the Beltway during rush hour. Everything was just "good".

BUILDING COMMUNITY Part 1 - Relationship Busters

September 16, 2013

Community. Maybe the most overused word in churches today. It's something that we all need (see Genesis 2:18) but it's just so hard to do - especially at a non-superficial level.

Yesterday at The Well, we looked at some of the reasons why that is. We talked about 3 RELATIONSHIP BUSTERS - those things which are within us that prohibit us from attaining authentic community. If left unaddressed, these three things will eventually rear their ugly heads in every relationship you have - especially the ones closest to you.

The Power of a Plastic Straw

October 18, 2012

One day an investigator was walking through the storm ravaged streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Amidst the rubble and destruction, he found a plastic straw – a flimsy plastic drinking straw. But this flimsy plastic drinking straw caught his attention. It was unique in a way that he had never seen before. This straw had done something that probably very few straws in the world have ever accomplished.

It was embedded in a thick wooden telephone pole – probably about 2-3 inches deep – and was sticking straight like an arrow shot from a bow.

Can you imagine how much effort it would take you to do that?

Greatness is Not Just an Individual Thing

July 20, 2012

I tricked you yesterday didn’t I? Admit it. I tricked you because I asked you what it means to be great and I intentionally led you down the wrong path for answers. I’ll bet that most people thought in terms of prayer, Bible reading or other such spiritual disciplines. Most of us equate our spiritual success with the amount of spiritual practices that we do.

BUT GOD DOESN’T LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. If God looked at it that way, then the Pharisees would have top dogs in His eyes. They did all the spiritual practices and disciplines; and they did it religiously (pun intended). But while those things are all very good, it takes more than that to be GREAT.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become GREAT among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)