Microchurch Minute
From the moment sin entered the world in Genesis 3, humanity has lived in a state of brokenness and conflict. Adam and Eve rebelled against God, and by Genesis 4, Cain had murdered his brother Abel. James 4 asks, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” and points us toward the desires waging war within us. Pride, greed, power, and control are often at the heart of the conflicts we see around us. The wars around us often reflect the wars within us.
Throughout biblical history, we see war used in different ways, from Israel’s escape from Egypt to Joshua’s conquest of Canaan and David’s many battles. Scripture also records the consequences of pride, disobedience, and ignoring God’s warnings. As Christians, we must approach war with humility, recognizing that Scripture does not offer a simplistic answer to every conflict. While Romans 13 speaks to the role of governing authorities, followers of Jesus must also wrestle with the moral weight of military service, the justness of a cause, the conduct of war, and the responsibility to pursue peace.
As followers of Jesus, we are also called to pray for those appointed to lead us. First Timothy 2 urges us to offer prayers and petitions for all people, including kings and those in authority, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness. We may not always agree with our leaders or understand their decisions, but we can trust that God remains sovereign over the affairs of humanity. Proverbs reminds us that the king’s heart is in the Lord’s hand, and He directs it like a stream of water. Our responsibility is to pray for wisdom, discernment, humility, and a commitment to justice for those in authority, trusting God to guide our steps even when the path ahead is uncertain. Praying for our leaders does not mean blindly endorsing every decision; it means surrendering our fears, seeking God’s will, and remembering that our ultimate allegiance is to Him.
When we hear the news of another war, we should respond with sobriety rather than celebration, compassion rather than hatred, and prayer rather than indifference. Ephesians 6 reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” This does not mean earthly suffering and violence are any less real; rather, it reminds us that beneath the visible conflicts of humanity lies a greater spiritual battle. Satan works through deception, temptation, division, and sin to draw humanity away from God, while God continues His work of redemption through Jesus Christ.
As believers, we must refuse to let hatred take root in our hearts, even toward those we consider enemies. We can pursue justice while extending mercy, acknowledge the complexity of global conflicts, and support those who serve in the military with genuine gratitude and compassion. Military service members and their families may carry wounds that are not always visible, including trauma, moral injury, and the difficult process of reintegrating into everyday life. Sometimes loving those who serve means asking thoughtful questions and listening without judgment. Other times, it means recognizing that they may not want to talk about what they have experienced, and that is OK, too. We don’t need to know someone’s entire story to offer compassion, friendship, and support. We can create space for honest conversations without demanding them, remind them that they are not alone, and walk alongside them as they navigate life after service. It takes grace to recognize that what may look like anger, distance, or difficult behavior can sometimes be rooted in wounds we cannot see. Our calling is not to force healing on our timeline, but to love people well, respect their boundaries, and help build a community where they feel supported whether they choose to share their stories or not.
Ultimately, our hope is not in the absence of conflict brought about by human strength, but in the promise of a King who will one day make all things new. Isaiah 2 paints a beautiful picture of that future: nations will no longer take up swords against one another, “nor will they train for war anymore.” Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and His kingdom promises a day when violence, suffering, and death will no longer have the final word. Until that day, we live in the tension of a fallen world while serving the God who is redeeming it.
We pray for peace, care for the wounded, support those who bear the cost of war, and stand firm in the spiritual battle by putting on the full armor of God. We do not have to pretend the world is not broken, nor do we have to surrender to despair. We can grieve the reality of war while holding fast to the promise that war will not have the final word, Jesus will.
Microchurch Minute
Sexuality can be an uncomfortable subject, but Scripture doesn’t avoid it. In fact, the Bible gives us a beautiful framework for understanding our bodies, our sexuality, and our relationships. Let’s start with this: God made you.
Genesis 1, Genesis 2, and Psalm 139 remind us that we are intentionally created by God, made in His image, and fearfully and wonderfully made. He gave us a body, mind, and spirit. You were created on purpose, for a purpose. That means our bodies aren’t ours to define or use however we want. If God is our Creator, He is our ultimate authority. And even when we struggle with our bodies, we can remember: God makes no mistakes.
In Genesis 2, we see that God created male and female and created sexuality as a good gift. He designed sexual intimacy for the covenant of marriage, a relationship of faithfulness, unity, intimacy, and self-giving love. Proverbs 5, Hebrews 13, and Song of Solomon all reinforce that sex is not dirty or shameful; it is something God created and intended to be honored.
But when we separate sexuality from God’s design, people can become objects rather than people. Lust, pornography, fantasy, exploitation, abuse, infidelity, and shame can all grow when we use people rather than love them. Reminder: you don’t use people, you don’t consume people, you don’t manipulate people.
Every person is made in the image of God and deserves dignity, kindness, and compassion. And 1 Corinthians 6 reminds us, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Our bodies belong to God. But here’s the other side of this conversation: sex will not complete us. Marriage won’t complete us. Being desired won’t complete us. Our sexuality doesn’t define us.
Only Jesus can do that.
And that’s why the gospel is so important here. Some of us carry sexual sin. Some carry shame. Some carry wounds from what someone else did to us. But Jesus brings redemption to the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. Our past does not have the final word. Jesus does.
So what should the church be? A place where truth is spoken clearly, sin can be confessed without shame, people are treated with dignity, and grace is freely offered.
That includes how we love our LGBTQ+ neighbors, friends, and family members. We don’t get to treat someone as less valuable because of their sexuality or gender identity. We love them because they are people made in the image of God. We listen to them, care about them, serve them, and treat them with the same dignity and compassion we want for ourselves. At the same time, loving someone doesn’t require us to affirm everything they believe or everything they do. We believe Scripture teaches that certain sexual relationships or behaviors fall outside God’s design, we can hold that conviction without hatred, mockery, or rejection. We love the person without calling sin good, and we speak truth without withholding love. Ultimately, our goal isn’t to win an argument or change someone’s behavior, it is to introduce people to Jesus, because He is the one who transforms hearts.
We don’t compromise God’s truth, but we don’t use truth as a weapon. We love people, we tell the truth, and we point them to Jesus, trusting God to convict and transform hearts. Because ultimately, our sexuality isn’t our Savior. Jesus is.
Microchurch Minute
Thank goodness technology allows me to craft these emails for you every week. For families to keep in touch over thousands of miles and a dozen time zones. For us to gain knowledge and information quickly. The gospel is available in a plethora of languages to an audience of over 6 billion people worldwide. This sure is easier than pulling out an encyclopedia every time your kids have a homework assignment (try explaining that library collection, hah!). Sure, technology can be great. But like everything else in life, it must be used responsibly.
In Genesis, we see that God created humanity in His own image and likeness. The Creator, made His creation, with the ability to be creative. We build, design, write, cook, paint, discover, invent and even problem solve. Look at that, mankind has also created technology. The creation, itself, isn’t bad. This product of human creativity can be used for incredibly good things. But something created for our use can slowly become something that uses us.
This isn’t so much a debate of whether technology is good or bad, the real question is “What place does technology have in my life?” Are we using it or being consumed by it? Do you reach for your phone because you genuinely need it or because you’re uncomfortable with silence? God speaks in that silence, He reaches to your soul and regularly welcomes you to lean into it and make space for Him to breathe life into you.
Do you start scrolling because you were looking for information or trying to make a connection, only to quickly fall into a pattern of escaping reality?
Many technologies and social platforms are intentionally designed to keep us engaged. Even some technology leaders have publicly expressed concerns about their own children’s use of the products they helped create. The reality is that constant stimulation can shape our habits and make it increasingly difficult to simply be still. Have you become so accustomed to constant stimulation and dopamine hits that you’ve forgotten the beauty of simply sitting, thinking, praying, breathing and being fully present?
When we aim to be more like Jesus, we can observe that He didn’t allow the demands around Him to consume His life. He made time to withdraw and be with the Father. He walked with people, at meals with them, touched people, sat around tables, rested and fully immersed himself in the physical world that God created.
Maybe the most spiritual thing you can do this week is to put your phone down.
Take a walk.
Read a physical book.
Sit outside and breathe fresh air.
Cook something.
Create a piece of art.
Have a face to face conversation.
Play with your children.
Pray without the need to document it.
Allow your mind to be quiet long enough that you are able to hear God.
We were created to create. While technology can be something truly beautiful that has resulted from our God-given creativity, we were never created to be consumed by it. God created us for relationship, both with Him and with each other. Take steps necessary to keep technology in it’s proper place in your life. Create with it, learn from it, connect with it. But then, look up. Look around, go outside, be with people, be with God. There is a real world waiting for us beyond the screen and we were created to live in it.
Microchurch Minute
Mental health is very real and not something God avoids addressing, so let’s jump into it a little for ourselves.
After an incredible spiritual victory, Elijah finds his very life threatened, and he runs. On the heels of victory, he wasn’t dancing in the glory of what he had just witnessed God do. He was scared for his life. He ran, hid, and declared that he had had enough. At the end of himself, he wished to die.
Notice this: Elijah’s spiritual strength didn’t make him immune to emotional or mental exhaustion. And, my friends, you aren’t immune to it either.
Many of us would say that we tend to hide our struggles out of fear of being judged, or perhaps even worse, being told, “You just need to pray harder.” Now, don’t get me wrong, our prayer lives and intimacy with God are paramount to the health of our spiritual lives. But did we not just see Elijah come away from one of the greatest victories of his entire ministry? We can deeply love God, faithfully serve Him, experience His power, and still become mentally and emotionally overwhelmed.
I think it’s so sweet here that God doesn’t begin by questioning Elijah’s faith or his beliefs. The angel tells him, “Arise and eat.”
I don’t know about the rest of you, but my whole perspective can change after I’ve had a nap and something to eat. I suppose the disposition of humans really never does change.
God recognized the whole of Elijah – his body, mind, emotions, spirit, and circumstances. We cannot expect to maintain an alert and sober mind while neglecting the basic care of our physical beings. God has compassion for all parts of us, and we also must have compassion for our whole selves and for the fullness of the brothers and sisters surrounding us.
Elijah believes he is alone. Have you ever felt that way?
God doesn’t shame him for it. Instead, we see Him come alongside Elijah to provide care, rest, nourishment, presence, perspective, and new direction.
God never diminishes Elijah’s feelings. Feelings are real, and they deserve to be acknowledged, but they are not always reliable interpreters of reality. We have a responsibility not to allow our feelings to become our authority or dictate our actions.
I appreciate that Scripture gives us room to observe both the psychological and spiritual dimensions of being human. Elijah needed sleep. He needed food. But God was also there to provide His presence, truth, direction, and renewed purpose.
So what if the church looked at mental health in the light of this passage?
Instead of a dismissive, “You just need more faith,” what if we rallied around those who are struggling with support and open arms?
“Come sit down here. You’re safe here.”
Observe those around you. Chances are someone close by is struggling much more than they care to let on. Listen to them.
We are so conditioned to prepare a response while someone else is speaking that we have lost the art of truly giving someone our attention, the space to speak, to be heard, and to be honest.
And chances are, you might not enjoy everything you hear them say. That’s okay.
It’s probably uncomfortable for them, too.
Let’s walk alongside them. Let’s provide companionship and accountability as they address their concerns and seek healing. Let’s be willing to help them find wise counsel and appropriate care rather than assuming that every struggle can be solved with a Bible verse or a quick prayer.
What would it look like if the church became a safe place for the mentally and emotionally broken to seek wise counsel? A place where we don’t shame people for simply being broken humans, but instead help them encounter the compassion of God?
Think for yourself: What would it look like for you personally to create a space where your spiritual brothers and sisters knew they could be raw and real and still be loved by you?
What would it look like for them to experience, through you, the compassion of God?
Jesus loves you.
You are a child of God.
He has purpose for your life.
You are not on this journey alone.
Microchurch Minute
In Acts 2, Pentecost has come, the Holy Spirit now dwells within believers, and we get a glimpse of how the early church responded to this divine responsibility and authority. Imagine living in that moment, the generation that witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, His defeat of death, and His ascension. The energy behind this new community of believers must have been incredible. They were hungry for more of the gospel and more of the truth. The apostles taught, and the believers listened eagerly to what they had been taught by Christ. Scripture uses the word devoted, this wasn’t casual conversation or occasional interest. It was a new way of life they were embracing. We can follow their example by continually learning, teaching, obeying, and living according to Scripture.
Notice, too, that the church described here is not simply a weekly gathering. The church is the community itself. They shared life together. In our age of individualism, it can be easy to miss the significance of this. We are surrounded by my house, my money, my resources, my space. Are we creating space to welcome others in?
The early believers even sold their possessions to meet one another’s needs. While this isn’t necessarily a command for every believer to sell everything they own, it reveals a posture of radical generosity.
God has given each of us resources –
wealth, time, abilities, homes, and opportunities. Do we primarily use them for ourselves, or are we willing to use what God has entrusted to us to serve others? The way we allocate our resources reveals what we value and, ultimately, what we worship.
Beyond sharing resources, they broke bread together. They shared meals, celebrated together, and opened their homes. What a simple and beautiful expression of fellowship. God could have designed nourishment to be purely functional, yet He gave us the gift of taste and the ability to enjoy food together. Sharing what He has provided can itself become an act of gratitude and worship.
And how do we truly develop this posture of worship, surrender, and vulnerability? Ultimately, by recognizing our dependence upon God. Does your prayer life reflect that dependence? Are you praying with your spiritual family and creating space for God to work within those relationships?
I love that Scripture doesn’t describe these people merely as a house-church group or spiritual friends. They were family. For those who have experienced hurt within their biological families, that word can carry a lot of weight. Yet through His grace, God gives us a glimpse of what He intended family to be through the spiritual brothers and sisters He has placed around us. We aren’t like family – we are family. That should change the way we show up, love, serve, forgive, and care for one another. Our fellowship is meant to be tangible. We don’t merely feel compassion; we act on it.
This is where the early church beautifully reflects the three rhythms we emphasize at Mission Community Church: worship, family and mission.
Worship: We were created to exalt our Heavenly Father and bring Him praise. If someone observed your life solely by your actions, what would they say is the central focus of your worship? Is it really God, or is it your phone, your career, your comfort, your entertainment, or something else? Our lives reveal what we worship.
Mission: God has given each of us a purpose in His Kingdom. I believe followers of Jesus are meant to be the hands and feet of our Savior in this fallen world. When outsiders look at your life, do they see someone who is living on mission for Jesus? Do your actions point people toward your Savior?
Acts 2 gives us a beautiful picture of a church that was devoted to truth, committed to family, dependent upon God, generous with what He had given them, joyful in worship, and faithful to His mission. May that be true of us as well.
God, as we move forward, help us learn from the example of the early church. May we exalt and glorify You, never tiring of pressing into Your Word and continually learning Your heart. Teach us to live sacrificially within our spiritual family, to embrace one another, serve one another, and care for one another. And give us clarity and courage in our mission. May we never back away from proclaiming the gospel and making disciples near, far, and to the ends of the earth. Amen.
