Mosaic Lincoln

What is the essence of our faith? What is the message of the church? What is being a Christian really about? Depending on who you ask you can get wildly different answers. And far too often those answers sound far more American than they do Christian. If we are to follow in the way of Jesus, we must strip off all of the cultural baggage we've added to our message and get back to what it's all about: the cross. Special thanks to Eugene Peterson, Greg Boyd and John Ortberg for their contributions to this message. For more about Mosaic, visit us at mosaiclincoln.org.

It's no secret that ours is an increasingly skeptical generation. Whether it's congress and its politicians, multinational corporations and their CEOs, or religious institutions and their leaders, we are largely skeptical. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than when it comes to organized religion. For those who follow Jesus, however, each of us must eventually grapple with an inconvenient truth: Jesus loves his church. So what does this mean for those who follow after him? For more about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.org.

Any good therapist will tell you that you cannot heal what you do not acknowledge, and what you do not consciously acknowledge will remain in control from within, festering and destroying you and those around you. How often do we hold onto our past mistakes, our guilt and shame, when God wants to set us free? Confession is a beautiful, holy, misunderstood part of Christian tradition. Let's redeem this beautiful act, and experience the healing power of confession, forgiveness, and hope. For more information visit www.mosaiclincoln.com

God is not a being that we can wrap our head around, but we sure can wrap our heart around Him. Prayer is like flossing... we know we need to do it, but we tend to only step into it in times of emergency. Our prayers tend to focus on our anxiety, fears, and lack of control. Brian Zahnd says of modern prayer that, "we try and manage God and get him to do what we want to do." We want to propose a new way of praying that is actually a very old way of praying. One that has been practiced for thousands of years. Prayer that doesn't try to control God, but transforms our head and heart. Special thanks to Science Mike McHargue, Brian Zahnd, and Russ Guill for their contributions to this message.

Rituals are often misunderstood in our western 21st century culture. It can be easy to see them as superstitious or naïve, but the truth is the church has been practicing certain rituals for the past 2000 years. Many of these practices continue in order to draw our head and hearts into the presence of God. One of those often misunderstood rituals is the sacrament of Communion. How can we see Communion as more than just an empty ritual, and instead see it as one of the most holy acts that we can step into as a church? To learn more about Mosaic, visit us at visit www.mosaiclincoln.com.

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...” Could we live in a world without orphans? John 10:10 says that we will have LIFE in its fullest. Nebraska promises us The Good Life. What if THE GOOD LIFE is only experienced when we live for the GOOD of others?

John 10:10 says that we will have LIFE in its fullest. Nebraska promises us The Good Life. What if THE GOOD LIFE is only experienced when we live for the GOOD of others? How can we help those in need without hurting them? How can we empower without creating dependency? How does Jesus empower us live THE GOOD LIFE?

Have you ever missed the moment? Where you knew you should have stepped in and done something, but you wrote it off and said, "someone else will take care of that person." What if in the brush off, we missed something bigger than the moment? What if we missed God in disguise?! John 10:10 says that we will have LIFE in its fullest. Nebraska promises us The Good Life. What if THE GOOD LIFE is only experienced when we live for the GOOD of others?

Who is my neighbor? A question that Jesus was asked 2000 years ago and we are still asking it today. Jesus promised us in John 10:10 that we will have LIFE in its fullest. Nebraska promises us The Good Life. What if THE GOOD LIFE is only experienced when we live for the GOOD of others?

In the final week of our Misread series we jump into the turbulent waters of Romans 9 and ask the question, what kind of God are we dealing with? Is God an artist or a master puppeteer who works through coercion and control? Does God take risks and give us the freedom to choose or does he meticulously control everything in order to carry out his plan? Does free will even exist or is the future predetermined and we're just going through the motions? Special thanks to Life.Church and Woodland Hills Church for inspiring this series and to Greg Boyd for his substantial contribution to this message. For more information about Mosaic, we invite you to visit us at mosaiclincoln.org.

This week we wade into sensitive waters. We are talking about a heavy and loaded subject, one that has been the cause of much disunity and disagreement in the church: the role of women in the body of Christ. To begin this conversation, we are exploring together the words of 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.” Is Paul being chauvinistic here? Is the primary call on a Christian woman's life to submit and be quiet? Or might there be more going on here than meets the eye? Special thanks to Life.Church and Woodland Hills Church for inspiring this series and to Christian Associates, Greg Boyd, Nikole Mitchell, and John Ortberg for their contributions to this message. For more information about Mosaic, we invite you to visit us at mosaiclincoln.org.

This week we explore a confusing promise found in John 14:13-14. Jesus said, "I will do whatever you ask in my name so the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." What did Jesus mean by this? If we've been given this promise, then why do so many of us find ourselves frustrated at times by unanswered prayer? Is prayer just random, like playing spiritual bingo - sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're not? Or are there variables that can actually affect how are prayers are received and answered? Special thanks to Life.Church and Woodland Hills Church for inspiring this series and to Craig Groeschel and Greg Boyd for their contributions to this message. For more information about Mosaic, visit us at mosaiclincoln.org.

This week we explore what may very well be the most popular verse amongst Christians and non-Christians alike: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged." (Mt 7:1). What did Jesus really mean by that? Are we as Christians never to exercise judgment? Are there certain scenarios in which we can? If so, does it make a difference whether the person on the receiving end is a Christian? Special thanks to Life.Church and Woodland Hills Church for inspiring this series and to Craig Groeschel for his significant contribution to this message. For more information about Mosaic, visit us at mosaiclincoln.org.

We conclude our two-month journey in the Psalms by spending one last week in one of the most recognizable and loved passages in all of the bible: Psalm 23. As we do we seek to answer the question behind so many questions: Can God really be trusted? If I surrender all of my life into his hands, what can I really expect? Special thanks to Phillip Keller and Larry Osborne for their contributions to this message. To learn more about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.org.

David shows in Psalm 25 what is looks like to practice lament-- calling out and naming before God the injustices around us. Through examining the role that lament played in Israelite society, we see how it functions as an act of rebellion against apathy, despair, and cynicism. And, most importantly, we see the connection between lament and hope. For more information about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.com

The twenty-third Psalm is easily one of the most recognizable passages in all of the bible. From film and music, to celebrity memorials and 9/11, the words of the twenty-third Psalm has found its way into nearly every expression of pop culture. There is something about this passage that has struck a chord with humanity throughout the centuries. Join us as we spend the next couple weeks journeying through this rich and timeless passage. Special thanks to John Emery and Mark Adams for their contributions to this message. To learn more about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.org.

Doubt is sometimes treated like a dirty little secret in the church. We don’t like it. We are very uncomfortable with it. At times, we even pretend like it doesn’t exist. It seems few are willing to talk about it with the kind of raw, introspective honesty as the Psalmists do. But the truth is we all experience moments, days, even entire seasons when we struggle with doubt. So how are we to understand and respond to doubt when it inevitably shows up in us? Special thanks to Tim Keller and Alister McGrath for their contributions to this message. To learn more about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.org.

When was the last time your heart broke over sin in your life? For many people repentance has simply become nothing more than saying, "I'm sorry". But repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision. It is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you are wrong in your thinking most of the time and without the constant correction of regular repentance, we find ourselves living a life apart from God. Psalm 51 gives us an intimate look at the brokenness that David experienced when repentance brought him to his knees at the feet of a merciful and loving God. The change that takes place in our hearts when we make regular repentance a part of our relationship with God is an essential part of maintaining a healthy soul.

Bono of U2 recently lamented: "In Christian art I find a lot of dishonesty...This is why I am suspicious of Christians - because of their lack of realism." While we may be tempted to present ourselves as being better than we really are, the Psalms show us a different way - one that both acknowledges and confronts the inevitable spiritual winters of the soul. Special thanks to Tim Keller for his substantial contribution to this message. To learn more about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.org.

This week we begin a two-month journey together in the book of Psalms. John Calvin said that in the Psalms “the Holy Spirit has drawn all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated...all lurking places are discovered, and the heart is brought into the light.” Calvin called the Psalms "an anatomy of the soul." This week we begin our journey by taking an in-depth look at what the soul is, how it works and why understanding the soul is so incredibly important. Special thanks to John Ortberg and Dallas Willard for their substantial contribution to this message. For a more in-depth study of the soul, we highly recommend John Ortberg's book "Soul Keeping." To learn more about Mosaic, visit us at www.mosaiclincoln.org.