Spark Cast

In addition to a few reminders of what this series is about, in this teaching we take a look at what role sleep has played in the Biblical narrative. Through the stories of Adam, Abraham, Jonah, Joseph, and even Jesus, we see sleep as a beautiful metaphorical symbol and activity of refreshment, renewal, and redemption. Daily we are given the gift of sleep. Daily we are reminded to refresh, renew, and redeem, not just our bodies, but our souls as well.

Pastor Mark Arevalo takes us on a musical journey to illustrate the many ways in which we discover God. If we pause, reflect, consider, and listen carefully, perhaps we will hear the song that God is playing in this universe, and find our salvation, hope, healing, and rest, in joining in the tune.

Too often we think of rest as "self-care." In this message, Pastor Danielle exhorts us to think bigger. Not that self-care is unimportant, but that rest comes through exhaustive work. In other words, it is possible to be really tired, yet, because we have lived out a calling of service, we are "good" and tired. May we never lose our connection to our purpose, which is to do good works, and serve the other.

This evening, our special guest, Mark Yaconelli, shares stories that illustrate and illuminate how the greatest commandment in Mark 12 lives and breathes today. May we see the other, listen to their souls, and allow our hearts to be moved to action.

Session 5 of Spark's Spiritual Retreat with Mark Yaconelli, Healing Our Image of God and Ourselves

Session 4 of Spark's Spiritual Retreat with Mark Yaconelli, Healing Our Image of God and Ourselves

Session 2 of Spark's Spiritual Retreat with Mark Yaconelli, Healing Our Image of God and Ourselves

Session 1 of Spark's Spiritual Retreat with Mark Yaconelli, Healing Our Image of God and Ourselves

Pastoral intern, Josh Boucher, walks us through some very practical points of finding and discovering rest, in the midst of very busy lives which are not attuned to rest. Referencing CS Lewis, we discover that simply believing God exists is not enough. We must also believe that God is good, there, we will find rest for our souls.

Spark member, Melissa (Look) Braunworth, recently lost her 27 year old brother, Bryant, to cancer. In this teaching, we have the privilege of hearing Melissa share about her faith journey in the midst of suffering, as she points to the places where she's found Rest in the most difficult of journeys. Engage deeply with these reflections, as Melissa shares honestly, and profoundly, about her faith, that is TBF (to be found). "Months before Bryant passed, we talked about if he would ever want to share his experience and what it meant for his relationship with God in a public setting. We talked about it, but maybe due to energy levels or the thought of public speaking, it never came to fruition. So being able to share at Spark seems a way for me to carry out Bryant's legacy." ~ Melissa

When Jesus declares, "if anyone is thirsty they should come to me and drink," he is set against the backdrop of a main Jewish festival, Sukkot (Tabernacles). Through his declaration, we discover multiple layers of meaning, of what Jesus is saying about himself, the festival, and about us!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Jesus Tired? Worn down? Exhausted? Feeling frenetic, weary, or burdened? Come. Learn. Discover. Why? Perhaps the exhaustion we feel is not because of our pace or our calendars. Perhaps it is because we have not tended our souls, and we have adopted teachings and interpretations that burden, rather than enliven. So come. The faith and spirituality of Jesus invites us, beckons us, yearns for us to discover his rest. The song at the end is an original by our worship leader and friend, Dave Matsumura of Kokua. Find out more about him, and support his music ministry at http://www.kokuamusic.com/music/

We invite all of our podcast listeners to join us for what will prove to be a transformative event in your life's journey; a spiritual retreat with author and speaker, Mark Yaconelli. In this special announcement, hear a little more from Pastor Danielle regarding the heart behind the retreat, and some of what we can expect. This event is open to the public, so please help us spread the word. Visit http://www.sparkchurch.net/healing-our-image-retreat for more information, and please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.

The summation of all the ethics of Jesus, perhaps could be stated in two words, "for life." Drawing on John 10:10, and a variety of cultural nuances, we discover that there's a lot of life to be had, which is oftentimes distinct from the stale religion in which Christianity is often disguised. May we never settle for anything less than the full, complete, and abundant life Jesus came to offer.

This Jesus way is not "part-time," or "part-life." It is the call and challenge of Jesus to not simply give a segment of my life to this movement, but rather all of my life to it. And through this "all in" attitude and perspective, may we not only be transformed in our decision making, but also transformed in our experience of Jesus's presence, every day. In everything, may Jesus's love, and commission, be influential in how we live.

The Jesus movement emerges on the scene with a significant backdrop, the Roman Empire. In the midst of this powerful and authoritative presence, the Jesus Way confronts and overturns Roman influence, but not in ways expected. Rather than a military uprising, or a coup, Jesus calls us to "lay down our lives," "take up our cross," and "follow Him." Subversively, this way calls and empowers us to live lives that exemplify the Kingdom of God, in the midst of imperialism, not just in spite of it.

Insignificant. Mediocre. Small. Little. These are not words that usually cause inspiration or empowerment. Yet, this "mustard seed faith," is what Jesus seems to be advocating in Matthew 13. Not only will we be encouraged, welcomed, and invited into this Kingdom movement, we will actually be astonished at what becomes of our seemingly paltry contributions. The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.

In this teaching, we discover two main truths that can help inspire us to embrace one of the most difficult ethics that exist, forgiveness. The first is that forgiveness transforms the forgiver. The second is that forgiveness is a reflection of our understanding of God's love and grace to us. Thus, if we were to embrace the fullness of forgiveness, we would bring healing to our understanding of God's relationship with us, and our relationship with this world.

Not only does the Kingdom movement of Jesus invite all to enter, especially the marginalized, but we see this ethic exemplified in the very life of Jesus, as he too was one who came marginalized. Why is this ethic important? Because "those on the margins speak a truth that must be heard by us all and we all need to hear that cry." And, the love of God is on display to those on the margins.

Jesus's harshest teachings are directed at the religious, the hypocrites who turn beautiful teachings and traditions into heavy burdens. If you've ever experienced this kind of religion, Jesus's approach will offer solace and solidarity, but more importantly, a model for how to effectively transform abusive religion into something beautiful for this world.