Last week we found ourselves at the threshold of Acts, asking a deceptively simple question: what is the church? Josh Harrison reminded us that, despite all we've accumulated—practices, traditions, and ambitions—the essence of the church isn't found in what we’ve built around Jesus, but in what he established at the start.

The early disciples, confronted by the resurrected Christ, understood neither the timing nor methods of God’s kingdom. Instead, they received two things: a gift (the Holy Spirit) and a mission (to be witnesses—embodiments of hope—beginning in Jerusalem and extending outwards).

May we live as witnesses today, expectant and empowered.

As we begin a new series in Acts, a brief recentering is in order. If you’ve spent any time in church, you’ve likely heard the phrase “Body of Christ” thrown around casually, as if it were merely a metaphor—a nice way to describe collective gifts. But in the earliest days, believers didn’t consider this figurative; they truly lived as Christ’s body, continuing his work on earth, animated by the Spirit. Their conviction transformed families, communities, and ultimately the world. As we plant and form this church, the question before us is: What might God do through us, if we truly embody this reality?

It’s been several weeks now since we first began tracing the Lord’s Prayer as a roadmap for attentiveness and expectancy in Advent. Along the way, we’ve rediscovered prayer not as a rote discipline, but as the core of our relationship with the infinite and personal God. This week, we arrived at a phrase often spoken, if rarely pondered: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Here, we’re reminded that Jesus offers more than mere forgiveness—He invites us to follow closely, learning to move through temptation without falling into it, and so experience His kingdom, power, and glory.