Mosaic Boston

Have you ever been stolen from? I'm sure we all have. Remember that feeling the moment you found out? It's hard to describe, but we all know how it feels. You feel a mixture of shock, anger, helplessness, maybe ever grief. You feel like you've been violated. How could this have happened? How dare they?! What can I do to get it back? How can I seek justice? What's the most valuable thing you've had stolen from you? A watch? A purse or a wallet? Money? A bike? Your car? Your passport? A position in a program or at work? Your ideas? A boyfriend/girlfriend? Maybe you've had someone steal your identity? We've all had someone steal from us. It hurts. We know it's wrong. It's just wrong. Right? However, have you ever stolen anything? Of course you have. But when we steal, it usually is a little more complicated that "It's just wrong." We have our reasons, right? We can probably even make a great case to justify why in your case, in this particular instance, it's not necessarily wrong, per se. You don't just steal

This week we are continuing our sermon series through the 10 Commandments by looking at number 7, “You shall not commit adultery.” The Bible has a lot to say about sex, and several passages that would make even modern readers blush. While the Bible has a lot to say about the goodness of sex, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that to even look at another person with lust, is to commit adultery in our hearts! God created sex to be amazing, and yet his standard seems almost unbelievable. So, why would God put restrictions around something so good? How does this apply to those of us who are married? How does it apply to those of us who are single? What does it really mean to keep the 7th Commandment, and is it even possible? These are some of the questions we’ll be asking this Sunday as we look at how the Bible address this important subject.

Have you ever heard (or perhaps said) the following: "Well, I'm a good person. I've never killed anyone!" Modern people love using murder as a benchmark for moral goodness: those who have killed are bad, and those who haven't are good. Oh, if it were that simplistic. Tomorrow, we turn our attention to Commandment #6, "You shall not murder." We'll look at many of the far reaching implications of this commandment, including many of the hot-button issues like abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, suicide, and just war theory. We'll also look at Matthew 5:21-26, where Jesus, in his famous Sermon on the Mount says the following regarding the 6th commandment: "I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." Jesus makes unjust anger, verbal abuse and personal hatred tantamount to murder. According to this definition, we're all guilty of transgressing

Few commandment hit as close to home and as straight to the heart as commandment number 5: "Honor your father and your mother." For some of us, this seems like common sense. For others, this seems archaic, offensive, and potentially painful. Some of us have deeply honorable parents. For others, we would rather not think about our biological parents. Several other factors complicate our receptivity to this commandment. We live in a culture where the idea of family has become fluid and indefinable. Our society has long ago separated sex from marriage, which complicates everything. What constitutes a family? Everything is exacerbated by our culture's visceral reaction to submission and honor. Why should I honor anyone? Why should I submit to anyone? Moreover, our culture prizes youth over wisdom, therefore the young seem to have more intrinsic value and savvy than the old, so why should we honor someone seemingly less worthy of honor. Be sure to join us tomorrow as we tackle a complex commandment, which offer

One of my absolute favorite Bible passages is when Jesus and his disciples get "caught" in a storm. As the ferocious winds tossed them around mercilessly, and water started inundating the small boat, the disciples are all freaking out. And what was Jesus doing? Taking a nap! They frantically wake him with pleas: "We're perishing" and "Don't you care?" Jesus, probably still a little groggy and somewhat annoyed that they disturbed his nice nap, gets up and calms the storm. The Gospel writers don't say what came next, other than the disciples being dumbstruck by what just happened, but I bet Jesus went straight back to sleep, because sometimes, the most spiritual thing we can do is take a nap. When we think about taking a day off, sometimes it feels like that. How in the world can I rest while my life is so tumultuous? I can't nap in the midst of a storm! If I rest, I'll sink. God hard-wired humans to both work and rest, in a healthy rhythm. If we stop doing either, we stop living full, flourishing lives. Th

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Indeed, this commandment prohibits the flippant use of God’s name to mark surprise (‘oh my G_d!’) or shock or worse, but it’s so much more than that. In order to begin to understand the depth of this commandment, we really need to understand the power of names, and names truly are powerful. Businesses have learned this a long time ago and globally recognized names like Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and McDonald’s invest billions each year to build, protect, and expand the reach of their brands. Companies spend seemingly disproportionate sums to hire “brand ambassadors” to promote and embody their corporate identity in appearance, demeanor, values, and ethics. So what does the idea of a “brand ambassador” have to do with the third commandment? Everything! Join us tomorrow as we discuss the profound implications of this commandment on our lives as followers of the One who bears the name above all names, Jesus Christ.

What's the most discussed problem in the the entire Bible? Idolatry. Idolatry?! Really? Yes. Book after book, chapter after chapter, verse after verse warn us about the destructive nature of wrongful worship. To contemporary people the world "idolatry" conjures up pictures of primitive people bowing down before hand-made statues. Totally irrelevant to us, right? Don't be so quick to write this off. Every culture is dominated by its own set of idols. Ours are beauty, power, money, success. We may not physically kneel before the statue of Aphrodite, but how much time and energy do we sacrifice at the alter of beauty. We may not actually burn incense to Artemis, but how many relationships are sacrificed at the alter of money. We may not actually worship Ares, but we'll give all we are for fame, significance and security. The timeless truths of Scripture are always timely. The human heart has not evolved beyond being an "idol-factory." Be sure to join us tomorrow, as look in-depth at the Second Law for Lif

We're starting a brand new sermon series called, "10 Laws for Life," as we look at the 10 Commandments as God's design for your freedom and humanity's flourishing.

As we wrap up our series on "Faith at Work" tomorrow, we'll be looking at how the Gospel of Jesus Christ provides the most meaningful answer to the question: "Why work?" Once we have a truly significant answer to the "Why" of work, the practical answers to "How should we work?" flow naturally. However, the most profound difference the Gospel makes regarding our work is by providing the most soul-satisfying answer to the question: "For whom should we work?" My dad has a painting business in the great state of Rhode Island and I grew up painting with him every summer. Essentially, I worked for him when I painted and he paid me much more than I deserved. However, he used to correct me every time I would say something along the lines of "I work for you." He would stop me, pause, and say, "You don't work for me... you work with me." This was true. He never asked me to do something he wasn't already doing himself. The Gospel teaches us that we don't ultimately work for ourselves. We work for the God of the unive

Just got back from a trip to China and I missed all of you tons!! I can't wait to worship and fellowship with you tomorrow! I was blessed by the opportunity to visit Xi'an, Beijing and Shanghai, all incredible places with amazing people and rich culture. I went with a group of pastors from New England to meet and network with fellow local pastors in those cities. As we met and learned from each other, God was boring a profound question deep into my soul: What makes a church great? As we visited these great cities, and then as I returned to the greatest city (in my humble opinion), I've been thinking about the irreducible nonnegotiables necessary for a great church. The irreducible components for a great church in China should also translate cross-culturally in Boston. Join us tomorrow as I plan to share about what makes for a great church. I deeply believe that a great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission makes for a great church!

Yes or no question: are you satisfied with your life, now? Are you fulfilled, right now? Are you content, right now? Many of us are on a journey to finding that which will satisfy. The hope of finding that which will satisfy staves off current dissatisfaction, temporarily. We think, "once I achieve ____" or "once I have ____" or "once I am ____" or "once I feel ____ " then I'll be satisfied. But how about now? Can I experience satisfaction, now? And if I haven't found it yet, what makes me think I'll ever find it? What's the hope of satisfaction based upon? One of the most compelling proofs for the existence of God is our perpetual dissatisfaction. Why is it, that even when we experience the most glorious experiences this world has to offer, we're still left wanting? As the atheist Jean-Paul Sartre admitted, "there comes a time when one asks, even of Shakespeare, even of Beethoven, "Is that all there is?" Is this it? As C.S. Lewis so beautiful put it, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in

How's your balance? How's your physical stability? One of the things most gym-novices don't understand is that there are two generic types of muscles: movers and stabilizers. Movers are the muscles that actively create movement (quads, hamstrings, pecs, lats, biceps, triceps), while stabilizers provide balance and support. When most people start going to the gym, they strictly work their movers. However, if you don't work your stabilizers (which are often smaller and seemingly less important), your movement will be hampered and you might become more susceptible to injury. If the stabilizers are weak, your movement will always lack stability and you will never attain your full physical potential. Same goes for the spiritual life! One of the absolutely hardest things about the Christian life is the constancy or stability required by the Lord. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him daily. Even St. Paul had struggles with spiritual stability. In Romans 7, he writes "For I do not un

Have you ever had a near-death experience? What usually happens in the short-term aftermath of such an experience is that we suddenly realize how fragile life is! We're here one second, and then poof, it's over. We come face-to-face with the stark realization that life is incredibly precious, and we should treat it as such. Why had we been so flippant with it? Why did we take it for granted? All of a sudden, our hearts are filled with gratitude and humility--we're still here, we're still alive, there's still life to be lived and enjoyed. For a season, even the most mundane parts of life seem to have an added sparkle as we revel in the joy of living. In the same way that we shouldn't take life for granted, we definitely shouldn't take eternal life for granted. As we look at Philippians 3:12-21 tomorrow, St. Paul spends much of the text explaining how he zealously pursues perfection in working out his salvation. However, we can totally miss the point if we think he's working strenuously for his salvation. He

How good do you have to be to enter into the presence of God? This week's sermon looked at the pitfall of religion versus the radical acceptance and power of grace.

I love how relevant Scripture is. The Bible, as God's Word, is a timeless book, therefore, it's message is ever timely. As we continue our journey through the book of Philippians tomorrow, and deepen our understanding of growth in joy, we'll look at one of the most relevant passages in all of Scripture for our day. In Philippians 2:14, Holy Scripture tells us, "Do all things without grumbling." Wow!! Is that even possible? Is it even possible to live like this in our day and age, when we have so many platforms and opportunities to complain?! At just about any time of day, most of us have the capability to grip, whine, and complain to hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people about anything and everything. Furthermore, it seems that those who complain the most and loudest get the most attention. But are we any better off for it? Are we happier? Are we filled with more joy? Join us tomorrow as we turn our attention to one of the biggest assailants of joy: grumbling and its opposite cultivator, contentment.

Think of the absolutely most joy-filled person you have ever met. You ever wonder what their secret is? I can almost guarantee you, they are probably also the absolutely most humble person you've ever met. Humility and Joy are always together and we struggle to live lives of joy because each one of us struggles with pride. We often mistaken humility for weakness. True humility, however, is one of the greatest virtuous strengths we can cultivate and growth in humility always produces ever-greater experiences of soul-satisfying joy. We all long to live joy-filled lives. But why is joy so elusive? What gets in the way of joy? As we look at Philippians 2:1-11 tomorrow, we'll learn that true humility always produces lasting joy. We experience true humility when we start to take our focus off ourselves and start directing it toward Jesus Christ who radically humbled himself for the joy set before him.