Mosaic Boston

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.

How would you fill in these blanks? "For me to live is _____ , and to die is _____." Be honest. What is your life? What is your definition of life? What are you living for? Whom do you live for? What is the most important thing for you? What is that thing/person which will make your life worth living regardless of what else happens? Most of us don't ask such "morbid" questions when everything is going well in life. However, we do ask when we suffer because suffering cuts through the mask of superficiality to the heart of reality. As we continue our journey through the glorious book of Philippians tomorrow, and as we continue our meditation on joy, we learn there is only one way to answer that question which will bring satisfying joy in this life and the next. Join us tomorrow as we continue to be surprised by joy.

Tomorrow, we're starting a brand new sermon series through the book of Philippians, also known as the "Epistle of Joy." As we spend the next few weeks thinking about joy, I believe we'll actually be surprised by the counter-intuitive, supernatural nature of this foretaste of God. True joy is something no circumstance can give you, and no circumstance can ever take away. C.S. Lewis, in his spiritual biography, appropriately entitled "Surprised by Joy" talks of joy as that which moved him more than anything else. He writes, "No one who has ever experienced it would ever exchange it for all the happiness in the world." Lewis distinguished Joy from both pleasures and happiness. Joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. Pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, in the spirit, in the essence of our being. The way to pleasure is power. The way to happiness is happenstance. The way to Joy is Jesus. The desire for Joy is God's footprint in

The German poet Goethe called the book of Ruth "the loveliest complete work on a small scale" ever written. Alexander Schroder, a literary critic, wrote, "No poet in the world has written a more beautiful short story." Like all the most captivating and satisfying stories, the book of Ruth ends with a happy ending. Boaz and Ruth finally get married. They have a baby. Naomi is comforted. The end. It's a happy ending, and everybody loves a happy ending. It might be a happy ending and we might enjoy their happiness vicariously, even if briefly. However, what does their happiness have to do with ours? So what?! What does their joy have to do with ours in 21st century Boston? How do their lives impact ours? Great questions. Join us tomorrow as we study Ruth 4:13-21, and reflect on how the happiness of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz can have an absolutely direct impact on our own joy and redemption.

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells his disciples "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Jesus doesn't just call his followers to grow in innocence (though this is an indispensable part of the Christian life and a daily pursuit), He also calls us to grow in shrewdness, or Godly Wisdom. God's people ought to be characterized by a profound practical wisdom of how the word is designed, how things work, and how to strive in this world to bring flourishing to our lives, our family, our city and beyond. We are called to develop shrewdness in how we use our time, talent, treasure, opportunities, and all of life. Join us tomorrow as we study Ruth 4:1-12, where we learn numerous lessons about shrewdness from Boaz, as he makes some slick moves to position himself to marry Ruth, the woman he loves, and to start a family, which will ultimately be a blessing to the whole world.

We've had a great time the last couple weeks reading and studying the beautiful book of Ruth together. Last Sunday, we read chapter 2, where Ruth and Boaz meet, and sparks fly. However, things seem to cool off and Boaz appears to have stopped making moves (later we find out Boaz thought Ruth was out of his league). So Naomi, Ruth's brilliant mother-in-law concocts a scheming plan, in which she proposes that Ruth propose that Boaz propose to Ruth. Got it? Join us tomorrow as we study Ruth chapter 3, where the love story between Ruth and Boaz heats up, and as their love for each other deepens, their relationship becomes clearly defined.

Last week we began a sermon series through the beautiful love story found in the book of Ruth. As we look at Ruth chapter 2 tomorrow, we're introduced to Boaz who is described as a "worthy" man. We're also given a front row seat to the first time Boaz and Ruth meet and their love story begins. Clearly the book is a love story, but one of the things that struck me as I've been studying this text is how sparse the text is regarding the feelings between them. Where are the juicy nuggets?! Where's the swooning? Where's the passion?! The author isn't saying that feelings are not important in a thriving marital relationship--they certainly are! But feelings, though important, are not primary. Love is not primarily a feeling by which we are overwhelmed. The desire to love is not love itself. Love is not primarily sentiment. Love is choice. Love is a choice to sacrifice for another person. This book's timeless message of lasting sacrificial love challenges our culture's view of love as primarily romantic sentiment t

Tomorrow, we're starting a brand-new sermon series at Mosaic Boston through the book of Ruth. I recommend you take some time today or tomorrow to read through the book of Ruth (takes about 20 minutes). The book of Ruth is one of the most beautiful stories in Holy Scripture and teaches us innumerable truths about our God, ourselves, and our part in God's sovereign and good plan of redemption. The book of Ruth gives us a glimpse of the hidden work of God during the worst of times to bring about the evident work of God during the best of times. The book of Ruth is a love story (and who doesn't like love stories?!), which foreshadows the ultimate Love Story.