Prayer is the place where we, as the Family of God in the earth, come to commune with our Heavenly Father. When we pursue the heart and presence of God in prayer, we begin to see what He sees and what He longs for. Communing in prayer with our Father takes us beyond the natural realm, bringing us into a greater and greater awareness of His profound power and love towards us. In prayer is where we can see what’s impossible with man, but is already done with God. We are perfected in prayer.

God’s family in the earth is made up entirely with adopted people. He has chosen us, we have not chosen Him. Our last name is no longer our most significant name. The name that gives us our greatest identity, belonging and resource, both now and forever, is the name of Jesus. In Him we’ve all been given abilities, gifts, passions and unique parts to play in reconciling humanity, causing it to flourish and overcoming evil. God’s family is a diverse family. He has adopted people from every nation, every ethnicity and every culture. In Him we are many, who’ve been made one.

What a beautiful family name we’ve been given in the name of Jesus. For the Christian our last name is no longer our most significant name. The name that gives us our greatest identity, belonging and resource, both now and forever, is the name of Jesus. His, is the only name given under heaven by which we can be saved — being adopted and redeemed into the eternal family of God. In the name of Jesus we have received an inheritance of every spiritual blessing. We live, move and have our being in our family name — the name of Jesus.

Our lives are shaped by how and where we get our sense of acceptance and belonging. God’s family is unlike any other family, organization or affiliation we can have in this world. God’s family is not based on what we’ve done or can do, but what He has done and chosen to do. God adopted us. God chose us. This truth of being chosen/adopted before, is the foundation of our existence in God’s family. Understanding our adoption is the way we truly enter into and experience the transformative power of being accepted in the beloved.

In God We Trust was a clarion call to return to God with our whole hearts. It’s was a bright, redeeming light shining into the depths of our souls to awaken, renew and deepen our trust in God. In God We Trust was the resurrection of our faith and trust in the God who has power over the nations, nature, and the details of our lives. In God We Trust is the confidence that even when life hurts — God loves us; God is good; and God has the power and desire to extend His faithfulness to a version of us we’ve yet to encounter.

Our understanding of faithfulness is incomplete if we see it only as God's commitment to us or as our devotion to Him. Ultimately, faithfulness is a defining characteristic of God's relationship to Himself. We can be encouraged to rest in this faithfulness, as we discover our identity in Christ and God's commitment to see His eternal purposes demonstrated in our lives.

God has total control of all things past, present and future. Nothing happens that is outside of His knowledge and control. All things are either caused by Him or allowed by Him for His eternal purposes and plans. God is the only absolute, all powerful ruler of the universe and is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption. We’re all free, but we’re all in God’s hands, because He is sovereign.

In 2008, to the astonishment of the world, the U.S. economy was plunged into a recession because we trusted in the leaders of our government and financial institutions to behave ethically and morally for the good of its people. The hopes and dreams, the savings and security of millions, were erased within a matter of days. Only by trusting in God can we obtain true peace, love and joy. Everything and everyone else is subject to fail, because it is temporal. But Our God is Good, and He has a plan and a purpose to provide for all of our needs.

The Church has been redefined by modern culture, but it has never been changed in its role or power by God. God has established the Church as the epicenter of life, society and blessing. She is the steward of God’s revelation truth and miraculous power to transform humanity. There is no corporation, organization or institution more powerful and significant than the Church in all of creation. The Church is God’s chosen transforming agent.

God, the creator and sustainer of all, is a God of justice. Psalm 89:14 declares, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.” From an early age this sense of justice can be seen woven into the fabric of humanity. We’ve all seen and been, small children looking for an adult to judge between us and a friend, and when the verdict was rendered cried out, that’s not fair! Justice is the process of using laws to judge and administer fairness, rightness, reward and punishment. All societies have laws designed to bring order and civility. But God is the judge of all. His rule and reign is over every authority, power, dominion, throne, principality, domain and kingdom. God is the God of justice.

The “fear of the Lord” is not one of His attributes. It’s the effect He has on all who truly encounter His holy presence. Holiness is the quality of God’s character that makes Him higher and superior to everything in the created realm. God’s holiness makes Him other, different, high and lifted up, set apart from all others. It’s the distinction of His holiness, that leaves us drawn to God — in awestruck and reverent fear. Our reverent and awestruck fear of the Lord and His holiness will be the difference maker in our lives now, at the end of this age and for eternity.

God is the creator and sustainer of all creation. Nothing exists whether seen or unseen that originated apart from God. God is love. His love is an all-knowing love. His love is an all-consuming love. His love is a fully committed love. God is good. God defines good. God is the standard for good. If we took all of God’s attributes and rolled them into one word — the one word that would embody all of God’s attributes without compromise would be Good. But the angles in heaven do not cry out sustainer, sustainer, sustainer; they don't cry out love, love, love; nor do the angels in heaven cry out good, good, good. The thing that has all of the heavenly host awestruck without ceasing is God’s holiness. God’s character is best and most accurately described as Holy, Holy Holy.

Looking back at the top news making events of 2011, seven years seems like a lifetime ago. Arab Spring. Protests spread throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa fueled by unemployed young people, frustration with longtime leaders and corrupt police — leading to the overthrow of government leaders, in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Osama bin Laden. The mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans was shot and killed by Navy SEALs. Occupy Wall Street. Protesting income inequality and corporate abuse, activists camped out near New York's Wall Street. The movement spread throughout the US and even spilled into other countries. Someone Like You by Adele, Look At Me Now by Chris Brown, You Are More by Tenth Avenue North and I Smile by Kurt Franklin all led the music charts. And TPC held its first public gathering at the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia, with over 300 people braving torrential downpours to witness the birth of a new part of Jesus’ Church. And here we are in 2018, in the midst of some of the most divided times in our country and the world. In the midst of it all Jesus is crying out to us, just as He has to every generation before — Follow Me. Acknowledge Me. Ask of Me. These commands are timeless and eternal and they are just on time and for this very moment.

God the Father is the source and giver of all the goodness that fills this earth, both seen and unseen. There’s never been one thing good in this earth or any where else in creation at any time in the past, present or future that didn’t originate in God the Father. Apart from God, there wouldn't be anything good. God alone is the source of all good things. “God is good” means — God defines good; God is the source of good; God is the only One good. Unwavering trust in God is rooted in knowing, believing and submitting to this truth.

The millennial generation has grown weary of organized religion but their zeal for God can be ignited if they have a proper view of Jesus.

God is good. This simple statement is going to take us weeks to unpack and even longer to work into the depths of our soul. On the surface, every follower of Jesus believes God is good. But if we pull back the curtain, there are times and sometimes extended periods of time, when we struggle to see and embrace God’s goodness. But temporary struggles do not change the unwavering, eternal truth — God is good and God defines good.

As of the1st quarter of 2018, Facebook had 2.19 billion active users. YouTube just reported 1 billion, and Instagram says it has 800 million active users. That’s nearly 4 billion people active on social media, as a regular part of their daily lives! What is it that drives us to publish our lives for the world to view? We all have an insatiable desire to be known. We all have an insatiable desire to be loved. We were designed by the God who knows all, for the God who knows all.

Two questions are at the heart of what it means to be human: Who are you Lord? Who am I? While there’s arguably more than one answer to these questions, none is more fundamentally true than — God is love and we are loved. Sadly, it’s possible to be so shaped and affected by the “love of man” that it keeps us from ever truly knowing and experiencing the love of God. God is love and His love is unlike any other “love” in all of creation. God’s love is an all-knowing love. God’s love is an all-consuming love. God’s love is a fully committed love.

There are two questions that everyone on the face of this planet has asked and continues to ask at different times and in different ways, throughout the course of life. “Who are you God?” and “Who am I?” In fact, these questions are at the heart of what it means to be human. We fully become who we are as we come to know who God is. We are made in His image and we bear His likeness.

Today, we recognize Pentecost and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit that was given to the Church. When this was done in Acts 2, the Church also received the ability to prophesy, but many of us don't realize the power we have in the Spirit to do this. The first step is to pursue love.

There’s a study resource that lists over 950 names and titles for God found in the first and second testaments of the bible. Of all the names, there’s only one that God didn’t give to Himself. This one name is given to God by an immigrant, a woman who’s an enslaved surrogate mother. This is a person who considers herself invisible. It’s not likely any of us have experienced being an enslaved, immigrant who’s carried a child for someone else. But we’ve all experienced feeling invisible, alone or painfully unappreciated in our lives. There are times and sometimes extended periods of time, where we feel invisible — nothing more than the assignment that’s due, the money that’s needed, the hands that fix the meal or the car, or the ride that get’s them to practice. Today is the day we come to know El Roi — The God who sees you.

Jesus is the God of the comeback. He comes back for us over and over again throughout our lives, resurrecting us into the joys and realities of our place in the heavenly realm. Jesus will ultimately return at a pre-appointed time, known only by the Father, to resurrect creation into a new heaven and a new earth. That day is one we look forward to when we’ve experienced Him coming back for us many times before, that great and dreadful day — When Jesus comes.

While none are immune from trauma as a result of the fall of mankind, the very fall of mankind and the consequences it yields in our lives were inspired by the enemy’s attempt to thwart the plans and promises of God. God not only comes back for us or even in spite of us; He comes back because of us and the plans and promises He has for us.

Jonah thrown overboard into the sea… Mary pregnant out of wedlock… Paul watching and holding coats as Stephen is stoned to death. There are traumatic accounts throughout the bible. Our attention is often on the miracles, the deliverances, the hand and plan of God in those moments. But we need to identify with the human experiences. Seeing the accounts from the eyes of those portrayed, provides a window to see God in a new light. The God of the Comeback, resurrects us from life’s traumas, restoring our souls and giving us His new life.

In Christ we can expect to comeback from every disappointment and loss we experience. As born again believers we are in the grip of His resurrection life. No matter what we experience here, it does not catch God by surprise. Disappointments and loss, as real as they are are not terminal for those who learn to live in resurrected life, anchored in the God of the comeback. He is able to resurrect us from the disappointments and losses we will experience in this world.

When Jesus came back from the dead in Jerusalem over two-thousand years ago, it changed everything. His followers moved the day they gathered for worship from Saturday to Sunday. Every weekly gathering became a celebration of His resurrection and their new lives in Him. Although our annual celebration of Resurrection Sunday has passed, His resurrection continues to be the one reality that changes every aspect of our lives. Jesus’ resurrection is the basis for every true comeback we will ever experience in this life, including our own physical resurrection out of it. God of the comeback is about learning to live — In the Grip of Resurrection Life.

The life-altering reality of Jesus’ resurrection is lost and leaves us stuck in unbelief if we don’t first realize this world and everything in it is crying out for resurrection. We’ve all found and will find ourselves in places we never expected to be. We’ve all learned and will learn how it feels to be overwhelmingly disappointed, discouraged and hopeless in this world. Jesus' resurrection gives us the courage to no longer run from the tombs and graveyards that fill this world and our lives. His resurrection life lifts us out of this world and restores us to the Father’s divine power and intentions.