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STUDIO

by STUDIO

Christianity Spirituality

Season 6

New Humanity

This past Sunday we explored something Paul writes about called the "unity of the Spirit," we learned he isn't talking about everyone thinking the same, looking the same, or sharing the same preferences. He's describing something far more remarkable and dynamic. The early church brought together people who, for centuries, would never have shared the same table. Different ethnicities. Different histories. Different traditions. Different ways of seeing the world. Yet in Christ, God wasn't simply creating a better version of those divisions. He was creating one new humanity. Here are a few ideas we explored together: Biblical unity is not the absence of difference. It is the absence of hostility in the presence of difference because Christ has made us one. Unity isn't something we create. It's a reality Christ has already established that we are called to protect and preserve. Uniformity moves people toward me. Unity moves all of us toward Christ. The movement of unity isn't getting people to become more like us. It's moving together toward the new reality Christ has already created. One of the applications that emerged from this passage is our vision of becoming a Home for Humanity. A community where people from different stories, backgrounds, perspectives, and seasons of life discover that Christ is greater than the things that have historically divided us. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

Season 5

The Letters: Reading Someone Else's Mail Pt. 2

This past Sunday, we continued our series on Reading the Bible by exploring one of the most common mistakes we make when reading the letters of the New Testament: We often extract a verse without understanding the conversation. When reading a letter, the invitation is different: Don't just extract the verse. Understand the conversation between the writer and the reader. We introduced a simple Letter Blueprint to help us read the New Testament letters more faithfully: Who is speaking, and who is listening? Why is this letter being written? What is the writer actually saying? What is timeless, and what is situational? How did this letter shape their lives, and how does it shape ours? Then we put that framework into practice with one of the most quoted verses in the Bible: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) When we slow down and read the entire conversation instead of isolating one sentence, we discover that Paul isn't primarily talking about limitless achievement. He's writing about something even more profound: If your fundamental identity is secured somewhere circumstances can't touch, your sufficiency doesn't have to be renegotiated every time your circumstances change. One of the biggest takeaways from the morning was this: Don't ask what a sentence means until you've listened to the conversation it's part of. If you've ever wanted to move beyond reading verses in isolation and begin reading the Bible the way it was written, I think this message will be incredibly helpful. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

The Letters: Reading Someone Else's Mail

This week we continued our series on reading the Bible, focusing on how to read the New Testament letters. We learned that when we read books like Philippians, Corinthians, Romans, or Peter’s letters, we are essentially “reading someone else’s mail”. These letters were written by real leaders to real churches in real situations, helping believers learn how to live under the new covenant. The message introduced a simple framework for reading biblical letters: 1. “Who is speaking, and who is listening?” 2. “Why is this letter being written?” 3. “What is the writer saying?” 4. “What is timeless, and what is situational?” 5. “How did this letter affect their lives, and how does it affect ours?” As we look at Paul’s relationship with the Philippian church, we discover a letter shaped by partnership, love, suffering, generosity, and encouragement. He had a deep relationship with the Philippian church. They were not just people he taught; they were partners with him. They supported him financially and cared for him when others did not. Our challenge this week is to read Philippians slowly and thoughtfully, allowing Scripture to become not just a daily task, but a lifelong relationship. Our invitation is to move from reading Scripture as a checklist, to engaging it as a lifelong relationship. Instead of focusing on speed or quantity, we are being invited into depth, patience, and discovery. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

There Is More The Story

This past Sunday we continued our series on reading the Bible with a familiar story: David and Goliath. Most of us know the story. David. Goliath. Five stones. A sling. A giant falls. But what if there’s more to the story? One of the challenges of reading biblical narrative is that we naturally want to turn every story into a lesson, principle, or list of things we should do. But narrative often works differently. Sometimes the details we focus on aren’t actually the point. So we introduced a simple Narrative Blueprint—five questions that can help us slow down and enter the story more faithfully: Who is the narrator favoring? What bigger story does this scene sit inside? What is being reported versus commanded? What patterns have we seen elsewhere in Scripture? Where is the story ultimately pointing? As we walked through these questions together, one of the Bible's most familiar stories began to unfold in a fresh way. We discovered that David and Goliath may be inviting us to ask a deeper question than simply: "What's your giant?" Because David himself tells us the theological center of the story: “The battle is the Lord’s.” The Bible is full of stories we may have heard our entire lives—and there is still more to see. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

Reading The Bible The Way It Was Meant To Be Read

How do we faithfully approach Scripture? One of the biggest reasons people struggle with the Bible isn't because they don't love God—it's because they haven't been given the right lens to read it. The Bible isn't one kind of book. It's a library filled with stories, poetry, law, wisdom, prophecy, letters, and apocalyptic literature. Each genre communicates truth differently, inviting us not only to learn something, but to be transformed by it. What makes the Bible so extraordinary is that within it lives all the genres of the human experiences. Here are a few highlights from the message: Genre is more than a category—it's a set of reading instructions. Different genres ask different things of us. A Psalm shouldn't be read like Proverbs, and Revelation shouldn't be read like Romans. God didn't give us one kind of book because we don't encounter truth in only one way. The Bible doesn't simply give us information—it recruits every part of us into the encounter. Faithful reading begins by allowing the Bible to tell us how it wants to be read. Our hope is that as we learn to read Scripture on its own terms, we'll not only understand it more deeply—we'll encounter the God who continues to speak through it. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

Known By Love

At Studio, we want to be a place where God and people meet and to be a people known for our love. That kind of love doesn't happen by accident. It grows as we encounter Jesus and become more like Him. One of the greatest things Jesus changes isn't simply what we believe. He changes how we see and engage with people. Our world is quick to categorize, divide, and label. Before we know it, we stop seeing people and start seeing differences. Sin constantly reduces people. God always restores people. When we look at Jesus, we see a different way to live. He walked toward people. He shared meals with them. He listened. He healed. He touched the people everyone else avoided. Jesus was accessible, tender, humble, and He drew near. He crossed cultural and social boundaries because love was always greater than labels. As His followers, He's inviting us to do the same. To live a life of honor, respect and great value for each other. Honor says, “I don't have to agree with everything about someone to recognize the image of God in them.” Every person we meet carries immeasurable value because they were created in the image of God. What if we slowed down enough to really see people? What if we chose curiosity over assumption, honor over judgment, and love over fear? This week, ask the Lord, "Who have I stopped seeing?" Then take one simple step. Ask God what He loves about them. Start a conversation. Listen to someone's story. Encourage someone. Pray for them. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

Find Me Somebody To Love

This Sunday we explored one powerful question: Does my view of God's goodness shape how I see my circumstances, or do my circumstances shape how I see God's goodness? Looking at the life of Daniel, we discovered that Babylon wasn't evidence that God had abandoned him—it was evidence that God was already at work in places no one expected. While many of us tend to measure God's goodness by comfort, answered prayers, or favorable circumstances, Daniel's life reminds us that God's greatest promise has never been a problem-free life. His greatest promise is His presence. When we believe God is only good when life goes the way we planned, we spend our energy trying to escape difficult places. But when we know His goodness is rooted in the reality that He is with us, and we are in Him, we become free to walk into hard places with hope, courage, and love. What if we've spent so much time asking God who we're supposed to love that we've overlooked the people He's already placed in our everyday lives? Just as Jesus entered the darkness rather than avoiding it, we are called to carry His presence into our neighborhoods, workplaces, friendships, and communities. The world may never believe that God is with them until they encounter people who are deeply convinced that He is. May we stop asking, "God, why am I here?" and begin asking, "God, who are You?" Because when we know who He is, we'll begin to see people the way He does, and love them accordingly. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

7 Common Barriers to Reading the Bible

This past Sunday we kicked off a new series by asking a few simple questions: What kind of relationship do you have with the Bible? Many people believe the Bible is boring, confusing, or difficult to understand. But what if the issue isn't the Bible itself? We looked at seven common reasons people struggle to read the Bible and discovered that behind each one is an invitation to see Scripture in a fresh way. Here are a few ideas we explored: The Bible isn't one book—it's a library telling one unified story of God, humanity, redemption, and new creation. Different books are meant to be read differently. Poetry, history, prophecy, wisdom, and letters each invite us to read with different expectations. The Bible isn't competing with unbelief as much as it's competing with distraction. Scripture wasn't just written to inform us—it was given to transform us. The goal isn't simply to know more about God, but to encounter the God who still speaks through His Word. Our prayer is that every one of us would experience our own Luke 24 moment—where Jesus opens the Scriptures, our eyes are opened, and our hearts burn within us. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

On the Journey of Becoming

We're all on a journey of becoming. Every season is shaping us. The only question is... who are we becoming? When life feels hard or uncertain, it's easy to find ourselves praying, "Lord... when is this going to change?" I've prayed that more times than I can count. But what if God is inviting us to ask a different question? What if this season isn't just about what you're going through... but about what God is growing in you? "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." - James 1:2-4 NKJV James reminds us that God doesn't waste our seasons. He uses them to grow our faith, deepen our trust, and make us more like Jesus. The season may not be easy, but it isn't empty. So here's the challenge for all of us this week: Instead of praying, "Lord, get me out," pray, "Lord, what are You growing in me?" Look for His presence before His answers. Take a moment each day to thank Him for where you see His goodness. Gratitude has a way of opening our eyes to His faithfulness and provision. Our prayer is that we would become people who continue to trust God more - not because life is always easy, but because we know His character. Let's keep trusting God in every season and becoming more like Jesus. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

The Art of Favor

This Sunday we continued our series on Favor by exploring what it means to have favor with man. Luke tells us that Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). While we've spent much of this series talking about God's favor toward us—His delight, love, and covenant faithfulness—we shifted our attention to the reality that favor also exists in our relationships with people. One of the biggest takeaways for me is that favor with man is less about charisma and more about character. Throughout Scripture, favor seems to grow around qualities like wisdom, humility, integrity, faithfulness, stewardship, and service. We often ask, "How do I get people to notice me?" but the better question may be, "How do I become the kind of person people can trust?" Many of the opportunities, partnerships, responsibilities, and open doors in our lives are connected to trust. We see throughout Scripture that both favor with God and favor with man matter. God's favor is received by grace, but favor with man is often cultivated through character. As we continue to follow Jesus, may we become people who are not only secure in God's love but also trustworthy in the eyes of those around us. For more info, you can go to our website, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. If you would like to support STUDIO financially, you can do so here. Have a great week!

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