Is this all there is?

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Life is full of adventures, journey's with twists and turns, ups and downs, and unexpected discovery. Often, when we plan a journey we do so with at least some level of clarity around where we will begin, where we will go, and the path we will take along the way. Life, however, is rarely that simple.

When it comes to following Jesus in this life, it not at all uncommon for us to find ourselves in a place of confusion with our hopes and expectations unmet asking some variation of this troubling yet important question: "Is this all there is?"

In the course of this message series, we will answer that question and bring a greater level of clarity and purpose to you for the rest of your journey of faith in Jesus.

Watch Live Sunday at 10 AM on YouTube or Facebook or check out the replay below.

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Week 1: Lost In Church

There are seasons in life when we can easily find ourselves feeling unsatisfied, disoriented, disillusioned, and lost because what we expected is not what we’ve experienced. We find ourselves asking, “Is this really all there is?” This happens in our journey of following Jesus when we get caught in the tension between what we read in the scriptures and what we experience in our current cultural expression of the church. We go to church, sing our songs, listen to the sermon, and then go about our lives rarely experiencing the kind of transformation that we read of in the Gospel and eventually feel the crisis and in distress ask that question. What if asking that question is one of the most important milestones in our journey so far?

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Week 2: The Journeys of Jesus

When we carefully analyze the "journey" of Jesus, we can see several clear phases that each have very different characteristics, lessons, perspectives, and purposes. In fact, these phases are clearly present in the lives of every character in the scriptures who God uses in both big and small ways. We tend to only see a very small part of the journey that Jesus has invited us on, but what if we discovered that the journey is much bigger than we ever imagined?

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Week 3: The Journey of Submission

The first journey, the journey of submission, is likely the part of following Jesus that most believers are somewhat familiar with. However, when we do not have a clear perspective of the purpose and plan that God has for us in this first great journey, we are destined to fail to appropriate its lessons well. Alternatively, when we see it as one part of a greater adventure, as preparation for what is coming, then we are more likely to more fully embrace what God has for me today so that we can discover what God is planning for tomorrow.

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Week 4: The Journey of Strength

Truth be told the second journey, the journey of strength, is the journey everyone wants to be on but few are prepared for. Many confuse the second journey with a self-centered, ego driven counterfeit that will lead someone further from Jesus rather than the authentic journey that leads us deeper into Jesus' character, teaches us to seek a greater connection to God, and results in divinely powered conflict with this world.

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Week 5: The Journey of Sacrifice

The Journey of sacrifice is the final and shortest journey, and very few ever take this journey and fewer do it well. The journey of sacrifice has many similarities to the journey of submission; however, it is far more challenging and tests every aspect of our character and quality of Christlikeness. When someone completes their third journey well, the world takes note.

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Week 6: Principles of Spiritual Growth

It's difficult to imagine someone going for a walk and, by random chance and through no preparation of their own, finding themselves atop one of Colorado's 14ers; the odds against it are beyond astronomical. Likewise, spiritual maturity never happens by accident, if it could Jesus would not have needed to issue the "Great Commission," to GO and MAKE disciples. If we desire to move beyond the very basic and elementary principles in our walk with Jesus, we must understand and apply some basic truth about discipleship.

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There are many things in this life that we may feel unqualified or unprepared for...and rightly so. If you've not gone to medical school, you should not feel qualified to perform heart surgery and someone who has never invested might not be the right person to take investment advice from. However, there are many things that you do well today that at one point in time you were not prepared and qualified to do. At some point you learned and prepared and developed a skill set and, well, look at you now!

Engaging in spiritual discipleship with others may not feel like something that you are prepared and qualified for today, but the truth is that if you follow Jesus, it is something that you are called to. So instead of waiting around for someone else to do something, perhaps it is time to start preparing today for what God what's to use you to do someday.