dialogical teachings
At our Sunday gathering we practice a dialogical teaching style. This means that as part of our teaching time we ask questions and allow questions to be asked. Our desire is to create community participation so we can learn, interact, and wrestle over truth together. We hope (and plan) that the teachings at our Sunday gathering our supplemental to other ways we are learning.
Current Series: Reality of the Kingdom
Below is our teaching and reading schedule for this series.
In Matthew 13 Jesus gave a number of parables describing/explaining his Kingdom. We will spend the next few weeks exploring some of these parables.
One thing is for sure…these parables will interpret our lives as much as we will seek to interpret them.
October 26
The Mystery of the Kingdom
Daniel 2:31-45 & Matthew 13:9-17
November 2
Parable of the Soils - Receiving the Kingdom
Mathew 13:1-8, 18-23
November 9
Parables of the Hidden Treasure & Pearl - Discovering the Value of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:44-46
November 16
Parable of the Net - The Gifts of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:47-52
the mystery of the kingdom
10/26/08
Scott Swanson
This week is an introduction as we begin our new series "the reality of the kingdom". We will seek to answer how the kingdom of heaven is a reality in our world, community and lives today.
Children of God: Practicing Righteousness
09/07/08
Scott Swanson
As we pick up the study in I John, we'll look at our identity of being God's children. In this we will focus on our identity being the motivator and empowerment to practicing righteousness. Sorry there is no recording for this week.
Visioning part II
07/27/08
Scott & Steve
This week we finish our vision talk. We will go over the process of how we will implement and carry out our vision priorities from last week. Our desire is to be and live as the people of God in the way of Jesus. We believe this type of missional community is not only possible but what Jesus desires & expects from his church today.
Visioning part I
07/20/08
Scott & Steve
This is the first part of re-visioning for Portico. We will begin with our vision, talk about 3 priorities at this time, and some key strategy changes. Only about the first 45min. of the recording is the message. Our desire is to be and live as the people of God in the way of Jesus. We believe this type of missional community is not only possible but what Jesus desires & expects from his church today.
loving like jesus
06/29/08
Scott Swanson
what if we lived in the way of jesus by loving each other like he loved his disciples? what if we loved our enemies the way he loved us (his enemies)? what if we loved the father the same way he loves the father?
joseph + purpose
04/27/08
Scott Swanson
A perspective of dealing with painful, scary, impossible, & apparently random things that happen in our lives every day.
joseph + forgiveness
04/20/08
Scott Swanson
how do we handle the times when we are deeply hurt by someone? part of us wants revenge part of us may want to forgive. what if they don't care? what if they would do it to us again? how can we practice the way of jesus in forgiving people?
joseph + pain
04/13/08
Scott Swanson
abandoned, sold twice, displaced, falsely accused, betrayed, forgotten...joseph knows pain. he also lives as an incredible example of how to deal with life's pain and hurt.
Jacob's Preparation
03/30/08
Scott Swanson
Sometimes when God prepares us, he brings us to the end of ourselves.
creation
01/13/08
Scott Swanson
As we begin a new study, we start by looking at the creation story in Genesis. This teaching focuses on Yahweh as creator, all humanity having dignity and our biblical (not political) responsibility to care for the earth.
reign of the gift
12/16/07
Scott Swanson
We think we live in a Christian nation. But does our country, our families our culture reflect that? For that matter, how well do Christians reflect Jesus? Does the church look to the world the way God would have it? We believe the fundamental disconnect of Christianity, the church & our culture is the lack of his reign in it all. We need to reclaim the art of being a student of Jesus.
paradox of the gift
12/09/07
Steve Robinson
The greatest gift for all humanity comes at Christmas. Like all true gifts this gift is completely free. Yet it will cost us something...our entire lives.
anticipation of the gift
12/02/07
Scott Swanson
Our theme throughout this advent will be on the precious gift of Jesus. The focus this week is on anticipating the gift of salvation's comfort both now and in the future. Sorry, but there is no recording for this week.
Jesus as healer
11/18/07
Scott Swanson
Eye's restored, legs that move, a painful disease/illness gone...and a person dead for days brought back to life -no way. Throw in an emotionally hurting Jesus that he came to tears, so angry he's literally shaking, and so compassionate he would never give a token pat on the back with a "everythings gonna be ok" comment and you have Jesus working as a healer.
Jesus as teacher
11/11/07
Scott Swanson
Jesus gave some "hard" teachings, but the real kicker was he demanded righteousness. This righteousness had to be better than the Pharisees -who were the most righteous of the day. This teaching looks specifically at this impossible expectation of us which is a standard & requirement in all of his teachings.
Jesus as Shepherd
10/28/07
Steve Robinson
What kind of leader was Jesus? How did he lead so differently from the kind of leadership we find in corporate America?
Jesus as Prophet
10/21/07
Scott Swanson
Prophets are known for giving a message straight from God himself! In doing this they would challenge people's social lives, warn people about God's judgment & give hope for a new tomorrow. Much of the time prophets were ignored, laughed at & even killed...as in Jesus' case. But prophets went to people nobody else wanted to go to. They gave a message, not of what people wanted to hear but what they needed to hear. This is what Jesus does with many people, including a women filling up her water jug in the middle of the day. Her life would never be the same. This recording includes the teaching, video (audio only) & songs that were sung.
Jesus as King
10/14/07
Steve Robinson
Generally speaking we don't get too excited about having a king. We like our country's democracy. So what does it mean and how do I deal with Jesus as a king? Not even just a king, but the king.
Historical Jesus
09/23/07
Scott Swanson
Many views, opinions & conclusions have been made about who Jesus really was. Questions like: where did he originate, was he more than a good person & teacher, what real legacy did he leave -are just a few that are asked. We begin this series on Jesus by looking at the Jesus of history recorded by John [one of the original 12 disciples & followers of Jesus].
sexual expression
07/29/07
Scott Swanson
a sexually crazed, addicted society...a people dedicated to God...greeks that have never learned any other way of living...sex with countless women, slaves, other men...a people set apart for God...holiness...making God smile...being given the spirit of holiness...porneia -all kinds of sexual activity...a message about sex, that's really about so much more than sex...
spiritual mentoring
07/22/07
Scott Swanson
Paul is a great example of spiritual parenting or mentoring to the new believers in Thessalonia. This passage reminds of why spiritual mentoring is so necessary and what it can look like. As a community we must continue to wrestle with being a community of spiritual mentoring. Our dream is for everyone to be in "triads" where spiritual mentoring & formation is happening at a soul level.
a birthed church
07/15/07
Scott Swanson
In this passage we see a church being birthed. It's a beautiful reminder the church isn't supposed to be mechanically brought into existence. Rather it's a natural context for people to live missionally and be transformed to live in the ways of Jesus.
Paul's Missional Living
07/08/07
Scott Swanson
As a new church, we often wonder how this whole thing is supposed to work. Questions like where do we start, aren't we supposed to be growing, and what does "success" equal -come to mind. Paul started many churches and addressed questions like these about church. His words are both extremely refreshing and incredibly challenging.
New Identity, New Living
06/24/07
Scott Swanson
Last week we saw that the church in Thessalonia was known for their faith, hope & love. This week we begin seeing why this was and how we can be known for the same thing. This recording includes the message plus communion & music that followed.
remembered...
06/17/07
Scott Swanson
This Sunday we began our faith, hope & love series. Our desire is to be deepening in our faith & hope in God & love for others. In the end we too, like the church in Thessalonica want to be a people remembered for our work of faith, labor of love and endurance of hope.
foreigners as family
05/20/07
Scott Swanson
As we continue to talk about our directions, we will look specifically at pursuing those we don't normally come in contact with. Jesus teaches a powerful lesson about who our family is and what it means to be his presence amongst strangers.
live song
05/06/07
We met in homes this week so there is no message. This song was recorded a couple weeks ago on a Sunday night. Enjoy...
missional living
04/29/07
Scott & Steve
This week we will look at what it means to live missionally together & where this comes from. We will also share ways we are living this way and spend time praying together. This discussion/teaching addresses our whole existence/identity & therefore the very way we live our lives -every moment, every person, every place, every motivation...
fostering relationships
04/22/07
Scott Swanson
This week we will continue talking about fostering relationships. We will give special attention to our identity as family. We will continue to look at the implications of our commitments to one another and how we will grow & stay together without a "covenant".
covenant community
04/15/07
Scott & Steve
tonight we will bring some closure to the ongoing discussion of entering a covenant together. for those who were not here this night please take the time to listen to this. it shares why we are not forming a covenant and what we will appeal to so that we are fostering relationships while embracing our values and god's mission.
hope long awaited
04/08/07
Scott Swanson
for centuries people had waited. waited for a day, for salvation, for a Messiah. he came & he died. all hope of salvation was gone. all hope of redemption...gone. but three days later something happened. something that didn't just add to the pages of history, but changed the course of it forever.
gospel of grace
03/25/07
Scott Swanson
the gospel of grace is so much bigger than we sometimes realize. we believe the gospel is something we are to encounter over and over. the gospel is something that doesn't just happen to us but is to be happening all the time. regardless of who you are or where you are spiritually, the question is...
persecuted
03/18/07
Scott & Melissa
jesus concludes his description of kingdom living in matthew 5:1-12 by saying we will be persecuted. how are we as americans persecuted? how are others around the world tortured for following jesus? in what way are we rewarded and included in the prophetic lineage of people like jeremiah?
pure in heart
02/25/07
Scott Swanson
if we take jesus' words seriously in this beatitude we find ourselves in a real paradox. what he calls his followers to and expects of them, of us is humanly impossible.
mercy
02/18/07
Steve Robinson
as followers of Jesus, we know that we have received God's mercy. but do we remember that we continue to experience his mercy? and how does reflecting on his mercy in our lives affect how we view/love/show mercy toward others?
justice
02/11/07
Scott Swanson
justice. it seems our real desire for it is less than ideal. how do we respond to injustices? it seems often we do nothing. does jesus just want us to recogonize injustices in our world and wish they would stop, or does he have more in mind for us.
the meek
01/28/07
Steve Robinson
what comes to mind when you hear the word "meek"? weak, whimpy, doormat, soft? is it possible that we have misunderstood meekness? could it actually be strength in submission, under control?
mourning & comforting
01/21/07
Scott Swanson
what are the things we mourn over? are these the things jesus had in mind when he said blessed are those who mourn? what about the things we don't mourn over -are we missing him again? let's look at jesus' heart and relearn the heart & comfort of god.
life in the kingdom
01/07/07
Scott Swanson
as we begin this new series we will look deeply into Jesus' words about life in the kingdom of heaven. our desire is to relearn what it means to be a christian. relearn the heart of jesus & the gospel. relearn living according to the rhythms & practices of the kingdom. will we be honest about the transformation the gospel brings into our culture, beginning with ourselves?
personal crash
12/17/06
Scott Swanson
mary is confronted by gabriel and told her womb will become a "holy of holies" for the messiah. what becomes evident is the place of tension she finds herself in. she is given an incredible privilege to be the mother of jesus but also an incredible detriment. this tension is where we find ourselves when called to follow jesus. the question becomes will we respond like mary or like countless others?
destined crash
12/03/06
Scott Swanson
this is the time of year we read, contemplate, meditate and experience the story of christmas. but when was this story first decided? when did the father and the son plan his crashing into earth? why is it that jesus' coming to earth is both needed & destined?
glorious crash
11/26/06
Scott Swanson
as we begin our season of advent we will be looking at four different ways heaven crashed into earth at our savior's birth. we begin by exploring what it is in all of us that longs for what is beautiful, impressive and awesome. where do we find these things that are "larger than life"? how do we try to create them ourselves? and what is the most glorious thing of all to fill our cravings?
bride of christ
11/19/06
there is no recording for this week. sorry for the inconvenience. it was good to.
army of god
11/12/06
Steve Robinson
battle, fighting, defeat, victory, cause...what comes to your mind when you think of "army"? further what comes to mind when we consider this to be a metaphor in scripture used to describe the church. if the church is about jesus then the church is about love, peace, restoration, forgiveness, healing, etc. where and how does the metaphor army come into play?
missional living opportunities
11/05/06
Scott & Steve
living on mission with God is what every beliver is called to - to love others and bring the transforming gospel to them. Jesus modeled this in Samaria by loving a woman who was considered unloveable and gave her the truth that transformed her. What does this look like in our lives - individually, as families, as a community?
Community of God
10/29/06
Scott & Steve
while we intuitively know we all need community, we will see more clearly what it means to be a community. we will further explore the relationship between being a community and being a unified diverse body from last week.