In Thanks and Giving, we celebrate how blessing leads to gratitude, and gratitude overflows into generosity expressed through faithful stewardship. As we steward our relationships, gifts, resources, and the gospel itself, we witness God’s faithfulness, join His mission, and offer our next “yes” to the work of His Kingdom.

Gratitude starts when we see our lives not through the lens of what we lack, but through the abundance of what God has already given. Thanks & Giving reveals to us the  spiritual connection and natural expression between blessing, gratitude, and generosity. 

We finish our journey UpStream at a holy confluence—where individual lives transformed by grace flow together in God’s purposes. As the Spirit breathes life into us, we are lifted out of the current of this world—and our stories are joined into a movement of mission, sharing the good news of the Gospel that flows through us. 

The world's pattern of "me first" will always lead to more questions and confusion. God's pattern of "others first" will always reveal His will and the benefits of His comfort and peace. Paul challenges us to offer ourselves to others, daily, and in doing so, to be transformed in the goodness of the will of God.

In Romans 11, Paul reminds us that our identity in Christ isn’t something we’ve earned—it’s something we’ve been graciously grafted into. We are not replacements in God’s story, but recipients of an ever-widening invitation. Grace grafts us in, and humility is our only proper response.

In a world where it is easy to feel underwater, gasping for control, the Spirit invites us to breathe deep. In Romans 8 we discover life is found in letting the Spirit replace what once was drowning us. We stop fighting for air only when we allow God to breathe on us and in us.

Freedom in Christ isn’t the absence of struggle—it’s grace in the middle of it. Paul reminds us that the battle within doesn’t mean we’ve failed; the battle is evidence that we’re still alive in Christ. Real freedom begins when we stop fighting in our own strength and surrender daily to the Jesus who has already won.

We understand the Gospel to address our need for the forgiveness of sins, but the Gospel does not stop there. Following Christ means choosing the opposite of what culture says: dying to self-rule, living under God's reign, and being bound to Christ. What needs to die in you so that Christ can bring new life? 

The Gospel is more than forgiveness—it’s the restoration of broken relationships and the invitation into God’s family. In Romans 5, we see that while we were still powerless and separated from Him, Christ moved first in love to restore what our sin had broken. True reconciliation with God transforms our lives and overflows into our relationships with others.

While sin exposes our desperate need and the bad news of separation from God, Christ’s atonement restores us into right relationship with Him. To live UpStream means embracing this countercultural truth: salvation is not earned, but freely given—and in it, we rediscover the joy of God’s salvation.

We often talk about sin as if it's about them, but in Romans 1-2, Paul makes it clear--it's about us. Sin is not just bad behavior, it's exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Let us reflect upon, lament, and confront our own brokenness. 

"Evangelism" can be an uncomfortable word, but at the heart of our purpose is recognizing the transformative power of saving grace. We are called to scatter seeds. And sometimes that means redefining the way we do church and rediscovering the church God wants us to be so we can answer the questions of our culture today.

Serving "Babylon" means showing up faithfully in a place that may not cheer for us, because our loyalty is not to the crowd, but the Kingdom. We plant gardens, love our neighbors, and do good--not because Babylon deserves it, but because God has called us to it.

The heart of God, his intent and instruction, is the essence of what the prophet Jeremiah told his people in exile, and it's the essence of what we see God do through Creation and the formation of His people! When we are fruitful and increase, when we work for the "good," for peace and prosperity of the people with whom we live--especially in exile--we wade into the confluence of the sacred and secular. The physical and spiritual. And this has always been God's purpose for his people. 

When we live in exile, one of our tasks is to raise "resident aliens” - to teach the next generation how to remain faithful to God in  a land that is not our own. One of the most powerful tools that we have to do this effectively is our story. Consistently telling the story of God at work in and through us 1) Roots our identity, 2) Explains our rhythms, and 3) Gives hope in exile. 

Faith is confident trust in what God has said, even when it's not visible. Exile sharpens our dependency on God's promises, not culture's affirmation. When we feel displaced or pressured to conform with competing stories, our roots must go deeper into God's story, not ours. 

We are part of a real-life story that is going on around us, but many of us haven't yet realized our role in God's story. To be a holy people is to be an intentional, loving people, with a purpose--to bring others to Him. We are now the place where heaven and earth intersect and from which the glory of God radiates out into the world. We are the people of God.

We may not be strangers in a strange land, but we are strangers in a strange time. As Christian influence wanes, exile helps us evaluate our lives, and, like Jonah, discover that God is up to something powerful among us. There is hope even in the belly of a fish--and God wants to use us to bless our Babylon.

We see in John 4 how a single invitation lead "many more" to become believers: the woman at the well encountered Jesus, and she HAD to share the news! Likewise, millions have heard and/or shared this same gospel invitation, but... there are millions of others who have not. As followers of Jesus, we are commanded to take that invitation into our communities--the places that are familiar to us as well as those where we are not welcomed and do not want to go. To do so, we need to see every single person we come in contact with as "table mates" and make room for them to sit and join us. In other words, we have to adopt the heart and passion of the woman at the well to share our relationship with Christ with everyone we encounter--even those who may have offended or hurt us. And it starts with one small conversation. 

Worship is a response to what God has done and who we are in Him, and it overflows from a real encounter with Jesus that changes the way we live. God doesn't want to be part of our lives--He wants us to leave behind empty passions that reflect our misplaced devotion and surrender all of ourselves to Him. When we live with such passion--such worship--we can't keep it to ourselves. What are you excited to share?