First Love Church

A softer heart sees more clearly. We trace a path from the Beatitudes’ upside-down blessings to Epiphany’s invitation to truly see, naming how distraction, certainty, and fear keep us from love while Jesus keeps moving toward the margins with light and welcome. When he says keep turning from sin and come back to God, we hear repentance as returning from the illusion of separation—back to union, belonging, and the kingdom that’s acc...

Hope doesn’t wait for perfect conditions; it starts singing while the future is still hidden. We open Advent with Mary’s Magnificat and Elizabeth’s blessing, Isaiah’s blueprint for peace, and Jesus’ invitation to keep watch without fear. Along the way, a childhood story on a frozen Chicago platform becomes a parable for church: when anxiety rises and the crowd presses in, we wait together, make space for one another, and look for t...

A desert that learns to sing changes how we measure hope. We trace a vivid thread from Isaiah’s promise of blooming wastelands to John the Baptist’s prison question, and we sit with the hard truth that our most honest doubts often surface in the dark. Instead of scolding, Jesus answers with action: sight returned, legs strengthened, voices set free, and good news made tangible among the poor. That’s the shape of divine dealing—rest...

What if deliverance starts with a baby, a whisper, and a man who chooses mercy over judgment? We step into Advent with a different clock—one that forms us in the slow, sacred work of waiting—guided by the quiet strength of Joseph and the costly yes of Mary. This conversation traces how Matthew’s “genesis” of the Messiah reimagines righteousness as protection of the vulnerable, not performance, and reveals why gentleness can be the ...

A crown without a castle and a King who chooses a cross: that’s where our journey starts. We dive into Christ the King Sunday by naming a hard truth—judgment is easy and joy is costly—and then show how the Spirit leads us from one to the other. With a traffic-lane confession, a garden full of “dead” banana roots, and the Emmaus story’s slow-burn reveal, we trace a path from ego to surrender, from frustration to forgiveness, and fro...

Gratitude is not a holiday mood; it’s a way of seeing that rewires what we value and how we give. We open with 2 Corinthians 9 to reframe resources as seeds, not trophies, and walk through the simple pattern that Jesus models again and again: give thanks, then act. That single move challenges the myth of scarcity and turns generosity into a predictable harvest. Along the way, we talk frankly about prayer—what it means to trust that...

What if love isn’t just a feeling but a frequency you can choose? We dive into a Spirit-led way of living where mercy displaces judgment, forgiveness breaks cycles of harm, and courage sets wise boundaries. Grounded in 1 John’s claim that God is love and Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6, we rethink what it means to be “blessed,” moving beyond applause and accumulation toward a life that is lighter, freer, and truer.

We talk about...

What if the prayer God always answers is the simplest one: “Be merciful to me”? We take a fresh look at Luke 18’s Pharisee and tax collector and discover a bigger, braver reading of mercy—one that refuses the lie of spiritual scorekeeping and invites us to live free from the need to earn love.

We start by slowing down. As the season turns toward longer nights, we trade the tyranny of the clock for the attentiveness of the ...

What if most of our daily conflict could be diffused by one hard choice: dropping judgment and choosing forgiveness? We open with Jesus’s words from Matthew 7 and move into the real places where accusation takes root—traffic, politics, and even the kitchen sink at home. The challenge is blunt and freeing: the measure you use will be used on you. Lay down the habit of judging, and you’ll recover the clarity to see your own blind spo...

Lay down the urge to earn your worth and breathe into a truer center. We invite you into a calm, spacious practice shaped by Micah 6:8—do justice, love mercy, walk humbly—so these ancient words move from page to pulse. This guided time blends gentle breathwork, grounding in the body, and a living reframing of justice, mercy, and humility as a daily rhythm rather than a religious burden.

We begin by naming belovedness as yo...

What if peace isn’t something you achieve but something you receive? We open a quiet door into that truth with a gentle, guided meditation rooted in Psalm 131 and shaped by breath, posture, and tender imagery. Rather than urging more effort, we lean into surrender—letting the spine rise like a tree, feeling the ground hold us without condition, and noticing how, breath by breath, the nervous system finds its way back to safety.

What if a few quiet minutes could remake the way you remember your day? We offer a gentle, guided examen that begins with breath and stillness, invites the Holy Spirit to lead, and helps you see ordinary moments as places where love showed up. It’s a slow, spacious journey through memory that replaces self-criticism with compassion and turns small details—a kind word, warm sunlight, a shared laugh—into signs of grace.

We s...

Have you ever considered that the Kingdom of God might be closer than you think? Not a distant future or a faraway realm, but right within you—as accessible as your next breath?

This powerful message explores the revolutionary concept that Christ's presence within us transforms everything about how we move through the world. Drawing inspiration from Colossians 1, we unpack what it truly means that Christ is "the ...

The most radical teaching of Jesus might be the simplest: "Love your enemies." But what does this look like in practice, especially in our divided world? 

Through the metaphor of "God's museum," we're invited to reimagine who belongs in the divine family. Picture walking through galleries displaying Earth's wonders—stones, rain, seas—but mostly photographs of people, including those we st...

Take a slow breath in and release. Again. One more deep, steady breath. Now pause and receive these words: "Your peace is not fragile, nor is it fleeting. Your peace is anchored in the eternal."

This meditation guides you through a sacred journey where breath and prayer intertwine, creating space for divine peace to dwell. Drawing from Jesus' words—who calmed storms with "Peace, be still" and promi...

Take a sacred pause from the noise of everyday life and enter into a space where your breath becomes prayer. This guided Christian meditation invites you into the ancient spiritual practice that saints and mystics have treasured for centuries.

With gentle guidance rooted in scripture from Philippians, we'll journey together through a series of breath prayers that transform ordinary breathing into holy communion. "...

When Jesus sat down to eat with "notorious sinners," he wasn't just breaking rules—he was showing us what God's heart truly looks like. This powerful examination of Luke 15 reveals how radical hospitality lies at the center of Christian faith.

The religious establishment of Jesus' day had created clear boundaries around who belonged and who didn't. They complained when Jesus crossed these line...

What happens when the rules we've established to maintain order become barriers to showing love? In this thought-provoking exploration of Luke 14, we witness Jesus deliberately stepping into a trap set by religious leaders only to turn their test back on them.

The scene unfolds at a prominent Pharisee's home during a Sabbath meal. Everyone watches intently, hoping to catch Jesus breaking religious law. When confr...