Joshua Kennedy's Weekly Devotion

The Mission That Defines Us There is something significant about mountains in Matthew's Gospel. The Sermon on the Mount. The Transfiguration. The Temptation. And now, on a mountain, the risen Christ gathers His disciples one final time — not to say goodbye, but to give them a mission. "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" —   Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) These are not the words of a teacher wrapping up a lecture. These are the words of a King issuing a mandate. Jesus has conquered sin and death. He now stands with all authority over heaven and earth — and out of that authority, He commissions His people with a purpose that defines the entire life of the Church. A Command, Not ...

  We Were Never Meant to Stay in the Room The disciples were behind locked doors. The resurrection had happened, but fear had not yet given way to faith. They were uncertain, scattered in their hearts even while gathered in the same room. Then Jesus walked in. He didn't rebuke them for their cowardice. He didn't rehearse their failures — Peter's denial, their abandonment at the cross. He spoke one word first: Peace. And then He sent them. That sequence is not accidental. It is the pattern of the missional life — grounded people, sent out. You cannot be sent well from a place of fear or guilt. But you can be sent powerfully from a place of peace. The church has sometimes gotten this backwards. We gather to find peace and then stay gathered to protect it. But Jesus gives peace precisely so that we will go . The room was never the destination — it was the launching pad. The Mission Flows From the Father Before Jesus sends the disciples, He anchors their mission in so...

The world has always had a clear definition of greatness — status, authority, the ability to call the shots and have others follow. It's a definition written into boardrooms, political campaigns, and social media feeds. Get to the top. Stay there. Be seen. But then Jesus opens His mouth, and the definition changes entirely. In Mark 10, the disciples were jockeying for position — James and John had just asked to sit at Jesus' right and left hand in glory. The other ten were indignant, probably because they wished they'd asked first. Jesus gathers them and says, in effect: You're thinking like the world thinks. That's not how My Kingdom works. "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be s...

Introduction  There is a reason the Church was born in community. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did not descend on isolated individuals scattered across Jerusalem. He fell on people who were together — gathered, expectant, unified. And what followed was not just a spiritual experience; it was the birth of an entirely new way of living. Acts 2:42–47 gives us the clearest picture in Scripture of what the Christian life is actually supposed to look like, and it is unmistakably, irreducibly communal. If you want to get grounded in your faith, you will not get there alone. The Foundation: Devoted Together (v. 42) "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." — Acts 2:42 The first thing Luke tells us about this community is what they were devoted to. That word is worth sitting with. Devotion is not interest. It is not occasional attendance or passive agreement. Devotion is intentional, ongoing, sustaine...

  OPENING Jesus is hours away from the cross. The upper room is heavy with the weight of what is coming. He has just knelt down and washed His disciples' feet — including the feet of the man who would betray Him. And now, before He goes, He leaves them with something that will define everything that comes after. Not a doctrine. Not a program. Not a polished strategy for church growth. A commandment. A standard. A mark. "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." — John 13:34–35 (NLT) This is what Getting Grounded looks like in community. It's not just showing up. It's loving the way Jesus loved — and letting that love be the proof. WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THIS COMMANDMENT? At first glance, loving others wasn't a new idea. Leviticus 19:18 had already called God's people to love their neighbors as themselves. So what makes this commandment new ? ...

Every person is formed by something. Before we came to know Christ, we were shaped by our surroundings — the homes we grew up in, the voices we listened to, the culture that pressed itself against us year after year. We were, quite literally, a product of our environment. The world left its fingerprints on us. But something changes in the one who is born again. The Spirit of God takes up residence within us, and a new formation begins. Where the world once shaped us from the outside in, the Word of God now works from the inside out. We are no longer formed by surroundings — we are formed by Scripture. We are no longer a product of our environment — we are a product of the Holy Spirit. Jesus illustrates this reality with striking clarity in Matthew 7: "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against t...

Introduction  John 15:5 - "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing." A branch doesn't strain to produce fruit. It doesn't press itself harder against the vine or work longer hours in the soil. Fruit comes because the branch stays connected. That image — simple, agricultural, unambiguous — is exactly what Jesus offers His disciples in John 15. And it may be one of the most countercultural things He ever said. We are conditioned to believe that more effort produces more results. But Jesus reframes the whole equation. The Christian life is not about trying harder in your own strength — it's about staying close to Him. Spiritual fruit is the result of abiding in Christ, not merely working for Christ. Jesus is the true vine John 15 opens with a clear structure: God the Father is the gardener, Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branch...