Mosaic - Erwin McManus

In this week’s message, Lead Pastor Erwin McManus helps us to move away from the idea that success is a bad word. As those who follow Jesus, we have the responsibility to maximize the gifts that God has given us. Growing up, we may have been taught that it was selfish to desire success. Contrary to this idea, Pastor Erwin invites us to discover what the scriptures say about success.    From Ecclesiastes 10:10, Pastor Erwin points out that the scriptures speak clearly about how sharp skill can bring success. But a skill is only sharpened when it is developed. Pastor Erwin encourages us that it is essential to do the hard work to get better at our skills. This requires the courage to fail and continue to improve over time.   Pastor Erwin shares that he previously led worship at Mosaic before eventually realizing that what he was gifted in was communication and that this was where God was asking him to develop his skillset. In the same way, he invites us to explore where we have a natural talent and to do the hard work to develop this skill instead of exhausting ourselves where we do not have natural talent. This sharpening of our edge will then be an open door of opportunity for others as we build something that matters.   If you are wondering what you should be spending your energy on, this message will guide you toward developing the God-given talent he has entrusted to you.

Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus delivers a message that helps us see the season of Christmas with a new sense of clarity. Out of Isaiah chapter 9, he shares that God did not send Jesus to satisfy his own ego and his needs. Every intention God had for sending his son Jesus to die on a cross was a gift for us! Pastor Erwin shares that in the holiday season, many of us receive gifts that we either don’t like or didn’t know that we needed. And Jesus is the latter - the gift humanity desperately needed, but just didn’t know it yet. Later in Isaiah chapter 9, it refers to the promised messiah as an, “everlasting father.” Pastor Erwin points out that many of us struggle to identify with God as a father because our culture can place a low value on fathers  due to collective bad experiences. But Pastor Erwin encourages us that until we run to God as our father for our sense of identity, we will continue to run back to dysfunctional ‘fixes.’ Thought we long for quick fixes in our lives, Pastor Erwin shares that God is not interested in short-term solutions that lead to long-term dysfunction. The everlasting father is looking at our lives from an eternal perspective. What may seem like a tragedy in the moment to us is simply a small part of a greater story God is working together. If you have been looking for a way to activate God’s gift of Jesus in your life in a tangible way during this Christmas season, this message is for you!

In this week’s insightful new message from Ecclesiastes, Lead Pastor Erwin McManus teaches us the power of choosing others instead of simply living for ourselves. The passage focuses on the life of Solomon, who found that at the end of his time on Earth, the one thing more precious than wisdom or gold was relationship.  Pastor Erwin shares that those who fail are not those who fall down, but those who fall down without having anyone there to pick them up because they never took the time to invest into building those relationships beforehand. We move forward by moving together as a community.  Solomon is a reminder in the scriptures that we can have everything and still have nothing when we live a life of isolation. Pastor Erwin encourages us to be a people who choose to stick with the people God has placed in our lives.  He reminds us as the church, that we were meant to walk through the battles of life together. If you are someone who is waiting for community to come to you, this message will encourage you to instead seek out community!

What are we so afraid of? In this reflective conversation, Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus helps us unpack how fear impacts our lives and can paralyze us from stepping into the future we long for.  He encourages us to look at fear differently. What if our fear is not situational but simply a reality we have allowed to rule us from the inside-out? What if the things we are most afraid of are simply the objects we project our innermost fears onto? What if living courageously was a choice? In Joshua chapter 1, God commanded Joshua and his people to be strong and courageous. This means choosing courage is not simply a suggestion God gives us, but a command. And though many of us have created lives that are tailor-made around our fears, Pastor Erwin proposes that the life God has for us will force us to walk into the center of our fears. When Jesus died on the cross, he declared to humanity that even death was not something to be feared. When we are aware of how deeply loved we are by God, we experience a boldness that sends us into our deepest fears with a heart full of courage. As we look to the example of Jesus, we are compelled to choose a life filled to the brim with courage and strength.

Can beauty save the world? In this conclusion to ‘The Genius of Jesus’ series, Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus leads us to discover how the beauty of God is reflected in everything he creates. From the beauty of nature to the intricate textures of different foods, we see that God did not create with a singularly utilitarian perspective. God wove beauty in as an essential part of creation. Though some may struggle with the thought that a good God exists in a world full of tragedy, we see in Ecclesiastes 3 that God makes everything beautiful in its time. The human story is this: God was the author of beauty, and we introduced tragedy into the human story. When we give God permission to enter into our story, we give him the ability to create something beautiful out of our lives - even our most broken pieces. God wants to give us a taste for what is truly beautiful. And this is a life that is fully surrendered to the genius of God’s beauty. At the intersection of humanity’s greatest tragedy and God’s undeniable beauty, the cross became the ultimate expression of the genius of Jesus. Don’t miss this impactful and resonant message that will lead you into the genius that only Jesus can offer – the genius of being fully human again.

In week four of our The Genius of Jesus series, Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus answers the question of what real truth looks like, and how to find it in your life. Pastor Erwin explains that truth is essential for living a life that is trustworthy. He shares that many of us have been confronted by someone who risked their relationship with us to tell us a hard truth. And though truth can be difficult to hear, he candidly shares that he hopes to never be someone that God thinks cannot handle the truth. In a conversation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate in Matthew 27, Pilate asks Jesus "What is truth?" Jesus had shared with Pilate that his purpose in coming to the earth was to testify to the truth. In that moment, the essence of truth was looking right at Pilate; truth is not simply based on information, but on one person who is the source of all truth. That person is Jesus. Don’t miss this incredible installment in The Genius of Jesus series!

In week three of his Genius of Jesus series, Pastor Erwin McManus brings us an important message that redefines how we value what is good. Despite a cultural focus that focuses on doing what is ‘right’ over everything else, Pastor Erwin reminds us that Jesus was not concerned with doing what was most right, but what was most good.  Drawing from 1 Kings, Pastor Erwin brings us into a story of two women who were fighting over a child that they both claimed was their own. This story reveals the genius of the good, as Solomon wades through the confusion of one woman’s treachery and reaches the heart of the matter. He suggests cutting the baby in half for each mother to have a part; the true mother is revealed as she begs that the child be given to the other woman, ensuring it can stay alive.  Pastor Erwin shares that a church culture which is focused on sin, or never doing what is wrong, has missed a crucial point of the scriptures. He shares a lesson learned from personal experience that when he focused less on his bad habits and more on doing good, he ran out of time for the wrong things. He explains that doing good is always based on one’s essence and not their performance.  If you’ve been struggling to figure out what the next right thing is for your life, this message will compel you toward the good!

In an important new message from his ‘Genius of Jesus’ series, Pastor Erwin McManus compels us to see the purpose of power differently. Based on the principles Jesus presents in Matthew chapter 5, this message unpacks what it means to use power to sacrificially serve those around us.  Though human history is filled with examples of power being misused, Pastor Erwin emphasizes that Jesus radically shifted what it meant to live powerfully with his teachings. Jesus empowers us to live a life of service to others and never a life of obligation. When we live a life of intention, determined to live in the power of service to others - there’s simply nothing others can take from us that we’re not already willing to give away.  If you’ve been wondering how you can take control of your power to fuel your genius, this message is for you!

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t find the uniqueness within you? In this insightful message based on his brand new book The Genius of Jesus: The Man Who Changed Everything, Pastor Erwin McManus helps us understand that we all carry a unique genius given to us by God. In Luke chapter 2, Pastor Erwin points out that Jesus showed genius as a young boy. He was asking questions that left the scholars of the day astonished at his insight. Jesus showed signs of genius from a young age in his ability to see to the heart of people and lead them into being fully human again. Pastor Erwin helps us understand that true genius is discovered when we become like children again, led by curiosity without the weight of shame and fear. Our truest selves emerge when we are trusting Jesus like children do. We were made for adventure and discovery. Our relationship with God enables us to unlock the purest form of genius inside of us when we are motivated by curiosity, wonder and a longing for adventure. If you’ve wondered how to access the genius inside of you, this message will be a roadmap to help you discover it once again.

Have you ever considered that intellect and faith are not at odds with one another? What if God intended to draw us closer to Him through our minds? In this life-changing message from Mosaic Conference in 2019, Pastor Erwin McManus encourages us to lean into the power of intelligence instead of being afraid that it will draw us away from a life of faith. Opening up the scriptures in Genesis, Pastor Erwin proposes that our capacity before the fall of man was infinite. For example, Adam was able to name and remember countless animals that God gave him authority over. Pastor Erwin wonders: Why do we have fantasies of being able to fly and have superpowers? Could it be that these fantasies are a shadow of the life we once lived  - a life of incredible capacity? From 2 Corinthians, Pastor Erwin emphasizes the beauty of our relationship with God, that we get to be connected to his thoughts. Our minds are where God wants to speak to us, imagine with us and create a new future through us. In our relationship to God, we have limitless potential. If you’ve wondered how intellect fits into a life of faith, this message will encourage you to be unafraid in your pursuit of higher thinking.