We’re on a multi-year journey of discovery… seeking to experience and understand what it means for a group of people to truly “flourish together.”

Our 2025 church theme is “Flourishing Together: Rooted in Christ.” This emphasis reflects the imagery of the Psalm 1 Tree (deep roots, strong trunk, fruitful branches).

We’ve established a basic definition of flourishing: living life as God intended.

We’re examining the 6 Global Flourishing Study domains: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and financial and material stability.

But let’s be honest. If flourishing was easy, everyone would be doing it. Look around. Clearly that’s not the case. What’s the problem?

Gravity!

Our sinful nature functions like gravity, constantly pulling us down. We don’t have to think about it. Gravity is always there! It takes energy and effort to fly (flourish). It takes no energy or effort to fall (un-flourish).

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul discusses the challenge we face. As a result of our sinful nature, our default is sin. It’s the gravity that’s always there, constantly pulling us down (un-flourishing).

However, when we commit our lives to Christ – pledging allegiance to King Jesus and becoming citizens of his kingdom – God’s Spirit takes up residence inside us. As a result of our new nature, we can live to please God (flourishing)… if we choose to.

“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:16-17).

Portia Collins arranges the “manifestations of gravity” in Galatians 5:19-21 into 7 groups. See if any of these resonate with you.

1. Pleasure becomes your master. “…sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality…” Our sinful nature wants us to believe that our feelings – especially our sexual desires – deserve fulfillment at all costs.
2. Worship is misplaced. “… idolatry, sorcery…” Idolatry is centering your life around anything other than God. Even good things can become idols if we honor them above God. Sorcery is seeking spiritual power from anything other than God.
3. Conflict is your pattern. “… hatred, discord, jealousy…” When our relationships are often unsettled, tense or combative, there is likely an underlying problem with pride or insecurity.
4. You can’t control your emotions. “… fits of anger…” Frequent outbursts or intense feelings of animosity aren’t just a lack of self-control. They’re displays of gravity.
5. Competitiveness is your posture. “… selfish ambition, dissensions, factions…” Like anger, competition isn’t inherently sinful. The desire to always dominate, put people in “camps” or stir up disunity, however, is.
6. You refuse to celebrate others. “… envy…” If you constantly feel dissatisfied with what you’ve got and frequently resent other people for what they’ve got, you’re bound by gravity.
7. Escapism is a way of life. “… drunkenness, orgies, and the like…” Obsession with distraction, constant numbing or overindulgence is never good. When life is hard, we can turn to alcohol, food, sex, scrolling, gaming, shopping and countless other things. God invites us to lay our burdens at his feet.

Of course, Satan loves gravity! He will do anything he can to hold us down. He wants to steal, kill and destroy everything good. He prowls around like a lion looking for easy prey. He crouches at the door ready to ambush anyone seeking to flourish. Intimidation. Fear. Pride. Accusation. Guilt. Shame. Hopelessness.

But earlier in Galatians 5, Paul reminds us that “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. You were called to be free! Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

And at the end of the chapter, Paul explains that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”

Flourishing is available to everyone who commits their life to Jesus, denies their old nature, and chooses to live by the Spirit. Christ within is our hope of glory! He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine by his power at work within us.

Choose to flourish, and like Elphaba in Wicked, you can sing:

Something has changed within me. Something is not the same. I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game. Too late for second-guessing. Too late to go back to sleep. It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap. It’s time to try defying gravity!