Mosaic - Erwin McManus

Part 4 on the series of God from 2014

This Easter, Pastor Erwin McManus invites us to step into the story our souls long for.

He shares from the book of Matthew that Jesus created a tear in the fabric of time and space when he died on the cross. 

The separation between God and humanity caused by fear, despair, and hate was torn in two as Jesus conquered darkness and rose from the dead.

When the tomb was found empty, it shattered humanity’s understanding of the world. Jesus gave us an invitation to experience an eternal reality as we entered into a relationship with him. 

Are you ready to step into the story that will change your life forever?

Check out this powerful Easter message now

We go back into the archives to hear a message from 2014 that breaks down the idea that humanity often sees God through the lens of human experience. That despite our perceptions, we are created in the image and likeness of God, and our souls inherently recognize this truth. Even when individuals don't believe in God, God believes in them.

In a transformative new message, Pastor Erwin McManus breaks down the ultimate covert advantage:  transforming humans from the inside out.

Speaking from Hebrews chapter 8, he explains that God chose Israel to be an example of what it means to obey God as a result of having our hearts transformed from stone to flesh.

Pastor Erwin explains that when we are given hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone, we become our most human selves — able to embrace attributes like humility, forgiveness, and gratitude.

We are not designed to live rigid lives with hearts of stone that are unwilling to yield to Jesus. God’s covert mission compels us to love and follow him out of an overflow of our love for him.

If you’re ready to stop simply following rules and start following Jesus, this message is for you!

In a brand new message, Lead Pastor Erwin McManus empowers us to make the hard choices necessary for us to step into the life we were designed to live.

Speaking from the book of Luke, he points out that Jesus was always calling people to a life that was difficult — a life that required the highest level of character. 

Pastor Erwin shares that often when we embrace a life of faith, we expect Jesus to make our lives easier, not more difficult. 

But as we decide to do hard things, we expand. We are able to tap into the unlimited potential God placed inside of us. 

If you want to be empowered to do hard things through God's power within you, watch this message now!

We go back into the archives to hear a message from 2014 that breaks down the idea that humanity often sees God through the lens of human experience. That despite our perceptions, we are created in the image and likeness of God, and our souls inherently recognize this truth. Even when individuals don't believe in God, God believes in them.

Pastor Erwin McManus brought a riveting new message on the importance of living a life deeply connected to God. 

Pulling from a fascinating story about Elijah and Ahab in the Scriptures, Pastor Erwin points out that there are 4 different levels of awareness that we can decide to live in. 

Unconscious: unaware of God's movement around us.

Experiential: only believe in what can be seen, heard, and touched. 

Spiritual: aware that a spiritual realm exists.

Transcendent: in step with the future God is creating through prayer.

While Ahab was only aware of God's movement when he could see, hear, or touch it, Elijah could sense God's movement before it was ever actualized in front of him. 

Pastor Erwin encourages us Elijah's spiritual life is the rule and not the exception to our spiritual lives. Each of us has access to God on this level through prayer. 

If you are ready to live deeply connected to what God is doing, tune into this powerful new message!

- Live from Mosaic Hollywood 02/19/24

Pastor Erwin Raphael McManus brought a life-changing message on the importance of cultivating mental toughness.

He shared that as people of faith, we often assume God will give us an easier life when we give our lives to him. In contrast, Pastor Erwin shared that God doesn't want to make our lives easier — he wants to make us tougher.

In Romans 8, we're reminded that we have everything we need to face the challenges that come our way because life is hard but we are tougher than we think. 

Are you ready to embrace the battles in front of you, believing that you have everything you need to overcome?

Tune into this message now!

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"Nothing will determine your freedom more than the people you choose to live your life with." - Erwin McManus

"The miracle is not just that God was made visible, the miracle is that life was made visible. - Erwin McManus | #LifeMadeVisible Originally broadcasted January 8, 2017

Recorded at mosaic hollywood on january 14th, 2024

For some of us, having faith in God comes more naturally. For others, it isn’t that simple. In this message from August of 2018, Pastor Erwin McManus walks us through his journey of finding faith. He explains that to him, the journey to Jesus was just that: a journey! Growing up he experienced a wide array of religions and was exposed to many world views. He did not imagine being a pastor when he grew up. As we navigate our way through life, we are informed about different religions and ways to God. But how do we know which path really is the way? Pastor Erwin references John 14:6 when Jesus says “No one comes to the Father except through me.” He explains that Jesus came to us and did not force us to believe. Rather, our own souls call us to believe in something more, and that Jesus is the only God that is searching for us, rather than us searching for God. When we have only a mathematical view of the world, we simply become a part of the falling domino effect. Our lives are a passive happening that we do not have freedom of choice inside of. But we know there must be more intention and meaning to our lives than this. We know deep down there is purpose and that our choices make a powerful impact on the future. Jesus’ life is the perfect example of a God who meets us right where we are and opens us up to the wonder of life all around us. “Jesus came to show us what God would do to get to us.” -Erwin McManus

A special message from Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus on how to reclaim your energy in the new year. As you step into 2024, begin with this mental framework: Your life matters. You are here on purpose. Your life has intention, and you need to step into that intention this year. Pastor Erwin challenges you to live 2024 with the kind of focus and intentionality that reflects the depth of your calling. In Colossians 1, Paul writes how he strenuously contends with the energy Christ works in him. For anyone who struggles with a lethargic approach to living in their day to day, make this the year that you reclaim your energy through aligning yourself with God’s intention for your life.

A special Christmas Eve message from Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin Raphael McManus, recorded at Mosaic Hollywood on December 24, 2023.

Pastor Erwin shows us the power in understanding that our souls do not need what God can do for us, but God Himself with us.

This is why the story of Jesus still resonates within the human heart two thousand years after his birth.

At the core of who we are, we desperately long to be found, and God stepping into human history is our divine intervention.

This week dig into the archives from a message from 2014.

A Tribute to Robin Williams by Erwin Raphael McManus: "I had the beautiful privilege of running into Robin Williams years ago. He was gracious and kind and warm and deeply human. He was also the funniest person I have ever encountered in my life. He was funnier in a spontaneous 10 minutes on the way to the men's room than most are on stage delivering their best material. What struck me most was how generous he was with his time and how he genuinely enjoyed bringing people happiness. If you can love a person you don't know I have always loved Robin Williams. He made my life better. He made me better. His roles inspired me and elevated me. How tragic that a person would chose to end a life that the all of us treasured as a gift. Robin, if you could have only known how you made us feel... How you made us better. How your laughter healed us. You are a great loss to us. Everyone should know they matter more than they know. Everyone should know that life is worth the struggle. Everyone should have someone to remind them how much we need them here with us. Too many beautiful people have come to tragic endings. May every space where humans dwell be drenched in hope and love. Captain, My Captain."

Joshua‬ ‭3‬:‭1-17‬ "Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ” Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord —the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground."

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.

"You cannot live the life you dreamed of of you don’t live a life of risk" - Erwin McManus Pastor and author Erwin McManus continues our journey with "Chasing Daylight". To seize divine moments, we must become free to risk. God does not call us to a safe faith and Pastor McManus reminds us that faith does not remove danger; faith makes us dangerous. Like Jonathan stepping boldly into battle against the Philistines, to live life to the fullest we must be willing to trust God and step into a future we cannot predict. Too often we live invisibly to avoid conflict or the risk of failure – in our jobs, with our passions, or in our relationships – but when we choose to be seen and visible to the world for who we are, the invisible God is made known. At the end of your life, you will have either chosen to live a life of risk or you will have lived a life of regret. Choose to risk!

"Everything you do is an act of influence." - Erwin McManus Pastor and author Erwin McManus continues our journey with "Chasing Daylight". We underestimate the importance of influence when we choose to prioritize gaining success, financial gain, or command. The power of our influence cannot hindered by a lack of resources or authority. Authority shapes what a person does, but not their character; authority does not equal influence and it does not have the same result. The more energy and time you put into developing your character, the more you build into your influence. Inhale the good and wisdom that God has for you and exhale His hope and joy into others. When you keep to yourself what He’s doing in your life, you don’t get more air to breathe, you begin to suffocate. Everything He gives us is meant to be shared and experienced by the people in your world. Your life will be measured by your influence on others!

"Do not live a life that can be explained by you alone." - Erwin McManus

"Chasing Daylight: Know That You Don't Know" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood, 10/14/2018 at the 8pm gathering.

Pastor Erwin McManus kicks off Generosity Month at Mosaic with a new message on how you can use your God-given ability to create wealth.

When we ask God to do more for us, he often responds by asking us to do more for others.

In Deuteronomy, God lays out a framework to help us understand our capacity to generate wealth and the  responsibility our wealth has to impact as many lives as possible. 

When we position ourselves with a heart of generosity, there’s no limit to how God can move in our lives. 

If you’re ready to move into a life of generosity, check out this message now!

In the conclusion to the Mind Shift series, Pastor Erwin McManus challenges us to live a life of risk-taking, audacious faith and go where no one we know has gone before.

Pastor Erwin shares that most often, people simply won’t understand our calling until we live it out.

Sometimes we won’t even understand our calling until we step out in faith in response to God’s voice.

Pastor Erwin reminds us that no one living in Jesus’ time understood why he chose to live and die as he did. It’s not until thousands of years later that Jesus’ intention is clear to us.

We aren’t called to reach the ‘top’ of success like we see modeled in another person’s life. Instead, we are called to journey to the edge - where our faith steps out into the unknown.

It’s the process of living out of our faith - not the outcome of our success - that God wants to celebrate with us.

Are you ready to do what’s never been done before?

In week four of the Mind Shift series, Pastor Erwin McManus reveals that what we find in the world around us is a direct reflection of who we are.

Pastor Erwin uses the story of Cain from Genesis as an example of this principle.  After Cain kills his brother out of jealousy, he lives in constant fear of being killed himself. Because he had been willing to commit murder, he saw murder in the heart of everyone around him.

Not only do you see in others what you hide in yourself, you attract from the world what you put into it.

If you want to surround yourself with people who are not bitter, you must first choose forgiveness. If you want to find trustworthy friends, you must become trustworthy. If you want to live in a better world, you must choose to become a better person.

Change your outer world by transforming your inner world.

It all starts with this mind shift!

In week three of the Mind Shift series, Pastor Erwin McManus unpacked the importance of breaking through the internal ceilings that hold us back.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

However, we often believe we are walking in faith when we act passively, waiting for God to move on our behalf.

Pastor Erwin challenged us to engage our faith by asking for big things and taking action to achieve the life we long to live.

When we knock on the doors we want to see open, we stop them from turning into walls that surround us.

Are you ready to make the mind shift?0/15/23

In week two of the Mind Shift series, Pastor Erwin McManus highlighted the importance of pursuing our personal callings in the midst of relational tension. 

As Jesus shared a confronting message with a crowd in the book of John, many people left. Jesus then turned to his disciples and asked if they wanted to leave him too. 

Jesus personally understood the reality of shifting relational dynamics when stepping into his intention. 

Pastor Erwin emphasized that if people walked away from Jesus when he was walking in his purpose, why do we think we won’t lose people along the way.

And though we will lose people, we were reminded that we become a magnet for everyone that’s supposed to find us when we step into our intention.

If you’re ready to fearlessly embrace the life God has for you, check out this message! 

Pastor Erwin McManus kicked off his new series Mind Shift with an incredible message on the power of our thinking to transform our lives.

As referenced in Proverbs 23, the way we think defines who we are and who we will become.

When we enter into a relationship with Jesus, our spirit is transformed. But we must do the necessary work to transform our lives by thinking differently.

The same way negative thinking sets us up for failure, aligning our thinking with Jesus' intention for us sets us up for success.

Every time you make a mind shift to match the mind of Christ, you become a reflection of who God created you to become.

Are you ready for a Mind Shift?

Are you leveraging your God-given influence?

This weekend, Lead Pastor Erwin McManus delivered an eye-opening message on the importance of understanding our unique influence. 

Sharing from Acts 25, he breaks down the story of Paul, a disciple of Jesus who was charged by the Jews for breaking the law. 

In his response to his charges, Paul stated “I appeal to Caesar." As a Roman citizen, Paul knew he had unique influence in the Roman Empire and was unafraid to proclaim his faith in front of the most powerful man of his time.

Paul leveraged his influence to be a catalyst for the movement of Jesus across the Roman empire.

Pastor Erwin reminds us to make the secular sacred by bringing our faith into every sphere of influence we have been entrusted with.

If you're ready to leverage your influence in a powerful new way, don't miss this message!

"Chasing Daylight: Just Do Something" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood, 10/07/2018 at the 12pm gathering.

"Chasing Daylight: Choose To Live" message given by Erwin McManus at Mosaic Hollywood, 09/30/2018 at the 8pm gathering.

Pastor Erwin McManus shared a brand new message on the power of embracing the life Jesus died to give us.

He explained that a singularity is a future point in time when unforeseeable changes happen in human civilization due to technological growth.

Based on Ephesians chapter 2, Pastor Erwin shared that the moment you give your life to Jesus — you become a singularity.

As God brings your soul from death to life, he positions you in a limitless eternal reality. In this new reality, God has given you everything you need to live out the purpose He’s given you.

If you’re ready to step out of lack and defeat and embrace the limitless life God has for you, check out this message!

Do you ever feel as if your future is already written? In this beautiful message from Mosaic Conference 2018, Pastor Erwin McManus reveals how all of us are co-authors of the future. The future is not a concrete reality, but history that is ready to be created.

Out of 1 Corinthians 2, Pastor Erwin explains that we can have access to the story God is telling because we have the Spirit of God inside of us. In our connection to God, we are able to create history the way God intended: a history filled with hope, joy and imagination.

God gives us access to the eternal story he is writing into history in the present moment. Though we can feel limited by our circumstances, we are not trapped in time and space. We have access to the mind of God, who is eternal. Our lives are meant to be a portal between the present moment and the beautiful story that God is telling through us.

If you need a new perspective that brings hope to your view of the future, this message is for you!

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In a powerful, thought-provoking message from Mosaic Conference in 2018, Pastor Erwin McManus casts vision for the future of humanity. Based on Ezekiel 36, he highlights the promise God has for us as we take on the future: that our hearts of stone will be replaced with hearts of flesh.

Pastor Erwin highlights that though at times he would rather have the heart of Iron Man instead of a heart of flesh, God doesn’t want to restore us to be hurt, but to bring us back to our original intent as humans, created with the imagination of God.

Because God imagined us into the future, we were made to create the future we dream of as well. In his message, Pastor Erwin states that we create from our essence. This is why it is essential to create from a heart of flesh. When God gives us a new heart, we can create from our original intent-from a heart filled with compassion, empathy and intelligence.

If you’ve been longing to create a future that right now you can only dream of, check out this amazing new message!

Impact - Seizing Your Divine Moment || From The Archives

Live from Mosaic LA Feb 2001

Pastor Erwin McManus brought an inspiring message this weekend as he showed us how we can have epiphanies in our lives.

In Greek mythology, often the gods are seen as the enemy of human innovation and imagination. Pastor Erwin teaches us that God is the opposite — He always leads us to become our most creative selves.

In Jeremiah 33 we discover that God wants to tell us “great and unsearchable things we do not know.”

Pastor Erwin explains that the four ingredients required for the breakthrough ideas we desire are curiosity, imagination, experience and reflection. 

Are you ready to experience an epiphany?

Listen to this new message available now

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Are you ready to seize your divine moment? 

Often when we think of following Jesus and taking hold of our divine moment, we don't recognize the suffering we must face to embrace God's work in us.

Focusing on the life of Peter in Matthew 16, Pastor Erwin points out how Peter struggled with the reality that Jesus would have to suffer deeply to fulfill his calling.

The crucifixion is a central piece of our faith, reminding us that there is no life without death.

Peter became the first church leader, bringing powerful transformation to many lives -- but only after his pride was put to death.

Peter’s suffering became the passageway to his future.

It’s time to seize your divine moment!

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In reflection of building Mosaic for the past 30 years, Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus dives into the core mission we have as a community of faith as we look forward to the next 30 years -- to continually step into the unknown as we discover the new that God has for us. Pastor Erwin builds his message on a scripture in Isaiah 43 where God compels the Isrealites to stop dwelling on what happened in the past and instead look forward to perceive the new thing that God was up to. He reminds us that often we think we want the new but in reality, embracing the new means everything we know will be shaken up. When Pastor Erwin and Kim moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago to build Mosaic, they left all uncertainty to follow a vision they had for a new kind of church in LA -- one that was built for those who have yet to know Jesus for themselves. Often we look to God to give us all of the steps when we ask for the new. But Pastor Erwin reminds us that God brings us into the new by asking us to embrace the unknown. He gives us the 'why' but not always the 'how.' As God transforms us from the inside out, we become new and bring that to the world around us. Are you ready to embrace the new thing God wants to do in your life? Don't miss this powerful new message in celebration of Mosaic's 30th anniversary!

In the 4th part of the Beautiful One series, Pastor Erwin McManus emphasizes the power of having a desperate faith.

Pulling from Matthew chapter 15, Jesus encounters a Cannanite woman who is rejected and seen as an outcast in that cultural time period. She comes to him begging that he would heal her daughter who is demon possessed -- but his disciples try to send her away.

Testing her, Jesus responds with the cultural narrative that was circling her situation, halling her a dog and saying "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

But she remained steadfast in asking Jesus, not letting the all-too-familiar humiliation stop her from asking for her miracle. 

Jesus then responds to her humility saying "you have great faith" and heals her daughter.

If you are ready to push past the narratives that have kept you from Jesus and desperately seek his movement in your life, don't miss this life-changing episode!

We return from the archives with Week 2 of the Beautiful One series. In this week's episode asks us as listeners if we have the eyes to see beauty all around us.

Pulling from Matthew chapter 15, Jesus moves his followers to the edges so they can begin to see themselves differently. To change their ability to see what God sees, he has to move them into an uncomfortable space.

Have you ever wondered why God has moved you to where you are?

If you're ready to see the world with new eyes, don't miss this powerful episode!

Pulling from the archives, this week's episode illuminates a fascinating conversation about the unconventional beauty that Jesus brought into the world.

Pulling from Isaiah chapter 53, Pastor Erwin points out that Jesus was described as someone who was both despised and rejected - someone who did not have an outward appearance that would draw us to him. 

Jesus confronted our pride with his humility. He comfortably served and sat with the sick, the hurting, and the broken. He was despised for humbling himself to serve us in our brokenness. 

Jesus was not focused on building his image and remaining in a religious box, but serving those in front of him. Pastor Erwin challenges us to consider that Jesus was the most beautiful one because of his ability to see beauty in everyone.

If you're ready to come home to the Jesus, the most beautiful one - don't miss this powerful episode!