Life will take us through valleys. Seasons we didn’t expect, challenges we don’t understand, and moments when fear seems louder than our faith.

But David shows us something powerful in Psalm 23:4. Our confidence isn’t found in avoiding the valley, but in knowing the Shepherd who walks with us.

In Part 3 of our Psalm 23 series, we’re discovering how difficult seasons expose where we’ve placed our trust, how they can deepen our intimacy with God, and why His presence changes everything.

We are all being formed by something.

Our culture, family, experiences, and priorities have shaped what we believe community should look like. But Acts 2 gives us a different picture—a people devoted to Jesus and committed to a shared life together.

In the final message of our Community series, we look again at the early church and what their devotion produced: shared faith, shared life, and shared tables—and what that means for how we build Christ-centered community at Vertical Life.

We are more connected than ever, yet increasingly absent from the people right in front of us. In John 11, Jesus shows us something powerful about love: He was present. He entered the
grief of people He loved, even when He already knew the answer.

If we want to look like Jesus, we have to learn how to be present. And if we want real biblical community, presence isn't optional.

Jesus said the world would know that we are His disciples by the way we love one another.

But Christian love is more than being nice. Jesus Himself is the standard. The Father’s love is the source. And the way we love His people becomes evidence of who we belong to.

In John 13:34–35, Jesus gives His disciples this command in the shadow of betrayal and denial: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

In this message, we look at what biblical love actually requires, why Christian community is necessary to obey Jesus’ command, and why we cannot love this way without first abiding in the Father’s love.

Jesus’ love is the standard.

The Father’s love is the source.

Our love is the evidence.

It's usually not theology. It's not the worship. It's offense they never dealt with.

The book of Proverbs gives us three principles for community that actually lasts. Give instead of take. Build up instead of tear down. And never let sin against you produce sin in you.

Your spiritual maturity isn't measured by what you know. It's measured by your ability to stay in relationship when it gets hard.