In this sermon from Durango Vineyard Church, Pastor Brian Firle argues that theology isn't reserved for pastors, professors or Bible scholars. Every time we wrestle with questions about purpose, hope, love, suffering, meaning and God, we're doing theology. The more important question is this: What is shaping what we believe about God? And specifically, what role does Scripture play in that understanding?

Continuing through Acts 18, Brian introduces Apollos — an intelligent, passionate and gifted teacher who knew the Scriptures well and taught about Jesus with enthusiasm and accuracy. But Apollos didn't know everything. Priscilla and Aquila recognized what was missing, took him aside and helped him understand the way of God more fully. Rather than diminishing Apollos, that willingness to keep learning equipped him to become an even more effective disciple and teacher.

That raises some challenging questions for every follower of Jesus: Could we explain who Jesus is with both enthusiasm and accuracy? Do we understand His life, death and resurrection well enough to communicate them to someone else? And are we humble enough to have our own “Priscilla and Aquila” — people who can challenge us, teach us and show us what we may be missing?

Brian's challenge isn't about earning a grade for biblical knowledge. It's about becoming equipped disciples who can help make other disciples. That requires community, mentors, thoughtful content and intentional practices — but the foundation can remain remarkably simple: put yourself among people who are pursuing Jesus, read your Bible and pray. There is always more to discover, because none of us ever graduates from being a student of God.

What keeps us moving when life feels like a slot canyon — when the walls are closing in and every practical reason for hope seems to be disappearing?

In this companion episode of Built for Durango, Bob and Pastor DJ Jergensen continue the conversation from DJ’s “Cracked Pots” sermon and Paul’s declaration that we can be “hard-pressed, but not crushed.” But they make an important distinction: the Christian response to suffering isn't simply to toughen up, try harder or summon enough willpower to keep moving. Before we can persevere, we need a reason to believe there is somewhere worth going.

Bob and DJ explore the distinctly Christian source of that hope. The Kingdom of God is both “now and not yet.” Following Jesus doesn't guarantee that everything will go well or that faith will protect us from pain, loss and disappointment. Instead, faith gives us a supernatural source of strength in the middle of life as it really is. God is present even when the canyon walls haven't moved.

Bob shares how that truth has become deeply practical during a difficult season of his own life. Sometimes faith doesn't keep us out of the canyon; it prepares us to walk through it. And when logic can't provide an explanation for why we should still have peace, contentment or hope, trusting an all-powerful God allows us to keep taking the next step.

DJ brings the conversation back to Paul's example: belief comes before perseverance. When our hearts begin to believe again, we stop seeing only the walls closing around us and begin looking toward the hope ahead. And when we can't find that hope ourselves, we need one another. Sometimes someone else's story of how God brought them through the darkness is exactly what helps us believe again.

And when we've made it through our own darkness? That's our opportunity to become that light for someone else.

What keeps us going when life feels like a slot canyon — the walls closing in, the path narrowing and no obvious way out?

In this sermon from Durango Vineyard Church, Pastor DJ continues through Acts 18 and asks a question that surfaces again and again in the life of Paul: How did he keep going? Paul worked while trying to build a ministry, faced rejection and abuse, feared for his safety and watched people he loved suffer. His circumstances swung between success and disappointment, hope and frustration — much like our own lives.

To understand Paul's resilience, DJ turns to Paul's own words in 2 Corinthians: “We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Paul doesn't pretend life isn't difficult. Instead, he insists that our circumstances don't get the final word about who we are or who we can become.

That's the paradox of being a “cracked pot.” God places the extraordinary treasure of the gospel inside ordinary, fragile and imperfect people. We can be pressed without being crushed, confused without surrendering to despair, hunted without being abandoned and knocked down without being destroyed. Our weakness doesn't disqualify us; it's often precisely where God's power becomes most visible.

DJ closes with a truth worth carrying into every narrow passage: You are not a product of your environment. You are a masterpiece of God. Your past doesn't define you. Your present circumstances don't determine your future. God is still creating, shaping and transforming you. The question is whether you're willing to keep showing up and let Him finish the masterpiece.