Jesus The Stranger: God In The Darkest Times
April 13, 2025
Scripture: Luke 22:54-62
Today is Palm Sunday. We are familiar with the waving of the palms and singing our hallelujahs. This day starts Holy Week and reminds us that Easter is near! But those who lined the path and shouted their praise in the account of Jesus’ triumphant entry did not understand what mission Jesus was on as he showed up that day. Today we consider passages that tell us of the triumphant entry, Jesus praying in the garden, and Peter’s denial of Jesus. These three together will help us to better understand what Jesus was going through, and how that means he can be with us in our darkest times as well.
Jesus The Stranger: Overcoming Evil With Good
April 6, 2025
Scripture: John 10:11-18
It is not possible to over exaggerate the power of what Jesus did in love to overcome sin and death. It isn’t unique to our time, human history has shown that the way to gain power and expand influence is through physical might and threats of violence. Jesus flipped the script and welcomed the worst the world had to throw at him. By laying his life down and letting humans cast their unjust judgement and inflict death upon him despite his innocence he gives a rousing testimony to the ultimate power of love to overcome evil. As we come to worship and receive communion today, let us receive the power of the Holy Spirit that our lives can also be testimonies of the power of love to overcome evil in the world around us.
Jesus The Stranger: True Christian Disciple
March 30, 2025
Scripture: John 6:25-40
By definition, grace is a free gift that God gives to us without cost or merit. Yet, because grace is so amazing it requires a response from us. If we rightly understand the amazing things that Jesus has done for us and all that God gives without us earning it, then we must have a reaction. Letting God in our hearts, allowing grace to change us from the deepest places within, and living a life on the outside that reflects the work of love on the inside, that is the path of a disciple. John 6:25-40 leads us as we worship and seek to follow Jesus as his disciples.
Jesus The Stranger: Recognizing God’s Savior & King
March 23, 2025
Scripture: John 11:45-57
The religious leaders that Jesus encountered mostly deserve the bad reputation that they have. But it’s important to not just write them off as the bad guys because there may be lessons we need to learn about how they resisted what God was trying to do in their lives. They should have been amongst the first to recognize who Jesus was and what he was on earth to do, but they fought against him the hardest. John 11:45-57 will be our guide in worship as we see how they stumbled in recognizing God’s Savior and King, to help us more fully recognize what Jesus is up to in our world today.