Easter Sunday is one of the biggest highlights in the life of the church as we celebrate the resurrection. But after all the excitement dies down, we are often left with the question in our lives of what happens next? How do we truly live for Christ and cling to Him? To find these answers, we’ll look to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to see how Jesus is the greatest treasure one could ever have, and how as a result, we must pursue Him and His Gospel each day!
Our world has been experiencing a growing crisis of hope. The future seems uncertain and the present volatile. When you feel hopeless and beaten down by life, Peter reminds us that we have a God who is merciful and sees our helpless state, who has made us alive and has given us a living hope that is anchored in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Christ, our eternal future is secured in the vaults of heaven, where it cannot die, fade or be corrupted.
Palm Sunday is the first day of holy week or the first day of the final week before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It is the day we traditionally celebrate Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As we take a closer look at Jesus’ triumphal entry, what was Jesus declaring about himself in this triumphal entry? Did the disciples and the crowds really understand what they were saying? What difference does this day make for us over 2000 years later?
In today’s message in 2 Kings 7:1-9 from missionary Ken Beckley, we learn how God uses people to advance His good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This same message resonates with us today as God calls all Christians to share the good news of the Gospel with the world!
How do we respond in suffering in a way that is healthy that deals with our emotions and is God honoring? We will take a closer look at three biblical truths of human suffering that will help us respond in suffering.
A rich young ruler seeks out Jesus to ask what more he can do to secure eternal life. The man’s expectations are flipped upside down as Jesus reveals to him that eternal life is not found through accomplishing checklist items, but rather through having a relationship with God.
Why is the resurrection of Jesus such good news for us? For us to be able to answer this question, we need to take a closer look at Jesus’ trail, death, and resurrection. We will discover the purpose and significance of His death and the evidence to what Christ’s resurrection points to.
If you are to faithfully follow Christ, you must offer unlimited forgiveness to those who have wronged you.
The Apostle Paul helps us to see how our sinfulness and unworthiness has caused a great chasm that separates us from God. But through God’s grace and mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ stepped in, spanning the chasm by taking upon all of our unrighteousness and unworthiness, and instead imputing His perfect righteousness upon us. Paul shows us that grace is the power by which we stand, as it’s not who we are, but whose we are that gives us our worth!
Looking at Genesis, we see creation, sinful rebellion, and the fall of mankind leading to a flood. Just as things start anew again with Noah, mankind rebels again by building a tower, leaving God to intervene. Just when hope seems lost, God calls Abram to a foreign land, promising to bless Abram and make his name great. In Abram’s attempts to obey the Lord, he fails time and again. Yet, the Lord stays faithful in fulfilling His promises to Abram as they were based on His abilities, not Abram’s.
The empty tomb and missing body of Jesus did not amount to good news for Jesus’ disciples initially, but instead left them in confusion and despair. The despair Mary felt from Jesus’ death on the cross was only compounded by the absence of His body from the tomb. Yet upon hearing her Teacher’s voice, Mary’s disposition dramatically changed. The despair that Jesus’ death had brought soon gave way to joy in hearing and seeing her risen Lord. Jesus was no longer missing, He is risen!
We recount the Gospel Story of Jesus' journey to the cross in providing us with the ultimate act of grace and mercy.
Jarius, a man in desperation, falls before Jesus to come and save his only child. Jesus agrees but becomes distracted by a woman suffering from years of bleeding. Seeing her faith, Jesus heals her and does something far greater, fully restoring her relationship to God! By now, Jarius’ daughter has died, and all hope seems lost. But Jesus reminds him to only believe! Soon after, Jesus raises Jarius’ daughter to life and shows that a healing faith is one that is placed in Him alone!
Our missionaries and church planters Max and Jennifer Kennedy from Nicaragua provide an update and message about stepping out for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As the disciples travel in a boat across the sea of Galilee, they battle a vicious wind and turbulent waves. Tired and weary from their journey, the disciples get the surprise of a lifetime as they see Jesus walking on the water. As Peter seeks out the Lord by walking on water, he loses focus and begins to sink due to his little faith. In illustrating the Gospel, Jesus immediately saves Peter and meets him where he’s at, just as He does today with those who call upon His name!
Missionaries Rodney and Lindy Kidd from Mannheim Germany share the work the Lord has done as they planted churches that planted churches.
While King Solomon loves the Lord and mostly follows His Statues, we discover he's not setting the best example for the people of Israel to worship God. In spite of this failure, the Lord still lovingly meets with Solomon and grants a prayer request for him to receive wisdom. However, we soon discover that this noble request contains so much more then a one-time action from God, but rather a continuous knowing heart in alignment with God's will.
In Psalm 11, David finds himself in a bad situation. He is likely fleeing from Saul who was hunting him down, seeking to take his life. It was a serious time, and this psalm is a psalm of confidence in the Lord. Our situations so often sway our emotions and even our trust in the Lord. As we see evil triumph and chaos surround us. But David reminds us in this psalm that even when the situation seems hopeless and logic would tell us to give up or flee, we can take heart as we trust the Lord.
Psalm 51 is from David, when the prophet Nathan came to him and confronted him of his sin with Bathsheba. This personal lament is David’s prayer to the Lord. In this prayer for restoration, we see David’s brokenness before the Lord, his dependence on the Lord and his praise and deeper commitment to the Lord. May this psalm help us see the depths of sin and repentance as we look to Christ.
Psalm 51 is from David, when the prophet Nathan came to him and confronted him of his sin with Bathsheba. This personal lament is David’s prayer to the Lord. In this prayer for restoration, we see David’s brokenness before the Lord, his dependence on the Lord and his praise and deeper commitment to the Lord. May this psalm help us see the depths of sin and repentance as we look to Christ.
We have historical, biblical, and verifiable evidence to make us certain that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Lord of all. Luke shows us how, the tomb was open and empty. The scriptures were opened and fulfilled. Their eyes were opened, and they recognized. Their minds were opened, and they believed. Are you open to the claims of Jesus Christ?
The purpose of Good Friday is for us to be reminded of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross for our sins. During this time, we are going to read scripture about the events leading up to Christ’s death. In between each part of the text, we will give you a time to reflect, pray, repent, and a time for sorrow.
Throughout Scripture God's reveals His plan to His people, not for approval or input, but graciously invites them in to participate in what God is doing. In Genesis 18, the Lord invited Abraham in, and Abraham drew near to God and boldly interceded. Abraham could be bold, because He knew God and appealed to the character of God. When we pray, we can boldly intercede, because the Lord has invited us in to participate in what He is doing as we appeal to His character.