In our image-laden culture where we often evaluate others based more on a created profile than on proven character, it is no wonder that we often are disappointed when those we look up to as leaders or role models don't live up to the outward image portrayed. And yet we still place great emphasis on outward appearance. It was no different for God's people Israel as they demanded a king to lead them. They sought a man with an impressive profile, while God sought a man with a humble heart. Learn from the life of David about the heart that God is after.

There are certain meals during the year that we especially look forward to. Usually these meals mark special occasions for us personally, like a birthday or anniversary celebration, or perhaps they celebrate a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Either way, we eagerly look forward to and make preparations on those occasions to remember and to celebrate with family or close friends. Jesus looked forward to one such Passover meal with his closest friends. It would be his last such meal with them on earth, but it would mark the first of countless times of fellowship around the table for all whom he had come to redeem. Now we conclude our "Meals with Jesus" series by celebrating a meal to remember.

All of us know what it means to get distracted. It seems that each day we get pushed and pulled in every direction but the one we are actually trying to go in. Consequently focus often becomes a rare commodity. The same can be said for our Christian lives as well. We usually begin new days, new endeavors, even new lives with the best intention of staying focused on the mission that God has called us to. But we get distracted, sometimes externally but all too often internally, and we lose course more easily than we’d like to admit. Our Meals With Jesus series continues: see how Jesus uses the occasion of a Sabbath feast to remind us of four central virtues that must define our mission and catalyze our focus as we seek to bring the gospel of Jesus to the world we are called to serve.

Sometimes the simplest lessons we have learned are the hardest ones to put into practice. This is especially true as it relates to the Christian life. We all know that disciplines like prayer, Bible reading, and worship are vital to living and growing in Christ, but all too often we find ourselves too busy or even forgetting to put these basic means of grace into practice. Well, not much has changed in a couple thousand years, because the disciples who followed Jesus suffered from the same problem as well. We continue our “Meals With Jesus” series and see how Jesus’ miracle of feeding the multitudes serves to teach us the important connection between dependence and gratitude, and encourage us to depend on Christ as we serve Him and His kingdom here on earth.

We are all familiar with the unexpected guest: the last minute drop-in, the one we take in who is in need, or even the "party crasher”. Even so, nothing could have prepared the host for the unexpected guest he encounters in our passage this week. Here’s Jesus, eating at the house of Simon the Pharisee, when suddenly a woman - a “woman of the city, who was a sinner” - appears on the scene and interacts with Jesus in ways that were not only against custom, but were downright shocking. So what does Jesus do? Today we consider how he responds to this woman, what this response teaches us about the vital connection between love and forgiveness, and how that connection shapes inclusiveness in our community.

As soon as Matthew the tax collector makes the life changing decision to follow Jesus, he throws his Master a great feast and invites some friends. But not everyone was happy with the choice of company that Jesus decided to keep at this party. In fact they goes as far as to call Jesus out on the matter, asking him why he "eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners." Jesus’ swift response immediately dispels the prevailing self-reliance and self-righteousness of the religious leaders of the day, and makes clear what his strategy for mission and community will be here on this earth. Join us as we begin our new series from the Gospel of Luke and see how the radical grace of Jesus Christ turns our world of man-made religion upside down and drives us to proclaim and demonstrate the transforming love of God to others.

Jesus' resurrection was not an isolated event in the course of history, but rather a culminating and pivotal event in God's rule over all of history, marking the triumph over sin and death by Jesus Christ. Today we look at the significance of the resurrection in establishing the reign of Jesus and his kingdom through the church in all the world.

Psalm 8 is a magnificent proclamation of God's majesty as Creator and Ruler of all things. Yet, God's majesty is magnified in an unexpected manner in the events of the week leading up to the first Easter. Join us as we look at the glorious majesty of God magnified in the meekness of King Jesus.

If you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone loves you, that they are always on your side and at work for your benefit, then you will have a confidence and security in that relationship that effects all areas of your life. When we truly know God's great love for us in Christ, then we also know and have confidence in many other areas of our life as a result of that relationship. We conclude our series from 1 John by looking at what we know with certainty as followers of Christ.

Faith is a common buzz word in today's society. We often hear about "people of faith," "faith-based" initiatives, and "interfaith" movements. Even the newspapers still run a "faith" section where anything religious gets lumped under the label of "faith." But faith itself is not as important as what you put faith in, and the bible says that the true faith that gives us victory and assurance is found in Jesus Christ. Take a look at faith that is victorious.