Cultures throughout history have always had specific social hierarchies. Still today, there are groups and classes of people who benefit from simply being born into a certain family or because of the language they speak or the color of their skin or because of their gender. But Jesus consistently leveled the playing field by recognizing the faith and value of all people. Join us for part three of Glass Ceilings where we will see Jesus’ response to the interruption of a desperate woman. 

Since the time of Adam and Eve, there have been obvious double standards for men and women in almost every area of life. Luke frequently pairs stories of men and women together to highlight Jesus’ love and mission to redeem all of God’s creation. Join us for part two of Glass Ceilings where we see how the response of a Roman Centurion and a prostitute demonstrate Jesus’ radical grace and His universal offer of salvation for everyone regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.  

There is a special connection between mothers and sons. As Jesus encountered a grieving mother in the town of Nain, He performed one of His most miraculous signs by raising the widow’s dead son. This not only brought the son back to life, it rescued this poor woman from a life of certain destitution. It’s not hard to imagine Jesus envisioning His own mother on the day of His crucifixion as He responds compassionately to this hopless widow. Join us for the first sermon in the Glass Ceilings series as we consider Jesus’ compassion for the least of these and how His actions should set a pattern for our lives today. 

It has been said that everything we really need to know in life was taught in kindergarten. The basic fundamentals of being human are so simple a child can understand them, yet so profound that we spend our entire lives trying to live them out. Jesus’ directions for how to be human are shockingly simple, abundantly clear, incredibly memorable and profoundly practical. But even after more than 2000 years, Jesus’ directions are still rarely applied. G.K. Chesterson put it best, “The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” Join us for the final part of How to Be Human where we will explore Jesus’ four fundamental rules for being human.  

Part of what makes “human-ing” so hard is that we have to do it with other humans. The world teaches that the best way to deal with other people is to respect their humanity by not doing to them what we wouldn’t want them to do to us. In fact, this is the basic principle of the modern justice system and our basic concept of human rights. But a world built solely on what we “don’t” do is not a very compassionate world. Jesus’ most radical instruction for being human is perhaps His simplest, most known, and yet most difficult command. Join us for part three of How to Be Human where we learn the secret of dealing with other humans. 

#Blessed has become synonymous with material wealth and personal wellbeing. Even the sincerest believer will describe financial security, health, and a good reputation as “a blessing.” But Jesus’ definition of blessings and curses are very different from what people describe as blessings today. Join us for part two of How to be Human as we explore Jesus’ counterintuitive instructions for living our blest life now and later. 

Medical science has concluded that a lack of sufficient rest can be responsible for everything from heart disease to certain types of cancer. The Bible was way ahead of medical science. Embedded in the earliest pages of the Old Testament, the Creator invites His creation to take a day off every week. By the time Jesus came on the scene, religion had weaponized this gift and made it a burden. Join us for part one of How to be Human as we consider Jesus’ instructions on how to live in rhythm with God and His creation. 

There is a shadow of doubt over almost every aspect of our lives. From economic uncertainty and political instability to questions about environmental sustainability and global health, we are regularly confronted with conflicting theories about what to believe and how we should respond. At the end of the day, every choice we make requires a measure of faith. The question is not whether or not we have faith, but in what or whom we will place our faith. Join us on Easter Sunday morning as we see how an empty tomb transforms our doubts into hope and gives us a faith that goes beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

Even as Jesus was dying on the cross, He proved to be a friend to sinners. Jesus was crucified between two other men who had also been condemned to die. Both of these men were guilty. Both had been convicted. Both men would be dead within a few hours and both men were in close proximity to Jesus. But only one would accept Jesus’ offer of friendship. Join us for part five of Jesus Friend of Sinners as we consider Jesus' universal offer of friendship and what it means for us to accept that offer. 

As Jesus assembled His disciples, He was not looking for the religious credentials you might have expected. Instead, He called fishermen, tax collectors, political malcontents, and otherwise completely unremarkable people. Join us for part four of Jesus, Friend of Sinners as we explore how God chooses and uses a motley crew to reach a diverse world.