In the final hours of Jesus's life he goes up to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Even as his disciples are falling asleep, Jesus is in agony, wrestling with his Father in prayer, arriving at the conclusion, "your will be done." Like the other events of his final week, Jesus is living out a parable for us that explains his death and his resurrection. He is teaching us obedience and submission to God's will for his glory and our joy.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, Jesus gathered his disciples for a final meal. Gathered around the table, Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples and instructed them to share this meal when they gathered together. How should we celebrate communion today? What does it mean for us when we take the bread and the cup? This celebration is a tangible reminder of Jesus's death and resurrection, the Gospel of our salvation. 

On the night before he was crucified, Jesus gathered his disciples for a Passover meal. Without a servant in the room, Jesus humbled himself to wash the disciples' feet. In doing that, he showed them the kind of death he would die and the kind of lives they should live.

On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus walks by a fig tree that is not bearing fruit and curses it. The disciples are shocked, but later in the week, Jesus explains this living parable. Jesus is showing them something important about his death; that he is the only way to salvation and the only way to transformation.

During Jesus's last week on earth, he was very intentional with his time. Starting at the triumphal entry, Jesus carefully prepared his followers so that they would understand his death and resurrection. The first thing he did was go into the Temple to clear out the livestock and money changers. Jesus wasn't just losing his cool, he was showing them what his death was going to achieve and the kind of sacrifice he was going to make.

The parable of the prodigal son is one of the greatest stories ever told. In the parable, a younger son takes half of his father's possessions and squanders them in the far country. When he returns, he expects to be taken in as a hired hand, but his father welcomes him back as a son. But this father had two sons, and each one serves as an example for us. One was lost near, one was lost far, but both were lost, and the father provided a way for both of them to be saved. What would they do with the opportunity?

Preacher: Blake Bastin

We know the apostle Thomas as a doubter, but that's not the whole story. After the resurrection, Thomas has his doubts, but Jesus draws near to him, invites him to investigate his doubts, and calls him to believe. And he does! Thomas's story is one of growing stronger through doubt, and it is an example for us of how Jesus treats doubt: kindly, patiently, and calling on us to believe in him.

Peter was always the one speaking first, stepping out, and taking the leap of faith. When a storm came up on the Sea of Galilee, Peter was the one who stepped out of the boat to walk on water. In this encounter, we learn how to handle doubt in the Christian life and how to trust Jesus in the storm. 

1 Kings 19 is one of the most pitiful scenes in the Bible. After a mountain top experience just before, Elijah runs for his life into the wilderness. There's hardly a more acute scene of doubt in the Bible. But in this moment, God draws near to Elijah, shows him his glory and gives him a vision of true spiritual power. 

The Transfiguration may be the most important event in Jesus's life that no one ever talks about. In a strange event where Jesus transforms in glory, Moses and Elijah appear, and he tells everyone not to talk about; what should we take away from this story? There is so much we can learn about waiting and glory, worship and longing. Jesus shows us that though we suffer today, we await glory tomorrow. 

Preacher: John Frawley