Luke 4:16-30

The church is the bride of Christ, meant to be His hands and feet until His glorious return. Yet, the local church often gets things wrong and causes more hurt than healing. Where is Jesus in these messes? How do we respond to the spiritual abuses within a body that bears Christ’s holy name? This sermon defines church hurt, discovers Jesus’ empathy and rediscovers the glorious vision the church is meant to portray.

Luke 4:16-30

To be hurt by someone within the church can be extremely difficult.  A fellow congregant, leader or pastor can say or do something that causes harm.  Should we be surprised this happens?  If it does, should we walk away from the church and faith or should we lean into the love of Jesus who provides truth and healing.

Luke 4:16-30

Church hurt is one of those things that should never happen, but sadly is inevitable in anychurch. If we live in a fallen world, with other sinful people, and an enemy whose primaryobjective is to destroy what Jesus loves most, the church, how can it not be? But if the church,the Bride of Christ, keep her heart fixed on Jesus, the church can become the dearest place onearth to us.

John 20:24-29

In some Christian circles asking questions and expressing doubts is not tolerated. But Jesus was merciful to doubters and we are invited to follow in His footsteps. The story of Thomas is instructive in how to approach our own faith doubts and those who doubt.

John 20:24-31

Jesus deals with many people who have doubts about who he is and what he has done, most notably his own disciple Thomas.  Yet throughout his ministry Jesus responds in a variety of ways in order to meet them in their needs.  As a church we are called to model this merciful approach to doubt as we build a genuine faith in what Jesus has done. 

John 20:24-31

In a church culture that often perceives expressions of doubt as a lack of faith (or even as troublemaking!) – which will surely lead to unbelief, it is refreshing to realize that Jesus was patient and loving toward those with genuine questions and doubts. Expressions such as “help my unbelief!” (Mark 9) and invitations to the “doubting Thomas” (John 20) welcome us to ask hard questions and honestly wrestle with serious doubts.

John 20:24-29

Do you ever wrestle with questions about your Christian faith...you believe, but you still wonder at times?  Today we look at a guy whose nickname, "Doubting Thomas," says it all.  He wrestled with his faith - and in so doing shows each of us how to deal with our doubts as we seek God!

Matthew 5:43-44

Deconstruction is a word that has been used a lot in recent years.  Yet the concept of understanding something better is hardly new.  Jesus deconstructs the religious tendencies of his time in order to draw people closer to God.  We are called to do the same as we come to understand the beauty of the faith. 

Matthew 5:43-44

People are leaving the church in droves. A significant reason for this is a deconstruction of faith that has not been reconstructed in a healthy, biblical way. This sermon series will present some tools for “good deconstruction,” recognizing it can be the road toward reconstructing a more mature, robust faith that grapples honestly with the deepest questions of life and, most of all, focuses on Jesus and constructing beautiful faith. We want to create space for evaluation, to ask hard questions, to acknowledge where we’ve “missed it” ... and to offer the real thing.

Matthew 5:43-44

Deconstruction might be a popular new term, but it’s a process that’s been happening for centuries. For some, deconstruction quickly devolves into destruction ending in deconversion. But Jesus modeled deconstruction that strips our faith of misapplications of God’s word and helps us build a more beautiful faith.