Three times a year, the people of Israel would leave their homes and make the journey up to Jerusalem to worship.

Along the road, they sang the Songs of Ascents—melodies shaped for the climb.

Which means that during Passover, Jesus, his disciples, and the crowds filling the city would have had these songs echoing in their hearts.

As we journey toward Easter, maybe these ancient songs can shape our steps too.

A lot of attention in Matthew 11 goes to the identity of John and Jesus. But here, Jesus shifts his focus to the crowd—and how they’ve responded to the message.
His challenge is simple, direct, and still relevant today: “Stop being childish!”

This Sunday, we stepped back into the Gospel of Matthew, picking up right where we left off—questions and doubts surrounding Jesus’ identity.

After responding to John’s disciples, Jesus turns to the crowd and leaves little room for doubt. Without saying it outright, he makes it clear exactly who he is.

As our Practice Series comes to a close, we turn our attention to one of the great dangers of Christian community: turning inward.

The church was never meant to be a closed circle, but an open table. A place where the broken, the outsider, and the lonely are warmly welcomed.

This week, we wrestle with how to resist the temptation to prioritize comfort over calling, and how to remain a community shaped by Jesus’ outward-facing love.

Is Jesus anti-family?

Some of his words might make it sound that way. But look a little closer, and you’ll see the opposite is true.

Jesus wasn’t tearing family down—he was expanding it. The community he was forming wasn’t meant to be an event or a building, but a family.

Through him, we gain a Father. And we gain brothers and sisters.

There are two parallel phrases about Jesus in the Gospels that belong together: “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost,” and “The Son of Man came eating and drinking.”

One tells us why Jesus came: to rescue the broken and overlooked. The other tells us how he did it: by sharing meals.

A shared meal does more than fill our bodies. It softens walls, turns strangers into friends, and shows the world what the Kingdom looks like in everyday life.

Community isn’t built in isolation — it’s built around the table.

Watch the video referenced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLsSy64xILI

In 2017, the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic. Across the world, countless people feel its quiet weight.

Maybe that’s you right now.

Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to stay that way. In the life of Jesus, we see a practice that cuts through isolation and leads us to what we’re really longing for—meaningful connection.

This year, our Practice Series is focused on Community.

This Sunday, we returned to the Gospel of Matthew to continue our intentional walk through the whole story of Jesus together.

We come back to the story at a junction. Jesus's disciples have been sent on a mini missions trip, Jesus continues to share the good news of the Kingdom, and John is in prison.

And it's from his prison walls that John teaches us something profound.

Well, we did it! We sang the songs, read the story, lit all the candles and celebrated with loved ones. Christmas has come and gone.

But does that mean it's time to pack it all away until next year? Or is there something we are intended to take with us?

This week, we met with two final characters of Christmas and explored how their stories point us to a new kind of waiting.

This Christmas Eve, we reminded ourselves of the truth that Christ's birth was a "Let there be Light" moment.

Give this Christmas Eve reflection a listen to hear how that light overcomes the darkness, not just in the world, but in each one of us.