Luke has raised our expectations for the arrival of King Jesus: Two angelic visitations, two miraculous pregnancies, and two magnificent songs of praise. We can’t wait! But when the final moment arrives, what we find is not poetic praise, but prosaic prose: The king in a mansion makes a decree, and the King of the Jews is born in a manger. What are we to make of this contrast?

December 15th, 2024

Luke continues his musical rendition of the nativity of Jesus with a second song of praise. Last week it was Mary’s Magnificat. This week it is Zechariah’s Benedictus. Filled with the Holy Spirit at the birth of his son John, Zechariah’s first words (after nine months of silence) are a poetic and powerful outpouring of praise. As the final prophetic word before the birth of Jesus, it is a song well worth our study.

December 8th, 2024

The Overture is complete; the Oratorio commences. Luke now presents to us the original Christmas musical masterpiece, complete with four powerful songs celebrating the nativity of God’s promised Messiah. We consider the first of these today: the beautiful and revolutionary song of Mary known as Magnificat.

December 1, 2024

“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! ... You will bear a son...”. What a shock this must have been to Mary, the girl whose obscure village of Nazareth was the least likely place for God’s rescue plan for creation to finally reach its fulfillment. We wonder: "Why Nazareth? Why Mary? Why now?" To which God might say, “Why not?"

November 24, 2024

As a rural priest in the hills of Judea, Zechariah had been to the temple in Jerusalem many times. But this time he had an experience which utterly changed his life. What happened to him in the temple, why does Luke include his story, and what significance does this have for us? We’ll talk about that today.

November 17th, 2024

The most influential person to ever walk this earth was Jesus of Nazareth. But can we trust the written accounts of his life? What was it about him that made such an impact on the world? We’ll explore these and other important questions as we begin our study Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ life and his kingdom.

November 10th, 2024

According to today’s text, God has “transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” We belong, first and foremost, to the kingdom of Jesus.

As citizens of Jesus’ kingdom, what is our responsibility to the kingdoms of this world -- especially when it comes to the current election? We’ll talk about that today.

November 3rd, 2024

We consider Peter’s final words as we take one last look at the book we’ve been studying the past few months. He closes his letter by “exhorting” them to “stand firm” in “the true grace of God.” What does he mean by this, and why does he

stress it at the end of his letter? We’ll explore that in this message.

October 27th, 2024

After admonishing the church’s elders to “shepherd the flock of God,” Peter now gives some final words of instruction to the "flock.” What does he say to the church family? We’ll talk about that today. 

October 20th, 2024

Living as people of hope: A study in 1 Peter

Pastor Steve delivers a message on the suffering of Christ and how we can be a reflection of Christ through our own trials and suffering.

October 6th, 2024