First Presbyterian Church of Santa Rosa

Because human beings are prone to follow, wander, and be led astray, we need a shepherd we can trust. Jesus is that shepherd: the one who knows us by name, lays down his life for us, and is the gate into abundant life.

More than a dramatic display of power, the raising of Lazarus is a sign that reveals the heart of Christ, who weeps with those who grieve, is not bound by our timelines, and declares, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Even in places that feel sealed and lifeless, his voice still calls forth life.

In giving sight to the man born blind, Jesus disrupts our usual conversations and challenges us to respond to what God is doing here and now.

Faith is an active, humble trust in Jesus’ life-giving power, even without visible proof. This trust is vindicated in Christ, the One who meets us in both our hope and our heartbreak.

In Christ, God seeks out our real, flawed selves and invites us to make Jesus the source of our lives. The living water Jesus offers satisfies our deepest longing and calls us into a transformed life beyond all established barriers.

Jesus invites us to surrender control so we can receive God's mercy and lovingkindness.

When Jesus cleanses the temple, he liberates us from “business as usual” and establishes a new reality where he is the true temple: the true intersection of heaven and earth.

Jesus is one with the Creator who transforms lack into abundance. When we “do everything he tells us," we experience transformation by God's renewing work in us.

Jesus invites those who would be his disciples to follow him. By abiding in him, we experience Christ himself as the place where the divine breaks into our world.

John the Baptist expected a powerful, judgment-bringing Messiah, but the Gospel of John shows Jesus as a loving Savior who chooses the cross to take away the world’s sin.