Shattered … no more – Luke 24:13-35: Have you ever noticed how often we use the image of a road to describe our circumstances? If you feel stuck you might say "I've hit a roadblock." If you have a decision to make between multiple options, you'll say "I'm at a crossroads." If something unexpected happens that keeps you from moving forward, you might say, "I've hit a bump in the road." Sometimes we use roads to get somewhere, and sometimes we use them to get away from somewhere.  Roads are an apt way for us to look at our lives, because we are all on a journey. This weekend we'll join two travelers as they walk the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It's the third day since the body of their Rabbi was placed in a tomb - along with all their shattered hopes and dreams. But what we'll discover through their story is how the course of person's life can change after an encounter with the risen Christ.  -- Pastor Scott

Shattered … no more - John 20:11-18: Post-resurrection reversals. It's the less sexy title of our coming sermon series, Shattered ... no more! The level of devastation and despair was off the charts after Jesus died - but then everything changed! Over the next seven weeks we're going to focus on post-resurrection encounters from the lives of many of the prime characters of the first Easter:  including the guys on the road to Emmaus; the disciples; our dear friend "doubting Thomas" and "denying Peter." This weekend, we begin with one of the more intriguing personalities and witnesses of the first Easter, Mary Magdalene. We'll see how her experience with Jesus altered her life and restored her hope and how it can happen for us today. Hope is an elusive reality for many of us. Come this weekend and allow your hope tank to be filled by the wonder of the Risen Jesus! -- Pastor Ian

Easter Weekend – Mark 16:1-8: Easter Weekend. We experience the indignity of a friend's betrayal ...the humiliation of a mock trial ...the violence of a public scourging ...the horror of the crucifixion of a sinless man.  Abandonment. Aloneness. Despair.  Uncertainty. Dreams die. Confusion reigns.  Then Sunday morning comes. Could it be true? Resurrection? New life?  Hope? It was all of that and so much more. Everything we believe and hold close to our hearts in life is immersed in this weekend. This is a fantastic weekend to be a part of the Foothills Family! The Fixer - a creative, compelling, contemporary, and at times controversial perspective on the life of Christ is happening five times over the Easter Weekend (including the Monday and Friday following Easter Sunday.) Good Friday will provide an opportunity to remember and reflect upon the sacrificial love of Jesus. When he was on the cross - we were on his mind. Staggering. And then comes Sunday.  Easter Sunday. It's the best day of the year! A "brand new day" for people struggling with nagging fears and personal failures, uncertain futures and emotional boredom. We will celebrate Jesus this weekend and our celebration will be so much richer with you as part of it. Have a blessed Easter Weekend. May the hope of Jesus overwhelm you like never before! -- Pastor Ian

7 Words – John 19:30: Good Friday

7 Words – Luke 23:46: We've been shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of 150 souls in the Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy. How does that happen?  How can one man plan such a devastating act? We've been horrified by the final thoughts of those innocent passengers ... their screams for help when they began to realize what was happening.  Final words are important for all of us to consider.  Theirs are difficult to fathom. We can only hope and pray that for many of them, their final thoughts were prayers to God. As we enter into the Passion Week, we find ourselves nearing the conclusion of our study of Jesus' final words. This week's word from the cross is another prayer. Jesus once again teaches us how to live well and how to die well. In many ways, I'm convinced that this prayer is the true "Lord's Prayer." Come be encouraged, challenged and strengthened in your faith. Come and be reminded of the life that our Loving Father calls us to embrace. Come and celebrate the hope we have in Jesus - even when everything appears to be going sideways. It will be a very special weekend! Much grace to you -- Pastor Ian

7 Words – John 19:28: "I thirst." In so many ways, it's such a confusing statement from Jesus on the cross. How could the One who offered living water that would quench all thirst, for all time, suddenly cry out, "I am thirsty?" There is so much hope, depth, grace and courage found in these two simple words from Jesus just before he died. I hope you'll come this weekend, longing for a deeper and fuller understanding of both Jesus' divinity and his humanity.  These two words are life-altering if we place them in the right context...something we'll seek to do this weekend. I look forward to worshipping our amazing God with you. And gathering together around his word that nourishes the soul, enlightens the mind, strengthens the heart and deepens our resolve to follow. Much grace to you! -- Pastor Ian

7 Words – Exodus 11:4-12:13: It's going to be great weekend!  We have David Brickner, the executive director of Jews for Jesus, coming to present to us a fascinating visual presentation, Christ in the Passover.  How often do you get to come to church and see onions, a horseradish root, hard-boiled eggs, and salt water used as props!!??   But far more than props, David will help us to reconcile Old and New Testament teachings on the Messiah, why Jesus came and who He is in our lives today.  It will be informative but far more than that, inspiring!  You will grow in your faith and this will deeply add to our understanding of the Passion Week and all that Jesus has done for us.  Enjoy the great weekend and I so look forward to seeing you here!  Much love and joy to you!! -- Pastor Ian PS - who honestly knew that horseradish was a root?!?

7 Words – Matthew 27:46: It may be one of the most confusing verses in the Bible.  We find much comfort in “Father forgive them …” and in “today you’ll  be with me in paradise.”  But “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  That’s complicated.   That’s confusing.  This weekend we’ll unpack this fourth “word” from the cross and find it to be remarkable comforting when we understand why Jesus was forsaken.  It will take us to the very heart of  the gospel and that is truly the very best place to live and build a life from.  For those of us who live on this side of the cross, we gratefully acknowledge that these were not Jesus’ final words – and nor do they have to be  our final words in life.

7 Words – Luke 23:39-43: “In the nick of time.”  “Not a moment to spare.” “At the last hour possible.”  “Not a moment too soon.”  “In the eleventh hour.”  We have all kinds of phrases that show up in our lives to describe doing something important at the last possible moment imaginable.  This week’s “word from the cross” could be the poster child for such living.  The one thief crucified beside Jesus was rude, arrogant, ignorant and caustic.  The other, not so much!  Here we see a man with a tender heart and with an awareness of his need for forgiveness.  He cries out to Jesus to “remember me” and Jesus promises him that he will.  He extends the same promise to each of us when we call out to him. Let's dive into this amazing encounter filled with grace, hope and peace.   Bless you!    Pastor Ian

Stand to Reason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfdHlh_Moxw: Alan's work represents the best in Christian thinking and the art of conversational persuasion on challenging issues of our day.