In this message, Eric explores what Jesus meant when He announced, “The kingdom of God has come near.” Many people think of the gospel as how we begin following Jesus, but Jesus presents it as something much bigger—His reign over every part of life. Looking at Palm Sunday and Jesus clearing the temple, we see what kind of King He is: gentle, yet confrontational toward power structures that block people from God. While religious leaders resist Him, the blind, the lame, and children move toward Him—and He moves toward them. This message challenges us to ask: Do we see ourselves as self-sufficient, or as people in need? Because the good news is not for those who think they have it all together, but for those who know they don’t.

In this message, Eric looks at Jesus’ surprising words in John 6 after feeding the 5,000. The crowd comes looking for more bread, but Jesus exposes a deeper issue: they’re focused on what will fill them temporarily, while he wants to give them something that truly satisfies. Jesus declares, “I am the Bread of Life.” Like the crowd, we often believe that if one circumstance in our lives changed, success, security, comfort, or control, then we’d finally be okay. But Jesus challenges that assumption. Real satisfaction isn’t found in changing our circumstances. It’s found in trusting him, the One who gives life that truly satisfies.

In this message, Eric continues the Journey to the Cross series by explaining why Lent has long been a season of fasting, reflection, and repentance. Teaching from Matthew 3:16–4:11 (NIV), he shows that temptation is not a sign of spiritual failure — it is part of being human. Right after Jesus’ baptism and the Father’s affirmation, the Spirit leads Him into the wilderness to be tempted. There, Jesus faces three core temptations: comfort (meeting legitimate needs in illegitimate ways), control (demanding that God do our will), and compromise (separating obedience from worship). Each temptation ultimately asks one question: Will you trust God? By responding with Scripture and deep trust in the Father, Jesus shows us how to fight temptation — and reminds us that He has already overcome it in our place. Lent becomes a season to name our areas of struggle and learn to trust God more deeply as we move toward the cross.

While the passage includes strong warnings about sexual immorality, greed, careless words, and drunkenness, these are not rules for earning salvation—they are invitations to something better. Biblical purity is reframed not as performance, but as a loving response to Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross. Instead of chasing impulses that leave us empty, Paul calls believers to trade impurity for holiness, foolish talk for thanksgiving, and numbing behaviors for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Especially during Lent, this message challenges us to see obedience not as an unwinnable game, but as a pathway to deeper joy, healing, and life to the full.

In this message, Eric introduces Lent as a historic Christian season of repentance and renewal. Drawing from his own journey, he highlights the beauty and diversity of the global church and explains why Grace is intentionally stepping into this ancient practice, showing how believers have long prepared their hearts for Easter through repentance and fasting. Teaching from Joel 2:12–13, he explains that repentance is a turning—like realizing you’re headed the wrong direction and making a U-turn—and that God invites us to “rend your heart and not your garments.” Lent becomes an invitation to say no to something good in order to say yes to something greater: deeper trust, renewed faith, and surrender to Jesus as King.

In this message, Eric connects Psalm 67’s vision of being “blessed to be a blessing” with a deeper biblical identity: exile. Looking at Jeremiah 29 and Philippians 3:20, Eric shows how Israel’s exile in Babylon shapes how followers of Jesus understand their place in the world today. We are not at home here. Our citizenship is in heaven, and that changes our allegiance, our priorities, and how we engage our city. Instead of withdrawing or revolting, we are called to seek the peace and prosperity of the place where God has sent us. The message challenges us to embrace a new identity—citizens of heaven living as exiles—and to respond practically through prayer, generosity, and mission.

In this message, Eric kicks off the two-week series Go! Here, There, and Everywhere by naming a subtle but common spiritual drift he calls yearbook theology—the tendency to make faith primarily about ourselves. Using familiar passages like Jeremiah 29 and Psalm 46, Eric shows how Scripture is often misunderstood when we ignore context and center our own experience. He then walks through Psalm 67, revealing God’s heart to bless his people so that his ways and salvation might be known among all nations. The message challenges listeners to see God’s blessing not as the destination, but as the means—inviting us to align our lives with God’s global, outward-facing purpose and ask a simple but courageous question: Will I be a blessing?

As Eric wrapped up our Unity series, we asked an honest and important question: Is racial unity optional or essential to following Jesus? To answer it, we took a “hop-on, hop-off” tour through the book of Acts and saw how racial and ethnic inclusion sits at the very center of the early church. From Jesus expanding the disciples’ vision beyond Israel, to Pentecost including people from every nation, to the church empowering marginalized voices, to Peter realizing God shows no favoritism, Acts shows us again and again that the gospel tears down ethnic and racial barriers. Racial unity wasn’t a side issue—it shaped how the church lived, led, and loved. The conclusion is unavoidable: racial unity is essential to following Jesus. And our calling today is the same—to not make it difficult for people of any race or ethnicity who are turning to God.

In this message, Bishop McBath reminds us that the Church’s core calling is reconciliation—not division. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 5:11–21, he teaches that reconciliation begins with our broken relationship with God, not merely our broken relationships with one another. Through Christ’s sacrificial love, we are reconnected to God purely by grace, not merit. But reconciliation doesn’t stop there. God entrusts reconciled people with a reconciled mission. As Christ’s ambassadors, we now represent a new kingdom, guided by a new love and a new way of leading—making decisions about others based on grace, not race.