Pastor Dana’s new sermon series looks at the life of Jesus and how we can receive guidance for our own lives. In Luke 2:41-52, Jesus is separated from His parents after the Passover festival in Jerusalem, only to be found 3 days later at the temple. There are times that we feel Christ is absent and all we know is anxiety, but if we remember to look in places He has promised to be, we know where to find Him – in the steady, faithful presence of God.

Pastor Dana’s Lenten sermon series wraps up in Micah 6:1-8. God brings a mournful case against His people for their disobedience, but they fail to understand what God wants. No, not more sacrifices or effort in devotion, but to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. God loved us first, so we do not need to earn the gift of being wholly loved.

This Easter, Pastor Dana reads from John 20:11-18, in which Mary Magdalene is distraught to find Jesus’ empty tomb and does not at first recognize Him when he greets her. Only when He calls her by name does she realize that Jesus had risen from death. She then goes to share the news with the disciples, as instructed. The heart of Easter is faith. We must have faith that Christ is nearer than we think in our darkest moments, so we pray eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts and minds to understand, and feet ready to do with the Word for others.

Steve Tramel’s focus this Palm Sunday takes us through Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as described in Zechariah 9:9-10, where he then spends the week denouncing sin and the pharisees, sets the bar which people will be judged by God, and ultimately offers His life for our sins. Yet, there will be another triumphal entry, described in Revelation 7:9-17. At that time, He will come to end the present age, sitting as our judge. Are you living to obey God’s commands to love others and bring them to Him?

Pastor Dana’s Lenten sermon series picks up in Haggai 1:2-6, 2:2-5, and Psalm 145:4-8. The people of Israel return from 20 years of exile to rebuild their lives yet neglect the temple. God uses Haggai to remind them of a promise of restoration. In their rebuilding the temple, they rebuild their identity as a covenant people. We find renewal when we center around faithful living in our community.

Pastor Dana’s Lenten sermon series picks up in Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-3; and 3:2. God’s people have turned away from God’s righteousness and normalized violence and corruption, bringing on an invasion from the Babylonian empire. But we see that God’s intentions are not to stand away from suffering, but to take it upon Himself, beginning the ultimate work of restoration of our brokenness through the resurrection.

Pastor Dana’s Lenten sermon series picks up in Jonah 1:3-4, 3:3-5, and 4:1-2; 11. God calls on Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh to change their ways, but Jonah resists and hopes to see their destruction, which is avoided through their repentance. God declares through the book of Jonah that no human is too deep into sin that He cannot reach them and grant them mercy and compassion. It isn’t up to us to decide who is worthy.

Pastor Dana begins this Lenten sermon series in Hosea 4:1-3 and Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9. God calls Israel into account for their lack of acknowledgment and God laments about us, refusing to abandon us. The lament of Hosea finds fulfillment in the suffering of Christ: divine heartbreak becomes divine sacrifice so that sin does not get the final word.

The final spiritual discipline in Pastor Dana’s sermon series is prayer. Jesus teaches us how to pray in Matthew 6:6-13, with privacy and sincerity to nurture your relationship with God. In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul assures us that we can take our concerns to God in prayer and receive His peace in return. The Lord is near! And when we cannot find the words to pray, Romans 8:26-27 comforts us. The Spirit intercedes for us when we call out.

The next spiritual discipline in Pastor Dana’s sermon series is teachability. Moses addresses Israel in Deuteronomy 6:1-9 to teach them how to listen before entering the Promised Land, and Jesus explains to His disciples in Mark 4:22-24 that revelation is meant to be disclosed and made clear. Teachability is how God’s light is allowed to be revealed, received, and lived. We practice teachability by returning to scripture, being willing to receive correction, and recognize that it is a lifelong pursuit.