“Things aren’t always as they seem.” That axiom rings true for much in this world, including our individual lives. We work so hard to curate an image for others to see. We do this through very calculated words and actions, social media posts and text messages. People are given this perception of you through what you show them. But things aren’t always as they seem. More dangerous than a curated and calculated life is a curated and calculated faith. In Matthew 21, Jesus shows us the danger of having a curated and calculated faith and how we, as Christians, can avoid such a temptation.

When the grace of God–that one-of-a-kind, undeserved, unasked, unearned love–is applied to our own hearts and lives, we love it. But when it is applied to the hearts and lives of others, we aren't always happy about it. That is especially true when we think a person "like that" doesn't deserve it. It just seems so unfair. God's grace seems so unfair, which is exactly what Jonah thinks at the end of his book. But maybe, just maybe, God's grace isn't fair–and that's the point.

Living a life centered on Jesus shows you how you are to care for others. Not just physical care, but eternity-centered care. A life centered on Jesus recognizes the importance of watching out for the spiritual health of your brothers and sisters who are walking toward eternity with you. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God explains the calling of a watchman and how he equips them: "Hear the word I speak and give them warning from me."

A life centered on Jesus shows us what is most important in this life. The world tries to find balance by chasing after wealth and possessions, status and knowledge. But they will never find it. Worse than that, in their walk to find balance, they lose their soul. Jesus explains that life centered on him means that you have a cross-centered walk. “You must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” Having a cross-centered walk may lead to loss in this world, but it will give you a crown in the next.

We all need rest. No one would argue with this statement. We all have the things we do, the places we, the routines we carry out to find rest. Through these avenues, we find physical, emotional, mental rest. But what about spiritual rest? Where do you find spiritual rest when your soul is burned by guilt and weighed down by sin? Well, in Matthew 11, Jesus shows where your spiritual rest lies.

"The Lord Provides" is a beautiful gospel promise, one that most are familiar with. But if its a promise that we are all familiar with, why are there seasons and times in our lives when we doubt it? When Jesus feeds the 5,000, he shows us how he makes good on that promise.

Is the object of your hope something certain or something fleeting? The Apostle Paul gets to the heart of that question in 1 Timothy 6 and explains why having a properly placed hope changes absolutely everything.

There seems to be a lot that has gone wrong in the world lately. Maybe, on a personal level, there's been a lot that's gone wrong in your life. When things do go wrong, are you ok with God being in control? Listen to Pastor's latest sermon on Matthew 13 which digs into that very question.

Life is filled with struggles. We struggle with things like finances, relationships, and health problems. These struggles that we face every day naturally lead to fear. Those fears naturally lead to doubting God's power and control in our lives. But, God promises to always love and care for us. He proved it by sending Jesus to die for all of our sins including those of doubt. Listen as Vicar Dan tells us how we as Christians have no need for doubt in our lives. Instead, we can take courage in Christ through all of our struggles and our fears.

Today we take a look at one of Jesus' parables. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus used this way of teaching quite often in his ministry to make the complex things of heaven, simple for us human beings. Today, Jesus' parable zeros in on how we listen to God's Word. There are times when we don't listen to God's Word as we should and that is a sin. When we sin Jesus has every right to stop planting the seed of the gospel on us and move on to a different field, yet he doesn't. He doesn't give up on us. Everyday Jesus, our sower, goes out with a heart for the harvest and plants the seed of the gospel in our lives which tells us that our sins are forgiven and that we have eternal life with Him!