As we start our summer series, The Parables of Jesus, we look at the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13. In it Jesus describes four types of soil that seeds can fall upon. And as Pastor Josh explains it's good to use wisdom about what kind of soil you're throwing seeds on. But equally so, it's important to understand that it's not your responsibility for where they fall either. So get throwing.

The Psalmist said, "Without delay, I hurry to obey your commands" (119:60). But as we all know that is often the goal, not the reality. There are things that God is asking us to do and we know it, but we put it off again and again. As Pastor Josh challenges us this week, it's time to start obeying now.

There will be storms in your life, both literal and figurative. It's inevitable. But so often we try to get away from our circumstances by our own means and strength – to get in the life boat, so to speak, to escape the storm. But as Pastor Josh shares this week, God often uses the storms of life to cause us to cling to Him for life. And that means sometimes having the faith to cut away the life boat and trust in His goodness...

It's interesting that if we tend to think of water baptism as an exclusively Christian tradition (it's not), we also tend to think of baptism by fire as a generic or secular term. Obviously it's not, because the Bible talks very clearly about both. And this week Pastor Josh shows that Paul's journey to Rome was a very clear example of this kind of baptism and what it can produce in us...

We tend of think of baptism as a uniquely Christian thing. But it isn't. Baptism has deep roots in Jewish tradition and symbolizes dying to your old self and becoming a new person. Pastor Josh explains this history and shares exactly what baptism is and is not for us today.

As Pastor Josh continues from the last sermon, the attitude today is often to see how close to the line we can get with sin, without going over. But if we truly saw and understood just how destructive sin is we wouldn't flirt with it – we'd run from it. And not just run aimlessly, but run to the only one who can save us from it.

The problem with sin is not simply that it's destructive, it's that it is alluring to us: we want what's harmful. And because of that we make allowances for sin in our lives. But if we could see our sin the way God does, we'd know just how deadly it truly is. And how far away we should keep ourselves from it.

On this Mothers Day, Pastor Josh shares an encouraging word to mothers of every description: the expectations that you set for yourself and your family will determine the level of your persistence.

A lot of people think Christianity is all about "don't do this, don't do that." But that's a really distorted view of what Christ calls us to do. It's not enough for us to just 'not do bad stuff', but to pursue doing good – not because we HAVE to, but because we GET to.

The Bible is very clear: you will experience suffering in this life, no matter what you believe in. And while dealing with the 'why' is no easy task, especially if you believe in God, how we respond to our suffering is actually the most important part. And on that, the Bible is also clear: if we respond contrary to our nature and worship God, in spite of our circumstances, something miraculous happens...