So... What's Next (The Book of Acts) (Week 3) - Acts 2:42-47 - Acts chapter 2 closes off with a snapshot of how this new, Spirit-filled community was lived out. They are being established as a counter-cultural community who reflects the sacrificial love of Jesus to one another and to the world around them.

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So... What's Next (The Book of Acts) (Week 2) - Acts 2:1-41 - Acts 2 opens up with the story of Pentecost, the arrival of the promised Spirit come to guide, direct and bring about the life of God in His people. The Spirit descends on the apostles in flames, signifying His presence and the fact that they are the new Temple of God in the world. We have been invited into this as well, the new Temple of God people serving as signposts of His work in the world.

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So... What's Next (The Book of Acts) (Week 1) - Acts 1:1-11 - The book of Acts opens up with the resurrected Jesus spending time with His apostles in an effort to begin to prepare them for what is next. They are still unsure of what the Kingdom of God movement they’ve been invited into is all about, and so Jesus continues to teach them and promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit who will empower them in their mission. They are to be witnesses to what they have come to know about Jesus spreading the word across the world and He promises He will return to them.

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Sacred Tears (Easter Sunday) (Week 3) - This resurrection account finds Mary Magdalene lingering alone - even in her grief and confusion she is searching for Jesus. In this search, she is the one who is found, and is known and has all her tears wiped away. This is the power of resurrection, that where we go looking for Jesus, He finds us and promises comfort forever.

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Sacred Tears (Good Friday) (Week 2) - In many ways we have sanitized the cross, made it more palatable to take hold of, but it was and is a reminder of the worst we are capable of. This reality may make us want to turn away and yet the story of the cross is a story of being drawn in. In our grief we are invited to draw closer and find that here Jesus is providing for us - that He enters our grief and pain and takes upon Himself to ensure we have what we need.

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Sacred Tears (Palm Sunday) (Week 1) - The story of the Triumphal Entry and Jesus response following it illustrates to us again the choice that lies before each of us: whether we will see God’s coming and to know how it is that He brings us peace or if we will continue to lean into our own way. Palm Sunday reminds us that Salvation comes not through strength but through humility.

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Under the Sign of the Cross (Week 5) - Galatians 5:16-26 - Aaron Westera - The way forward is to align ourselves with God through living by His Spirit, alive and active in us. We can see the Spirit’s work in who we are becoming, characterized by His fruit and not that of our old selves. 

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Under the Sign of the Cross (Week 4) - Jeremiah 29:4-14 - Dr. Glenn Smith - Turning back to God and receiving His mercy does not instantly remove the reality of exile and struggle in our lives. We still live in a world opposed to His way and yet we have been called into community with others to live as He would have us live and to bless the world around us as an announcement of who He is and what He has done. We are invited to bring small pieces of God’s new creation to bear in the world around us.

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Under the Sign of the Cross (Week 3) - Reg Lewicki - As we have sat with the reality of our own brokenness and considered the role of lament and repentance in our lives before God, this story that Jesus tells gives us an illustration of who God is. That He is the Father standing and watching and waiting and when we turn around to return to Him, He is running towards us to receive us.

Under The Sign Of The Cross (Week 2) - Reg Lewicki -Repentance is not something we talk much about in our lives anymore. We can tend to try and distill it down to simply feeling regret and saying I’m sorry, but the biblical framework for repentance is holistic and all-encompassing. The Hebrew word shuv means to turn back or to return and repentance is about doing that with our whole lives, turning back to the God who is life and finding that He receives us no matter where we come from.

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