Following Jesus is a journey. It has its ups and downs, victories and failures. It would be easy to get discouraged, believing that Jesus might be done with our failures. We might be passionate and sincere in our faith but still trying to call the shots, rather than submit to God's plan. Through the examination of the lives of Peter and Paul, we discover some encouraging truths about a journey of faith with Jesus.

Because you last forever, everything you do to change, grow, and become more like Jesus will go on forever. Because the people around you are eternal, every time you touch someone’s life, that impact will go on and on and on. If the story of the empty tomb is true, then we have a powerful story to tell of grace, hope and life.

There is a real battle in our culture for truth. Who speaks truth? Where do we find it? If the tomb was empty, how do we handle the words and claims of the man who predicted his own death and resurrection? It won't be enough just to hear his words, we need to follow and act on what Jesus teaches.

After the followers of Jesus found an empty tomb and interacted with him again, the scared, scattered group began to share the message and gather together in community. Jesus predicted that the church would be born and nothing could stop it. While some of the practices and structures of church has changed, the value has not. We need the church and the church needs you!

The celebration of an empty tomb is the foundation of the Christian faith. Everything rises and falls on the resurrection of Jesus. As hard as it might be to set aside our doubts, there is great evidence that the events that build our foundation are true. And if it is true, the resurrection allows the broken parts of our lives to be made whole again.

Before Jesus spoke some very purposeful and focused final words, he did something amazing for his disciples. In a moment when the King had the power to do anything he chose, he took on the role of lowliest of servants to serve the ones he loved. In this action, he shares an example of what love might require of us.

If we knew our final moments, our choice of words and who we would speak them to would be very important to us. We would choose those words carefully and speak with focus and purpose. When Jesus took his final moments to speak into the lives of the disciples, he spoke words of great significance. Jesus makes a bold statement and we must listen, we cannot just ignore the claim he makes about himself.

The areas of life we’ve unpacked in this series—wealth, comfort, power—all stem from one theme: control. We struggle to give up control and often are willing to trade Jesus for it. Even though we try, we cannot control everything. These past few years have taught us some hard lessons but peace in our lives comes in embracing God’s ultimate control of our individual lives as we honor him through obedience.

Jesus made some incredible claims of himself, for the Jewish and Roman officials, arguably none bigger than the claim he was King. But his kingdom is not one of public or political power but of sacrifice. Believers are called to elevate the powerless, not hoard power for themselves or their comfort.

Following Jesus will be uncomfortable at times. What else should we expect as those focused on the kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of man? We can live with the tension of the uncomfortable growth as disciples and the wholehearted goodness of living in God’s love.