Real Peace. Real People.

Did he even care? This was the question on the minds of the disciples as they scurried around the boat trying to make sure that it wouldn’t sink. They were doing their part, but by all accounts, Jesus wasn’t doing his. But this was not even remotely true! Even if Jesus didn’t frantically spring into action, it wasn’t as if the situation was out of control. Jesus was still in the back of the boat.

Do we make it more complicated than it is? Spreading the Kingdom of God can seem like such daunting work. But do we overthink it. God says, “preach the gospel.” We have to do more than that, right? In his 2 parables that Jesus shares with us today, he tells us not to overthink it. Go forth with the gospel, and let him worry about the rest.

Is Christianity winning? I think most who examine the falling church attendance throughout the country and the lack of respect for Christian institutions would say no. Christianity seems as if it’s on the ropes. But don’t let your eyes deceive you. Christ still sits on his throne. Knowing this is key to reading the book of Revelation and is vital to your walk in the faith.

People get burnt out when they continuously work without a rest. It should be no surprise, then, that the same applies to our spiritual lives. If we spend our time loving and serving those around us without any time for spiritual R&R for ourselves, we inevitably burn out. Thankfully, the rest we have a God who knows that. He knows you so well that he is willing to say, “for your own good, take a break!” We take a break, we rest every time we find our ease of heart and mind in what Jesus did for us.

Every other religion has a god. This god is described in a variety of ways: powerful, wise, angry, loving, perfect, flawed… every religion thinks something about their god. What should we think about our Triune God? Who he is is revealed to us by what he has done. This week, we discover a God who reveals himself as a God who is more complex than we could possibly imagine. We understand more and more about him as we see his work in our lives. Let’s take a look!

The power of God is present inside the walls of our church on Sunday morning. Some people might even say that they can feel it. But as you exit the doors, it might feel like things go “back to normal.” Just you, your strength, and the problems of the day. In our reading from Acts, we learn that on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church with a purpose. Jesus wanted his people to know that the power to change hearts, work faith, and save souls was a power far beyond the power of human beings. Yet, it was human beings that God chose to use as his instruments for that power.

In many ways, the ascension of Jesus ties a boy on his earthly ministry. He had defeated sin, the devil and hell itself. But that doesn’t mean Jesus is done. He still has an agenda even as he sits at the right hand of God the Father. Hear about that agenda in this Sunday’s sermon.

Even the most casual Christian understands a basic principle of Jesus’ teaching and the teaching of Scripture: love those around you. Rarely, the problem is not knowing if we should love our neighbor or our God. The problem is execution. So how do go from a place of understanding God’s call to love to making it happen? We look to the model of our love.

Your connection to Christ need not be tenuous. When he says, “Remain in me,” he isn’t calling on us to do the impossible. Instead, he is calling us to make use of the means that he has established to keep us near to him. In all of this, we understand a critical point: Jesus and Jesus alone is the one who keeps our relationship strong. In that resolute relationship, we find ourselves bearing fruit.

Paying someone to do a job usually works out. You give them a sum of money, sometimes a large sum of money, and they do their work well and on time. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, the one motivated by simple money isn’t willing to sacrifice what it takes to get the job done well. In John 10, Jesus points out the difference between the Good Shepherd and the hired hand. See the difference in our sermon for this weekend!