What is Love? By most any metric there is more love than ever but somehow things seem to be getting worse and worse. How is this possible? Maybe we've got the wrong definition. Join us this weekend as we discover what love is and what this means for us as humans.

This week, we see a remarkable conversion story. Saul leaves home on a hateful mission to persecute those who believe in Jesus, but on the road to Damascus he encounters Jesus. Jesus confronts Saul, revealing his spiritual blindness and then opening Saul’s eyes to see truly for the first time. Like Saul, we need to see what it means to live before the face of God.

As the good news about Jesus advances beyond Jerusalem to reach new people, people respond in different ways. This passage reveals two remarkable encounters with the gospel: the first about a sorcerer named Simon, and the second about an Ethiopian eunuch. In these stories, we will see how the gospel both confronts and comforts us, and why we need both.

This week, we pick back up in our study through the book of Acts, where Jesus sends his church out empowered by the Holy Spirit. We’ve seen that hearts which become glad by the gospel in turn become bold in Jesus’ mission. But all is not easy in living for this cause. Join us this weekend as we discover the surprising way that God advances his church.

In order to help us understand the heart of God’s mission, Jesus told a mind-blowing story that disrupted the pharisaical religiosity in his day. The parable of the prodigal son has been shaping the hearts of his people ever since. Our mission begins with God, not us. Our mission grows by grace, not rules. Our mission advances through joy, not duty.

We were created to be connected to others in meaningful ways, but oftentimes, we aren't sure how to find this kind of community. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus pushed against a religious mindset that fails to act with practical love for others. His teaching challenges his followers to engage relationally in ways that are both spontaneous and intentional, courageous and compassionate, thoughtful and healthy.

The New Year is a natural time to evaluate areas of our lives and make changes for the upcoming year. The most popular changes are always about saving more money, exercising more frequently, and eating healthier, but reflecting on and refocusing our spiritual life doesn't always feel like as high of a priority. But the Parable of the Ten Minas from Luke 19 shows us why our investment in our spiritual life is incredibly important and why a process of evaluating our spiritual life and making changes in the New Year is healthy for our walk with Jesus.

The Christmas season is filled with traditions: lights, gifts, candles, carols. In the midst of the regular routines, Christmas is also a reminder that Christ has come into the world, and Jesus was not like anything anyone expected. In fact, Jesus is the most complex, mind-bending, life-rattling, soul-shaking human who has ever existed. This week, we see another aspect of his character as we explore the ways that the Son of God is our Everlasting Father.

Christmas can be an incredibly fun time of year filled with lights, carols, parties, and gifts. The problem with Christmas celebrations is that even when they bring us a joyful December, they always end, and life goes back to normal in January because Christmas trees and cookies can't fix our world's brokenness. The promise from Isaiah 9:6, though, is that a Mighty God was given to us at the first Christmas who can and will fix all of the brokenness in our world.

Christmas is the one major holiday celebrated simultaneously as both a secular and a Christian holiday. Each December, we experience Christmas as a celebration of lights, trees, and candy canes alongside hope, joy, and peace. As familiar as we may be with the season, we more deeply experience the power of Christmas when we unwrap the meaning of God's gift that was given to us.