Jesus said a lot of things that angered the elites of his day, including the crazy idea that all people are slaves to sin. Being Abraham's family members, the ones who had been freed from Egypt, didn't keep the Jews from being free from slavery to sin.

What does this slavery look like? And how can the church model true freedom by embracing the multiethnic family of Abraham they now belong to? We talk about all of this in a sermon bursting with biblical truth.

*Note: several parts of this message are missing from the back third of the recording due to technical difficulties. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

In John 7:53-8:11, a group called the Pharisees tries to trap Jesus into condemning a woman who was caught committing adultery. Jesus chooses a third way and instead of condemning or acquitting this woman, he restores her.

Pastor Julie reflects on how we can rest in Jesus' restoration and restore one another, even in our current "cancel culture" that doesn't like to give second chances.

At various times in his ministry, Jesus encounters the Pharisees, a strict sect of Jews that looked similar to a modern day grassroots political pressure group. They butted heads with Jesus because the kingdom he was bringing conflicted with their moral vision for Israel.

Jesus has harsh rebukes for the Pharisees, and they remain potent for moralism today, whatever form it takes. In this message, Pastor Joel examines how Christians can find righteousness that doesn't come from the "look at how righteous I am" mentality many have on social media, but in the faithfulness of the Righteous One, Jesus.

The kingdom of God coming to earth is not coming into a vacuum; it comes into a space that is occupied territory. So naturally, there is opposition. Jesus encounters this in the book of John, and we will talk about what that opposition looks like for him and how it applies to us as well.

In this sermon, Pastor Joel talks through how we should respond when the gospel offends people, which is a big reason people are turned off to the message of Jesus today. Did that deter Jesus? How can we respond faithfully when we as Christians are offended?

Jesus brings both literal bread to those in need, but he offers a deeper and more necessary sustenance: himself. What is the relationship between the two? How does partaking in Christ empower and strengthen us to work to correct injustice and help those in need? Why is it so important that we don't separate the two, as Christians often do?

Pastor Joel dives into these very important and timely questions in this sermon from John.

The big idea of John 5:1-47 is perhaps the most central to the whole book: that when we look at Jesus, we are seeing God. For us, in the midst of history being made, we need to know what God is calling us to do. So to do so, we look to Jesus.

When we look at Jesus in this passage, we see two things: 1) A healer and a 2) prophet. Like Jesus, we are called to be healers and prophets in this time of injustice and pain. Join us as Pastor Joel explains how we can be healers and prophets like Jesus.

In response to the death of George Floyd, we corporately lament the systemic racism, injustice, and sin in our world and in our own hearts.

Pastor Joel gives a message from the book of Amos on God's justice, which comes to destroy racism and sin, how radical change begins with repentance, how repentance leads to life not just in the future but now, and how we can find hope in Jesus in the midst of our anger and sadness.

What happens when Jesus doesn't heal?

Once again, we find Jesus perform a "sign", and this time, Jesus heals a boy who was dying. Before we, with modern eyes, can embark on reading about biblical healing, we need to first empty our pockets at the door and realize how the expectation of happiness and affluence many of us have influences how we view healing, and specifically, how we can forget that it is is a sign.

Many who are listening to this podcast may experience chronic pain or mental health issues even though they have cried out for healing in the past. We talk about how the sign of faith on those circumstances is greater than the healing would be.

As John continues to reveal Jesus to us, we are treated in this passage to his interaction with a Samaritan woman--a surprising thing for a rabbi of his stature to do in the eyes of many of his contemporaries.

This meeting is a window into the heart of Jesus's message: That ALL are invited to come and be satisfied at the living water that is offered by Jesus, even if you are engaged in unseemly activity, a member of a marginalized race, or a woman in a patriarchal society. Join us as Pastor Julie walks through one of the most memorable passages in the book of John.

The story of the book of John pivots back to John the Baptist in this sermon's passage. John, this great influencer for Jesus, has seen his influence decline as Jesus's popularity has risen. His disciples ask him, "What the heck, boss?" and his response is truly incredible.

He responds by showing us all the heart and ambition of a Christlike servant. In this sermon. Pastor Joel talks about 3 aspects of ambition and servanthood that John teaches us. This is particularly poignant in a society that aggrandizes ambition. 

Join us as we dig into this countercultural text, and examine the one who John points to, the great servant king himself, Jesus.