In the 40 days after Jesus' resurrection, He miraculously appeared to his followers... we're talking walking through walls kind of stuff!

In the moments where his closest friends were full of fear, anxiety, and doubt; He showed up. A seemingly simple greeting brought peace to their hearts and minds.

Peace be with you.

These same words speak to us today. Jesus, our Prince of Peace, is near and His words bring calm assurance and rest to our souls.

Easter reminds us that Jesus held both suffering and celebration well. The range of emotions from the cross to the throne cover the entirety of human existence. Jesus not only knows what it’s like to be you, He’s present with you in every season. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the valley of despair or the mountain top of ecstasy; Our God is as intimately familiar with our suffering as He is with our joy. He’s faithfully walking with us in whatever season we find ourselves. Easter reminds us that Love himself was willing to enter death to bring us into life.

On Palm Sunday Jesus rode in as king only to die as a criminal. The expectations of his followers are echoed in their shouts of “Save Now” as Jesus rode in on a donkey. But their high expectations were crushed when their hero turned out to be ordinary. Or was he? Jesus exceeded all expectations when he bypassed temporal deliverance for eternal rescue. No one knew that God's plan to enter death for us was the real path to victory. Could it be that some of your own expectations are misguided? How should followers of Jesus deal with unfulfilled or unrealistic expectations? This Sunday we continue “Followship” with a special Palm Sunday edition that will help you navigate your current reality with hope for the future.

Following Jesus can be difficult if you’re only looking at His outward actions. Do I follow the passive “turn the other cheek” Jesus? Or how about the angry, whip snapping “get out of my Father’s house” Jesus? And good luck following the “walk on water” Jesus! When we externalize the human actions of Jesus without factoring in love, we can come up with excuses for any of our actions. But there’s something deeper. The Spirit of Jesus abiding in you and always pointing toward the best way to follow Jesus. The way of love. Ironically, this Spirit is first mentioned as an external activity of Jesus… His water baptism. When we follow Jesus in baptism an external symbolic activity becomes an internal spiritual activation. Let’s talk about that! We’ll also be baptizing many followers of Jesus this Sunday and would love for you to come celebrate with them.

Our culture is obsessed with leadership. The church has embraced this without any critical thought. When pastors are lauded for their abilities as CEOs instead of servants we have a major problem. “Come follow me,” Jesus said. This simple invitation is the foundation of what it means to be a Christian. But it is only compelling when our lives align with the message we embrace. The church did not call themselves Christian, the people of Antioch did. Why? Because they were acting like Christ! These early believers didn’t map to the culture around them and the locals took notice. So much so that they gave them the moniker “Christian” because of some very Jesus-like traits. What would people call you today? It’s high time to embrace “Followship” because Jesus is still saying, “Come follow me.”

God is love fully revealed in the person of Jesus. To be “at his feet” is to be submitted to love. Six times in the Gospel of Luke we find someone at Jesus' feet and each account is a life lesson in loving well. Join us this Sunday as we unlock the treasure to be discovered by simply choosing the needful thing… Resting at the Feet of Jesus.

God is love fully revealed in the person of Jesus.

To be “at his feet” is to be submitted to love. Six times in the Gospel of Luke we find someone at Jesus' feet and each account is a life lesson in loving well. 💖

Join us this Sunday as we unlock the treasure to be discovered by simply choosing the needful thing… resting at the feet of Jesus.

What does it mean to sit at the feet of Jesus on a daily basis?

What can we learn from listening to the voice of God in places of unrest, trouble, and grief?

This Sunday we’ll take a look at Jesus’ relationship with some of his closest friends: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. As we explore their friendship, we’ll find out what it means to be seated in the presence of Christ, even in times of difficulty.

This Sunday, we look at the life of Robert Smalls. Smalls was born into slavery, but always filled with the dream of freedom. No matter where he found himself, he learned and grew to become the best. Even in the face of immense obstacles, he excelled because the dream of freedom kept him going. He lived all in!

Imagine being ripped from your family as a child and forced into a life of slavery. Take a moment to enter the grief of this horrific act. Sit in the pain until you can taste the empathy required to respond. This child was stripped of more than just her freedom. Her very identity was dismantled. Named after the vessel that transported her and the family that purchased her, Phillis Wheatley grew to understand that she could reshape her identity. Her life is an inspiration for anyone who still has the audacity to believe that a small voice can make a big difference. She was a brilliant poet who used her gift to build unity with those she disagreed with and she learned to navigate tension with love. What can the life and work of Phillis Wheatley teach us about becoming more like Jesus?