In this sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Pastor Chris explores why Jesus' followers remain behind on earth after he returns to heaven to the right hand of his Father in the event that Christians call the ascension. To answer this question, Pastor Chris explores texts from Acts 1:6-14, 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11, and John 17:1-11. In these texts we see that Jesus planned to leave his followers behind, and he did so leaving them with a purpose, plan, and a protector. In this sermon we see that the purpose was to be a witness to Jesus, the plan was for his message to go to the ends of the earth, the protector is the Holy Spirit, empowering God's people and leading them towards the truth.

In this sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Pastor Chris explores what it looks like to follow Jesus. The main text for this sermon is John 14:15-21, and in this passage Jesus tells his disciples if they love him then they will keep his commands. The Hebrew Scriptures explain often tell the Jewish people to love God by keeping his commands, and Jesus' statement strongly parallels this.

When Jesus tells his disciples to keep his commands, what he is actually telling them is to follow him, and as they follow him they will learn to live a life of goodness and love. This life of goodness and love helps to create a world of harmony.

Love Jesus, means following Jesus, and following Jesus means keeping his commands.

In this sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Pastor Chris explores Jesus’ claim to be equal with God. Jesus makes this claim through conversation with his disciples in John chapter 14 when he first tells his disciples that he will prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. Jesus then tells his disciples that he is the only way to his Father, and finally he claims to fully represent his Father. Together, these claims place Jesus at an equal place with his Father, which means he’s claiming to be God.

Pastor Chris explores what this means for Christians and the broader world, and makes the first point that all are welcome in the house hold of God through Jesus, who has come to remake the world through his death and resurrection. Second, Jesus brings us into God’s presences, and shows us God because he is God. This radically changes the type of relationship we can have with God, and how we can know God.

In this sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Pastor Chris explores life in the world after the turn of the resurrection of Jesus. By looking at John 10:1-10, Chris points his audience towards the role that Jesus places in all of our lives as both our true shepherd and the one through whom we enter to receive salvation.

In this sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter, Pastor Chris explores the story of the Jesus talking with two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus from Luke chapter 24. In this sermon, Pastor Chris explores the central roll the suffering played in the turn that happens in the world after Jesus death and resurrection. Specifically, Jesus makes it clear to his two disciples from the Hebrew Scriptures that he had to suffer before he could enter his glory. In this sermon, Pastor Chris challenges his audience to see that Jesus' suffering was central to the renewal of the world.

In this sermon for the Second Sunday in Easter, Pastor Chris explores the story of Thomas and his doubts about the resurrection of Jesus from John 20:19-31. In this passage, Pastor Chris explains that John told the story of Thomas with the hope that his audience would come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus in spite of seeing Jesus' physical body. John's challenge to his readers is to weigh the signs and stories of Jesus to come to the conclusion that he is the Son of God, the resurrected Messiah of Israel, who came to offer life to the world.

In this sermon for Easter Sunday, Pastor Chris explores how the resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of God's plan to make things right in the world. Pastor Chris shows how this is true by exploring God's plan from the beginning to restore the brokenness of the world after human rebellion. In this sermon, we see that all of God's work meets in Jesus' resurrection, and that those who follow Jesus get to share in his resurrection in this life.

In this sermon for Palm Sunday, Pastor Chris explores Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem the week of his crucifixion. The gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus made plans to ride a donkey for the last several miles of his party's journey to Jerusalem. As we look at the passage, we see that Jesus made this choice for a reason. He wanted to make a statement about himself, that he's different.

Have you considered how Jesus might be different than any human who has come before him on their earth? The more consider how he's different, the more we're challenged to look at him in a different light.

In this sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores the story of Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead found in the eleventh chapter of John's gospel. In this sermon, Pastor Chris challenges the listener to consider if they have the imagination to believe that God could act in their lives in ways they had never imagined.

To make this point, Pastor Chris explores how no one in Lazarus' life had the imagination to believe that Jesus could still help him, even after he'd died. In the story we see that Jesus alone see's how things could really be.

In this sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores Jesus' call to leave behind our way to live his way. Jesus makes this call by challenging the assumptions and standards of the people of his day.

Today Jesus makes this same call on all of our lives. He challenges us to leave behind our old lives, our old assumptions and standards to embrace seeing and interacting with the world as he sees it.