In the last few weeks, we have had various couples show the Executive Pastor – Discipleship candidates around the area and just connect with them. In one case, a couple with young children took them to the “every Sunday dinner” that they have as a family at the Grandparent’s home. When I met with the pastor and his family the next morning, they shared with me how meaningful it was. Tell me, why do you think this was so? It’s what we’re talking about today in Jesus!

I had a great friend in High School and College. His name was Jim. I named one of my sons after him. I remember dropping by his house once to drop something off and they had just sat down to dinner. I tried to make a quick exit (feeling like I didn’t belong), but his dad saw me, immediately welcomed me warmly, pulled up another chair to the dinner table, and before I could open my mouth had a plate of food in front of me. What do you think he was trying to say?...Maybe “you belong?”...”you’re part of the family?” It’s what we’re talking about today in Jesus!

When one of my sons was young – I honestly can’t remember which one – I caught him red handed doing what he knew he should not be doing….And he looked so cute with those guilty eyes I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and love him even more. Oh, we talked about it….it was the right thing to do, but from the place of love, because it’s all I had at that moment. Can you relate? Tell me, do you think God loves you any less? It’s what we’re talking about today in Jesus!

One. It can have many meanings. One penny….kind of worthless. One day…nice but it’s only one, not worth much. One meal….one of many, no great meaning. One Mona Lisa….priceless, a unique treasure. Tell me, how do you view yourself?...what kind of “one?” And more importantly, how do you think God views you?...And what difference does it make? It’s what we look at today in Jesus!

“There’s got to be more than this!” Has this thought, this feeling, this cry of the soul, ever come from you? “There’s got to be more than this!” We cry out because deep down, somehow, we know there is something more. Easter is God’s gentle, certain, overpowering message – reality - that there is. And it is a gift for you.

The Final Word From the Cross by St Matthew Rocklin

Tonight, on the night on which Jesus was betrayed and His final suffering began, on the night before we will remember His brutal death on the cross, Jesus ushers in a new era, a new reality, for us. Why? Because we are family. And we are never apart.

The One You Can Follow by St Matthew Rocklin

The Sixth Word From the Cross (Relationship Context: The Adulteress) by St Matthew Rocklin

Have you ever dissected a heart or a cow’s eye or a frog in a Biology class? While you learn a lot, you also fail to see what it looks like/how it works when it is alive, interfacing with all the “moving parts!” (Just google a film of a working heart to see my point!) Today, we synthesize everything we have focused on in the past month. In “the alive,” “pumping heart,” living out of our human condition in guilt, shame, and fear, we see the intersection of the cross that brings real time innocence, honor, and power….for you… and for the one you can “be there for.” Interested?