Have you ever held back from asking a question about God or faith because you thought it might sound silly or foolish? This week, we've begun our new worship series, "Asking for a Friend." We're tackling some of the tough questions about faith or those we sometimes hesitate to ask. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus welcomed all kinds of questions because he understood that honest inquiry leads to a deeper faith.

We begin with what is one of the most difficult questions many people have: Why do innocent people suffer? This is a particularly poignant and deeply personal questions as we marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend. 

In this message, we explore what Scripture reveals about suffering, human choice, and God's presence in our darkest moments. What we discover is that God isn't the author of evil, but God is fully present in the aftermath of suffering. From the beginning, Scripture shows us a God who doesn't abandon humanity but pursues us, redeems us, and makes a way forward.

• Have you ever hesitated to ask a question about God or faith because you were afraid it might sound foolish? What held you back?
• Jesus welcomes all kinds of questions, even skeptical and challenging questions. How does this inform or change your view of faith?
• When God created us, God gave us the ability to make choices. How does human choice help explain some of the suffering in our world? Can you think of a time when you experienced the consequences of someone else's choices? 
• Throughout Scripture, we see God picking up the pieces and providing comfort to the hurting. Where have you seen or felt God's presence in the aftermath of suffering?
• How do we reconcile natural disasters, diseases, and accidents with our belief in a good and loving God?
• Jesus commands us to love each other as he himself loves us. How can choosing love be a response to the suffering we see around us?

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In Acts 17, Paul stood before the religious and civil leaders of Athens sharing a message about our shared origin and connection. The Athenians didn’t share Paul’s Jewish heritage or culture, and they certainly didn’t profess belief in Jesus, but Paul was able to find common ground by recognizing their deep desire to know the truth about the divine. 

The Bible tells us that God made us all from one ancestor. If you go back far enough, we’re all connected. God arranged the times and places so that people would search and find God. We were created to seek understanding; it’s why children so often ask, “Why?” We explore and question because our hearts are restless until they rest in God. Paul wasn’t afraid to study different perspectives or find truth in unexpected places, because all truth ultimately leads us closer to knowing our Creator. 

• Paul says that “from one ancestor, God made all nations.” How does this truth challenge the boundaries and divisions we create between people today?
• Paul wasn’t afraid to find truth in unexpected places. He quotes Greek poets and philosophers when speaking to the Athenians. Where have you encountered truth about God outside of traditional Christian sources? How did you respond? 
• How can we move from saying, “I don’t understand how people think that way,” to actually seeking understanding? What barriers prevent us from doing this? 
• In what ways are we called to be “seekers of understanding” rather than settlers for assumptions and stereotypes? 
• Before there was original sin, there was original blessing: God’s good creation. How does this perspective change the way we view creation and other people? 

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We all love a good redemption story — until the wrong person gets redeemed. We explore the last chapter of Jonah and the confusion of his story in this last message of our series. We read together as we explore Jonah’s anger at God, for showing mercy to Nineveh, and we discover how all along this story was never really about a fish or a city — it’s about Jonah’s heart, and maybe ours, too. 

Grace is wonderful until someone else who we think doesn’t deserve it actually receives it. Jonah couldn’t celebrate the redemption of Nineveh because he was too busy caring about his own comfort. His heart was consumed with self, while God’s heart was consumed with compassion. We all have our own Nineveh — someone who has hurt us, betrayed us, or made our lives difficult. If we’re honest, there’s a part o fun that wants them to “get what they deserve.” But God’s grace is always greater than the boundaries we’d like to put around it. 

• Who is your Nineveh? Someone who struggle to see receive God’s grace? What makes it difficult to celebrate when God shows mercy to them?
• Can you think of a time when you wanted someone to “get what they deserve” instead of receiving grace? What was behind that feeling?
• Jonah cared more about a plant that gave him shade than about 120,000 people finding redemption. IN what ways do we sometimes prioritize our own comfort over people’s spiritual transformation?
• When anger sits in our hearts long enough, it can consume us from the inside out. How have you seen resentment steal joy or distort perspective in your own life or in others? 
• God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry?” How do you typically respond when God challenges your anger or sense of justice? 
• The book of Jonah ends without telling us if Jonah ever changed his heart. Why do you think the story ends this way? What is God inviting us to consider? 

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What happens when we actually respond to God’s grace? In this third of our four messages on the book of Jonah, we discover how we are not only accepted but also transformed by God and God’s grace. When Jonah finally obeys and travels to Nineveh, he gives what has to be the shortest, most unenthusiastic sermon in scripture. Jonah says just eight words, but the entire city — from the king to the very least — responds by turning from their evil ways. God’s conviction isn’t condemnation. Like your car’s “check engine light,” God shows us what needs attention because God wants to heal us, not shame us. The question isn’t whether we receive God’s nudges, but whether, like Jonah, we will respond. 

• When have you received a “check engine light” from God — a conviction or nudge about something in your life? How did you respond?
• Why do you think the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s short, unenthusiastic sermon when we often ignore much more compelling messages?
• The Ninevites’ repentance was both inward and outward, involving both their hearts and their actions. Which aspect of repentance do you find more challenging? 
• What’s the difference between feeling bad about something and actually repenting? Think about an example in your life. 
• In what areas of your life might God be inviting you to change direction? What would that practically look like?
• What’s one practical step you can take this week to respond to God’s grace in an area where God has been nudging you? 

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This week, we continue our worship series exploring the book of Jonah. This week, we dive into chapter 2 as Jonah finds himself in the belly of a great fish. At first glance, this might seem like a punishment, but it’s actually a rescue. Pastor Ken walks us through the chapter, helping us discover what happens when we stop fighting and start surrendering — when we start letting go of the things we’re clinging to and start receiving God’s grace. Jonah teaches us that gratitude doesn’t wait for circumstances to improve and that hope begins the moment we stop pretending we can save our selves. 

• Jonah calls the belly of the fish a “pit.” What pots have you experienced in your own life… what seasons of darkness or difficulty? 
• What happened when you turned to God during these “pit” moments, instead of relying solely on yourself?
• How does viewing the fish as God’s grace rather than punishment change the way you read this story?
• Jonah gives thanks while still inside the fish, before his circumstances changed. Why is it so difficult to practice gratitude in the middle of hardship rather than waiting for conditions to improve?
• In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that God works in all things for good. Reflect on a time when God brought something good out of a dark or difficult season in your life. 
• Jesus said, 'Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.' What does this kind of surrender look like in practical, everyday terms?

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Most of us think we know the story of Jonah. We picture a man, a storm, and whale. But what if the whale isn't really the point? 

We begin a new worship series on the book of Jonah, discovering together that this story is actually about the surprising, unsettling, and life-changing grace of God. It's a grace that refuses to stay inside the lines we draw, reaches people we've written off, and pursues us even when we run the other way.

In this first message, we look at Jonah’s first chapter and the striking contrast between God’s call and Jonah’s response. God moves toward Nineveh — a place of brokenness and evil — while Jonah runs toward Tarshish — a place of comfort and escape. The contrast reveals something profound about God’s heart: God’s compassion flows toward the hurting, the overlooked, and the lost. 

• When you think of the story of Jonah, what images or details usually come to mind first? How might focusing on those details cause us to miss the deeper meaning of the story?
• Pastor Ken describes grace as "disruptive" because it ignores the categories we create for people. What categories or labels do you find yourself using to decide who deserves grace and who doesn't?
• Jonah claimed to worship God while actively running from God. Can you identify times in your own life when you've said the right things about following Jesus but your actions went in a different direction?
• Pastor Ken ended his sermon with this question: "Where is your heart?" If you honestly assess your life right now, are you moving toward the broken places God cares about, or are you running toward comfort and escape? What would it look like to change direction?

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Connect Four isn’t just a classic children’s game. It’s a picture of how God designed us to live. You can’t win with just one piece. Victory requires connection. In this message concluding our series, The Games We Played, we explore what Scripture teachers about meaningful relationships and community. From Genesis to Hebrews, the Bible shows us that we were created for isolation. Yet, despite living in the most digitally connected time in history, loneliness has reached epidemic levels. We’ve mastered digital connection but struggle with meaningful connection. Generation Z is perhaps the most digitally connected generation ever, but reports show they also have the highest rates of depression and social isolation. 

• The first thing God declared "not good" was isolation, not sin. Why do you think God prioritized relationship and connection from the very beginning?
• We live in the most digitally connected era in history, yet loneliness is at epidemic levels. What's the difference between digital connection and meaningful connection? Can you think of examples from your own life?
• Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. What specific benefits of connection and companionship does this passage describe? Which one resonates most with your current season of life?
• Not every connection is healthy. The sermon says Paul warns us that "bad company ruins good morals." How do you discern which relationships are healthy and which might need boundaries?
• Read Hebrews 10:24-25 together. What does it mean to "provoke one another to love and good deeds"? Can you share an example of someone who has done this for you?
• What is one practical step you can take this week to build more meaningful connection with someone in your life-whether that's deepening an existing relationship or reaching out to someone who might be isolated?

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We’ve all played Operation — that classic tabletop game where the problems are obvious and the solutions are clear. If only real life were that simple. Pastor Ken continues our “The Games We Played” worship series in this message exploring Mark’s story of the paralytic and his four friends. When they can’t get through the crowd to reach Jesus, they tear open the roof and lower their friend down. Everyone expects Jesus to heal the obvious problem, the man’s paralysis. But Jesus does something unexpected: he addresses a deeper issue first. Jesus sees behind the visible to what’s hidden in our hearts, addressing not just the symptoms but the root issues that bring lasting transformation. 

•  In this week's message, Pastor Ken used the game Operation as the metaphor. In that game, the problems are obvious and labeled, but in real life our deepest woulds are often hidden. What are some of the hidden wounds or struggles that people often carry beneath the surface?
• Mark tells us that Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic's friends. How does this story challenge us to be better friends to those who are struggling?
• Sometimes what we think we need the most isn't actually what we really need the most. Can you think of a time when God addressed something deeper in your life than what you initially asked God to fix?
• David's prayer in Psalm 51 was, "Create in me a clean heart, O God", rather than asking God to fix his circumstances or reputation. Why is the condition of our heart more important than our external circumstances? 
• A surgeon can't repair what she cannot access. What are some barriers we put up that prevent God from accessing the wounded areas of our hearts?
• Jesus sees all of our hidden wounds, failures, and shame — and, yet, he still loves us. How does this truth change the way we approach him with our deepest needs?

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Just remember: the collapse never begins with the last block. In this second message of our summer worship series, “The Games We Played,” we explore Jesus’ powerful story from Matthew 7 about two builders and the foundations they chose. We use the game Jenga as an illustration, discovering how most collapses in life don’t happen overnight — they’re the result of small compromises and neglected disciplines. Both houses in Jesus’ story looked good on a sunny day. Both builders worked hard. But when the storm came, only one remained standing. The difference? The foundation. Storms don’t passover followers of Jesus, but rather reveal what’s holding them up — the prayers nobody see, the scripture nobody knows you’re reading, the daily acts of trust and obedience. The Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians that no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Not a good foundation-the only foundation. When storms come, you may bend, but you won't break, because Christ is your rock.

• Jesus said both houses experienced the same storm. Why do you think God allows storms in the lives of God’s people?
• Pastor Ken compared spiritual foundations to the hidden root system of palm trees. What are some 'hidden' spiritual disciplines that have helped anchor your faith during difficult seasons?
• In what areas of your life might you be removing “blocks” — making small compromises or neglecting important practices — that could lead to instability down the road?
• The Statue of Liberty's beauty depends on an internal iron framework we can't see. How does this picture help us understand what it means to have Christ as our foundation?
• Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians that no one can lay any foundation other than Jesus Christ. What are some things people commonly try to build their lives on instead? Why do these fail to hold us up in storms?
• What daily practice or discipline do you sense God calling you to establish or re-establish to strengthen your spiritual foundation?

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Welcome to our summer sermon series, “The Games We Played.” This week, we’re starting with Candy Land — a game that requires no strategy and no skill, just drawing cards and moving along. It’s a simple game of chance that teaches us a profound spiritual truth: control is largely an illusion. In John 14: 1-7, Jesus speaks to his anxious disciples who are facing uncertainty and fear. They want answers and directions, but Jesus offers them something better: himself. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Jesus says. Faith isn’t about having a detailed roadmap; it’s about trusting the Person who sees the whole path.

• When in your life have you most struggled with wanting control? How did that situation resolve, and what did you learn about trust?
• Thomas wanted directions, but Jesus said 'I am the way.' What's the difference between following a set of directions or instructions and following Jesus?
• What looks like chaos on our end is often preparation on God's. Can you think of a biblical example or personal experience where you saw this principle at work
• In John 14:2, Jesus says He goes to prepare a place for us. How does focusing on what God is preparing (rather than what we're losing) change our perspective during uncertain seasons?
• When have you experienced God giving you just enough light for the next step rather than showing you the whole path? How did that grow your faith?
• Jesus says :No one comes to the Father except through me.” How do we hold the exclusivity of this truth alongside the invitation and love behind it?

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