This lesson continues our “Captive” study, when we can compare our current reality of sheltering in place to the Israelites’ captivity, when they were taken into exile.

A major point we need to take to heart in these times, is that “Warnings unheeded means corrections are needed.” We so often think we know best but we’ll surely pay the price for our ignorance. God, however, has always given us warnings. In essence, He gives us the choice - to do it the easy way (heed his warnings) or the hard way (suffer His punishments). In Jeremiah 7:2-8, His Word was “...Reform your ways and your actions, … if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood...if you do not follow other gods to your own harm…then I will let you live in this place. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”

Do we simply think of God as a force, like gravity? We need to see Him as a loving friend who feels our joy and our pain. He agonizes when we ignore His prophets and don’t follow His teachings. In Jeremiah 4:19-22, God speaks of his own pain in seeing the suffering of His people: “Oh, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh the agony of my heart… My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children… They know not how to do good.”

At times, we distrust the warnings we get because it feels too controlling. Warnings may even feel like threats, but we must be responsible and heed warnings in responsible ways. When we reject God and think we can manage on our own, that’s learning the hard way. We must always remember Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Receiving salvation through Jesus Christ - that’s learning the easy way.

Join us this week as Josh explores the fall of Jerusalem into the hands of Babylon in 2 Chronicles 36 and how that intersects with our current reality, sheltered in place in a pandemic. What can we learn in Israel’s exile FROM home, even as we are exiled TO our homes? When tragedy mounts and the pain is more than we can bear, what does God’s Word reveal to us about why and how to cope? Let’s engage and answer those questions, and more, together!

Our guest preacher, Fred Spain, had a lesson for us on “Disrupted: Jesus’ Final 40 Days”. As we read in Matthew 28:1-10, when the women went to the tomb to tend to Jesus’ dead body, their plans were disrupted. Instead, they encountered an earthquake and a fearsome angel who rolled the stone away from the empty tomb. The angel told the women not to fear and to look inside so they could see for themselves that Jesus was not in the tomb; he had risen.

God wants us all to know that the tomb was empty for us, for our benefit. The women left there on an urgent mission to spread the good news, feeling both afraid and joyful at the same time. Do we feel that kid of urgency about the resurrection? Are we afraid and joyful? We mustn’t let our fear stop the mission that God gives to us.

Lesson 1: God wants to disrupt us, to shake us up enough to push us out of our old ways. Let’s stop looking for life in dead places and dead things, even in “dead Jesus”.

Lesson 2: It’s Jesus’ LIFE we must embrace. God wants us to discover life in the living Jesus.

Lesson 3: God has an urgent mission for us all. Don’t let fear stop you from doing what God put you here for. Instead focus on the message of joy.

Let us focus on the living Jesus. Let us remember his life, not just his death. Now, will you trust God to let him disrupt your life in His way, so you can accept His mission?

He is risen! This is our celebration on this Easter Sunday.

When Jesus went to Jerusalem, he knew full well what his fate would be. Still, he implored God (Luke 22:42) “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” In the midst of his pain on the cross, he prayed to God to forgive his tormentors. And in Luke 22:40-43, when one of the criminals being crucified asked Jesus to “remember me when you come into your kingdom”, Jesus replied with “you will be with me in paradise.” Through all his agony, Jesus knew he would be with his Father in heaven.

Now, the original Persian word for paradise translates as “enclosed garden”, which gives us hope for a new garden of Eden. Indeed, in Revelation 22:1-2 John tells us how an angel showed him the river of the water of life, flowing through the city, and the tree of life bearing twelve crops of fruit, “and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.” In other words, all was made right through the death of Jesus and the garden will be restored to us. In verse 5 we read that his servants “... will not need the light of a lamp...for the Lord God will give them light.”

Look to God’s light now in these dark times. Living through the isolation of Covid-19 is hard, but know that God has dominion over all and He has the answers. Our salvation is guaranteed. The garden will be restored, the curse will be lifted and we will all be invited into the garden. We will release our burdens and rejoice in the light. Lift your voice now to proclaim, HE IS RISEN!!

Sunday’s lesson was taken from Luke 19:11-26. Verse 26 says that “...to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

The story of Jesus coming to Jerusalem to be King (Luke 19:28-40) tells how as he came near, the crowd of disciples loudly praised God, crying “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” But the Pharisees, who did not believe, told Jesus that he should silence his disciples. Jesus replied in verse 40, “I tell you...if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

He died for us; he invested his life for us. He wants so much for us, and for you. He would have given his life just for you alone. So when the King returns, be ready to rejoice, and when you rejoice, what will you give to him as a return on his investment in your very life? Every one of us has so much. You have gifts and talents that were given to you, specifically and individually. Were they given to you simply for your own benefit? No, they were given to you so you could use them for the glory of God! Let us live our lives and use our gifts to glorify our King and grow His Kingdom!

Sunday’s lesson was taken from Luke 18, the story about the persistent widow. She had no one else to turn to for help except a self-seeking, non-believing judge. In spite of his repeated refusals to help her, she persisted in asking for his help until, finally, he did.

When we are in a difficult situation, do we say one prayer and then stop when the answer isn’t immediate? Or are we persistent, like the widow?

Jesus reminds us of all that our God can do, if we are persistent with Him. If we continue to pray AND confidently believe, He will show us that what seems impossible, is possible.

Exodus 2:24-25 tells us that God hears our groaning and is concerned about us. Chapter 3:8 continues with the promise that He will bring us up into a land of milk and honey. He will see us through our current troubles.

God’s Word is consistent throughout the BIble -- ask and it will be given, seek and ye shall find (Matthew 7:7); ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you (John 15:7). But we can’t lose confidence when we have to keep asking. We might not see an immediate save when we send up our prayers. Sometimes, He uses suffering and injustices for eventual good. The Israelites suffered in slavery for 400 years; they suffered, but in the end, we were all saved.

Psalm 17 is an appropriate prayer for these times. Part of it reads:

Hear me Lord, listen to my cry...I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. Show me the wonders of your great love... Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Keep confident in God’s Word. Know that He hears you and always will. Keep asking, keep praying, His answer will come.

Have you ever struggled to feel like you didn’t deserve a second chance in life? Or have you ever struggled to feel like someone who hurt you may not deserve a second chance? In this week’s message from Luke 15, Jesus tells a series of three stories about lost things and found things and concludes by telling a story about two brothers: one “lost” and one “found.” And, what Jesus reveals as he moves through each of these stories is the heart of a Father, who is full of compassion, regardless of your past. If you have ever needed to be reminded that you are lost and yet still loved, this is a message we hope you hear! Tune in Sunday at 10:45am on Facebook, YouTube, or on LakeMercedChurch.com!

Have you ever made an excuse to get out of going to something? The things we prioritize and the things that we make excuses for reveal something about us as people; they reveal where our treasures are. In Luke 14, as Jesus dines with a group of “righteous” Pharisees, he begins to challenge to value of an invite, namely that an invite can be revoked and given to another. This week’s message is a litmus test of how to know whether you are ready to live for Christ…or not. Are you ready?

Have you ever tried to do the right thing, even if you didn’t want to? It’s something all of us do and sometimes we call this phenomenon “Fake it ’til you make it.” Often times, those words describe precisely the way many Christians live out love of one another, an act not driven by heart, but by obligation. This week’s message comes from Luke 11 and begins with a look at verses 33-36 where Jesus compares the human eye to a lamp, but it’s part of a broader message about the nature of what we do and the kind of heart at work within us. Join us this week as we encounter Jesus’ teaching about the light within us.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan might be Jesus’ most well-known parable. Good Samaritans are discussed whenever a stranger does a kind deed. But is that the lesson Jesus had for us? Do kind things for needy people? Perhaps, but as you’ll discover in this week’s message, there’s a different vantage point on Jesus’ mind. In this week’s message, Josh looks at Luke 10:25-37 up close at ground level and discovers three foundational concepts that Jesus demonstrates are needed in order to truly “Love your neighbor as yourself."