Sunday service

Retaliation against one's enemies is the way of human history, but Jesus taught the crowds to forget what they thought they knew about retaliatory violence and revenge. Instead, Jesus pushed them to think through redemptive responses that could offer others an experience of God's love. How could you make a friend out of your enemy this week?

A decision to forgive is one of the most profound and powerful decisions we'll ever make, and it goes against every impulse we have to resent and retaliate when someone hurts us. Guest speaker Lindsay Olesberg preaches on the power of forgiveness in the Jesus-centered life.

The sharing of phone selfies might be a 21st century phenomenon, but "selfie culture" was around in Jesus's day, where some people made a big show of all the good things they did for God and the poor. Being *secretly* extraordinary, however, is one of the upside-down ways of living a Jesus-centered life, and it's ultimately more fulfilling.

It's a dog-eat-dog world where it seems like the ones with the most money, power, beauty and brains survive. But Jesus encouraged God-followers to use their power for good--to show mercy, to make peace. Welcome to the upside-down ways of a Jesus-centered life.

It's a dog-eat-dog world where it seems like the ones with the most money, power, beauty and brains survive. But Jesus encouraged God-followers to embrace their deficiencies and weaknesses. Welcome to the upside-down ways of a Jesus-centered life.

Okay, so Jesus didn't say anything about politics, per se, but he did tell his disciples to watch out for the teaching of certain political parties. What was wrong with their politics? They elevated their human-made traditions and values above the commandment to love their neighbor, and they harmed many in the process.

Jesus's petitions to his followers always revealed something about the very best way to be human, and one of his prescriptions to a rich landowner was, "Sell everything and give it to the poor." Minimalism was the cure for this man's unhealthy attachment to wealth, which prevented him from following God with his whole heart. 2,000 years later, most of us aren't rich landowners, but our attachments to our money and our things might be holding us back from the very best sort of life.

In the Bible, Jesus's questions always revealed his values. He asked his disciple, Peter, three times, "Do you love me?" because Jesus had a lot at stake in the answer. In a season where love is celebrated, Jesus's questions helps us clarify that love for God cannot be expressed in mere words. Love is an action.

In the Bible, Jesus's questions always reveal something important about his values, and he is famous for entreating his followers with the words, "Judge not, or you too will be judged." In a world full of distinctions, Jesus indicates that the best way to be human is to err on the side of mercy, avoiding judgmentalism toward others.

In the Bible, Jesus's questions always reveal something important about his values and desires for the people he encounters. When Jesus meets two pairs of blind men, he presses them to ask for what they need with confidence and, in so doing, invites them to into the life-changing experience of realizing that God cares and wants to meet their deepest needs. #JesusAsks