We talk about bridging the gap between who you are and who God created you to be. But how do you know who God created you to be. It starts by recognizing that we have been commissioned by God. Pastor Ryan begins Volume 2 of our series on the Epic Story of Scripture by examining the opening words of Joshua and what it means for us to be Commissioned by God in our lives today.

What is the point of church? Have you ever found yourself wondering this? Why the songs? why the preacher? Why the time to 'turn and greet your neighbor'? You're not alone. This week Pastor Ryan takes a pause after Holy Week to remind us what the point of our gathering together on Sundays is and cast a vision of what it means for us to not only go to church, but be the Church.

What does the love of God look and feel like? It looks like sacrifice and initiative. It looks like laying down His life in the person of Jesus Christ in order to bring us back to Him and live abundantly, eternally in His presence. The choice is ours, each and every day. Will we live through belief in Him and enter into His Kingdom? This Easter we implore you to choose Him and choose life!

There is nothing that King Jesus can't triumph over in your life! As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the people laid down their stuff, self-importance, and social status to welcome their coming King. Fearless generosity makes a path for the kingdom to advance. The willingness to freely let go of everything you're holding on to, and relinquish it to Jesus loving hands leads only to life. What are you still holding on to?

God's manifest presence changes environments and people. When Moses encounters God in the burning bush, God tells him that the ground he is on is holy ground. The presence of God going with the people of Israel and with Jesus' followers set us apart as a holy people, devoted to His purposes. The question for us becomes, how will we respond to this high reality. Will we choose to live our lives devoted to His designs or our own? The choice, to use Moses' words, is between blessing and curses. The way of Jesus, set apart for His purposes leads to life. The other way? Well that leads to life akin to death.

What does it mean to apply the blood of the Lamb to your life? Today, Pastor Ryan takes us through the Passover in Exodus 12, reminding us that we have a deliverer that will free us from our slavery to sin. We don't have to walk through life alone, or by our own strength. God calls us to bring whatever we face in life under the blood of the Lamb. Why go another day living in fear? Why go another day allowing your past to dictate your future? Bring it to God, and He alone will deliver you.

Have you ever heard news that was too good to be true? The good news that God came to the earth as a man and paid the cost for the separation between God and man on our behalf. He did it for you so that you would get to have a relationship with Him. Step back and think about that for a second. That should seem too good to be true, but it is! And what's more, we can rest assured in this fact that if we believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved.

Throughout our lives, we are tested regularly. And these tests are necessary; they produce testimony, and bring freedom. And not every test we face is orchestrated by God. But what we do know is that every test we face has been filtered through God's loving hands. God doesn't ask us questions because He doesn't know the answer. He asks us questions so that we can grow in our knowledge and our faith in Him. In Genesis 22, Abraham was tested when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. How has God revealed himself to you through your past tests and trials?

What has God called you to? It's a big question, but the root of the answer is simple. He has called each of us into two main things: a covenant family and a Kingdom responsibility. Put simply, we belong and we each have a part to play in bringing the life of Heaven to bear on the Earth. We look to Abraham in the Bible to see what it looks like for us to walk that out in response to a God who wants to lead us in loving relationship.

What areas in your life are you stuck avoiding God's way for your own? In Noah's time, the Bible says that the thought of mankind were only evil continually, but Noah walked with God. And for Noah, trusting God and walking with him led to life. The same is true for us. Judgment is coming on the fallen nature of our world, but trusting Jesus and walking with Him leads us through the flood and into everlasting life. He gives us His Spirit, empowering us with the ability to crush the head of the deceiver who would have us do what's right in our own eyes and truly live.