Have you ever stopped to reflect on Barabbas’ role in the Easter narrative? I get it, he’s the villain, the murderer, the bad guy who got away…we don’t like to think of him as being part of Easter. But he is. He is because Barabbas is each of us! I believe that through Barabbas we learn about our ultimate need, our ultimate value, and our ultimate purpose. This Easter message considers this criminal who was set free and how we should not only see ourselves in him but be inspired to do the hard work of ridding our lives of him!

For most of us, when we think about the word providence, it gives us a feeling of security because it speaks to our belief that God is in control. It speaks to our belief that God intervenes during our time of need, maybe not when we would prefer but in HIs perfect timing. But there is another side to providence. There is providence as provision as we just mentioned, but this message is about providence as a moment. And with providence as a moment, it’s not so much about God’s intervention but rather His invitation, to us, to be a part of His eternal plan! I believe the world is in such a moment now.

In a lot of ways life right now feels like a small form of exile; told to stay away from our favorite restaurants, our place of worship, even our workplace for some. But in the book of Daniel the Israelites were experiencing literal exile – uprooted physically and isolated spiritually. Among them were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. How is it that these men were able to not just survive but thrive and see God move in ways we still talk about thousands of years later? Tonight we’ll look at TWO key ways Daniel thrived through decades in exile in our sermon entitled – SOLITARY REFINEMEN

Treasure. I still remember going to see the movie Treasure Island, based on the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. What young boy hasn’t dreamed of being Jim Hawkins on the adventure of a lifetime with buccaneers in search of gold? Okay, fair enough, the answer is not very many because I’m old and that movie released in 1950! But we understand the allure…a treasure, worth risking everything to find! This message is about a parable Jesus gives that even though it is a story, it is really a question. Do we believe that such a treasure exists today? I do and I hope that after listening, you will too!

The Jewish concept of Shema is a fascinating study.  And as we understand this term, we begin to realize that Jesus had lots to say about “listening and doing” when it comes to God’s expectations of us.  In the Hebrew language, there is no separate word for “obey.”  There is the word “shema” which means that we listen to God and because God is the One speaking to us, we should naturally want to obey.  So this is my question to you, is your first inclination towards God obedience?  Think of it this way.  Is the reflex of your heart to obey God?  We’ve all been to the doctor when they take that little triangular shaped hammer and tap the tendon just below our knee cap.  We don’t try, we don’t act…but our leg swings up!  A reflex.  This series is about the renovation project that needs to happen in every heart so our desire reflex is only and always to obey, to do, to act when we hear God speaking to us — this is Project Hear.

The Jewish concept of Shema is a fascinating study.  And as we understand this term, we begin to realize that Jesus had lots to say about “listening and doing” when it comes to God’s expectations of us.  In the Hebrew language, there is no separate word for “obey.”  There is the word “shema” which means that we listen to God and because God is the One speaking to us, we should naturally want to obey.  So this is my question to you, is your first inclination towards God obedience?  Think of it this way.  Is the reflex of your heart to obey God?  We’ve all been to the doctor when they take that little triangular shaped hammer and tap the tendon just below our knee cap.  We don’t try, we don’t act…but our leg swings up!  A reflex.  This series is about the renovation project that needs to happen in every heart so our desire reflex is only and always to obey, to do, to act when we hear God speaking to us — this is Project Hear.