Near the end of the New Testament are a series of books we often forget and know little about - 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. But they’re important, and they have a message worth listening to. It is a message of faith that is practiced, not only believed. They speak to patient endurance in the midst of a hostile world. Join Damascus Road as we explore 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude and discover the story they tell, the story of Christ, which is the story of Israel and of God’s purposes from creation to new creation.

Week 2 of Left Unread

1 Peter 1:13-21 // Freedom in God & Christ

Near the end of the New Testament are a series of books we often forget and know little about - 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. But they’re important, and they have a message worth listening to. It is a message of faith that is practiced, not only believed. They speak to patient endurance in the midst of a hostile world. Join Damascus Road as we explore 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude and discover the story they tell, the story of Christ, which is the story of Israel and of God’s purposes from creation to new creation.

Week 1 of Left Unread

1 Peter 1:1-12 // New Birth into a Living Hope

In Ecclesiastes, the Teacher shares this wisdom as he expresses some of the bitter ironies of life. He seeks meaning in work, pleasure, new endeavors, rest, and even death. He declares that all of it is meaningless, but in the end he learns that all have their time, all are a part of life, like the different seasons. It is when we meet God in these rhythms that we find meaning. Join Damascus Road as we dive into Ecclesiastes and learn to encounter God in the Four Seasons.

Week 4 of Four Seasons  

Winter arrives as the year ends and the cold arrives. The colors of the rest of the year are replaced by whites and grays. It is easy to feel cold and alone. We also face endings in life as nothing lasts forever. Jobs end. Relationships end. A project we worked on for years on ends. Our children move out and their time at home ends. Endings are a part of life, reminding us of our limitations. Death is the ultimate end to all our lives as the Teacher writes, the ultimate reminder of our limitations. If everything ends, then is anything meaningful? It is all long gone and plays no part in anything anymore. Let us learn to embrace Winter as we seek out God, even in the times of endings and limits.

In Ecclesiastes, the Teacher shares this wisdom as he expresses some of the bitter ironies of life. He seeks meaning in work, pleasure, new endeavors, rest, and even death. He declares that all of it is meaningless, but in the end he learns that all have their time, all are a part of life, like the different seasons. It is when we meet God in these rhythms that we find meaning. Join Damascus Road as we dive into Ecclesiastes and learn to encounter God in the Four Seasons.

Week 3 of Four Seasons  

Autumn is the time to reap and harvest what was sown in the spring and grown in the summer. It is the season for work. For students, it is the time to go back to school, to do the work of learning again. But the Teacher asks, what is it all for? What do we get in this life for all our hard work and anxiety? Let us learn to find joy in the Fall as we discover how to meet God in the time of work and harvest.

In Ecclesiastes, the Teacher shares this wisdom as he expresses some of the bitter ironies of life. He seeks meaning in work, pleasure, new endeavors, rest, and even death. He declares that all of it is meaningless, but in the end he learns that all have their time, all are a part of life, like the different seasons. It is when we meet God in these rhythms that we find meaning. Join Damascus Road as we dive into Ecclesiastes and learn to encounter God in the Four Seasons.

Week 2 of Four Seasons

Spring is the season of beginnings and possibilities as flowers bloom and grow, birds return from migration, animals awaken from hibernation. Warmth and life returns after months of cold emptiness. Our lives have seasons of newness as we try new things or face new possibilities. Yet as the Teacher seeks meaning in life, he tries out creating new things and seeking new experiences, but he finds that these are meaningless. Is anything truly new? Let us learn to enjoy the Spring as we consider how we can meet God in the times of our lives of beginnings and possibilities.

In Ecclesiastes, the Teacher shares this wisdom as he expresses some of the bitter ironies of life. He seeks meaning in work, pleasure, new endeavors, rest, and even death. He declares that all of it is meaningless, but in the end he learns that all have their time, all are a part of life, like the different seasons. It is when we meet God in these rhythms that we find meaning. Join Damascus Road as we dive into Ecclesiastes and learn to encounter God in the Four Seasons.

Week 1 of Four Seasons

Spring is the season of beginnings and possibilities as flowers bloom and grow, birds return from migration, animals awaken from hibernation. Warmth and life returns after months of cold emptiness. Our lives have seasons of newness as we try new things or face new possibilities. Yet as the Teacher seeks meaning in life, he tries out creating new things and seeking new experiences, but he finds that these are meaningless. Is anything truly new? Let us learn to enjoy the Spring as we consider how we can meet God in the times of our lives of beginnings and possibilities. 

Jesus offers us new life, but learning to follow him can be like learning a new dance. There are steps to learn and rehearse, but there is also freedom. Join us for Dance Lessons, the 2020 Damascus Road Easter series, and we’ll explore together the new dance Jesus offers us to teach us when we embrace life with him.

Part 4 of Dance Lessons

The Dance of God may be new to us, but it is as older than time itself as the Father, Son, and Spirit dance and flow in and around one another. It is a dance characterized not by self-centeredness but by mutual self-giving love. Let us explore the Trinity through this imagery of dance as we seek to understand what it means to have a triune God.

Jesus offers us new life, but learning to follow him can be like learning a new dance. There are steps to learn and rehearse, but there is also freedom. Join us for Dance Lessons, the 2020 Damascus Road Easter series, and we’ll explore together the new dance Jesus offers us to teach us when we embrace life with him.

Part 3 of Dance Lessons  

The old dance of the world ended on the cross, but on the third day, a new dance begins. Jesus leaps from the empty tomb as his followers struggle to understand. Everything is new and different. Jesus' resurrection is the new life that changes the world. Let us learn the new dance and the hope to be found in the reality of the resurrection.

Week 4 of Passing Over

At his last Passover on earth, Jesus tells us that the meaning of the Passover is to be fulfilled by his body and blood, poured out and broken for us. This is the culmination of what all the signs and wonders have been pointing to -- can we see it?

Jesus offers us new life, but learning to follow him can be like learning a new dance. There are steps to learn and rehearse, but there is also freedom. Join us for Dance Lessons, the 2020 Damascus Road Easter series, and we’ll explore together the new dance Jesus offers us to teach us when we embrace life with him.

Part 2 of Dance Lessons

We may have been dancing with the wrong partner, but thankfully Jesus cuts in and takes the lead. He teaches us the dance with his life and then he dies for us. But the question we find ourselves asking is why? Why did Jesus have to die for us to live? Was there no other way?