The Fellowship Podcast

On this resurrection day, we celebrate the risen Christ by remembering the story of Martha, Mary and Lazarus (John 11). Sarah tells the story of Jesus’s interaction with his family friends in Bethany, and we watch him battle grief and death. Sarah encourages us to invite Jesus to come and see the tombs in our lives and believe in his resurrection power. We are reminded, Jesus is here and he wants to see us.

For Palm Sunday, we explored Jesus going from hero to zero during the Holy Week. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke the writers include Jesus’ quotation from Psalm 118 that he was the “stone that the builders rejected” … but that he would become “the cornerstone.” Jesus experienced both the praise and rejection of people. Palm Sunday illustrates a high point of praise; the events of Holy Week illustrate the rejection. How can we live as followers of Jesus, not being dis-oriented and distracted by the praise and rejection of people? Is Jesus the cornerstone of our lives and our church? We concluded by reading the end of Psalm 118: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Paul the apostle wrote that Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1). In this message, we remember Jesus’s journey to the cross and what it means for us today. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Christ on the cross is God’s enduring Word to the world saying, ‘See how much I love you. See how you must love one another.’”

In Matthew 9-10, Jesus is traveling around ministering in different villages. Matthew records the following events at the end of chapter 9 and the beginning of chapter 10: Jesus had compassion, called his disciples to pray for workers in the harvest, sent his disciples out to minister in different towns, called them to give as freely as they had received and to be intentional about where and to whom they went. These verses guided the message as we discussed “Our Time” as a community to step out in compassion, prayer, action, generosity and intentionality.

When Jesus announced his ministry of good news for the poor, freedom for the prisoner and oppressed, and the opening of blind eyes, he didn’t just say it, he did it! His preaching was followed by power, and the power was fueled by prayer. Jesus modeled a new normal for his community, and he invites us into a new normal today.

When God is doing a new thing, we can expect new resistance. In this talk, Sarah reminds us about what the resistance looks like and describes the temptations we face when we step into new things. In the midst of it all, we remember who we are and Jesus’s words, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21).

In Isaiah, the prophet writes “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” We explored how the Lord wants to take us individually and corporately into new things and how the River of God will help us perceive what the Lord has for us. Listen as we look at how: new things begin in the river; New things don’t look like old things; Jesus is the River of Life; All things are made new by the River; The River is made to flow out of us.

Does danger, darkness or distance keep us from coming home or coming to the table? In the final message of this series, Sarah talks about tables here in our community, the table the Father set for the Prodigal Son, and tables in Ukraine; and we explore the importance of what happens around the table in the household of faith.

When it comes to caring for orphans and outsiders, how do you do it? In this message, Sarah talks about our posture when reaching out to others. Kelly Jo shares about the preparation process in adoption. And we finish with a look at how we have lots of plans, but we should be ready for God to re-direct our steps.

When we’re born again, we receive a spirit of adoption and become part of the family of God and a household of faith. In this message, Sarah talks about 4 things that happen when you receive that spirit of adoption. See also the attached handout (in English and Spanish) comparing the heart of an orphan to the heart of a child and take some time this week to ask Holy Spirit how you can grow more secure as God’s child.