"You shall have no other gods before me." To our culture, it's kind of a "duh" statement. In Jesus' day it was the same. The Jews, most Americans, we have this as a default position. But Jesus challenges His own culture and ours to look at it in a new and deeper way.

2 Commandments - Love God, and love others. Jesus said that they summarize everything else that God commanded. But how does love fulfill the commandments? Not in theory. Not in feeling. In action? The age old question is: "what does God desire of us?"

And that's exactly what this series is about.

Mom. You are one of the most important people in the world. It might not always feel that way, but it's true. This message is a reminder of the calling, the burden, and the blessing of motherhood.

Jesus. Osiris. Mithras. Dionysius. Attis. What do they all have in common? According to some in our culture, they are all members of a category of gods who share one theme: dying and rising again.

Is that all there is to the Jesus story? Is it simply an ancient legend repackaged in Jewish clothing? Is it the retelling of a common myth? Or is it more?

The empty tomb. Without it, there's much ado about nothing. Because of it, a rumor made its way around the ancient world - and even some quarters today - that Jesus' disciples stole the body so that they could declare Jesus the Risen Lord. Is it that simple? Is that all there is to the resurrection?

Can we really be sure that Jesus of Nazareth died of crucifixion in the first century? What if he somehow survived? Is there any need to investigate a resurrection if he did?

Is it really possible to examine "evidence" for a resurrection? Yes! But first we have to address two of the biggest barriers for fair-minded people - a misunderstanding of faith, and a bias against the supernatural.

He. Is. Risen. 2,000 years and that message declares the most important event in human history.

Why does the Church exist? What's it here for? What's it supposed to do? We dialogue about the mission of the Church given to it by Jesus before His ascension.

Church. Our culture sees it as an organization, a building, a hierarchy. But that's not what it is at all. The Church is a people, who, throughout all of time, and all of the world, have experienced a supernatural transformation of heart and mind. As a result, they have become one global, historical family: the community of God's people.