Two threads have run through our church since the beginning: spiritual formation and mission. How does encountering the risen Jesus pull these two threads together for the next season of our life in PCC? In this message we look at Jesus' Ascension and the disciples' reaction and see that you can't have one without the other -- worship fuels mission. The Christian life is a life of spiritual "formation for mission" (thanks to Renew Community in PA) and the promised Holy Spirit makes it all possible.

It's when we think we don't have time to rest and encounter Jesus that we really need it the most. Do you regularly make time to encounter Jesus? Would you have time for Jesus if he "showed up" when you least expected it? In the third week of Easter, we look again at Luke's Gospel to another time the resurrected Christ appears to his amazed and doubting followers. He can appear to us, too, if we make the space in our lives for an encounter. The daily reality of Easter is that each moment is an invitation to step out, encounter the risen Jesus, and be transformed.

When it comes to holidays, many of us are in the habit of celebrating and "checking it off the list" before moving on to the next thing. But Easter's not just a day, it's a daily reality. The first Easter Sunday changed the world and the lives of Jesus' first disciples. In this message (a week after we celebrated Easter), we join 2 of them on the road to a town called Emmaus and Adam invites you to examine where you find yourself in your walk with the risen Savior. Wherever you are, any journey begins with a step -- each moment is an invitation to step out, walk with Jesus, and be transformed. Every step is an invitation to new life because Easter changed everything.

Have you ever been certain--absolutely certain--something was going to happen...until it doesn't? You may be in a daze, trying to come to grips with a new reality you didn't expect. You might ask, "What am I supposed to do now?" Jesus’ followers must have asked the same kind of question after their teacher and Lord was crucified on Friday--they had been certain Jesus was God’s king. But now it's Saturday; Jesus is in a tomb and the disciples are hopeless. Just like them, we all have a choice when things look tough: despair or hope. As people standing in between death on Friday and life on Sunday, the resurrection calls us again to be people of hope. NOTE: Unfortunately the audio from Cara's microphone did not record properly which is why it is not in the sermon.

Imagine your life as a pilgrimage -- a spiritual journey. Sometimes you're joyful, sometimes you're just going through the motions, and sometimes you're downright frustrated. The way you respond to Jesus and others will change from time to time over the course of your lifelong pilgrimage. But isn't it good to know that Jesus won't change and is gracious enough to walk with us as we follow him? Jesus himself made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on what's now known as "Palm Sunday" and his fellow pilgrims, like humanity today, walked alongside him with a mixed response.

Where does God live? We explore the answer to this question in Ephesians 2.19-22. Paul describes God's new people as both a family and a temple for God in Christ. The surprising and beautiful news is this: God's people are now God's dwelling place. Sometimes the building looks shoddy but it's still being joined together in Jesus by the Spirit.

This reflection deals with Jesus stating that love is the peg that everything hangs on. It must come first! It takes you on a journey of unending mercy and of dealing with the thought that God always loves and doesn't put up barriers to us...so why don't we as a church do the same?

It's part of nature to build barriers between "us" and "them". Unfortunately, we can sometimes find our identity in our distinction. For centuries, the Jewish people were God's distinct people called to be a light to all the nations (the people known as the Gentiles). When Jews and Gentiles both began to follow Jesus (the Jewish Messiah) and worship together in newly formed churches, the barriers that divided them for centuries lingered. In this key passage in Ephesians, we see that whatever barriers we've built between "us and them" or "those far or near" have been broken down in Christ so he can build ONE new people for God. The cross of Christ brought peace between God and humanity and now makes peace possible with one another.

Do you want the bad news or the good news first? Well, Paul gives us some really bad news at the beginning of Ephesians 2. Turns out, we were dead - alienated from life with God. And we weren't just dead, we were headed down the path of darkness. What could we do? What could be done? Now the good news: we were saved by grace through faith. When God owed us nothing, he gave us everything. That is really good news indeed.

Jesus regularly and intentionally disengaged from the pressures of the crowd to engage with his Father. If Jesus did, we should, too. During a night of worship and prayer, Pastor Adam reflected on a scene in which Jesus heals a deaf and mute man. Many of us come to Jesus with deaf ears, struggling to hear his voice, Many of us come to Jesus who can hardly talk to him in prayer. What might Jesus want to do for you? Perhaps he wants to take you aside to a quiet place and heal you.