We are so excited to be back after our end of the year Sabbath. The holidays can be stressful and hard. Actually, the holidays are always stressful, let's be honest. However, something can be good AND hard at the same time. In a life submitted to God the Father even those hard parts are not wasted. In todays passage we explore the truth that nothing is wasted as far as God is concerned.

So often we look for the tallest, strongest, and most attractive candidates to lead us. When God the Son stepped out of heaven into the world He created to save us He came as the opposite of those things. Yet, He was the strongest and most powerful man in history. Isaiah 53 perfectly predicted the life of Jesus 700 years before He was born. Let's explore these ancient prophecies.

So often in today's culture our leaders are the toughest, meanest, loudest, and strongest. Our world tells us that in order to have power you must be strong and harsh. But as we look at the first arrival of Jesus, when he came as the Lamb of God, we see the most powerful man to ever live leading with a trait so often lost in our society, gentleness.

When people are searching for good news they don't always go to the Bible. If they do go to the Bible the Old Testament Prophets are pretty low on the list of places they go. However, the Old Testament prophets told us so much about Jesus, both who He would be and what He would do. Isaiah 35 even alludes to a second advent of Jesus when we will all return to a beautiful Garden.

When tragedy strikes do we really trust Jesus? As we finish up the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus we explore why it is sometimes easier to trust IN Jesus than it is to fully trust Him.

In the south, colloquialisms abound. One that is used often is, "You look like a cow staring at a new gate." It describes someone faced with an obstacle or question that they can't seem to solve, and they just stare, sometimes in disbelief. The Jews were often like this when it came to Jesus. He presented them with questions and answers they just couldn't believe.

Have you ever wondered what a shepherd actually does? Me too. Shepherding isn't a very popular occupation today, so many of us do not know what a shepherd's job really is. Today, Stephen attempts to explain what a shepherd does and why it is such a beautiful metaphor for Jesus to use to describe Himself.

The people of Israel struggled to remember the goodness and mercies of God. They were sheep with a short memory who needed protection from a good shepherd. In today's passage in 1 Samuel 7, our executive lead Delfino shows us God protecting His people as the Good Shepherd.

Have you ever heard someone say that things are worse now than they ever have been? Is that really true? Stepping away from our study of John we begin a short message series this week entitled "The Good Shepherd". Our first stop brings us to the book of Judges where things are not great for the people of Israel. God's people have lost their leader Joshua and when sheep don't have a shepherd they wander as the people of Israel show all too well.

Have you ever needed a hero? I think all of us have at some point. Often when we think of heroes we think of muscle bound men and women in spandex with super powers. But what if the hero we needed all along was just a shepherd who knows our name?