In a new segment for our podcast, our Lead Pastor Stephen and our Next Gen and Communications Lead Jess tell the story of how our church came to be. Grab a cup of coffee and listen to how God brought everything together!

As we wrap up the fourth chapter of John's account of Jesus' life, we see a story of a man in desperate need. His son was dying. Jesus knew, however, that this man, and his son's biggest need wasn't physical healing. The biggest need they had was the same need we all share with them, salvation from sin. Jesus knows this man wants his son to live, but Jesus also knows that if this man would put his faith in Jesus, his son and himself could experience eternal life. Jesus was interested in this man having authentic faith. So what does that look like?

WARNING: This podcast episode contains discussions of sexual abuse and assault

Our stories are some of the only things completely unique to us. They are the things we know the best. Many of them are full of hurt, suffering, and shame. In this week's passage we find a woman who shared that with us. Her past was so hurtful she tried to hide as much as she could but Jesus found her and knew her fully and loved her deeply. In this sermon, Stephen shares some of the darkest and most shameful parts of his story so that some of you listening may hear him say two of the most powerful words one human can tell another, "Me too." Our prayer is that hearing this story helps you to draw nearer to the one who knows your story and chose you anyway. We pray that like many in the Samaritan town of Sychar you would believe that Jesus is the messiah, the savior of the world.

#metoo #tellyourstory

In a return to the biography of Jesus' life we call the gospel of John, we see Jesus doing typical Jesus things, meeting people where they are and elevating marginalized people. In today's passage, the beginning of chapter 4, we see Jesus tired after a long, hot journey. But the heat and fatigue don't keep Jesus from doing what he always does, using an ordinary moment for sacred purposes.

This past weekend we celebrated the most important day in history, Easter Sunday. The story that ended that day almost 2000 years ago, the story of sin and death and salvation, started thousands of years before that. The Bible tells this story over and over again. Instead of just posting the sermon from this past week, we wanted you to be able to experience our entire Easter celebration on the podcast. This is obviously much longer than usual, but we hope you see, hear, and know Jesus better after you listen!

As we enter into what we of the Christian faith call Holy Week, we explore the reason behind the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. While Jesus giving up His life willingly seems like a contingency plan, the Bible gives us a different story. Come with us as we discover that Jesus was always the plan.

In a short step away from following the story of Jesus through the book of John, we will take a few weeks to follow the story of Jesus through the whole Bible. Genesis 1 is one of the most known passages in the entire Bible. It tells the origins of the universe. But what if we misunderstood

The best man at a wedding has a pretty simple job, get the groom to the altar at all costs. After that, his job is done and he can fade into the background. John the Baptist in a lot of ways acted as Jesus' best man as Jesus arrived to meet His bride, the Church. Once Jesus arrived, John knew it was time to decrease so Jesus could increase. He knew that following Jesus was better. 

John 3:16 is quite possibly the most quoted verse of the Bible. Many of us may know the words of the verse, but have we stopped lately to explore the depth of love and grace it explains? In the second half of Jesus' interaction with a man named Nicodemus, Jesus reveals His reason for coming: to save the world. 

Nicodemus had every credential you could want in ancient Israel. He was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, a Rabbi of some renown, and not to mention one of God's chosen people. When Jesus tells him that his credentials would not be enough to enter the kingdom of Heaven, Nicodemus is incredulous. What credentials would it take to get to heaven? Jesus answer was simple: to be born again.