Thomas VanderPloeg

By looking back at the cross, we see Jesus reveal who God is; by seeing and knowing who God is, we see Jesus reveal something about who we are

Even before Jesus goes to the cross, he begins preparing his followers for what will come next—a new resurrection life guided by the Holy Spirit to be centered upon Christ and directed towards the Father.

We catch up to Jesus at the moment of his death sentence by crucifixion and begin working backward through the story to discover the reason for the cross.

Nobody wants to be treated as a project; faith that expresses outwardly takes its best shape in authentic relationships with other people.

Sometimes God takes us on steps of faith that travel outside of anything we have known before. It took boldness for Peter to follow God in new directions; our faith follows Jesus with that same boldness today as well.

The church in the New Testament shows an example of faith in God that is always expanding outward; how can we embrace a faith in God today that takes shape in the world beyond our church walls?

sometimes trying to figure out how God works in our lives feels like a puzzle; the prophet Samuel learned a little something about that, and it remains as a lesson for us today.

God nurtures our faith so that our faith can be healthy; the path to healthy faith centers on a love which embraces heart, soul, mind, and strength.