Kendal Beard-Following his resurrection Jesus introduces us to a different kind of power, no grandiose exit from the tomb or dramatic appearance but a presence that wants to walk, talk and eat with us, a steady, faithful, consistent power that sustains and gives life. 

As we continue to explore resurrectional life on the other side of Easter Sunday, George explored some questions from our community about the resurrection stories in the Bible, teaching us to practice holding doubt and faith together in the same way they are held in the scripture.

This episode explores how doubt and faith work together (Thomas’ honest response), and the need for communities that hold questions with compassion as we move toward living unafraid.

Eastertide’s 50 days celebrate the resurrection as a life-changing, joy-filled reality of Jesus’ presence with us which invites us to live consciously, deeply, and meaningfully as we learn to practice resurrection daily.

George introduced us to the practice of Paschaltide, which is a period of unmitigated joy celebrated in many churches around the world during the “fifty days OF Easter.” Easter and Jesus’ resurrection are more than just a historical event we talk about on one Sunday each year; they are a daily, actionable way of life for us to live into.

Easter is about what it means to be human—for everyone. And asks the question: "What is the better way to live?" Because resurrection says that what we do with our lives now matters.

*SONG CREDIT: "Wait" by Matt Maher

Lee Beard teaches us from John 12 about what the people of Israel were expecting of Jesus and how we also bring our own expectations to Jesus sometimes leading to disappointment.

The biblical story is portrayed as a continual journey—of wandering, searching, leaving, and returning—where faith is an ongoing pilgrimage of the heart rather than loyalty to a fixed shrine. Drawing on Abraham Joshua Heschel’s idea in God in Search of Man, George suggest that God is actively seeking humanity, patiently respecting human freedom while waiting for our return. In Gospel of Luke chapter 15, Jesus  portrays God like a father who refuses to measure worth by sin or goodness, instead affirming that his children have always belonged to him and extending forgiveness even before it is asked.

Jesus, in Luke 4, returns to his hometown and reveals a vision of God centered on inclusion, compassion, and transformation rather than vengeance, even omitting violent language from his own sacred scripture and simplifying religious law to focus on love. When Jesus points out that God has historically helped outsiders and enemies, his hometown rejects him because it challenges their narrow understanding of where God is at work.

Kendal Beard's teaching this Sunday explored Jesus' holy curiosity as a child to listen and ask questions of the teachers in the temple.

Our Temptation is to think that knowing ourselves is unimportant in knowing God. But from the earliest days of the church, Knowing God and Knowing Self are interdependent. This is ancient Christian understanding. In this teaching, George lead us in some observations of Luke 4 to see what we can discover about our most authenthic selves from Jesus' own initiation and forty days of wandering in the wilderness.