"It's a relationship, not a religion". I grew up hearing stuff like this. It was meant to differentiate truly following Jesus from just attending church to do the right thing or keep up appearances. A lot of the time, I wonder, "What is this relationship supposed to look like? How is it different from religion?".

Jesus said some hard things. In all of His teachings, Jesus never lowered the bar or standard. Even when he seemed to break the rules, He was really teaching us what the rules were supposed to be pointing towards. In John 6, Jesus said some hard things. His teaching was really offering to accept us in a new and unique way!

One of the most amazing promises that Jesus made to his followers is that He promised to never leave us. He promised that He would always be with us. In order to keep that promise He sent His Holy Spirit to help.

Easter offers this fresh start, a new beginning. It is an amazing work of God, but what does that new beginning look like, lived out in our new lives? We’ll actually go back in time a little from Easter Sunday to discover how Jesus offers and intends for us to live a new life!

There is so much hope in new beginnings. When you start a new job, there is hope and promise. When your kid starts kindergarten or college there is excitement and anticipation for what the future holds. When you say “I do” you’re anticipating a lifetime of happiness and joy. The problem with new beginnings in our world is that there is not a limitless supply of them. Easter is the ultimate and only eternal new beginning!

Jesus knows that He has to go to Jerusalem and everyone around Jesus knows that if He goes to Jerusalem something is going to happen. The religious leaders are frightened by the buzz created by Jesus’ miracles, especially the resurrection of Lazarus and they have already started to discuss how to rid themselves of Jesus. It is remarkable that Jesus would head to Jerusalem, but the way He chooses to enter the city is even more remarkable. There really isn’t any hidden meaning in the story - - Kings had made that trip in that way before and the crowds responded in kind. The question for us is how we will respond.

Chapter six is a weird combination of lawsuits and sexual immorality, but really it is a discussion on who we are going to allow to be in charge of our lives. Will we struggle to maintain control or are we willing to submit fully to Jesus?

Every team has disagreements. How you handle those disagreements is really the most important thing.

Judgement. That is a tough word for people to deal with. The word has a point - followers of Jesus should not expect the world to behave like believers and so no judgement is appropriate... But inside the family of Jesus there SHOULD be expectations and we must hold each other accountable.

Judgement. That is a tough word for people to deal with. The word has a point - followers of Jesus should not expect the world to behave like believers and so no judgement is appropriate... But inside the family of Jesus there SHOULD be expectations and we must hold each other accountable.