The Weekly
This Week See all the people Do you remember intertwining the fingers of your hands and saying, “Here’s the church. Here’s the steeple. Open the doors, and see all the people!” It’s a neat little reminder that in the Bible, the church is never a building, but it’s always people—people Jesus lived and died for…
This Week Highlights Events and ministry news needing immediate attention A Place of Peace weekly update Information about the official beginning of the campaign is in a letter mailed to you this week. Audiovisual and acoustics designing have begun. Farewell (for now) to the Hunters | June 8 Join us on June 8 for Pastor…
This Week Turn the other cheek That’s probably one of Jesus’ most famous statements. No one criticizes Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek” or to “love your enemy” because to do so would be vile or disgusting. Everyone agrees such actions would be lofty and admirable; but to do it is just impossible. Who…
This Week One of the most attractive things about Christianity Have you ever been called a prude for the way you think about sex and marriage? Or maybe for not going along with the messages many movies and much music send about sex and marriage? The living Jesus has something to say to us about…
This Week Standards Everyone has standards. Some have double standards. Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17-26, and you’ll know that the Son of God upholds standards and the penalties for not living up to them. He says something alarming in verse 20, but he also gives us a solution. Hint: it’s not getting rid of…
This Week Salt and Light Everybody knows about salt and light, so they should make for easy spiritual comparisons, right? But when Jesus calls you the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16), the difficulty does not lie in understanding, but in embracing and responding. This weekend, gather with other…
This Week What do the “The Beatitudes” mean to you? This week we come to Matthew 5:1-12, one of the most famous sections of the Bible, the Beatitudes. They sound so appropriate and so honorable. And they are. But when you read them, you must also be horribly unsettled. What do we do when we haven’t…
This Week He healed them What happens when you come alongside the hurting? You are, in Paul’s words, “participating in Christ’s sufferings.” Oh, you’re not suffering as the substitute for sinners. You’re doing it to show the love of Christ, our substitute, to the person who is hurting. That’s better than any physical healing. Matthew…
This Week Follow me If you like what you see in some social media apps, you’re invited to “click, like, and subscribe.” Other apps are more direct and simply say, “If you like what you see, follow me.” They stole that from Jesus! Early in his ministry, Jesus invited four people to “follow me.” They…