This week we get to celebrate the greatest event in our faith—the very thing with which our faith is built on! Because He is risen, we can have confidence in the truth of our faith, joy in our present life, and hope for where Christ is taking us.

This year for Good Friday we had a special “Service of Darkness.” It was a candlelit service where Pastor Erik went through the life of Jesus and focused on the week leading up to His crucifixion. 

This week, we are going to be looking at a well-known section of Scripture in Luke’s Gospel—the account of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Here we see a picture of our Savior’s love in seeking out the Lost and the way that the love of Christ motivated Zacchaeus to respond with praise and joy. It is my hope that this Sunday, we too would experience the motivating power of Jesus’s love. See you soon.

We often talk in church about giving our praise and worship to Jesus. And rightfully so! Jesus is certainly worthy of our praise. But sometimes it becomes automatic, or “routine”, to praise Him on Sunday during a worship service. What about the rest of the week? What about when things aren’t going that great? Or what about when God answers a simple request such as, “God, help me find my keys!” Do we stop and give praise to God when we find them? Jesus is worthy of our praise in all sorts of times. Join us Sunday as we explore the mercy of Jesus, how He heals in many ways, and the praise He deserves because of all these things.

This week, we will be looking at a parable told by Jesus. There has been much confusion and speculation over what this parable actually means, but despite that challenge, its message is as important as ever.

This week we come to one of the great passages of the Bible—the parable of the Lost Sons. This great parable has two other parables with it all pointing to God’s heart for people who are lost and found. My prayer is that as we sit under this great and familiar text, we will come to appreciate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his work of seeking and saving the lost.

As we continue in Luke, we come across two well-known accounts of our Savior: The Good Samaritan, and Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary. In looking at these two narratives, Luke helps us see where eternal life is really found—in loving your neighbor and in God Himself. Yet, in both of these accounts, there are assumptions made that obscure people from seeing the life-giving work of mercy and the life-giving time spent worshipping Him. I am looking forward to looking at this well-known text together and hearing God’s Spirit speak through His Word.

As we continue in Luke, we come across two well-known accounts of our Savior: The Good Samaritan, and Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary. In looking at these two narratives, Luke helps us see where eternal life is really found—in loving your neighbor and in God Himself. Yet, in both of these accounts, there are assumptions made that obscure people from seeing the life-giving work of mercy and the life-giving time spent worshipping Him. I am looking forward to looking at this well-known text together and hearing God’s Spirit speak through His Word.

Greetings – This week I want to continue our discussion on Spiritual Warfare. We took a look at it from the lens of Luke—and the authority that Jesus Christ has over the demonic—yet I want to look at what that means for us! Perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of Spiritual Warfare is the warfare that goes on in the mind and the heart. Lies can be like strongholds, or weeds that spread and infiltrate—destroying from within. Is there any protection? Yes! In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul deals with a church who has believed lies and fights back, not with the weapons of the world, but with the weapon of truth. Let us do the same.

As we continue our series of Luke, we come to another illustration of Christ’s authority on display in helping a man in bad shape. This man has been completely bound by demons who have taken his life and everything else from him… until Jesus comes on the scene. A hallmark of Jesus’s ministry was his authority over demonic forces revealed in His exorcisms. In addition, Acts highlights that the apostles and other in church demonstrated that same authority. In a culture here in the PNW that is more and more open to the occult and demonic forces, texts like this give us confidence about how we are to respond in a culture and world becoming increasing occultist and spiritualist. In the presence of Christ, the demons flee and because Christ is in us, we too have nothing to fear.

This Sunday, we looked at a well-known passage that is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). In this passage we see who Jesus is—the God of creation! Our passage also shows us the kind of faith that Jesus wants us to be of: a bold, confident one. Christ expects that His disciples will trust Him in every circumstance and through every circumstance. I pray that as a result of our time together, your faith will be strengthened, and you will be able to see Jesus in His marvelous power and trust Him in whatever storm you may find yourself in.

For those who call themselves “Followers of Christ,” it’s easy to forget that in the time of Jesus, people would physically follow Christ. We now refer to these people as disciples. In Luke chapter 5, Jesus first calls Simon, then later in the chapter, He calls Levi to be a follower of Christ. But an interesting thing happens: Levi invites Jesus to a meal with tax collectors and sinners. What Jesus does in that moment is both controversial and beautiful. The example that Jesus leaves for us in this small section of scripture is a powerful reminder that Jesus is a friend of sinners and calls us to be in search of those who are needing repentance. Join us as together we explore what it means to be both a follower of Jesus and a friend of sinners.

So far in Luke we have been looking at Jesus’ Galilean ministry. One of the characteristics we have seen about our Lord is His willingness to engage and call individuals to new life. Speaking to a commercial fisherman, healing a leper with a touch, and calling a tax collector to a new life are just some of the works Jesus has done so far. For our text this Sunday, we will again see the kind of Savior Jesus is, as he comes to a woman in desperation and reveals His compassion and His power over death. In these days, people are looking for someone who is not just compassionate, but One who can actually give life—and that can only be found in Jesus Christ. See you soon.

This week we will be looking at a situation of a man who knew Jesus could help him, but asked if Jesus was willing to. One of the great passages of Scripture, we see that Jesus is a Lord who is not only able to heal but is also willing to meet us where we are.

This week we will look at the calling of the first disciples of Jesus Christ- Peter, Andrew, James and John. In this new year, there is a lot for us to learn from this passage- what we will see is that Our Lord is not only the God of the Word, but He is also the God of everything else. One of the biggest mistakes we make is compartmentalizing our faith. When we do this, we miss out on the way in which Jesus can speak to us and through us throughout the week.