Last week, we explored the brutality of what happened to Jesus on the cross that very first Easter. This week, Pastor Kim walks us through why it was all so necessary and what it accomplishes for each of us. What happens when we face the reality of what it means that the Author of Life gave up His to guarantee our own?

Mark Clark once wrote, “The scandal of Jesus is that he creates a crisis in each of us … The life & teachings of Jesus are more than just historical events we dust off & examine like artifacts in a museum. They alter reality, forcing us to rethink & reconfigure everything about our lives. Such is the risk and the adventure of the problem of Jesus.” Discover the problems that Jesus creates for each of us & a deeper understanding of one of the foundational events of our history.

How can you tell what’s right and what’s wrong? Fortunately, many would say, we live in an age where objective truth has disappeared. What’s true for you isn’t true for others, and what’s wrong for you isn’t wrong for others. But is it truly good for us when morals change from generation to generation and you can write your own? Or, are we missing something?

So often we’re told that we need to follow our own truth - that I need to pursue what makes me truly happy, regardless of the cost? At other times, we’re told that I should ignore myself and think only and ever of others. However, there is a third - and better - way of approaching life.

Why would anyone living today trust the Bible? Isn’t it full of terrible instances of violence and oppression? Isn’t it barbaric and outdated? Besides, you can’t really rely on a document that’s over 2000 years old. It’s been translated so often there’s very little likelihood that what we’re reading is what was written. Right? The answer just might surprise you!

Some have said, “Religion is basically how ancients understood the world, but science has taken us so far beyond that. If science explains or will explain everything, why do we really need God?” Others say, “ Science is man’s way of trying to get rid of God. It deifies itself, and shouldn’t be trusted - only what comes from faith can be counted on.” Which is true? The reality is, the answer is both … and neither. True truth is found in both the book of nature and the book of Scripture.

There is a phenomenon taking place in our world today, particularly in our America expression of Christianity - the notion of deconstructing one’s faith. Many in the established religious sphere have bemoaned this, and, sometimes, rightly so. However, this is not simply a flippant disregard for the holy, but most often it is a deep and reasoned response to hard things the church in general has not always handled well. Begin a journey of looking at this process and perhaps discover that it just might be foundational for what it means to REALLY follow after this man called Jesus.

Because Life is Hard, it can be hard to accept the good that comes our way. But if we learn to trust again, if we roll up our sleeves, if we discover that there is a hope and a truth greater than what I see in the moment, we can learn to embrace the good that will set us free.

Because life is hard, many (most?) of us have learned that we can't really trust others. We've learned that trusting others can easily result in being hurt or let down. And while it takes vulnerability to try to trust again, there is a strength and an agency that comes with trying that opens us back up to hope and healing.

Life is hard, and the only real way of walking through it is to find something greater than that hardness - something we believe is found in God and those who act to love in His name. But even so, there is a very real piece to this puzzle that means we need to find what role WE have to plan in walking towards wholeness and peace .. in other words, we need to do some hard work on our own, too.

We'll all agree that hard times come, but we're not always sure what to do when they come. Discover three things that will make a huge difference if you can discover them in the midst of the difficulty. It's another step on the journey through the times When Life Is Hard.

There is no question that life is difficult. That's obvious to anyone who is breathing. But we still wrestle with WHY life is hard. There are many possible answers to this. Let's look at four of them ... and maybe even start discussing a possible response.

It's been often said, "Direction, not intention, determines destination." We may know where we want to go, but what direction do we need to head to get there. Explore with us what this means for our church family in this final message of our "Church Playlist" series as we hit the fast forward button to where we are heading in the days to come.

Just as much as understanding where we've been matters for where we are now and where we're headed, it's essential to know what is most important, what we repeat time and time again. We need to both know and to uphold what is most essential to who we are, to loudly proclaim our anthem to ourselves and to the world around us. Join the song today!

To really understand where we're headed, we have to understand where we've been. Our past shapes and guides and informs both who we are today and who we will become. It doesn't define us, but it's an important piece of our identity. Discover more about where we've been as a church family!

One of the most painful things in our modern society is when a family falls apart, particularly when that means divorce. No one likes it, no one HOPES for it, but it seems to be an ever present reality no matter where we look. And perhaps worse still, those who claim to follow Jesus have often branded those who have experienced a divorce with a bright scarlet “D” for the rest of their lives. But what did Jesus have to say about divorce, and what does that tell us today?

#TheHeartOfTheMatter #Divorce #SermonOnTheMount