There is one thing that all humans seem to want and yet it is one of the things that still eludes us... certainty. Many people today hold to the belief that science can deliver certainty. That through application of the scientific method, careful observation and repeated experimentation, we can arrive at a point of certainty about how things work and why things happen. The problem is, most scientists don't believe that. They know that the best they can offer is a certain degree of confidence base on the evidence they have observed. Blaise Pascal, the famous 17th Century mathematician and physicist went so far as to say, "Faith is a sounder guide than reason. Reason can only get you so far, but faith has no limits." Jesus invites those with faith in him to know that nothing can snatch you out of his hands. To live each day certain of our standing with God and his love for us because, through faith, we belong to him not because of what we know or what we do, but because of everything Christ has done for us. Being certain of that frees us to live a radically different life to those who are still looking for certainty in other places.
Part 4 of our post-Easter series: "Identity Check"
The world today wants to tell us that ‘love is love’. They’re basically saying it doesn’t matter how you love, who you love, or what you love, all love is the same. That is simply not what the Bible tells us. The Bible tells us that “God is love”. Only God can express perfect love, the kind of love that casts out fear, and he has done that through his Son Jesus. Only in knowing the love of God expressed to us in Jesus, do we even have a chance at showing real love to others. In fact, Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another as he had loved them. He went on to say this is how the world will know you are my disciples – by your love for one another. So join us as we explore what it means to love as Jesus has loved us, and to show that love to the world.
Part 3 of our post-Easter series: "Identity Check"
There are lots of different words that are commonly used to describe creative people; Kooky, eccentric, odd, or strange. All of them mean basically the same thing, they recognise ‘difference’. That is the main mark of creative people, they do things differently. Jesus was also considered by many to be eccentric, kooky and strange. He did not do things the ‘normal’ or ‘expected’ way and he often calls his disciples to do the same. Our ‘difference’ is another characteristic that will identify us followers of Jesus to the world around us when we respond with the creative love and life of Jesus to anything this life throws at us. Join us this week as we explore what it means to show the world our creativity.
Part 2 of our post-Easter series: "Identity Check"
On that first Easter morning, the world was forever changed. The tomb was empty, and Jesus had risen—not as a vision or a memory, but in real, resurrected life. Yet even as the disciples stood face to face with this reality, their vision was still clouded by fear, doubt, and human understanding.
But the resurrection is not just an event to be acknowledged; it is the very foundation of our faith. It is God’s great victory over sin and death, the moment that redefines all of history. And it invites us to see everything—our lives, our world, even ourselves—through a new lens.
Today, we step into ‘unfiltered vision’—not our own, but the vision of Jesus. Through his eyes, we see a creation that has been redeemed, a people restored, and a future that is bursting with resurrection hope. This is Easter. This is the good news. Christ is risen!"
Part 1 of our post-Easter series: "Identity Check"
On that first Easter morning, the world was forever changed. The tomb was empty, and Jesus had risen—not as a vision or a memory, but in real, resurrected life. Yet even as the disciples stood face to face with this reality, their vision was still clouded by fear, doubt, and human understanding.
But the resurrection is not just an event to be acknowledged; it is the very foundation of our faith. It is God’s great victory over sin and death, the moment that redefines all of history. And it invites us to see everything—our lives, our world, even ourselves—through a new lens.
Today, we step into ‘unfiltered vision’—not our own, but the vision of Jesus. Through his eyes, we see a creation that has been redeemed, a people restored, and a future that is bursting with resurrection hope. This is Easter. This is the good news. Christ is risen!"
Part 4 of our Holy Week series: "Unfiltered"
Part 3 of our Holy Week series: "Unfiltered"
At LifeWay, we began our celebration of Holy Week on Palm Sunday as we recounted the events of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Tonight we remember the jubilant shouts of the crowd, "Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna!" But we remember also that within the next 24 hours those same crowds would be shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify Him!"
For this is the night when Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God would give himself into the hands of his betrayer. This is the night where Christ served his disciples one final meal before his arrest and trial. This is the night When Jesus evoked the memory of all God's promises to his chosen people and offered himself as a sacrifice to establish a new promise, a promise to heal, restore, and and strengthen those who would call upon his name. Tonight is the night we remember, with unfiltered memory, all that God has done for us.
Part 2 of our Holy Week series: "Unfiltered"
Power and authority. They are both often talked about together but are they really the same thing? It seems that the world today often confuses these two things.
Think of it this way; power can be taken for oneself. The bully on the school playground has the power to coerce lunch money from others because of their threatening physical presence, they have the power or ability to elicit the fear response from others, but they do not have the authority to do that. In fact, if a teacher or the principal ever caught on to what was happening they would have the authority to do something about it and impose some consequences. That authority has been given to them by the School board and the parents of the school by virtue of the employment and enrolment agreements that have been willingly entered into by all parties concerned. When Jesus came into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, the people wanted him to use his power and authority to overthrow the Roman regime and establish a new earthly kingdom of Israel. To impose his will and rule upon everyone in the land. But Jesus authority had another purpose. He had the authority to lay down his life and to pick it up again - that was the authority he had come to exercise and that's what we'll talk more about today as we explore Unfiltered Authority.
Part 1 of our Holy Week series: "Unfiltered"
Have you ever been a devoted fan or collector of something? Postage stamps or coins perhaps?
Maybe you have followed the career of a particular famous sportsperson, pop star or actor and have collected all sorts of memorabilia that honours and celebrates their achievements. Whatever the object of devotion, when people are devoted to something or someone, you can usually tell how devoted they are by how invested they are in it.
However, our whole hearted love and devotion towards Jesus comes more naturally when we recognise his wholehearted devotion to us. Jesus was so invested in redeeming us from sin and death that he invested everything, even his life, so that we could be his. It's that wholehearted devotion that sparks our devotion in response and that's what we're going to talk about this week.
Final week of our Lent series: "Wholehearted"