Famous Stories of Love
4/19/2020 to 6/28/2020
Nathaniel
June 28, 2020 • Joe Coffey
Jesus Christ sees you, knows the real you, and has opened his arms wide on the cross to receive you and love you. This weekend, we finished our series on Famous Stories of Love in John 1 with the story of Jesus calling Nathaniel. We were reminded that we cannot love God or others if we are not first loved by him, but that in Jesus Christ we are fully known and fully loved—our true fullness and acceptance comes from no other place than him. If there was ever a time to talk more, live more, be more about love, now is the time.
Lazarus
June 21, 2020 • Joe Coffey
Sometimes in the middle of a story, it’s easy to doubt that God loves us. We often think that God’s love should fit into our timing and plans, but God knows exactly what we need, and our hard seasons are just the middle of the story. This weekend, Pastor Joe continued our message series with the story of Lazarus in John 11 and reminded us that whatever we go through, if we know Jesus, it’s the middle of the story. Your story ends well because you are part of the greatest story ever.
The Rich Young Ruler
June 14, 2020 • Zach Weihrauch
This weekend, Pastor Zach gave a new perspective on God’s love through the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10. In our culture, love is often synonymous with affirmation. Yet, we are reminded in Jesus that real love is about someone caring enough to tell us the truth, and to risk whatever it takes to speak honestly. God invites us to see that his love is enough to tell you the truth and to risk what it takes. His love enables you to trust him, even when what he says is difficult to hear. His love reminds us that nothing is impossible with God.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
June 7, 2020 • Zach Weihrauch
This weekend, Pastor Zach continued our series on Famous Stories of Love with the story of Jesus Healing a Paralytic in Mark 2. We learned how we often try and define what it means for God to love us, that if he loved us, he would give us what we want. But God's love is so much greater than we can comprehend and he gives us the best gift: forgiveness for our sins. May this message help you reflect on the generous love of God and remind you that he loves us too much to give us too little.
The Prodigal Son (Part 2)
May 31, 2020 • Joe Coffey
This weekend Pastor Joe continued the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. We learned why we love the stuff God gives us more than we love him, and how that leaves us empty and alone. The good news is we can come back to our senses and into a relationship with God by realizing how good he is, how much we’ve sinned against him, and that we need to stop making excuses for why we ran away. May this message remind you to trust in Jesus to lead you back to the Father to experience the amazing love he’s waiting to unleash on you.
The Prodigal Son (Part 1)
May 24, 2020 • Joe Coffey
This weekend Pastor Joe took us through the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. We learned why we love the stuff God gives us more than we love him, and how that leaves us empty and alone. The good news is we can come back to our senses and into a relationship with God by realizing how good he is, how much we’ve sinned against him, and that we need to stop making excuses for why we ran away. May this message remind you to trust in Jesus to lead you back to the Father to experience the amazing love he’s waiting to unleash on you.
The Lost Sheep & Coin
May 17, 2020 • Zach Weihrauch
This weekend Pastor Zach continued our message series with the parables Jesus told about the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. We learned how far someone will go to find what they’ve lost shows just how much they value it. These stories illustrate the depth of Jesus’ love for you: he gave his very life to offer you forgiveness and mercy that would lead you back from a lost life to one reunited with God.
Nicodemus
May 10, 2020 • Zach Weihrauch
This weekend Pastor Zach used the story of Nicodemus, the Pharisee known for visiting Jesus under cover of night, to show us that God loves difficult people – even those who are hard to teach or don’t want to risk their reputations by associating with him. After his loving encounter with Jesus, Nicodemus went from a man hiding in the shadows to living boldly for Christ, where all could see his affection for his Savior. What would your life look like if you really believed that God loves every version of you – even the most challenging one?
Peter
May 3, 2020 • Joe Coffey
The love stories in the Bible are full of very real and raw portrayals of people. No sugar coating here—we see the good, the bad, and the ugly. This weekend, Pastor Joe showed us how the story of Peter, arguably the most powerful and prominent disciple, was no different. The good news is if someone can mess up as badly as he did, but still be loved by God, we can have hope too! May this message remind you that in your ugliest of moments where it's hard to even love yourself, Jesus loves you at your best AND your worst, because to him, love always matters most.
The Good Samaritan
April 26, 2020 • Zach Weihrauch
This weekend we continued our new message series, Famous Stories of Love, with the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10. It's a familiar tale, but this time we looked at this story from a new perspective. There's plenty to learn from the Samaritan on how to be a good neighbor, but Pastor Zach showed us what we can learn from identifying with the man who was mugged and left for dead, with nothing to offer, and yet was still loved beyond measure.
The Sinful Woman
April 19, 2020 • Joe Coffey
From cover to cover, the Bible is a story of God's love for you, but woven throughout are enchanting true tales of people who have found remarkable ways to love God and others, sometimes against all odds and always at great cost. These stories will fill your heart with gratitude for God's great love for you and inspire you to find bold ways to share his love with those around you. This weekend, Pastor Joe launched a series with the story of The Sinful Woman, found in Luke 7.