Last Sunday we continued our October series, “Haunted: Things That Go Bump in the Bible.” This week we focused our attention on perhaps the scariest concept in both the Bible and life: Death. What does the Bible say about death? What does it mean for the New Testament to claim that "death has been defeated" in the story of Jesus? Join us as we wrestle with these questions together!
Read MoreThis week we continue our October series, “Haunted: Things That Go Bump in the Bible.” Last week, we explored the figure of Satan. This week, we turned to a related, and perhaps even more mysterious subject: demons. The New Testament is filled with stories of demons, unclean spirits, and Jesus confronting the forces of evil. But what are we supposed to make of these accounts? What did people in the ancient world mean when they talked about demons? And what might these stories reveal about who Jesus was and what he was doing?
Read MoreWe started a new, spooky series this week! Each week of October our “Haunted” series will explore some of the things that go bump in the Bible: The Devil, demons, death, and damnation (hell). This week we kicked things off by talking about the Devil/Satan. Who or what is the Devil? Where do our ideas about Satan come from? What does any of this have to do with our shoes? Join us as we explore these questions and more!
Read MoreThis week community member and theologian Kat Armas concluded our "Disturbing Red Letters" series by looking at some truly head-scratching words from Jesus. In Mark 9:43-48, Jesus says: If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell., And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. What do we make of these jarring words? Join us as Kat explores these disturbing red letters!
Read MoreThis week Josh brought us back into our "Disturbing Red Letters" series by looking at Jesus's words about "the way being narrow and the path hard that lead to life." Jesus went on to say "there are few who find it." That doesn't sound promising, considering there are billions of people on the planet, does it? How can we know if we are on this narrow way? Do we even want to be? Listen in as we explore these questions and more together!
Read MoreHow do we speak truth in love when the political landscape feels like a battlefield? This Sunday Pastor Josh Scott was joined by Doug Pagitt, Executive Director of Vote Common Good, for a conversation that offers a practical vision designed to help you engage in open, honest political conversations with the people you care about most--without sacrificing your values, destroying your relationships, or losing your peace of mind.
Read MoreThis Sunday we looked at more of Jesus's Disturbing Red Letters, with special guest and friend of GracePointe, Colby Martin!
Colby focused on a passage from Luke 17, in which Jesus tells his disciples that "a mustard seed-sized faith" is enough to do anything--it can even command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and transplanted into the sea.
You won't want to miss Colby's take on these Red Letters!
Read More In Matthew 18, when asked about the number of times we should forgive someone who’s wronged us, Jesus’s answer is quite shocking. He told his disciple Peter that we are challenged to forgive, not once or even seven times, but seventy seven times! These Disturbing Red Letters feel almost impossible to practice. Isn’t this kind of forgiveness just condoning the action of those who wronged us? Doesn’t it just give them a free pass? Or, is it possible that Jesus is making connections to a larger story, one that is as ancient as humanity?
In this week’s sermon Pastor Josh Scott unpacks the context of these Disturbing Red Letters, and you won’t want to miss what’s there!
This week's Disturbing Red Letters come from Luke 18. After encountering a rich ruler who refused to give his wealth to the poor and follow Jesus, Jesus responded by saying, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
But what exactly does Jesus mean? Is he saying that rich people are going to miss heaven? How much money does someone have to have before they're considered “rich”? And is Jesus speaking only to his audience back then—or is he speaking to us today? Listen in as we explore the meaning together!
Read MoreThis week we continued our new series called Disturbing Red Letters, which focuses on the words of Jesus that can be experienced as exclusive, harsh, and downright impossible. This week we looked at two passages in which Jesus says that, if we want to follow him, we must hate our families and even skip their funerals. Yep, you read that right! What do we do with these difficult words? What was Jesus even thinking? Join us as Lead Pastor Josh Scott examines these disturbing words!
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