As Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, just a few days before the people would be shouting at the top of their lungs, "Crucify Him! Crucify him!", they praised, "Behold, Jerusalem, Your king is coming to you! Humble, riding on a donkey!" How drastically things changed. This king, willing to lay down his life, had come for the salvation of all mankind.

No one likes going through hard times, or dealing with people treating them differently. And sometimes we get ourselves into those situations, and other times it's like Jesus said, the world won't understand why we follow Him, and because of that, they will persecute the church. Sure, we've all done things we shouldn't have that got backlash, but what about when we are doing everything right, and we are treated poorly because of that?

Jesus said that those who make peace are blessed. He also said that it was a clear sign that they are the sons of God. He who is the Prince of Peace, leads us into a life of peace, for the purpose of creating peace around us. But the question is, do we have peace?

How does our heart affect our actions? What is the connection? Scripture tells us that out of our hearts flow all things, both evil and good. That a good heart can't produce bad fruit, and a bad heart can't produce good fruit. So our heart is very important.

When bad things happen to us we have a choice to make, do we give mercy, or demand justice? Karma might sound like it is the better option, but Jesus had a better way, "Blessed are those who are merciful..." the end result? We will also receive mercy when we mess up.

Jesus didn't call us to follow a set of rules, he calls us to follow Him. Jesus himself had a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and he calls us to the same as we become more like him. To do what is right, out of our love for, and for the sake of the One who is righteous!

In the third beatitude Jesus calls us to be like him, meek. He would later say that he is lowly and gentle of heart. Meek, gentle, humble. They all call us to a different way of living. The Jesus way!

In the first words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount he challenges the people to ask if they recognize that they need something. They need Him. They need the Messiah. And he's come to give them the Kingdom. He's come to teach them how to live.

In our first week of a new series, Be Like Jesus, we are looking at the "Beatitudes" found in Matthew 5:2-12. Jesus first challenges what it means to be blessed. People had a warped ideology of blessing. Through this teaching he also leads people to life by inviting them to have a different perspective, even in the midst of difficult times.

In one of his first teachings, Jesus says that we are both salt and light. But what does he mean? And why is he saying it that way? As we continue to establish the foundation of the Kingdom of God and our place in it, we look at Matthew 5:13-16 and the connection it has with Paul's encouragement that we are Ambassadors of Christ.

As we lay out our journey for this year, we are looking at Jesus' words from Matthew 5-7, what is traditionally called, "The Sermon on the Mount". This series of short teachings was Jesus' way of explaining what life was to look like under this new 'rule and reign' of the Kingdom of God. The Messiah hadn't come with an army to overthrow the nations of the world and force them to follow, he gives all people the invitation to follow him as he leads us as the Good Shepherd.

The beginning of the year seems like it's a good time to set things in order, do a personal inventory of how we are doing, and make a choice to do what we can to move forward in our lives. Does our relationship with God need the same? In our discipleship to Jesus, are we doing what He's called us to do? And if not, how can we fix that?

John 3:16 is clear, Jesus came for the sake of love. Everything God does comes out of love because God is Love. Not love like we often define it in this world, but love as only God can define and give. And our lives are meant to receive that love, so we can live with that kind of love for others.

The angel said to the shepherds that he was bringing them good news that would be great joy to all the world. Everyone! But what is this good news? And how does it bring great joy? Sure, we are happy that Jesus is born, but is it more than just happy for a moment? Jesus being born means more than just being happy!

What does it mean to live under the authority of the Prince of Peace? First, we have to recognize that authority and then we need to listen to the authority. God does not take authority over us. He IS the author of all things. He IS the authority. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and he invites us to recognize and live under and by that authority.

In this first week of the Advent Season we are looking at hope. Scripture says Jesus is our hope, and through his birth that we celebrate at Christmas, we are invited to anticipate, with great expectation, the coming of the one who leads us to salvation, the one who heals, restores and sets us free. We have a great hope in Jesus Christ!

In this week of thanksgiving, and also much grief in our church family, we are taking a moment to remind ourselves of the hope we have in Christ. Hope for our immediate situations, and hope for our eternal salvation. Because our hope of salvation in Jesus Christ gives us hope for today!

As we wrap up our series on Thanksgiving, we look at a Psalm of David that reminds us to give thanks. Psalm 23 speaks of the goodness of God, and our response to it. He is our shepherd - do we allow him to lead us? Even in our darkest times, we have a good shepherd that wants to lead us and set a table before us!

No, practicing our thanksgiving isn't testing the pie early before you give it to your guests. We all know that giving thanks isn't always the easiest thing to do. But having a life and a heart of gratitude is key to following the way of Jesus. That means we need to remind ourselves to be thankful, to practice our thanksgiving at all times!

In our new series Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart we are looking at what it means to be grateful, not just in word, or even action, but truly from our heart. God wants to transform us to be more like Christ, and in so doing, our lives become an outward expression of the inward work of transformation!