This Sunday, Daniel Kunkel continued our series by looking at 1 Thessalonians 2 and what it means to share our lives in genuine Christian community. Paul didn’t just share the gospel with the Thessalonians; he shared his life with them. The Christian life invites us beyond superficial relationships and into a community where we can be truly known, deeply loved, and formed together in the way of Jesus.

This Sunday, we looked at what God is inviting us into as a church this fall: forming whole disciples to love the whole community.

This fall, we’re leaning into that calling together through spiritual formation, the next generation, and serving our neighbors—becoming a sacred refuge where people can encounter the presence of God, be made whole, and be sent out in love.

In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus invites us to ask, seek, and knock—not because prayer is a formula for getting whatever we want, but because God is a good Father who delights in giving good gifts to his children.

Jesus challenges our tendency to judge others while remaining unaware of our own shortcomings. We learned that “Judge not” is not a call to abandon discernment, but a warning against playing God by labeling, condemning, or assuming we know another person better than God does.

This Sunday, we had the privilege of hearing from Rev. Dr. Matthew Hoskinson teach from Psalm 39 on what it looks like to bring our frustration to God.

Jesus knows what it's like to live a life that feels short, misunderstood, and marked by suffering. He entered our frustration, carried it to the cross, and rose again so that we could bring every question, every disappointment, and every honest emotion into the presence of a God who doesn't turn away.

Anxiety often pulls us into tomorrow, causing us to miss the grace God has for us today. This week, we concluded Jesus' teaching on anxiety in Matthew 6 by seeing that His call to "not be anxious about tomorrow" isn't a denial of life's troubles—it’s an invitation to trust our Heavenly Father in the midst of them.

This week, we explored Jesus' invitation in Matthew 6:25–33 to bring our anxious hearts to our Heavenly Father. Rather than minimizing our fears or offering easy answers, Jesus meets us with remarkable tenderness. He invites us to look at the birds, consider the flowers, and remember the God who lovingly cares for all he has made—and how much more he cares for us.

Jesus didn’t come simply offering private spirituality or self-improvement — He came announcing the Kingdom of God. A Kingdom not built by human effort, politics, or personal ambition, but one that breaks into the world through the reign of King Jesus.

This week in our Build My Life series, we explored one of Jesus’ most challenging and distinctive teachings: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In a world shaped by division, retaliation, and tribalism, Jesus calls his followers to a radically different way of living.

This week, we looked at Matthew 5:38–42 and discovered Jesus’ countercultural vision for responding to insult and evil. Instead of repaying evil with evil, Jesus calls His people to respond with creative courage — confronting injustice in ways marked by dignity, generosity, service, and love.

This Sunday we looked at Luke 2:41–52 and the subtle reality of spiritual drift — the gradual, often unintentional process of moving away from the presence of God. Mary and Joseph were faithful, devout, and obedient, yet they traveled an entire day unaware that Jesus was no longer with them. In the same way, it’s possible to stay busy with life, responsibility, and even religious activity while slowly becoming distant from Jesus.

This week, we continued in the Sermon on the Mount series, where we looked at Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:33–37 and the call to live with honesty and integrity. In a world full of spin, exaggeration, and carefully managed appearances, Jesus invites his followers into something simpler: let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no.

This week in the Sermon on the Mount, we looked at Jesus’ words on lust found in Matthew 5:27–32. Through this passage, we learned that Jesus is more interested in His followers pursuing the way of love and healing what lies beneath distorted sexual desire than merely addressing outward behavior. He has a beautiful invitation for us—one of honesty, healing, community, and restoration through His unconditional grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This week, we continued in our Build My Life series, looking at what Jesus has to say about the dangers of anger in Matthew 5:21–26. While anger is a God-given emotion and a way that we reflect being made in His image, it can also be a destructive issue in our hearts, leading us to devalue and dehumanize others.

This Sunday, we looked at Matthew 5:17–20 and how Jesus reframes our understanding of the Law. While we may naturally resist rules, Jesus makes it clear He didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, showing its true purpose and how it ultimately points to Him. At the same time, He calls us to take His commands seriously—not by striving for perfection on our own, but by growing in steady, intentional obedience.

Following Jesus is not just about belief or behavior modification, but about a transformed heart that leads to a transformed life. In this sermon, Jesus invites us to move from simply hearing his words to living them as his disciples.

Jesus redefines the path to a blessed life. In contrast to a culture that tells us to chase happiness, Jesus points to a counter-cultural foundation: mourning, meekness, and hunger for righteousness.