Fifty Great Days With the Risen Jesus (April 6 – May 11)

April 6 – Todd Boddy
“I Just Stopped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In”
2 Corinthians 4:1-12

April 13 – Todd Boddy
“Gifts without Graces”
Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 24 13-17

April 20 - Norman Stolpe
“Hidden Secrets Exposed”
Mark 4:21-25; 1 Corinthians 15:3-11
God is not in the business of covering up or concealing the eternal mysteries. The whole idea is to get things out in the open. The point of the Resurrection Parables is to spread the light of eternal life.

April 27 - Norman Stolpe
“Releasing Results”
Mark 4:3-9; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Ever work hard and wonder if anything came of it? Ever want to do something that would last only to see it collapse? Jesus offers us the freedom to keep going and let God worry about the results.

May 4 Ascension Sunday - Norman Stolpe
“Mysterious Growth”
Mark 4:26-29; 1 Corinthians 15:35-49
Seed, soil, rain, sun and voila! growth! Children, food, exercise, love and viola! growth! Prayer, Bible, worship and viola! growth! Unseen, unfelt, unplanned – how does growth happen?

Mary 11 Pentecost and Mothers’ Day - Norman Stolpe
“Never Too Small to Become Big”
Mark 4:30-34; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Success and size don’t always go together. God seems to prefer small when accomplishing something big.

Relationship Repair Shop: The Transformation of Broken Jacob (May 18 – June 8)

May 18 Trinity Sunday - Norman Stolpe
“Revenge and Reconciliation”
Genesis 27:41-45; 33:1-11
The ripples of sweet revenge sour everyone in its circle and stifle the spirit of those who seek it. It may take the thorns of a briar to pull free from this tar baby. Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation required a painful extraction from their bitterness. They show us how to get relief for both the wounded and the wounder.

May 25 - Norman Stolpe
“Watch Out for Each Other!”
Genesis 29:15-30; 31:43-54
Mutual manipulation preclude some relationships from trust. Mutual vigilance may become constructive grace. Both can hand off supervision to God. Jacob and his father-in-law Laban sneakily schemed to swindle each other. Learn how respect protects.

June 1 - Norman Stolpe
“Love, Anger, Grief”
Genesis 30:1-8; 35:16-20
The story of Jacob and Rachel is one of the great love sagas of the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet, it is fraught with jealousy, disappointment and pain. Across the centuries and cultures, they speak to us of passion, intimacy and deep commitment.

June 8 - Norman Stolpe
“Rescue and Wrestle”
Genesis 28:10-17; 32:24-31
Though most of us would not claim to have looked into the window of heaven, we would have to say we have all wrestled with God: sometimes in anger, sometimes in doubt, sometimes in fear. God’s unique relationship with Jacob invites us to look at God squarely and honestly.

Do I have to Change? God’s Path to a New You (July 6 – August 10)

July 6 - Norman Stolpe
“What Should We Do?”
Acts 2:37-42; Romans 12:1-2
After hearing the Apostle Peter’s first sermon, the audience asks “What should we do?” After 2000 years, Peter’s answer still tells us what it takes to access God’s transformation and make the changes we really want.

July 13 - Norman Stolpe
“Into Africa”
Acts 8:26-40; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Philip meets a government official from Ethiopia on a desert road in Palestine. Expatriate Jew? Jewish convert? Gentile God-fearer? He is obsessed with discovering the identity of the selfless, suffering servant. Getting acquainted with Jesus in Isaiah’s ancient poetry sends him into Africa totally transformed.

July 20 - Norman Stolpe
“Getting Your Attention”
Acts 9:1-19a; Galatians 6:14-17
Miraculous, instant, spectacular religious conversions make great drama. While they may be far from most people’s experience, they can lead to faulty expectations, and sometimes they may actually happen. What does God need to do to get our attention today so we can be transformed?

July 27 - Norman Stolpe
“Finding the Seekers”
Acts 10:1-33; Ephesians 2:15-22
Are you looking for God? Well, God’s been looking for you too. You may be surprised who God sends to find you, and those in God’s search party may be even more surprised than you are.

August 3 - Norman Stolpe
“The Place of Prayer”
Acts 16:13-15; Ephesians 4:17-24
Lydia had a well established habit of hanging out with God. She met with her women’s riverside prayer group every week. No surprise, when she hears about Jesus, she’s ready for him; she had just been waiting. Are you ready and waiting for Jesus too?

August 10 - Norman Stolpe
“Conversational Conversion”
Acts 18:1-4,18,24-28
Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos talked about Jesus. As they talked, they sharpened and deepened and expanded their faith. Listening and exploring what we understand of Jesus changes not just what we think but who we are.

Is your life too complicated to explain? Almost embarrassing if people “only knew” what you got yourself into?  Now, you may be asking God, “How do I get out of this trap?” The life of seeking faith and friendship with God, but countered and complicated by sin and evil is full of tangles and knots.  To help us, we are going to look at three people in the Bible who qualify as having “complicated lives”, to see what choices they made.  The scriptures admonish us to live faithfully in the world without becoming seduced by it. So what happens if we made a mistake or want to restart?

August 17th - Tangle of the World
As seen by Rahab
Scriptures: 1st) Joshua 2:1-7,  2nd) Joshua 6:20-24
Rahab “the prostitute” had faith which helped her recognize the work of God and leave life as she knew it. The church, calls people out of the “world”, (the domain which refuses to acknowledge God’s will).  The only hope for the world is that it should cease to be the “world”.  Jesus the Messiah, who underwent perfection by God, may be the only one who can lead you out.

August 24th - Tangle of Power
As seen by David
Scriptures: 1st) Ps 51:1-6, 2nd) Ps 51:7-12
Even David, the epitome of the O.T. kings, had a break down in judgment which entangled his life for years. His family could have qualified for the “Jerry Springer Show”, yet his seeking of self realization and abuse of power led to some stark spiritual revelations.  One of those was this:  God asks us to yield personal power for His greater purpose as did Jesus.

August 31st - Tangle of Alliances
As seen by Jehoshaphat
Scriptures: 1st) 1kgs 22:1-7, 2nd) Chronicles  20:1-9
Like the Old Testament king Jehoshaphat, our lives can take place in complex situations often not of our making. It just is. Jehoshaphat learned to discern true from false prophets, and gained wisdom from his own mistakes. We navigate among entangled liaisons where good and evil are confused.  Is there a King of Kings to lead us now?