Follow the King

“Surely this man was the Son of God.” Those words were spoken by a Roman soldier at the foot of the Cross after Jesus laid down His life as the ransom price to set the guilty free. “Save Yourself.” Those words were shouted in mockery by the religious leaders—missing the irony that Jesus could not save Himself and save us. “ Jesus is King.” That is the message Mark reveals through the Cross. What l...

Today was a special day in the life of our faith family as we ordained three new elders—recognizing those Jesus has already been shaping to help shepherd His people. After months of prayer, discernment, and preparation, we laid hands on Tim Jackson, Nate Judd, and Josh Stone and commissioned them to serve beneath the Chief Shepherd, Jesus. This isn’t about status—but responsibility. And ultimately...

Our failures do not get the final word. Jesus does. Jesus knows our weakness before we ever fail—and our worst moments don’t catch Him by surprise. What we think we’ve destroyed, Jesus is able to restore.

The lamb. The bread. The bitter herbs. The cups. For generations, the Passover table told Israel’s story of rescue. Then Jesus sat at that table—and everything changed. A new covenant. A greater rescue. And Jesus Himself, the Lamb of God who gave His life to set us free.

Gethsemane gives us a breathtaking glimpse of Jesus in His humanity. He knew what the cup would cost, asked the Father to take it away—and then faithfully chose to take it for us. Hallel-Yah! Our hope isn’t found in the strength of our promises, but in the strength of the One who rescued us.

We can know we’ve been saved while slowly forgetting what we were saved from—and what it cost to set us free. The bread and cup call us to remember the life Jesus, our Rescuer, gave for us. And when we stand face-to-face with what He gave for our freedom, it changes what we’re willing to give to Him.

Have you ever looked at what was happening in your life and asked, “Jesus, what are You doing?”   The disciples did too. But what looked confusing in the moment was often Jesus preparing them for what they could not yet see. Faith isn’t believing Jesus will always make sense—it’s learning to trust Him when He doesn’t.

Jesus called Mary's anointing "beautiful"—but the invitation of the text is not to be like Mary. It's to sit where Mary sat: at the feet of Jesus. Mary treasured Jesus because she knew Jesus. How many of us know about Jesus—but don’t truly know Him? Seeing the beauty of Jesus changes everything. We come to treasure Jesus deeply as we come to know Him fully.

This generation. Jesus says, "All these things"—including the Son of Man coming on the clouds—"will take place in this generation." What if Jesus wasn't delivering a timeline for the future—but preparing His followers to remain faithful no matter what the future held? And that's helpful to know—because Christians spend an awful lot of time asking, "When is Jesus coming back?" While Jesus spends an...

The disciples thought Jesus was preparing them for the end of the temple. He was—but not in the way they expected. What looked like the destruction of the temple was actually the beginning of something far greater: God's presence would no longer be confined to a building, but would dwell in His people through the Holy Spirit.

When a widow with only two small coins emptied all she had into the treasury, Jesus turned everyone's attention to her—not because of her giving, but because of her living. A widow who gives her last two coins is either completely foolish or absolutely convinced that her God will provide. Her total surrender and trust reflected the total surrender and trust Jesus would display later that week when...

A man approached Jesus who understood how the kingdom of God worked: love God and love your neighbor. So Jesus told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But near is not the same as in. One must do more than understand the kingdom of God. One must acknowledge the King of God. Because Jesus is more than one of David’s descendants—Jesus is David’s Lord. More than a human Son of David—Jesus...

Seven husbands. One widow. A crazy question.  "In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?" Jesus revealed we cannot understand the resurrection age through the filter of this present age. And that's good news! Because of His resurrection, death does not get the final word!

Most of us read the Good Samaritan and ask, "Am I the priest? The Levite? The Samaritan?" But Jesus may have intended something very different. What if we're not supposed to see ourselves as the one offering help—but the one needing help? The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus did not pass us by. Jesus became the wounded Man to rescue those who wounded Him. And because we have been shown mercy,...

Pentecost is about far more than a strange moment in Acts 2 where people spoke in tongues. Pentecost is a massive convergence of Old Testament promises: a new and greater Sinai, the reversing of Babel, and the day the prophets longed for. And it is all initiated by the Spirit of God descending from heaven to dwell within His people—revealing that the gospel is about far more than simply going to h...

When Jesus was given the opportunity to publicly condemn one of the most corrupt governments in human history, He didn't go there. In fact, He almost seems dismissive. Holding a Roman tribute coin, He says: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s—and to God what belongs to God. Because Jesus recognized the greater danger is not merely living under a corrupt government—but giving that government an allegi...

Mother’s Day is not joyful for everyone. For many, it carries comparison, rejection, loneliness, disappointment, or the feeling of never quite being enough.   In Leah’s story, we discover a powerful truth: people may fail to see our worth—but Yahweh never does. And when our hearts finally awaken to the love, acceptance, and identity already offered to us in Christ, striving gives way to worship. “...

Jesus’ authority was never the real question—the response to it was. Most of us don’t lack clarity—we resist surrender. The call of discipleship is simple: say yes to the King and live under His authority.

We can build structures. We can gather crowds. But without His presence—what do we really have? From the beginning, Jesus has been pursuing one thing: to dwell with His people. From the garden to the tabernacle to the temple to the cross to us—the story has always been the same. And today, because of the Spirit, His presence is here—with us.

A fig tree that looked alive—but had no fruit. Withered.
 A temple system full of activity—but lacking faithfulness. Ended. Jesus brought the temple system to a full stop—becoming the final sacrifice and taking His place as our High Priest. Now we are the temple—cleansed by the Holy Spirit—and as we abide in Him, what was once empty begins to bear fruit.

The lives of Jesus’ followers weren't transformed by the empty tomb—but by an encounter with the risen King. And the good news is that King Jesus is still encountering lives today.

They saw the 👑 King—but not clearly. They celebrated His arrival—but misunderstood His mission. They looked for strength—but missed surrender. They wanted victory—but didn’t recognize how He would win. Not on a war horse 🐎—on a donkey. 🫏 Not to defeat Rome—but to defeat sin. Not through power—but through sacrifice. ✝️ Jesus still works in surprising ways—often quiet, often unexpected, often rig...

It’s possible to walk with Jesus—and still not see Him clearly. Because His kingdom doesn’t look like ours. It’s upside-down. A kingdom whose King was enthroned with sinners on His right and left. A kingdom whose Messiah was recognized by the blind and missed by the religious. A kingdom where serving the least is the way to greatness. A kingdom where beggars are rich and the wealthy are poor. Mayb...

Jesus said the kingdom of God often looks upside down. The world tells us to hold tightly to what we have—while Jesus invites us to open our hands. Hands full of the world can’t receive heaven’s treasure. But open hands discover the joy of God’s kingdom—and the blessing of being His family. This week at Plymouth Community Church, we explored what it means to live in the upside-down kingdom of Jesu...

Marriage matters—because it reflects Christ and His church. And marriage is hard—because it joins two imperfect people. And when marriage breaks, the grace of Jesus is still greater than our brokenness. In Mark 10, Jesus reminds us of God’s design for marriage—and the restoring grace He offers when life doesn’t unfold the way we hoped.