Calvary: the Hill Sermons

Jesus commissions his church to be both salt and light for the world. We are to be different from and yet exist for the world. How do we do this well?

At the outset of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount, he paints a portrait of a citizen of his kingdom using the Beatitudes.

Jesus begins his ministry with a BANG in Galilee, the rural area north of Jerusalem, which was prophesied by Isaiah long before Jesus' arrival.

Jesus's first act as the Anointed Messiah-King is to be led by the Spirit to be tested by the Devil. Ouch. But he aces the test, and shows us more deeply who he is in the process.

Jesus, in his baptism, is commissioned as the Messiah-Savior-King of humanity. What does that show us about him, and about us?

John the Baptist was the long awaited forerunner to the Messiah. His message was "The Kingdom of Heaven has arrived. Are you going to embrace it?"

We are all obedient ... to something, but what we are obedient to really matters. Is it the narrow path that leads to life, or the wide path that many will indeed follow that leads to death?

Surprisingly, the first worshipers of Jesus in Matthew are pagan astrologers from a distant land. We learn that from the start, God has a heart for the "outsiders", and longs to draw them to Jesus.

This is the moment - when the God of the universe invades humanity. What does it look like? How does he do it? What is our part in it? We'll see that God both sovereignly steps in and yet graciously partners with us in a scary invitation to participate. Will you?

What if Christian singleness were more than a curse of loneliness for the sake of the Gospel? Discover how Jesus invited his people to consider singless for the sake of those on the margins while also experiencing life-giving connection among the family of believers.

Buried in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus we find a theology of God's sovereign mercy, justice, and faithfulness over the long haul. He has truly told, and is telling, a long story of human redemption.

Matthew, a book that concludes with a forward reach to the end of time, begins by reaching back to the beginning of the book of Genesis. According to Matthew, Jesus fulfills all the hopes and dreams of Israel, and provides the only solid hope for everyone else.

The story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus must have claim to be the finest scene Luke ever sketched. It's a story that parallels so much of what the Christian life is like; offering hope, community, and unexpected support that leads to finally seeing Jesus in the most difficult places along the road of life.

John's account of the resurrection chronicles three very different snapshots of the eyewitnesses: the grieving Mary, the fearful disciples, and the doubting Thomas. What about us? How does the resurrection impact us when we're grieving, fearful, or doubting?

On Easter Sunday, we examine Matthew's account of Jesus' resurrection. If there is enough reason to believe that it actually happened, what do we do with that information? Does it make a difference to our lives? Jesus seems to think it does.

On the cross, Jesus experienced a cosmically unprecedented reality: God the Son lost his intimacy with God the Father. In doing so, Jesus both defeated Loneliness itself, as well as provided an example for how to lament during times of loneliness.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' humanity is on full display as he wrestles in prayer with the reality that his appointed time on the cross is near. Overwhelmed with extreme sorrow and grief, he invites those closest to him to keep watch and pray with him, thus revealing how the Son freely chose, out of love, to be bound to human mortality for our sake. In the process, we also learn ways to sup...

In the last week of Jesus' life, he gave voice to three laments. The first was over the city of Jerusalem, and his people Israel. He lamented their rejection of him as their rightful Messiah. Jesus provides us a model for lamenting over loved ones.

Church is more than an individual affair, but rather a corporate reality. We are called to lean into these relationships in the context of our obedience to Jesus.

In his final greetings, Paul allows us a brief window into what this early church looked like and how it functioned. We can take both challenge and encouragement from this look under the hood. The church is supposed to be a beautiful mess of overlapping stories.

A clique is by definition "a group of people with shared interests who are resistant to outsiders joining their ranks." The church is not supposed to be resistant to outsiders, but oftentimes outsiders aren't even on our minds when we think of church. Paul wants us to reframe our thoughts about unbelievers, and to posture ourselves toward them.

Paul addresses slaves and masters, and doesn't dismantle the institution. What!? What is going on? Is the Bible outdated and regressive? After we deal with the elephant in the room, it turns out Paul has a lot to say about vocation and meaningful work as we live out our lives for Christ.

What does the gospel have to say about marriage and family life? Is Paul a chauvinist? Are wives supposed to submit? We are hitting all the buzzwords this week as we seek a Christian understanding of marriage and family.

The apostle Paul gets very practical as he continues to unpack what it means to be clothed in the riches of this mystery, " Christ in you, the hope of glory ", as we continue to live our lives not only as individuals but also in the community.

Paul begins a deep, practical dive into the Christian life of the Churchgoer and the Church. Since our "old self" is already shed, but not yet dead, he gives us some pointers on living our lives practically for Christ. And yes, it includes our sexuality...