Restoration Church

It’s hard to know where you are going if you don’t know where you are. In this message, Justin shares that while our journeys of faith are never identical, there are common stages we often share. We might not be in the same place or be moving at the same pace, but we share the same road – a journey with Jesus towards a life of love. restorationlex.com/groupguide

The word “obedience” means something radically different depending on how you understand the character of God. Is it a transaction to appease a distant diety… or an invitation to joy with a friend? It’s a difference we need to know. (John 15:9-17)

Love is not reduced to shallow sentimentalities in the New Testament. At ground level, the church was grappling with their resurrection reality and learning to love another with the love they now knew in Jesus. Today, our task is the same.

“God told me __________.” When a sentence begins like that, it rightfully can make people… nervous. Do we believe that God still speaks to us today? Yes! But how can learn to discern and follow His voice without veering into unhealthy and unhelpful patterns of faith?

You can know the Bible backwards and forwards – but still completely miss the point. One of Jesus’ first post-resurrection acts was helping his disciples unlearning what they thought they knew about the Bible so they could see it with new eyes. The good news is, He’s still doing the same with us.

Doubt can be a scary, isolating feeling. It touches not only what we believe, but how we belong. So what do we do when we’re wrestling with our questions? In this week’s message, we examine the story of Thomas, a man whose steadfast faith in the midst of his doubt is an example for us all.

Mary Magdalene is lost in her grief – so lost that she fails to recognize Jesus right in the middle of it. This is the hope of the resurrection when we feel lost: the risen Jesus meets us in the ordinary – where he’s making everything new.

Jesus draws a straight line between our experience of forgiveness and our ability to love. This week, we’re giving our attention to one of the quieter events of Holy Week – a story about the freedom we find in forgiveness.

Psalm 51 is a cry of a desperate man. David had run his life and reputation into the ground, and he found himself broken before God. We, too, may find ourselves confronted by the weight of our choices, unable to manage the shame we feel. So what do we do in these moments? Who is the God we find at the end of our rope? (Psalm 51:1-12)

Grace is not just something we receive, but something we participate in. In this message, our Student Pastor Casey shares from Ephesians 2 and the reality of grace in our journey with Jesus.