Connection Church Sioux Falls

Jesus comes to His people as a kind, gentle, humble king who uses lowly, ordinary means and people - with their selfish, superficial, fake, fickle tendencies - to bring himself glory by saving them in spite of themselves.

Jesus has transformed the identity of His people, and this changes how communicate with God, what they communicate to the world, the way they communicate by their actions, and the tone in which they communicate with everyone.

Now that we have been united with Christ, we not only put off that which is sinful; but we also put on that which is consistent with our new position. This must take place especially in our closest relationships.

It's Jesus' job to put sin to death completely, but we are invited to put off sinfulness by always digging deeper into it and applying the Gospel at the deepest level. Then, we dress accordingly.

The great joy of the Gospel is found in that which Jesus - our Lord and King who is seated at the right hand of God - has accomplished for us and is realizing in our newly transformed lives.

To define ourselves by what we've done more so than by what Christ has done for us is to miss the Good News of Jesus Christ.

God shapes His people by His Word. As we begin spending the next 8 weeks walking through Paul's letter (Epistle) to the Colossians together, it is good to think about why we would read a letter to someone else written almost 2,000 years ago.

Very early on in the Gospel of Matthew we are introduced to the powerful, life-changing themes of repentance, God's kingdom, baptism, confession of sin, and God's pleasure in us in Jesus Christ.

While we celebrate Christmas by welcoming Jesus, the Gospel's tell us that Jesus was, in fact, made to be unwelcome after his arrival. There was no room for him in the inn, and Herod wanted him dead; and yet God's Will to redeem His people through Jesus is not thwarted.

What we are willing to bring to Jesus reveals what we believe about Jesus. The story of the Wise Men and the gifts they bring to Jesus teaches us amazing truth about Jesus and what made these men so "wise."

While "So-and-so begat so-and-so" might be the most dreaded words when reading the Bible, there can be found incredibly good news in Jesus' family tree.

The birth of Jesus isn't the first thing mentioned in the story of Jesus by Luke. Instead, he gives us a picture of what preparing for the coming of Jesus looks like.

Jesus seeks to restore us to our God and Father - both those of us who have dishonored Him in rebellious disobedience, and also those of us who have dishonored Him in self-righteous religiosity.

Every time we lose something and seek to find it, we are reminded of the Good News that God seeks to save those that are lost.

Jesus illustrates the Good News of the coming of God's Kingdom by telling a story of another farmer, an adversary, a seed, some yeast, and a Loving Father who is King.

Jesus paints a picture of the Good News of the Kingdom He is bringing; and instead of illustrating it with military or political terms, he tells us about a Farmer planting seeds.

The First Followers of Jesus witnessed amazing signs and wonders as the Gospel spread and changed lives, including a unique account with a couple named Ananias and Sapphira. In this passage, the first enemy of early church was internal and, in this particular case, lethal: Hypocrisy.

The First Followers of Jesus were so compelled by God's generosity to them in Jesus Christ that their own concept of generosity was transformed.

Even after Jesus ascended, the power of His Name and the Good News of His work continued to transform lives through His followers; and by walking in His footsteps a movement began that carries on to this day.

While most of our experience with family and the church is far from perfect, the first followers of Jesus embraced a radical loyalty to Him that gave them not only a new life and relationship to God but also a new relationship to those around them.

During the celebration of Pentecost, the Spirit of God allows people from different nationalities to miraculously hear the amazing works of God in their own language. Then the Apostle Peter shares what seems to be the first public sermon recorded by the first followers of Jesus.

Jesus entrusts his followers not with secret knowledge of the future but with a message that is too great to keep a secret.

Two travelers' encounter with Jesus encourages us in our difficulty to believe that Jesus is really alive and invites us to follow their example as they see Jesus for who He really is.