Do you want to be better equipped to answer the questions and objections that atheists and non-Christians bring up? Apologetics can assist you to respond to questions and objections while also helping you gain confidence in sharing the gospel. With a deeper understanding of Scripture, you can clearly articulate why you believe what you believe and effectively respond to questions about Christianity. 

​Join us on Sunday, March 23rd, from 6-8 pm for a free apologetics equipping presentation with apologist Charlie Campbell. Charlie will provide thoughtful and Scripture-based answers to various objections about God and the Bible. There will be two teaching segments with a break for refreshments and dessert. This event is free, but please register.

​Moved with compassion for the people He saw, Jesus set out to do the good work of the Good Shepherd. But God made man is just one man. There was only so much work He could do, but there was so much more work to be done—shepherding God’s people by seeking and saving, healing and feeding, and teaching and preaching.

The opportunity for life-giving ministry is plentiful, but those willing to do the good work of the Good Shepherd are few. So Jesus said, “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38). And as you pray, you might find that the Good Shepherd was willing all along to do His good word through you.

The Apostle Paul wrote about this life-giving ministry. “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” (Colossians 1:28-29) If God is calling you, He will equip you. He will do the good work through you. That’s the hope of the gospel as we endeavor to lift up His holy name.

​When Jesus saw the multitude around Him, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:36). This is not just vivid imagery or poetic analogy, but the specific language God used in the Old Testament to describe His people. 

In Ezekiel 34, we read of God’s promise that one day He will be the Good Shepherd and do the good word of feeding, tending, and seeking and saving the lost. We find these qualities in The Good Shepherd—Jesus—as He cared for people by teaching, preaching, healing the hurting, and alleviating suffering.  

Watch our study of Matthew 9:27-37 as we consider the good work of The Good Shepherd.

Jesus won't fold His arms in disgust and turn away with frustration when people go to Him as their last resort. We might think this is how He will treat us when we finally relent, repent, and call out to Him. But He is gracious and compassionate—and on time, even though that might be difficult for us to see. 

But we have an internal (our flesh) and external (the devil) adversary that misrepresents the character of our King. These adversaries know that if we get to the Son, the Son will set us free. So they cause us to think that there is no way that He would ever help us—especially if we come to Him as our last resort.

Thankfully, we have the Scriptures that erase our misconceptions of the King’s character so that we can call out to Him and come to Him in our time of need—whether He has been our first choice or our last resort. Come to Jesus. He loves you, no matter what. You may be surprised at just how gracious He will be with you, giving you well-timed help when you need it.

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16

​Have you ever had a situation where you’ve tried every option and exhausted every resource? And yet, there seems to be a two-year-old in all of us that still says, “I can do it myself!” Eventually, our self-sufficiency and pride disappear when circumstances deplete our strength and resources so that nothing is left but to cry out to Jesus. 

Though He would rather be our first choice, Jesus is willing to be our last resort. When our desperation overrules our hesitation, we finally come face to face with Jesus and might expect anger and frustration, but instead, Jesus shows us compassion, mercy, and grace.

Watch our study of Matthew 9:18-26 and Mark 5:21-43 as we encounter two daughters and a dad desperate for Jesus to help them, coming to Him as their last resort.

​The religious leaders criticized Jesus for eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. But they were the kind of people that were sick and needed His help. Jesus loved to be with people who knew they were sinners because He could help them without working through the blinding hindrance of pride. Unlike the Pharisees (who didn’t understand what Jesus was saying but just wanted to argue with Him), only those who realize they are sinners can see that they are sick and need help. 

Since there are none righteous, Jesus is calling everyone who understands and readily admits that they are sick sinners. He did not come to patch up the Old Covenant. Jesus came to establish the New Covenant. He is the cornerstone of an entirely new institution called the church. And the church will be made of sinners who turn into saints because of the blood of Jesus. The church will include leaches, like Levi, that transform into men, like Matthew—enemies of God turned into “gifts of God” (the meaning of Matthew’s name). Rigid religious rules and regulations can’t handle this—it would just break. New wine must be poured into the new wineskin of the New Covenant. 

​God chose to pour new wine into new wineskins. He decided to pour the person and power of the Holy Spirit into the most unlikely of vessels. But why? So that no one could boast and God alone would get all the glory. 

In this way, the adventure of the Great Commission could be available to anyone that Jesus would call to follow Him—even if that person is considered lower than low, like a tax collector named Levi.

Watch our study of Matthew 9:14-17 and Luke 5:27-39 as we consider why Jesus came to introduce something new, not to patch up something old.