Pastor Mike begins a Sunday series on the Holy Spirit by looking at Genesis 1:1-2 where we see the first mention of God's Spirit in the Scriptures. The Hebrew word translated "spirit" in Genesis 2 is "ruakh," and in helping us understand who the Holy Spirit is, Pastor Mike shows us how loaded with meaning and significance this word is.

The resurrection of Jesus gives all of humanity hope - but not just future hope...hope for right now! Pastor Mike explores Peter's words in 1 Peter 1 to show us what this hope looks like for us right now.

Pastor Mike shows us how the bigger story that culminated in the first Palm Sunday began some 200 years before Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. A similar event happened then that foreshadowed what Jesus did, and although there are striking similarities, the differences give us a better understanding of what Jesus was all about that day.

Exodus 32 What does God promise when it comes to provision for His people? What can we expect? Pastor Mike takes a look at Exodus 32 for answers and then is joined by Lynn and Jinny Clifton who share their story of trusting God daily.

Acts 2:42-47 Pastor Mike shows us how we can effectively pursue our vision as a church of being a "church flourishing with unified and healthy Jesus-Shaped communities." He explains from Acts 2 the key elements that should exist if we want to see effective and unifying missional communities among our church family.

Earlier this month, House of Life Church in Albuquerque entered into a building share agreement with Foothills Fellowship. Foothills meets at 9:30AM and House of Life meets at noon. On this Sunday, the pastor of House of Life Church, Dr. Ladi Adeniyi, spoke to the congregation of Foothills Fellowship about the Kingdom of God.

Genesis 6 We all know the story of the flood and Noah's ark, but Pastor Mike helps us understand the mindset of the people before and at the time Israel began telling this story - which gives us a better way to think about what God may have been communicating to humanity through this disastrous event.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 As is typical of the letters Paul wrote, he ends this letter with a rapid-fire list of instructions. Pastor Mike breaks these instructions into 4 groupings and addresses the first 2 groupings in this sermon: instructions about our relationships with our spiritual leaders and instructions about our relationships with one another.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 The young Thessalonian church wanted to know when the Lord would be returning, so evidently they asked the one guy that might know: Paul. He gives them an answer in this part of his letter to them, but it's probably not the answer they were looking for. And then, Paul answers a question they probably weren't asking but is a much more important one for them - and for us - to be asking.

Rod Pauls explores Paul's letter to Philemon and makes application for us as we consider things like forgiveness, reconciliation, and dismantling systems of oppression and injustice in light of the observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 This apocalyptic passage is often misunderstood by evangelicals today - which has led to poor interpretations and bad theology. By considering what ancient Greeks, Romans, and Jews believed about death and the afterlife, Pastor Mike helps us understand what the Thessalonians would have heard Paul saying and what we should take away from these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 In the days of the Roman Empire, death was a part of daily life for most Roman citizens. If you survived childhood, you could expect to live around 45-50 years. The young church in Thessalonica was experiencing the death of some of their members, but to them, this was completely unexpected. For some reason, they thought Jesus would return for them before any of them faced death, so as their fellow believers died, they were becoming more and more confused and disillusioned. In this section of his letter, Paul addresses all of this and gives them reason for hope in the midst of their mourning.

What better way to celebrate the birth of Jesus than to talk about politics?! Pastor Mike shows how subversively political the announcements made about the arrival of Jesus were, and while this shouldn't be the kind of political conversation that ruins your family Christmas dinner, this does give shape and context to what Jesus' arrival meant to the first century Jewish and Roman worlds.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 The Apostle Paul encourages the Thessalonian Christians to continue their love for one another in the church while also striving to win the respect of those outside their church family. Pastor Mike shows how the suggestions Paul made for doing this were culturally relevant back then, and then Mike leads us in a brainstorming session on what Paul might write to us today that would be culturally relevant for us.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 In this section of the letter, Paul calls the church to holiness and focuses on their sexual practices. Pastor Mike takes a look at how these words would have landed on them back then by exploring the sexual ethic of their diverse cultures. He then brings Paul's words forward to us and to our culture's sexual ethic today to show us that holiness in our sexual practices is attained when we do the most loving and least hurtful things to one another.

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 To say that the Apostle Paul experienced much distress in his life and ministry would be an understatement. Nothing was easy for him, yet in the midst of all his troubles and trials, he was able to find encouragement and joy. Pastor Mike tells us how, and encourages us to find encouragement and joy in the midst of our distress and troubles.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 In this part of Paul's letter, he expresses the ache that he experienced being away from the church in Thessalonica. He was desperate to know what was happening with them, and he was desperate to return to them. Pastor Mike says that aching like Paul to be with the body of Christ is something we should embrace as those who love one another and are committed to one another.

Our church planting pastor, Jesse Harden, looks with us at the Apostles Creed and more specifically the words about Christ's ascension. Why is this event so important for us today? What are its implications for us?

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 Pastor Joe takes a look at what seems like surface-level encouragement to the church in Thessalonica and helps us see how loaded with meaning and insight it was for them - and for us today.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 In this text, Paul says some things that are hard to imagine coming out of his mouth about the Jews and the wrath of God. Pastor Mike tries to make sense out of these words, and offers us a warning to be careful about being certain about things in the Bible that are not overly clear.