This week we stepped into Isaiah 52–53 and were invited to behold a God who doesn’t stay distant from suffering but steps directly into it—absorbing it, bearing it, transforming it. This is not a God of hollow religiosity or detached morality. This is the Servant King who is both pierced and enthroned. The One who was crushed and victorious.

We began with the strangeness of the gospel: that Christ—lifted up, exalted—was first disfigured beyond recognition. He was so marred, Isaiah says, people questioned if he was even human. But in that brokenness was healing power. Like a priest sprinkling the blood of atonement, Jesus sprinkles the unclean with mercy, making the unfit fit for God’s presence. He’s not just the sacrifice; he’s the priest. And that blood doesn’t just cover individuals—it reaches nations.

We also saw that Jesus lived under the weight of rejection. Not just ignored—but despised, dismissed, misunderstood even by those closest to him. He wasn’t impressive by the world’s standards. He didn’t play the image game. He didn’t ride popularity. And yet… he was God’s glory in flesh. To see him rightly requires faith—not flair.

Isaiah brings us to the heart of the gospel: Jesus bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, and was pierced for our transgressions. Guilt doesn’t disappear—it must be dealt with. And in stunning grace, God shifts the debt onto Jesus, the innocent substitute. Love, at its deepest, is substitutional.

And yet this wasn’t defeat—it was victory. Jesus willingly went to the cross, silent like a lamb, and out of that crushing came new life. He sees his offspring—his people—and shares the spoils of his victory with them. His cross is not just a symbol; it’s power. And it’s still working.

So the question remains: does this gospel—this costly, bloody, merciful gospel—still move us? Are we worshiping? Submitting? Proclaiming? Because family, this isn’t just good news. It’s the best news. And it demands a response.

In this week’s message, “The Hope and Plan of God,” Josh explores Isaiah 5 and 11, tracing the tension between God’s grief over injustice and His promise of restoration through the coming Messiah. We’re reminded that the Church is called not just to believe—but to embody justice, mercy, and Spirit-filled hope

For June, City Teens will head to Scandia Sunday, June 22, 1-3:30. Come show off your mini golf skills and have a great time with your friends!

God made us—male and female—in His image, not as a mistake to fix, but as a glory to reflect. In a world of confusion, the gospel invites us to receive our bodies as gifts, honor God with our whole selves, and walk in both truth and compassion.

Evil is not the end of God’s story—it’s the place where His love breaks in. In Jesus, God doesn’t just explain evil—He carries it, judges it, and overcomes it, offering us freedom, justice, and lasting hope.

God’s judgment is not opposed to His love but flows from it—refining us, restoring justice, and ultimately pointing us to the cross, where Christ bore judgment in our place so we might be made righteous. In His judgment, we find both sobering truth and soul-steadying grace.

In a world full of confusion and competing narratives around marriage, sex, and sexuality, the gospel invites us to recover the beauty of God’s design—not as a burden, but as a compelling story of covenant love, embodied in Christ, that speaks to every person’s longing for belonging, wholeness, and grace. Here, truth and compassion are not at odds but held together in the way of Jesus, calling all of us—regardless of our story—into deeper faithfulness and deeper love.

Let’s be honest—if there’s one part of the Bible that makes people squirm, it’s the Old Testament’s violence. Holy wars. Entire cities “devoted to destruction.” Trumpets knocking down walls. It reads, at first glance, like God’s unleashing ancient wrath with indiscriminate fury. But what if we’ve been reading it wrong?