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This Sunday is Grad Sunday at ACC. A time for us to recognize our High School Seniors who are soon to end one chapter and start a new one. Graduation is exciting. It marks accomplishment, growth, and the beginning of a new season. For many graduates, it also brings new freedom, new responsibility, new decisions, and new unknowns. And with the unknown often comes fear. What will life look like next? Will I make the right decisions? Will I find my place? Will my faith hold up?

When Jesus begins His ministry in Mark, His first announcement is simple and massive: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” That phrase — the kingdom of God — can sound familiar to Christians and still feel a little foggy. We may hear “kingdom” and think of heaven, the afterlife, or a place far away. But when Jesus announces the kingdom, He is announcing something much bigger and nearer than that. The kingdom of God i

As we continue through Mark’s Gospel, one small detail is easy to pass over: Jesus keeps showing up by the sea. In Mark 3:7, we read that “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed.” At first, that may sound like a simple setting change. Jesus was in one place, then He went to another. But in Mark, the Sea of Galilee is more than background scenery. It becomes one of the main places where Jesus teaches, calls disciples, confronts chaos, crosses

So far in our Mark series, the Gospel has been moving quickly, but not randomly. Mark has been showing us Jesus clearly. In the opening of the book, Jesus is revealed before He is widely understood. His identity comes before His public momentum. That matters because one of the repeated biblical instincts we learn is this: identity before activity . Before we rush to what Jesus does for us, Mark first presses us to see who He is. And as the story unfolds, Jesus acts with a kin

When most people hear the phrase “Son of God,” they instinctively think of Jesus—and rightly so. But if we want to understand why that title matters so deeply, we have to begin earlier in the biblical story. Before the title is focused on Jesus, it is first used in a corporate, covenantal sense for Israel . In Exodus 4:22, God tells Pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son.” That is a remarkable statement. God is not saying Israel is divine. He is saying Israel is chosen, loved

Isaiah 40:3 reveals more than comfort—it announces the coming of the King. Explore the royal imagery, new exodus hope, and how this passage points to Jesus.

Beginning this Sunday, April 12, we’re stepping into a new series called Mark: Seeing Jesus Clearly . At a basic level, this series matters because the clearer we see Jesus, the more faithfully we trust and follow Him. That’s the heartbeat of the whole journey. Mark’s Gospel keeps pressing one central question: Who is Jesus, really? Not the version we assume. Not the version we prefer. The real Jesus. And as Mark unfolds, we see His authority, compassion, power, mission, and

Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Latin word mandatum , “commandment,” because on the night before the cross, Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment: to love one another as He had loved them. Christians remember it during Holy Week because it marks the Last Supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, and the beginning of the final hours leading to Good Friday. There is something quiet about Maundy Thursday. It doesn’t carry the celebration of Palm Sunday or the weigh

(The Bread of Life — Week 2) A lot of us relate to God like we’re under a spiritual performance review. We don’t always say it out loud, but we feel it: “I’ll come back when I’ve had a better week.” “I need to clean this up first.” “If I try harder, then I’ll feel close to God again.” It feels responsible. It feels spiritual. But it’s exhausting—and it turns God into someone we manage instead of someone we trust. This week we looked at the Bread of the Presence . In Leviticus

Bread in the Wilderness: What Manna Teaches Us About Trust (The Bread of Life — Week 1) Most of us don’t mind trusting God in theory. We struggle with trusting Him daily . Daily is where anxiety lives. Daily is where budgets get tight. Daily is where kids melt down, schedules change, plans fall apart, and the future feels like a fog. Daily is where we wake up and realize we can’t control what happens next (including the unexpected snow day we had on Sunday!). That’s why the f

Most of us don’t think about bread until we don’t have it. It’s basic. Daily. Ordinary. The kind of thing you grab without thinking—until life gets hard, money gets tight, anxiety rises, or you hit a season where you realize you’re not as “fine” as you thought. That’s one reason the Bible talks about bread so much. Because in Scripture, bread is almost never just about food. It’s about what we rely on. What we reach for. What we think will keep us going. And as we head toward

A recap of ACC’s RELATE series through David’s life—identity, friendship, jealousy, integrity, grief, confession, and legacy—with practical next steps to grow in faithful relationships with God and others.

We've been in a series called "Relate." The biblical character David has been our case study for thinking biblically about relationships. This tension is in view: can mercy and justice co-exist? Can rebels be restored, and rules still stand? Easter answers that question. Let's start with the backstory. Near the end of King David’s reign, Israel is unraveling. His son Absalom has led a rebellion. The nation is at war. The throne is threatened. The kind of situation that demand

If you grew up Catholic—or in a community shaped by Catholic tradition—you may hear the word Lent and feel one of two things: warmth and familiarity or the tension of worshipping in a Protestant church. Either way, we want to approach Lent with clarity, charity, and most importantly: the gospel . This post is a simple guide to what Lent is, what it isn’t, its historical origins, and how we can practice it in a way that’s biblically grounded and spiritually life-giving. What

Ordering Our Sundays Around What Matters Most Since my call to Avon Community Church, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking, praying, and listening to a simple but important question: What are we forming our lives around as a church? As we look ahead to our Sunday morning worship rhythms this Summer & Fall, I want to share a change that reflects prayerful conviction and care — and to invite you into the heart behind it. Beginning on Sunday, May 24th, our Sunday morning rh

This topic wasn’t chosen at random. Each year, on the last Sunday of January, our church holds its annual meeting. This is the standing gathering where we address some of the most practical and organized aspects of church life—budget, staffing, and other significant decisions that shape our shared ministry. Everyone is welcome to attend, and members are invited to vote. For some, that kind of meeting can feel a little too business-like to belong in a spiritual community. But

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 Before any of us rush in to form a firm opinion about the situation in Minneapolis, let's take a step back, process our thoughts and emotions, and let the Word of God shape our thinking. It is far too easy to get caught up in unhelpful thinking "filters" (examples

Joy is not a commonly used expression. Aside from it being used as a name or talked about during Advent, you rarely hear people say, “I’m feeling joyous!” Happiness better captures what joy otherwise would. Think for a moment right now, are you happy? ​ I’ve always had a hard time answering this question. It's challenging for me because I’m far more of a feeler than a thinker. At any given moment, my feelings are as unpredictable as Minnesota weather. Snowing one minute, rain