Restoration Church

Jonah is a prophet that does like what he hears from God. So what does he do? He runs. And the result? Rock bottom. But strangely, the belly of the whale isn't a sign of God's anger, but rather his mercy. 

It's not a matter of if - but when - we'll reach our own rock bottom. So what kind of God will we meet at the end of our rope? (Jonah 1) 

This weekend, our students are leading every aspect of our gathering! As a part of this special Sunday, Our Student Pastor Casey is speaking about rage: namely, our culture’s obsession with reactivity and judgment towards our neighbors. How can we find a better way in Christ?

Sin doesn’t simply bring death and chaos to individuals. From the beginning, it has moved outward – into our systems, policies, and power structures. It subjugates, marginalizes, and disadvantages people made in the image of God. And correcting these wrongs? That’s called justice – and it’s woven into the very fabric of the Scriptures.

In this week's message in our series Restorers, we unpack the centrality of hospitality in the mission of God. (guest co-preacher: Amanda Hubler)

Do you know what the very first word that God uses to describe Himself to Moses? Merciful. Would that be the first word that is used to describe Christians today? The answer is, well… no. And we need to talk about why. This week, we’re continuing our Restorers series by looking at the centrality of mercy and compassion to our mission with Jesus – what it is, what it does, and why *our own* need for it lies at the heart of what God has calls us to in the world. 

Our presence in this world matters. How we relate to our neighbors speaks volumes about how we understand our faith. Because we are disciples of Jesus, our posture towards our neighbors is clear: we are servants. This Sunday, we’re going to explore what it means to love and be present to our neighbors not as saviors, but as servants.

It’s a topic that stirs a lot of emotion – and carries a lot of baggage: evangelism. To some, the idea of sharing our faith feels intimidating, outdated, or even offensive. So in this message, we’ll dispel some of the misguided assumptions about what it means to share our faith, and through it, offer a vision for how we might invite people into the story of God. 

Every year around this time, we pause to remember our identity and mission as a Church family. This year, as a part of our series Restorers, we’re focusing on how – and why – we join God’s restoring work in the world around us. Over the next 6 weeks, we’ll explore partnering with God through evangelism, justice, mercy, service, and hospitality.

In any given Church, you’ll find a variety of stories and backgrounds gathered into one big, messy family. Our common faith doesn’t always erase our differences, so what makes unity possible? In this message, Justin unpacks what has become a central value at Restoration: the centering of Jesus in everything we do. At our core, He alone holds us together.

It may seem counterintuitive, but often the first barrier we encounter in building healthy relationships isn’t them, it’s us. We want to be known by others, but how can we expect others to know us when we don’t really even know ourselves? In this message, we explore how self-awareness opens the door to the kind of community we seek – and share how we’re seeking to build this together at Restoration.