After a game, most of us have a pretty good sense of how we played. Some of us feel great about how we played and that may make us feel good about ourselves. Some of us may feel like we messed up, and that may make us feel bad about ourselves. A lot of that belief is rooted in how we imagine others think we’ve played. A lot of life can feel like this: we are always getting judged and how we see our performance shapes the way we think about who we are and how we feel about ourselves.

I’m going to tell you a story today from the Bible about Jesus. 

• Jesus was eating dinner at someone’s house. This person was a respected, religious man and his name was Simon.

• While they were eating, a woman comes in. Everyone there knew her reputation. She had made a lot of bad choices and people looked down on her.

• She didn’t say anything, she just walked up to Jesus and started crying.

• As her tears fell on his feet, she wiped them with her hair, and then she poured perfume on them.

• The man who owned the house was watching this and inside was saying to himself, “If Jesus knew what kind of woman this is, he would not let her touch him.”

• But Jesus knows exactly who she is and he embraces her with open arms because she comes to him in faith, demonstrating love for him despite her past failures..

Let’s turn to the Bible and read how Jesus responds to Simon, the religious man.

“‘Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’ Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”

What I’d like you to take away from this story is the following:

• In that room there were two kinds of people: one who looked perfect from the outside and didn’t think he needed help, and one whose life was far from perfect but knew she needed help. Which one are you today?

• God is not looking for perfect people because perfect people don’t exist. He welcomes all people, no matter how imperfect they are, as long as they come to him in faith.

• When we have a relationship we Jesus, we do not need to pretend or to try to act holy, Jesus is pleased with us when we come to him as we are, no matter what our performance has been.

As we wrap up today, I hope you’ll join us and stay for dinner. A question to consider as we come and eat together: “Where do you feel most comfortable to be yourself and not have to impress anyone?”

Do people change - what do you think? Many say that people don’t change and that once they are a certain way, that's who they are. In fact, as I’m saying this, maybe think of someone who you think could never change. Maybe it is a public figure, maybe it is a family member or a friend, or maybe it is you.

I’m going to tell you a story today from the Bible about a time when Jesus met someone who no one would believe could change. The story goes like this:

• Jesus was walking along the road and entered a place called Jericho.

• A big crowd was waiting for him and in that crowd was a man named Zacchaeus.

• Zacchaeus was someone who everyone in the town hated because he collected taxes from them and often stole their money. 

• Zacchaeus was a man who did wicked things and seemed as far from God as anyone could be. But Zacchaeus was interested in Jesus.

• He couldn’t see him through the crowd because he was short, and so he climbed a tree to watch Jesus pass by.

• As Jesus passed by, he looked at Zacchaeus and invited himself over for dinner along with his disciples.

• As Zacchaeus met with Jesus, the encounter with Jesus changes him. He changes his ways and commits himself to following Jesus. 

Let’s turn to the Bible and read how this all happens:

“When Jesus reached the spot [where Zacchaues was], he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

As we wrap up for today, here are a couple of things I’m hoping you’ll take away from this story:

• When a person truly meets Jesus, everything changes because Jesus is the one who has the power to create change. 

• Let this be an encouragement to you. Whether you are hoping to see change in the life of someone you love, or you are wondering whether change can happen in your own life, the power of Jesus is sufficient to create that change if he is invited to do so.

As we wrap up today, I hope you’ll join us and stay for dinner. A question to consider as we come and eat together: “What is a change in your life, or in someone else's, that has surprised you?”

We all want forgiveness when we mess up, but oftentimes we have a hard time forgiving other people for the very same things we expect forgiveness for. Do you need forgiveness for something today? Are you stuck because you’ve not been able to forgive someone else?

Today I’m going to tell a story from the Bible about how Jesus teaches his disciples about forgiveness.

• One day, Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, asks how many times he should forgive someone who has wronged him.

• Jesus doesn’t give him a number. Instead he says that there is no limit to the amount of forgiveness Peter should exercise against a brother or sister who wrongs him.

• To help Peter understand, Jesus tells a story about a servant who owed his master an impossible debt. Millions of dollars in today's money. He begged for mercy and his master shockingly canceled his debt.

• But after having his debt forgiven, that same servant goes to a fellow servant who owes him a small amount of money and demands it from him. When the master hears this he reinstates the man’s debt.

• Jesus tells this story to show Peter that Peter’s sin has given him an impossibly large debt before God, but God in his mercy has cancelled it through Jesus. Peter has been forgiven far more than he could ever forgive, and so he should never stop forgiving those who wrong him.

Let’s turn to the Bible and read how this all happens:

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.””

So what hope does this teaching have for us today? 

Let’s come back to our question from earlier - do you need forgiveness for something today? Are you stuck because you’ve not been able to forgive someone else? 

• When we choose to follow Jesus, he forgives us for everything we have said, thought or done wrong. This forgiveness is for everything past, present or future.

• Being forgiven transforms us into people who forgive. Holding onto bitterness means not grasping how much you have been forgiven.

As we wrap up today, I hope you’ll join us and stay for dinner. A question to consider as we come and eat together: “Why do you think it’s easier to receive forgiveness than to give it?”

Our message today is going to be a bit of a challenging one. To begin a challenging message, I’d like to ask a challenging question. 

Have you ever thought about dying? Not just as a quick thought, but really thinking about your own death and what that might be like. How do you feel about it? What comes to mind? Maybe fear and uncertainty, maybe hope and peace, maybe it is all too real for you because you’ve experienced the death of someone close to you. Today, I’d like to invite you to experience the peace of Jesus in the face of death, maybe for the first time, or maybe more deeply than you’ve experienced before.

Today’s message from the Bible is from Luke 23 and is about Jesus meeting two men as they are dying. Not only does Jesus meet them as they are dying, but Jesus is dying alongside them.

• Jesus has been condemned to death by the Jewish and Roman leaders

• He is nailed to a cross by Roman soldiers and two other men are crucified on either side of him

• The two men are criminals and have been given a death penalty for their crimes

• One of the criminals is scared, suffering, and full of bitterness. He mocks and insults Jesus, asking him why, if he is the Messiah, he doesn’t come down from the cross and save both of them from death.

• The other criminal is also scared and suffering, but he is sorry for what he has done wrong and casts his hope on Jesus. With his own final breaths, turns to Jesus in faith for forgiveness.

• Jesus assures this man that his faith has saved him and that he will be with Jesus in heaven.

Let’s turn to the Bible and read how this all happens:

“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left… One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.””

This is a hard story that reminds us of something we will all need to face. While the deaths of these men were unique in history, we all will have to experience death some time. What would it look like for you to have hope, even in the face of death? There are three things I’d like you to think about from this story:

• First, it is never too late to turn to Jesus. Even at the very last moment, saving faith is possible.

• Second, you don’t need to clean up your life before coming to Jesus and experiencing this hope. The criminal on the cross couldn’t clean up his life. All he could do was come to Jesus in faith, and that was enough. This is true for you too if you don’t yet know Jesus, you don’t need to improve your life first, you just need to ask him to save you.

• But finally, if the way you think about Jesus is that you’re putting him off to the side until later in your life, let me challenge you to enter into this hope now. Life with Jesus is joy and it is far better than whatever you are seeking outside of him.

As we wrap up today, I hope you’ll join us and stay for dinner. A question to consider as we come and eat together: “Have you ever had a near death experience? And, if you feel comfortable sharing, what was that like and how do you feel about that experience?”

Last week we talked about how Jesus saves, even right up to the moment of death.

Now, we can all be absolutely sure that Jesus will save any person from sin and into a right relationship with God the moment they ask in faith. But there are times in life when we cry out to God for help and deliverance from a situation that feels so bad that it is like dying, and he doesn’t deliver us. Have you ever been in a situation like this?

Maybe it was a health crisis, or financial indebtedness, or maybe you were forced to run from your home because the danger was too great, or maybe you have experienced the death of a loved one. In these moments it can feel like everything is lost and can’t ever get better.

Today’s story from the Bible is about one of those times, and it teaches us how Jesus provides hope, even for those who feel like all is lost and that it’ll never be better ever again. The story picks up from where we were last week, and it goes like this:

• Jesus has just died on the cross at the hands of his enemies. 

• Jesus’ followers are devastated. They had hoped that Jesus was the Savior and King they had been dreaming about. All their hopes and dreams have died with him.

• Jesus’ body has been placed in a tomb and some of the women who followed Jesus, in their despair, prepare spices to anoint his dead body. They go to the tomb.

• When they arrive at the tomb, the stone blocking the entrance has been rolled away.

• They are greeted by an angel who announces Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

• Then Jesus appears to the women and to his disciples and many of his other followers after he is raised.

• It looked like it was all over and that death had won. But it was not over, it was a new beginning. Not only was it a new beginning but it had to happen this way so that the greatest good - salvation for all people - could come.

Let’s turn to the Bible and read how this all happens:

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

For some of you, this news may be new! All people were separated from God - and were worse off than dead - because of their sin, but through Jesus’ death the punishment for our wrong doing has been paid, which allows us to be in relationship with God again. Not only that, Jesus has been raised from the dead in power to rule over all things now and forever. If this is new to you, it is hope for you today!

For many of you, this story is one you’ve heard lots of times before. And because you’ve heard it many times before, maybe it’s something that you have taken for granted. But try to experience this truth afresh, because it is good news for you as well.

I have three encouragements for all of us today:

• First, some suffering that we go through in life feels like dying. We don’t know why we suffer and why God does not deliver us from it. But be encouraged that Jesus will meet you in your suffering if you seek him.

• Second, Jesus has conquered sin and death. These are our true enemies. As our risen King, he has power over everything and if our hope is in him, we can face even our deepest despair because we know our greatest enemies have been destroyed.

• Finally, Jesus brings life where there is death and darkness. No matter how dark your current trial, be encouraged that Jesus is with you in it and will bring goodness from it.

As we wrap up today, I hope you’ll join us and stay for dinner. A question to consider as we come and eat together: “What would change in your life if you knew for certain that Jesus rose from the dead?”

Today is the last week in our postgame talk series on “Stories of Hope in the Bible”. I hope it has been an encouragement to you. Over the last five weeks we’ve talked about how:

• Jesus offers hope for those who have been rejected by those around them because he invites them into his family.

• Jesus offers hope for those who don’t think they can change because he gives them the power they don’t have in themselves.

• Jesus offers hope for those who need forgiveness or who need to forgive, because he is the one who forgives and helps his followers to do the same.

• Jesus offers hope amidst suffering and disappointment because he meets us in our pain and brings goodness out of it.

• Jesus offers hope in the face of death because he gives eternal life to all who accept him.

Today I’ve got a simple question for you: will you receive the hope that God is offering you through Jesus? Either for the first time, or maybe just “again” in your walk with God.

Today’s story from the Bible is a short one and it goes like this:

• Jesus is teaching the crowds who are following him and he looks out in compassion at the people.

• He sees children of God who have put their hope in the wrong things, and are in need of hope that will last.

He says to them: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

This is what all of us are looking for, whether we know it or not - rest for our souls.

As we conclude our series for this season, I have two final encouragements:

• If you’ve never placed your hope in Jesus, he offers you rest. This rest is true rest for your soul. You can enter into this rest by following him and if you want to learn more about how to do that, I’d be glad to talk with you more about this.

• For those of us who have placed our hope in Jesus, this invitation is also for us. As we go through our lives we are always distracted by false hopes. These distractions end up being burdens that make us tired. Today’s invitation is for us to lay them down and return to following Jesus with our whole hearts. If you need a friend to help you recommit to following Jesus, I’d be glad to talk with you more about this also.

As we wrap up today, I hope you’ll join us and stay for dinner. A question to consider as we come and eat together: “What are you hoping for in your life right now, and what do you hope will change as a result?”