In this sermon on John 21:1–19, in which Jesus meets his disciples on the shore following his... resurrection, Pastor Josué Pernillo shows us that Jesus meets the disciples where they are and he confronts and restores them directly.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

What do you notice about the disciples and their interaction with Jesus?

How do you see Jesus meeting the disciples where they are? What do you learn from their reaction? How has God met you where you are in your life?

What do you notice about the way in which Jesus challenges Peter? What do we learn about Jesus from this? Where is a place that you need to be challenged by the word of truth?

Do you struggle to believe? Whether big or small, everyone has doubts. But what do you do with them? Where do you go with... them? And when you get to the bottom, on what is your faith grounded? In John 20:24–31 we read the account of the apostle often dubbed “doubting Thomas” first disbelieving the resurrection and then personally encountering the risen Christ. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on this passage, highlighting the doubts we have, the grace Jesus shows, and the way of true faith.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

Describe the story of Thomas. Why did Thomas doubt? How was Jesus patient?

What doubts do you have? What makes it hard to believe what the Bible says about these things?

Why do we think seeing is believing? Is that true? How might we qualify that “truism”?

In what ways do we and will we see Jesus according to Scripture? (Consider 2 Corinthians 3:18 in context; Galatians 3:1; 1 John 1:1–3; Acts 1:10–11; and Revelation 1:7.) How is that enough? What can we do if we are struggling with doubts in the meantime?

Note: Audio quality improves after the first three minutes.

Think of a person who seems least likely to come to faith in Jesus—perhaps someone from another faith, or someone habitually... lukewarm toward God—and then think of what it would look like for God’s grace to break into their story. In Acts chapter 9 we see God’s grace breaking in to the life of a man who is a religious terrorist. Saul of Tarsus used his power and influence to enact violence against Christians. He hated Jesus and hated his people. So what happens when a man like that encounters Christ?

In this sermon on Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus from Acts 9:1–19, RUF Campus Minister Ethan Brown helps us to discover, along with Saul, a Jesus who is bigger and better and stronger and sweeter than we often allow ourselves to hope, and that the answer for our sin and sadness if found in the holiness of Jesus Christ. Listen as Pastor Ethan shows us three facets of Christ’s holiness: Jesus takes your suffering personally, Jesus takes his mission seriously, and Jesus can change you completely.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

When you think of the holiness of Christ, what other words, images, or ideas come to mind? In what ways did the sermon help you to think differently about the holiness of Christ?

“There is no one who is so good to be beyond the need of God’s grace; and there is no one so bad to be beyond the reach of God’s grace.” Which part of this statement do you find yourself slower to believe? What difference would it make in your life this week if you lived in light of this truth? Try to be specific.

What are you typically anxious about or focused on when you wake up in the morning or have a quiet moment to yourself? How do you hope Jesus will transform your preoccupations this week? Spend some time asking Jesus to do just that.

Not everyone has a “Damascus Road experience” like Saul did. But can you remember a time when God’s grace broke in and began a new trajectory in your life? Consider sharing about that moment with a family member or friend this week.

Pastor Luke Herche preaches on John 20:19–23, John's account of the resurrection... of Jesus, showing that fear keeps us locked up and hidden away...but, Christ is risen from the dead. Because of this we can know his peace, receive his power, and proclaim forgiveness in his name.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

Reread John 20:19–23. What are some things that you/people are afraid of?

What are some ways people generally respond to fear? What are some ways it hinders us from living the life God calls us to?

How does the resurrection meet us in our fear? How does it undermine the very idea of fear? How does the resurrection enable us to move out in love even when we are afraid?

What can you do with your fear now, in light of the resurrection?

Pastor Luke Herche preaches on the death and resurrection of Jesus from John 19:38–20:18, focusing on... three perspectives:
The Perspective of Death: Resignation
The Perspective from the Empty Tomb: Confusion
The Perspective of Resurrection Life: Hope

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

This is a hard question, but worth contemplating: Where have you experienced death in your own life? In what ways have you or others around you responded to that? Why do we respond the way we do?

How does John begin to show us that Jesus was victorious over death? What things in the story bear witness to that reality?

How does living from the perspective of death shape the way one thinks about the world around them? What would it look like to view life and death from the perspective of the resurrection? How does this text enable you to do that?

Who do you know who needs the hope of the resurrection right now? Spend time praying for them, that God would meet them where they are and perhaps even use you to bring them that hope.

People are often shocked by the raw honesty of the psalms. The psalmists regularly give voice to their emotions: fear, sadness,... anger, joy, hope, guilt, shame, doubt, gratitude—the Bible doesn’t hold back, but encourages a faith-full honesty. The psalms show us that such emotion, in itself, is not sin. Psalm 137, a psalm dealing with the deep pain of loss, often poses a challenge to interpreters, but Pastor Luke Herche argues that even this psalm presents a godly, because god-ward, response to loss. Preaching on this psalm, Pastor Luke shows that when we face loss we should lament what is, long for what will be, and love like Jesus in the meantime.

Springtime in the midwest often brings with it storms. If you miss the storm and just see the aftermath, the downed trees, the risen... water, you might find yourself wondering, “What happened here?” Reading the accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus might cause you to ask something similar: What happened here? What’s going on? What do we see? In John’s account we discover many details not found in the other three gospels because John is the gospel written by a friend, by someone who saw these things happen, who stood by the foot of the cross. In this sermon from John 19, Pastor Josué Pernillo helps us investigate what is happening and why, via the details and the facts given to us by the Apostle John, as we behold the power of the cross, the glory of the cross, the love of the cross, and the purpose of the cross.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

Read through the sermon passage again: What are the things that stick out to you? What are some things you notice after reading it again?

How do we see the power of God in the cross of Christ? How does this compare to the way that our culture regards power?

How do we see the interaction between glory and shame in the passage? What is the significance of this in light of Genesis 3:7–10?

If a neighbor who is unfamiliar with Christianity asked you to summarize the purpose of the cross in your own words, how would you explain it?

The Bible is full of irony: the appearance of a thing is often contradictory to the reality. In this sermon... on John 18:28–19:16, in which we find Jesus on trial before Pontius Pilate, Pastor Luke Herche brings out three broad ironies found within the passage: the irony of unbelief, the irony of the gospel, and the ironies of faith.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

Walk through the story slowly (perhaps read it out loud). What are the most interesting ironies of Jesus’ trial? How does irony confront even as it persuades?

What part of this story feel most tragic to you? Why? What aspect of Jesus’ person and work described here—his being the spotless passover lamb, the God-man accused of blasphemy, or the king of truth rejected as a fraud—feels most triumphant to you? How does the resurrection transform what would otherwise be tragic in this story?

Of the three aspects of walking by faith mentioned—looking to what is unseen, relying on power through weakness, waiting for the kingdom which has come—which do you find most difficult and why? How does Jesus’ work free and motivate you to do these things?

The principle of worldly power is, “Destroy your enemies to gain life.” Everyone has their own vision for what “the... good life” is and are often willing to fight over it. But this is because we do not understand God’s Kingdom. In this sermon on John 18:12–27, wherein Jesus is brought to trial before Annas and Caiaphas, the high priest, Pastor Luke Herche shows that Jesus came not to destroy his enemies to gain life, but to die for his enemies to give life. And because of this, we are now free to rest in Jesus to find life and free to love our enemies to give it.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

In what way were Peter and the religious leaders alike? How did that play out in this story?

What is your vision of the good life? How have you co-opted Jesus to bolster that vision? In what ways do you see Jesus as a threat to it?

What are you willing to “fight” for? In what ways can only Jesus provide the deep things we fight for? How does that free us to stop fighting?

Consider those in your life who are either a disappointment or a threat. What would it look like to love them this week? Take time to pray for opportunities to do just that.

When you face difficult things, how do you respond? Sometimes we run, sometimes we blame others, sometimes... we fight, sometimes we look for distractions. We do these things because we are afraid—afraid of what is to come, of dealing with our guilt, of facing God’s call, of life not working out. In this sermon on John 18:1–11, in which Jesus is betrayed and arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, Pastor Luke Herche shows us that while our own temptation is to hide and blame and save ourselves, Jesus stepped up to protect his people by giving his life, which means we don’t have to be afraid. We can rest secure in Jesus, own our sin, and be bold to face hard things in life.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

How does Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane compare to Adam in the garden of Eden? What is similar? What is different? What feels ironic?

What do you/people tend to do when faced with hard things? Why do you/people respond in that way?

How does Jesus’ work in the cross and resurrection free us and encourage us to face hard things (whether those hard things have to do with dealing with our own sin, facing trials, or stepping out into God’s call on our lives)?

Who do you know who needs to hear about Jesus’ work in facing the cross for us that we might be able to face the hard things that come our way? Take some time to pray that God would give you an opportunity to speak to that person about Jesus and his work.

Fear is one of the most primal emotions known to man. Emotions, in general, can be perplexing, and we sometimes don’t know... what to do with them. Do we seek to master them or to bow down to them? Or is there another option? And so we turn to Scripture to help us understand our very hearts. In this sermon on Psalm 56, written by David as he fled from Saul who was pursuing him to kill him, Pastor Josué Pernillo examines the internal wrestlings of David and poses five questions: What is fear? What does fear show? How does fear become disordered? What are sinful responses to fear? And how do we pray through our fear?

What does Jesus want for his disciples? Nothing less than for us to share in the divine life of the Trinity: to... know and experience the life and love that God has shared as Father, Son, and Spirit from all eternity, something we can experience if we are in him and he in us. Listen as RUF Campus Minister Ethan Brown preaches on John 17:20–26, showing us the union we can have with God, the communion we can have with his people, and the commission given to us as we go out into the world.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

What role does mystery and wonder play in your understanding of God? What is one way you want to pursue adoring the incomprehensible God this week?

Growing as a Christian means growing in loving what Jesus loves, and Jesus loves God, the Church, and the lost. Which of these loves of Christ do you see strong evidence of in your life? Which of these loves do you want to see grow in the coming weeks?

Jesus prays for you. Spend some time reflecting on this beautiful truth – and then spend some time praying for someone in your life that you want to know the superabundant life of God.

“Finding your own place in the world” is something everyone pursues, consciously or unconsciously. But it is really... knowing where you are and whose you are and why you are that gives you the freedom to be who you are in the world. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on John 17:6–19, helping us to better understand our place in the world by answering four questions:
Where are we? In the world.
Who/se are we? Treasured by God.
How are we? Kept and consecrated.
Why are we? Commissioned by Christ.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

Describe the relation between the disciples and “the world.” How does that need to be nuanced?

How does it feel to know that you are part of God’s treasured possession (Ex. 19:5–6; 1 Pt. 2:5)? What are some ways that can be misunderstood? What should it engender in us as God’s people?

How is being chosen, kept, and consecrated sometimes pitted against being commissioned? How do they actually go hand in hand?

What are some specific ways that you can be salt and light where you live, study, work, and play? Take some time to pray to that end and for particular people who need to see and know the glory of God’s grace in Jesus.

Do you know what glory tastes like? Everything has glory, and all the glory of created things is really a reflection of the glory of... the Creator. Whatever is marvelous in the world comes from the hand of God. When we taste, see, smell, touch, hear something beautiful we taste glory. But what glory are you pursuing? And how is it shaping your life? Pastor Luke Herche preaches on John 17:1–5, exhorting us to pursue God’s glory as we see through the text that God pursues his own glory, Jesus displays God’s glory, and life is knowing God’s glory.

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Want to go deeper? Take some time to reflect on the sermon with the following questions:

What is glory in general? How do you think about it? Where do you see it in general?

How do you feel about the phrase, "God pursues his own glory?" What might feel off about it? How do you resolve that in your thinking?

How does it change things to know that the greatest display of God’s glory is the display of his love in the cross?

What are the different things it might mean that life is knowing God’s glory? How have you tasted/do you taste God’s glory? What might you do if you don’t?

In the midst of your trouble and confusion, you don’t have to hide. Jesus knows your... questions. In the midst of your trouble and confusion, God is at work. Your sorrow will turn to joy. In the midst of your trouble and confusion, your Father hears your cries. You can go to him. In the midst of your trouble and confusion, don’t think you’ve got it all figured out. Rest in the victory of Jesus. Learn more in this sermon from Pastor Luke Herche on John 16:16–33.

Why do we often feel distant from God? One big reason is that we don’t know how to draw near. So what does... it look like to draw near and how do we do it? Pastor Luke Herche addresses these questions in a sermon on Psalm 1. Listen as he answers the “how”, “what”, and “why” of meditation, teaching us about the act of meditation, the object of meditation, and the blessing of meditation.

Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on John 16:4b–15, showing that Jesus sent the... Holy Spirit for our advantage because the Spirit takes what is of Christ and applies it to us to the glory of God.

Why is there so much fighting in the world? Why so much animosity? And where did it come from? Listen as... Pastor Luke Herche preaches from John chapter 15, addressing two questions: First, must there be animosity? And second, what should be our response?

Despite present darkness, God’s glory-presence will fill the earth. Listen as Pastor... Luke Herche preaches on Revelation 21:22–27, exhorting us to open our eyes, walk in the light of Christ, and rejoice in the hope of his coming.

Church elder Daniel Thies preaches on Ephesians 5:8–14, focusing on two points: You... are light in Christ; so walk as children of the light.