Why did Jesus-God in the flesh- choose to speak in riddles, stories, and metaphors? In this sermon, we explore the artistic and subversive nature of Jesus's parables through the lens of Matthew 13. With insights from Robert Farrar Capon, Amy-Jill Levine, and the BibleProject, we discover how parables are not meant to simplify truth but to stir the soul, provoke the heart, and invite us into deeper mystery. Featuring the Parable of the Sower as a central example, this message invites us to ask: What kind of soil am I? Jesus' stories aren't cozy bedtime tales. They explode assumptions about who belongs and how God Works.

What does it mean to follow Jesus in a world shaped by empire, power, and fear? In this sermon, we explore how the earliest Christians walked "The Way" a countercultural path of love, humility, and resurrection hope. Drawing from Acts 24, this message invites us to see the Ascension not as Christ's absence, but His universal reign. It's not just about believing in Jesus, It's about becoming like Him as we follow "The Way".

The closer you look in the Bible, you'll find that courage and faith are essentially the same thing. This is why the Apostle Paul exhorts young Timothy that :God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:6). Our fears generally surround those things we cling to other than God. Fear sets in when our personal resources are exceeded. The truth is, we can completely trust in God. By his grace, the Lord helps us deal with our "Canaan's" so we can enter the "promised land".

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:19-20

We asked Moms from our church a couple questions: 1. What are your thoughts on the mother heart of God? 2. How have you seen the mother heart of God through your own mother, a mother figure or a as a mother yourself? 3. Mother love finds its origin in the heart of God. Have you seen God as a mother who comforts and heals our wounds? 4. As a follower of Jesus how important do you think it is to have this mother love towards others?

We step into the heart of the biblical story - a story of exile and return, sin and forgiveness, the way out, the way through, and the way in. Today, we'll see how the forgiveness of sins is not merely a transaction but a liberation - a homecoming and the way out of exile that changes our present reality.

Thank you for joining us at Branches Easter Service. Pastor Ryan Maroney speaks on Jesus' Resurrection and God's love for His church. Join us every Sunday at 10AM at Agape 1928 in San Clemente and follow us online for more. www.branchesoc.com

A Palm Sunday sermon about what kind of king Jesus is.