WEEK 1 - APRIL 17
The Cornerstone
EPHESIANS 2:13-22
Life can feel shaky and uncertain. Or we might feel directionless and confused. But Jesus is the cornerstone of Christian life and community. He provides both strength and direction. Even when life knocks us down, the cornerstone is there to build on again and again, strong and secure from the ground up. When we gather for worship on Sundays, the Gospel of Jesus is central to all we do and who we are. We worship the name of the Jesus, we hear the Good News of his salvation, we are formed to walk his way, we gather at his Table, and we are sent back into the world as a witness to his hope. Come build your life on Jesus, the perfect cornerstone.
April 16 Sermon
WEEK 2 - APRIL 23
The Foundation
EPHESIANS 2:13-22
It’s true. The Bible is really long. It can sometimes be hard to read. And people have misused it in so many ways. But it’s also a beautiful, powerful, life-changing witness to the faithfulness of God in Jesus Christ. And millions of people over thousands of years have wisely built their lives on the foundational writings of the “apostles and prophets.” Come and learn how to engage the Bible in all its beauty, grace, and power and find a firm foundation for life.
April 23 Sermon
WEEK 3 - APRIL 30
The Family Room
& Kitchen
EPHESIANS 2:19
EPHESIANS 3: 14-19
As wonderful as it is to share a meal in someone’s home, it’s another whole level of relationship when you’re comfortable to walk into the kitchen, open their refrigerator, and find what you need. “Refrigerator rights” belong to friends who are becoming family. In a world divided in countless ways, Jesus makes us family. At UALC we’re committed to the whole family of God, where each generation belongs and contributes. And we all share the special commitment to raise up the next generation in Christ. In the desert we may be foreigners and strangers to one another. At the Oasis we are one family.
WEEK 4 - MAY 7
The Attic
EPHESIANS 2:22
1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-31
Do you have an attic? How about a mechanical room in the basement? You probably don’t go there a lot, but the things that happen there are vitally important to the function of your whole house – and our church building too. Similarly, God is very often powerfully at work in the places we don’t think to look. How else would you describe a God who saved the world through a disgraced and rejected Jesus, dying a criminal’s death? As it was with the body of Jesus, so it is now with the Body of Christ. Most of the action happens behind the scenes, when one friend quietly prays for another, when a volunteer team sets up chairs for an event, or an usher shows up early to get the sanctuary ready for your arrival. No matter what part you play, you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.
WEEK 5 - MAY 14
The Front Porch
EPHESIANS 2:13-22
2 CORINTHIANS 5:11-21
Even a great house comes with a risk, the risk of staying inside. And churches, like anyone else, can get isolated and disconnected from their neighbors. But God’s house also has a great front porch. We chat with neighbors there and leave from there to serve the world around us. “We who were once far away have been brought near” (Ephesians 2:11). And now “the love of Christ compels us," (2 Corinthians 5:14) and we invite others to join the family of God with us. UALC is committed to living with a big, wrap-around porch – giving generously to local and global missions, sharing our building space with other ministries, and reaching out to the neighborhoods around us.