The Well Church of the Nazarene

Grad Sunday

Celebrating the Class of 2025!

The Commission

Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus model, lead, teach, inspire, convict, and instruct his followers. This instruction--the command to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves--comes before The Great Commission.

A commission is a formal, written warrant, granting the power to perform various acts or duties. It's the authorization to act in a prescribed manner. And those who've been commissioned have been given a charge to serve. 

So what are our "marching orders"? Go. Make. Baptize. Teach. 

The Restoration of Peter

Failure identifies a gap between where we are and where we can be. But just as He did with Peter, Jesus fills that gap! The aftershock of Christ's death and resurrection made a difference in Peter's life, and His love inspires us to respond as well. 

The Emmaus Puzzle

When the road ahead is heavy with doubt and the pieces of our faith no longer seem to fit, we may be tempted to walk away. But in the breaking of bread, the risen Christ meets us—fitting the scattered pieces into a story of hope, and inviting us to keep returning to the table where clarity dawns and hearts burn anew.

Behind Locked Doors

Just like our fears, our doubts are opportunities for God to work in our lives.

No Other King Rose from the Grave!

No other king loves his enemies, humbles himself, heals the unclean, eats with the outcasts, washes feet, or died for us. This is not just good news... this is great news! And the truth of the Resurrection is imperishable and unfading, nor can it be spoiled by the happenings of this world.

Feeding the King

What we do on Sundays is meaningless without the foundation of understanding both the vertical AND the horizontal nature of the Greatest Commandment--to "love the Lord your God [out of] your heart, soul, mind, and strength" and "love your neighbor as yourself."

What comes out of us reflects the king that we worship--the king of pride or the king of humility. Grace helps us reconnect the vertical (loving God) to the horizontal (loving others). Humility feeds gratitude, gratitude feeds generosity, and generosity allows us to love our neighbor. Which king are you feeding?

Whose Image?

Mark 12 tells the Parable of the Tenants--but it's not a lesson in dollars and cents. It's not even about Rome or the image of Caesar. It's about lordship. The image we bear reflects who (or what) we worship. May our lives reveal his majesty and mercy as we humbly walk in the way of Jesus and give God what belongs to Him.

Approval of Others

Jesus as Messiah is clear to those of us reading the gospels, but for those participating in the story, there was still confusion. Jesus didn't arrive to bring them freedom from the temple of Rome like they'd hoped, but instead engaged in a "battle" that was far more personal. He lived out Micah's lament (Micah 7), proclaiming hope that comes from the Lord and calling each of us to be trees not just full of leaves, but trees that bear fruit.

Comfort & Security

The story of Bartimaeus in Mark 10 is the story of someone who finally "gets it," unlike the rich man or James and John. And while the disciples were quick to dismiss Bartimaeus, Jesus called to him, and Bartimaeus threw off his cloak--his only possession--and ran to Jesus.