Nehemiah 1 takes place after the temple was finished, as well Nehemiah learning of the troubles the builders had from the lack of a wall or city. After a long period of daily prayer, Nehemiah talks to the king of Persia, who gives him permission, resources, and letters to send with him to rebuild Jerusalem.

Now that Ezra has been teaching in Israel for a while, the returned exiles are beginning to see their sinful ways of living. We see how, once again, Israel’s problem is the worship of other gods, or marrying from other nations, and the process of Israel’s recovery.

This week, we read in Ezra 5 how the prophets Haggai and Zechariah restarted and finished the Temple building project after it had been abandoned for many years. Dean talks about how the Temple, as well as it’s restoration, was meant to put God at the center of the Israelite’s lives, and how we should do this today.

After Paul preaches the sermon in Pisidian Antioch, we get to see the incredible effect it has on Jews and Gentiles alike. Dean shows the great lengths Paul and Barnabas went to to give this sermon, and shows how we can have that same missionary impact today.

In Acts 9, we read about the conversion of Paul. Dean talks about the surrounding chapters, which include the conversions of the Roman Centurion Cornelius and the Ethiopian Eunuch, and how we can be like Ananias and Barnabas were to Paul.

During our Palm Sunday service, Dean walks us through the story of the last supper and the following events, talks about the significance of bearing our burdens, and reminds us of who we would have been in the Passion narrative.

In this famous parable, Jesus tells a story of a son who is lost from his father, a father who longs for his son, and a brother who doesn’t understand either of them. Dean shows us how each brother is lost in his own way, how we can all be both brothers at times, and how God is willing to throw each and every one of us a party for returning to him.

In this passage, we hear about two healings Jesus performed, with the bleeding woman and the death of Jairus’s daughter. Dean takes us step-by-step through the passage and highlights five important things we learn about our relationship with Jesus from this story.

This week, we read Luke’s representation of the Sermon on the Mount, and hear about Luke’s four Beatitudes and four Woes. Dean takes us through the passage and describes what it means to be on Jesus team, explains what it means to be in the Upside-down Kingdom, and teaches us a new word: Parenetic.

In this first Sunday of Christmas, we hear about the second set of witnesses to Jesus: the older saints, Simeon and Anna. Dean talks about how the story of these two being included in Lukes gospel continues to show how God highlights those we might not notice, and marvels at the amount of time it would have taken Simeon and Anna to attune so closely to God’s Spirit that they would recognize Jesus.

In this brief sermon, Dean narrates a story from the perspective on Zechariah about Luke 1, where he meets the angel Gabriel, he and Elizabeth have a son in their old age, and Mary comes to tell them of her child, who will be the Messiah.

As we continue through the Gospel of Luke, we hear about the Annunciation of Mary by the angel Gabriel. Dean tells us the story and compares it to Gabriel’s appearance to Zechariah, which was covered in last week’s sermon. He then gives context to better understand the implications of Mary’s calling, and how well Mary demonstrates discipleship in the passage.

In our first Sunday of the Advent season, we begin our study of The Gospel of Luke. Dean introduces us to Luke and shows us the picture that Luke paints of Jesus’ life through his Gospel, tells us the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and shows us the importance of remaining faithful to God even through our own barrenness.

This week, Dean continues our talk on a generous community as he walks us through the story of Matthew’s conversion. Dean talks about the structure of the book of Matthew and emphasizes the importance of Matthew’s job as a tax collector to his conversion.

We continue to learn about our generous God through Acts 9. Dean walks through the four scenes of generosity through the Holy Spirit found in the story of the conversion of Saul.