The man had terrorized an entire region — but when Jesus stepped onto the shore, it was the demons who were afraid. Mark 5 makes something unmistakably clear: there is no battle between equal forces. Jesus doesn't struggle against evil or negotiate with darkness. He commands, and it obeys. And that changes how we face the darkness around us today.

Most church names are aesthetic decisions. Ours is a job description. In Matthew 5, Jesus hands His followers two responsibilities — be salt, be light — and both come with a warning. Here's what that actually means, why our church carries this name, and what it looks like to live it out in Bend this week.

Most of us like to believe we're in control — until a diagnosis, a loss, or a season of anxiety proves otherwise. Two thousand years ago, a group of seasoned fishermen hit the same wall in a storm they couldn't outmaneuver. What happened next raises a question worth asking whether you're religious or not: when life strips away everything you depend on, what remains?

The disciples were experienced fishermen, and this storm still convinced them they were going to die. But the real issue wasn't the storm — it was that they'd forgotten who was in the boat with them. A look at Mark 4 and the habit most of us share: treating Jesus as a last resort instead of coming to Him first.

First-century Israel expected the Messiah to bring immediate triumph. Instead, Jesus told stories about farmers, seeds, and patience. This look at Mark 4's parables covers why the same gospel produces different results in different hearts, the seven quiet habits that crowd mission out of our lives, and why the kingdom's smallest beginnings are exactly the point.