Kingdom Harbor

This fall marks 10 years since our first Sunday services at MainStreet Covenant Church. Looking back at all the songs sung and sermons preached, what has been my deepest desire and core longing for all my ministry efforts? Answer: To lead people to fresh encounters with the real Jesus.

To do this we have utilized sermons and testimonies, stories and parables, worship songs and melodies, service projects and mission trips, kids curricula and VBS, Lifegroups and Huddles, Holy Yoga and counseling, Bible studies and seminars, and the sacraments. And the list goes on.

What happens when the words about Jesus in the Bible leap off the page and become “living and active” among us? We have a fresh encounter with the real Jesus. This has happened to me this summer, and for millions of viewers around the world through the first ever multi-season TV series on the life of Jesus called The Chosen.

Now as a rule, I am a bit snobbish about the latest Christian movies and media sensations, so I resisted checking out this highly acclaimed series at first. When I finally did, I was hooked and deeply moved. Unlike a 2-hour film about Jesus, the multi-season episodic format has ample space to develop the characters and stories over many hours. And let tell you, the characters such as Peter, Mary Magdalen, Matthew and, of course, Jesus, are being developed and portrayed in ways that are powerfully relatable and compelling.

Listen to a podcast episode on The Chosen here.

Every episode brings me to tears—and to a fresh encounter with Jesus! I watched the first season with my son, Peter, and used the episodes a springboards for conversations in preparation for his recent baptism.

As I pondered preparing a new sermon series or class for this fall, I just had to admit that nothing I would do can compare to the power of seeing the Gospel narratives come alive in living color on the big screen. So, this fall we’ll gather Sundays at 5PM as a church to experience this powerful series together, an episode each Sunday.

On Tuesdays I plan to release a podcast episode reflecting on that previous Sunday’s episode. I am very excited to go on this journey together, and I hope you will consider joining us — either by joining in-person at St. Martin’s By the Lake Sundays at 5PM, or by watching on your own at home and then subscribing to my Anchor Podcast and checking out

This is a great and non-threatening way to share the gospel with friends and neighbors who aren’t interested in conventional church services. Hey, we all like watching television, so share the series, invite them to join us Sundays, or have your own weekly viewing party at home—they will encounter Jesus, I promise!

Kids ministry will be provided during the showings at MainStreet each Sunday. We plan to let each episode lead us to the Communion Table and end each Sunday gathering by partaking on the Eucharist together — together as God’s Chosen today for this time and place.

Join us!