a2f newsletter.

happy wednesday.

a packed weekend. both noblemen + new eve boost trips. another brian kelly speech cameo. activate. ice-skating (gg ethan p). ismp jonah bible camp. a2f tgif - laser tag extravaganza. and to wrap it all up - baptism. congratulations aaron.

one announcement i wanted to highlight for this week - student leader applications for 2026 - 2027

if interested, please sign up here. we’ll hold our interest meeting 3/8 after a2f sunday. even if you aren’t sure and just want to learn more, you are welcome to sign up and join the info session. we’ll also answer whatever questions you have.

again, if you have any questions, go ahead and use this form - q + a with dj form

and if you would like a coffee chat with either me or tabby, we created this standing google calendar link - schedule a coffee chat with dj or tabby

dj.

sunday. 3/8. 12p. walc 1018.

continuing our series in john that will carry us through the rest of the semester. this upcoming week, we’ll tackle john 16 and, specifically, the holy spirit. what is the role of the holy spirit? how should i think about the holy spirit? how is the spirit at work in my life? come learn from the most direct passage about the role of the holy spirit straight from the mouth of jesus. afterwards, we’ll have lunch together. come join us.

friday. 4/3. 630p. lawson 1142.

good friday service. opportunity to remember what christ did on the cross. communion. and, afterwards, food fellowship.

sunday. 4/5. 12p. walc 1018.

come celebrate easter sunday with a2f. he is risen. worship. sermon. easter choir (more info to come for those interested in being a part of the choir + band). lunch fellowship + sports afterwards.

jesus once told his disciples something both simple and profound:

“in my father’s house are many rooms… i go to prepare a place for you.” (john 14:2)

he was speaking about heaven.

when people imagine heaven today, they often picture clouds, bright light, or golden stairs stretching into the sky. it looks like an endless vacation somewhere far away.

but that’s not how jesus describes it.

he calls heaven his father’s house.

in other words, heaven is home.

think about what home means. when you’ve been away for a long time, you begin to miss it. not just the building itself, but the familiarity—the food, the smells, the people, the sense that you belong there.

home is meant to be the place where you are fully known and fully accepted. the poet robert frost once wrote, “home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

even if our own homes have been imperfect, we still carry a deep longing for a place like that. the bible explains why: god has “put eternity into the human heart” (ecclesiastes 3:11).

we were made for something more than this life.

jesus says heaven is the place where that longing will finally be fulfilled. and he tells his disciples something even more personal: there is a place prepared for them.

in the culture of jesus’ day, when a man was betrothed to a woman, he would return to his father’s house to build a new room where they would live together. only after everything was prepared would he return to bring his bride home.

this is the imagery jesus uses.

he is preparing a place—not in general, but for you.

yet the most important part of heaven isn’t the place itself. jesus says the real promise is this:

“that where i am you may be also.”

the greatest joy of heaven is being with him forever.

jesus spoke these words to comfort his disciples because their hearts were troubled. they knew difficult days were ahead.

and the same is true for us. life is uncertain. people we love pass away. plans collapse. things we rely on can disappear.

but jesus reminds us that our ultimate future is secure.

the apostle paul writes:

“if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from god… eternal in the heavens.” (2 corinthians 5:1)

this life is temporary. but the home jesus prepares is permanent.

and when we know we have a home waiting for us, it changes how we face today. hardship may still come, but it is no longer the end of the story.

jesus ends with a simple invitation:

“believe in god; believe also in me.”

not just intellectual belief, but trust.

because if his promise is true, then our future is certain.

there is a home waiting for us. and jesus himself is preparing it.

until next time.

dj.