JR.'s Sermons: Recent Episodes
JR. Forasteros
"All I Want for Christmas is You" is the best-selling Christmas song of all time. At its heart is a vulnerability that's essential to the Christmas season. Hope requires risk, an admission that where we are is not where we want to be. How can we choose to be vulnerable as we approach Christmas?
Have you noticed Christmas decorations seem to be going up earlier and earlier? First it was Thanksgiving... now Halloween is in danger of getting swallowed up by Kris Kringle! But with a world so full of war, plague and division, is it any wonder we want to throw up Christmas Cheer like a shield? Can you blame us for wanting a garland-strewn respite? But is it possible that, by closing ourselves off from the pain in the world, we miss the truly liberating power of Christmas?
During the Christmas season, we celebrate God coming to earth. In a world marked by violence, division and bigotry, God's arrival means a big shake up. Are we sure we're ready for God's arrival? If not, how can we prepare?
Christians aren't known for being curious. Why would we be, when we have a monopoly on truth? But that attitude is at odds with the God who created our universe and invited us to explore. It's at odds with the God who calls us to welcome the stranger and go into the whole world. What does a church that cultivates curiosity look like? How does prioritizing curiosity shape our mission and engagement with the world around us?
Nobody likes change, but it's inevitable. And for people of faith, change is good. We're called to embrace change so radical the only word for it is resurrection. So how can we take change seriously - in our own lives, in our congregation and in our world?
Even though diversity has become a buzz word, it's hard to find any organization that takes it seriously - especially churches. What does it look like to take diversity seriously? The radical truth is that none of us is free until all of us is free. So how can we chase that together as a church?
We're in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, and far too often, churches are part of the problem. How can that be, when Jesus insists that he made us his friends? What does it mean for a church to take friendship seriously, particularly in the midst of a culture dying to connect?
There's no way around it: change is traumatic. That the change is good doesn't alter the reality that it's really hard. Paul's paradigm-shifting transformation on the road to Damascus illustrates the pain and joy of following God's radical call to something new. How does faith enable us to follow God faithfully into the unknown?
Sometimes, it's God's old thing that keeps us from participating in God's new thing. What do we do when faithfulness gets in the way of being faithful? Jesus warned his followers that the days of God's temple were numbered because God was up to something new. How can we hold the past lightly so we can lean into God's new thing?
We live in a professionalized culture - we're more likely to leave every job to the paid expert than we are to do them ourselves. But when it comes to building God's new thing, this isn't something we can leave to professionals. Nehemiah shows us that we all have a part to play in God's work. How can we discern what our part is? Where do we weigh in?
What do we do when life doesn't go the way we thought? People of faith try our best to follow God's will, but that's not a guarantee life is going to go our way. Joseph shows us what faithfulness looks like when Plan A goes off the rails.
Nobody loves change, but change doesn't ask our permission to happen. So when change comes, how can we engage it faithfully? It all begins by being willing to leave what's been and trust that God is leading us into the future. Do we have the courage to take that first, longest step?
Social media promises to connect us, but we've seen throughout this series how technology can harm as easily as heal. How do we discern what wise use of these technologies look like? How can we be sure technology is serving our faith journey, and not the other way around?
In the wake of #metoo, everyone is afraid of Cancel Culture. No one is immune, from celebrities to pastors. While some see this as justice, others see a dangerous mob, accountable to no one. How should people of faith engage cancel culture? What does redemption look like for those who have wronged others? How can we offer grace without compromising truth?
What's the harm in scrolling through social media, reading or watching whatever comes across our screens? We know in the abstract that tech companies use algorithms to determine what we see, but how often do we ask what those algorithms - and the companies who write them - want? How do these algorithms shape our spirituality? And how can we take responsibility for our feeds?
It's easy to vilify the latest technology, but how do we really know if the latest gadget, app or trend is holy or not? What could the Bible possibly have to say about technologies two millennia younger than its writings? How do we learn to think theologically about smartphones, laptops, social media and everything else?
There's no bigger box-office draw than a superhero movie. Why do we love these stories so much? What does that say about us? Is there a limit to the good superhero movies can do? And what does any of that have to do with our calling as a people of God?
In a perfect world, our call to love God would never conflict with our call to love our neighbors. But our world is complex, and too often, we find ourselves torn between a desire to be holy and a desire to love. How do we untangle this tension that leaves us in knots? What do we do when these two forces collide?
What does it mean to be 'holy'? In the ancient world, that meant 'set apart' or 'special'. God calls those who follow God to be a 'holy people'. So how are we set apart? Much of the ancient imagery is wrapped up in blood sacrifice, demigods and... dietary restrictions? What does all that mean for us today? How can we be holy as God calls us to be?
If someone dies without knowing Jesus, they go to Hell. Hell is a punishment for sin. Many churches describe Hell as "eternal conscious torment". How is that just? How can eternal torment be a fair punishment for even a lifetime of sin? Could it be that we've gotten Hell wrong? Could there be hope even in the depths of Hell?
We're told that unless you accept Jesus as your savior, you go to Hell. But what about the countless people around the world who died without ever hearing about Jesus? Or those who were introduced to him at the end of a conqueror's sword? How can God be loving if those people go to Hell? How can God be just if they're punished for something they couldn't help?
Why did Jesus die on the Cross? Did God really kill Jesus because he was angry at us? These questions point to the heart of God's character, and many of us are afraid of the answer. But when we understand how the Bible talks about God's wrath, we see the Cross not as an angry God defending his own reputation, but rather as the one who created and loves us saving us from ourselves.
God loves us, and God is quick to forgive. Unless we commit the unpardonable sin. What does it mean to 'blaspheme the Holy Spirit'? Why is that the sin God considers unforgivable? How can that be if God's love is unending?
We say God is Love but what about Hell? Do people who don't know God really get tortured for all eternity? If someone prays right before they die, are they safe no matter what? How is that fair when good people who never heard about God suffer forever? Is it possible we've got Hell all wrong? How could Hell actually be good news?
The Church is supposed to be a spiritual family that is assembled around Jesus to offer his love to the world. But far too often, churches are the source of deep trauma. We know Jesus calls us to love our enemies, but what do we do when our enemy is the Church? How do we love the ones who hurt us in the name of Jesus?
We hear that God brings joy and peace. But if we're honest, we don't often experience those feelings. Does that mean we're lacking in some essential way? That we need to try harder? Be better? No - joy and peace aren't emotions. They're a state of being that flows out of God's own character. So what does it look like for us to experience them?
What does it mean to say the Bible is the "inspired Word of God"? How do we know the Bible is trustworthy? After all, it's a library of more than sixty books by dozens of authors written and compiled over the course of centuries. Doesn't that make it less reliable? Not for those of us at Catalyst - the human component of Scripture is a feature, not a bug. What makes the Bible inspired is that it's fully divine and fully human.
How do we know who God is? After all, there are dozens of religions who all make competing claims about God's nature. God has revealed themselves to us through God's actions in human history. From the Exodus to Jesus himself, God shows themselves to be a liberator. God rescues us from injustice and oppression. God works for the flourishing of all of us!
Jesus prays that God will make us one the same way Jesus and the Father are one. What does this oneness look like? Think of us all like lines of computer code. We're all different, and all have different roles to play. Oneness doesn't mean uniformity; it means we're all working together to execute God's mission of liberation in our world!
What do we do when the right thing is wrong? Ever since Jesus was executed by Rome as a political criminal, Christians have often found our commitment to God's Kingdom at odds with the nations and cultures in which we live. What are we supposed to do when we're in way over our heads?
Everyone knows you should follow Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die... and get a mansion, if we're to believe the songs! But would you be surprised to know that Jesus never promises us mansions? And... it's not even really about what happens when we die. No, when we crack Jesus' code, we realize he's promising something much more immediate - and much better!
What is God up to? Specifically, if we're looking for where God is at work in the world, what are we looking for? In the wake of Jesus' resurrection, his followers struggled to understand how his death and resurrection fulfilled God's promises. Cue one epic road trip where Jesus himself takes some very special followers through a whirlwind of the Hebrew scriptures, reframing how they understood everything God is about through Jesus. What does that mean for us in 2023?
Misunderstandings cause a lot of friction in our lives. But bad communication isn't always the culprit - sometimes we just don't know how to use the right language. Could the same be true of faith, too? Is it possible that God is speaking to us in a way we can learn to hear, a way that's accessible and transformative for humanity? What does that sound like?
Easter is more than a celebration of that thing (Jesus coming back to life!) that happened that one time (2,000 years ago). It's liberation - the beginning of a new reality that hides in plain sight. Jesus, the resurrected one, is the key to learning to discern this new reality. So just remember... if you want to find God hiding in plain sight, the magic number is 8.
We all bring expectations with us into relationships, and not having them met can be a source of real pain and conflict. Palm Sunday illustrates how Jesus refused to meet the expectations of anyone - not Rome, not the leaders in Jerusalem, not the pilgrims with whom he traveled. In fact, it was their refusal to see Jesus for who he is - and not who they wanted him to be - that led all these groups to conspire to crucify him. How can we learn from their failure to be very careful to align ourselves with Jesus' agenda, and not the other way around?
In our most honest moments, we recall times God has let us down. Prayers unanswered, illnesses unhealed, relationships not mended. We wonder, in those times, what the point of faith is. Why follow God if God does not (cannot?) keep us from harm, from grief. Jesus' approach to Lazarus' tomb reveals much about the God who does not leave us in our grief - even as we hope for something better.
What makes a good leader? A good boss? A good partner? A good Christian? In a world with so many competing ideas of what's worth imitating, it can be hard to know what God's way is. The stories of King David's anointing and Jesus' healing of a man born blind remind us that God's values are upside down from the culture around us. So how can we be sure we're seeing things God's way?
How often do you ask God for what you want? For a lot of us, even the idea sounds wrong - as though we're annoying the greatest being in the universe, making ourselves a burden to the one who has far more important things on their plate. But Jesus reminds us that God cares deeply about our needs and is aware of them even before we voice them. So... what are we afraid of? What's holding us back for asking for good gifts from our creator?
God created us to reflect God's love to the world around us. What keeps us from faithfully reflecting God's love? And how can we reconnect to God so we can once again show the world the same love we receive from God?
How often do we associate religion with a list of don'ts? These prohibitions often seem to be the heart of religious life. But this first Sunday of Lent reminds us that God created us primarily for permission. God created us for freedom - and an essential component of real freedom is boundaries. How do God's prohibitions orient us toward the true freedom God created us for?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, our journey with Jesus to the cross. This year, our series is called Broken Promises. We're exploring the covenants God has made with God's people. How have our spiritual ancestors broken those covenants - and how have we? And most importantly, how has Jesus been faithful - to God and to us?
Despite the popular depictions, spiritual transformation is a process - more a journey than a singular experience. That being the case, how do we prepare well for a journey of transformation? What do we need to do to ensure we're ready for the change that's ahead of us?
A faithful people lives in solidarity with the vulnerable. But what if we've already been living unjust lives? What if we've spent years ignoring the vulnerable? Moses' final speech to Israel reminds us that with God, it's never too late to be righteous. So how do we seek justice in our time and place?
For a lot of folks, the heart of religion is spiritual practices like reading scripture or fasting. But God didn't create us just to watch us do tasks. Practices aren't the heart of faith - relationship is. What happens when our social relationships are unbalanced? What are the consequences for our faith? And how does God call us to heal that imbalance?
Where do we find Jesus today? According to Jesus, we find him among the outcast and marginal. And that's not a new idea - even for Jesus. Real religion, old time religion, the way God created us to be, looks like being a people who lives in solidarity with those who fall through the cracks in our society. So where do we find those people today? After all... that's where we'll find Jesus!
Religion is far too often nothing but platitudes. How many times have you heard, "God has a plan," or "It is what it is"? No wonder Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses!" But, at least for the prophet Isaiah, religion wasn't meant to pacify. Rather, God's arrival among us is meant to wake us up. No wonder God shows up among the marginalized, those most badly in need of justice! If we're going to find Jesus, we're going to find him among those who are most vulnerable.
It's easy to feel like we're not doing enough - especially when it comes to faith. Are we praying enough, serving enough, giving enough? Isaiah's Servant knows how that feels, which is why they remind us that what matters isn't our ability or performance. Our faithfulness is made possible because of God's work in our world. So how can we rest in God's faithfulness - especially when we feel too small to accomplish God's calling?
We love the idea that Jesus saves us from sin. But what does he save us for? What if Jesus' life is as important as his death? We kick off our new series by exploring how Jesus' death frees us to live Jesus' life. He shows us how to live, and dies so we can live like him. Let's begin the new year by igniting our faith like never before!
There's one person in the Christmas story we don't like to talk about - the guy who tried to kill Jesus, and in the process visited an atrocity on the families of Bethlehem. That's right: Herod the Great, the original Christmas Grinch. But is it possible we have more in common with Herod than we might think? Is it possible that we're grinchier than we realize? Join us for New Year's Day (and the 8th day of Christmas) as we explore how we can begin our new year taking our call to follow Jesus more seriously!
Everyone's favorite morning show returns. JR. and Nathan in the Morning! celebrates our third annual Christmas special by welcoming special guests Kathy Khang and Jose Humphreys. Light is one of the most beloved Christmas themes. But our world has racialized that metaphor, equating light (skin) with good and dark (skin) with evil. How should we engage this theme in a way that enables this beloved tradition to bring life and flourishing to all of us?
Christmas is a season of new life, of impossible possibility. Joseph illustrates for us the sort of faith that finds hope in the most unlikely places. As we approach Christmas, how can we attend to the Holy Spirit, particularly in those least likely places?
We're about to the time in the Advent season when the Christmas cheer begins to feel oppressive. After all, we know the world isn't really characterized by peace on earth or goodwill to all peoples. We might relate to John the Baptizer, who, after preparing the people for Jesus' ministry, found himself in prison. What do we make of Jesus' mysterious response to John? How do John and Jesus help us navigate the tension inherent in the Christmas season?
This time of year, nobody wants to be Scrooge. But the ba-humbug spirit is sneakier than we might think. John the Baptizer appears to us this year as the three spirits of Advent past, present and future to remind us what it looks like to be God's faithful people. Today, the question is: are we preparing ourselves for Jesus' arrival?
Ever feel like the world's ending? What comes to mind when you think of the apocalypse? Fire and brimstone? Sun blocked out and moon turning to blood? Bad news... right? Wrong. Somewhere along the way, we picked up the idea that God is going to abandon the world and take us all away. But that's wrong! The good news is that God loves the world - and home is where God's heart is. What does it look like for us to love the world the way God does?
'Curiosity' is not a word we associate with churches. Churches are more often known for quieting questions and insisting we 'just have faith.' But curiosity is a virtue - the most faithful people in Scripture were often curious. That's a good thing because God is bigger than any box we make, and when we choose to be curious, we often discover God in new and surprising ways. What does it look like for Catalyst to value curiosity?
What does it take to become more like Jesus? The process of change for a Christian can take a long time, and it's not very glamorous. It's a lot like BBQ, actually. What can we learn from the process of "low and slow"? How can our faith flourish as deliciously as a perfectly smoked, 20-hour brisket?
Diversity is a buzzword these days, and it's not something churches are particularly known for. So what does it mean for a church to say we value diversity? Why does God care about diversity? And how does pursuing diversity help us know God - and heal the world - better?
At Catalyst, we believe that Friendship is the heart of Jesus’ good news. What does that mean? Friendship with God invites us to go beyond hospitality to seeking friendship outside our own spaces. What does that mean for us - both as individuals and as a church? PLUS: we’ll hear from our Mexico team about how they discovered friendship in Chihuahua!
What does it mean to be a Black Sheep church? How can we be faithful in a culture that doesn't fit? We review our time with Jeremiah, and hear one last promise. The call is overwhelming, so it's a good thing the God who calls us is even bigger!
How do we NOT feel overwhelmed when facing the evils of the world? No wonder we have a tendency to silence or ignore those suffering - especially when we're powerless to help. Jeremiah teaches us that in times of great crisis maybe what we need to do is be silent and learn to lament. Because lamenting teaches us how to hear the voices of the crushed and marginalized. Lamentation is our pathway back to the people God created us and calls us to be!
Sabbath is one of those old-fashioned ideas we don't pay attention to much these days. After all, who can really afford to take a whole day off from life? In Jeremiah's day, the people's failure to keep Sabbath was the signal fire that they were faithless. Why is Sabbath so important? And what does it look like to keep Sabbath in our (way too) busy world? How is Sabbath an act of revolution?
You know that "This is Fine" Dog? It's a pretty good representation of God's people in Jeremiah's day - and maybe in ours too. That's why God told Jeremiah not to attend funerals or weddings. God refused to go along with business as usual in the face of the people's unfaithfulness. What does 'no fast, no feast' look like for God's faithful people today?
Everyone knows that God loves us. So... why is it so hard to receive that love? What is the path to freedom from the guilt, shame and fear that keep us trapped in idolatrous ways of life?
No one worries about idols anymore. Which is weird because the prophets warned about them all the time. Why should we still heed their warnings today? What, exactly, IS an idol? And what does any of this have to do with raincatchers that leak?
What is a prophet? Contrary to popular imagination, prophets in the Bible weren't fortune tellers. God called prophets to tell the truth about God's people, to hold up a mirror to the people. What does that look like today?
Throughout the summer, we’ve see how differently we all experience the world, and how different our paths to healing can be. Such a variety can be overwhelming – sort of like Mirabel’s big opening number. As we bring this series to a close, let’s remember a core, simple truth: no matter who we are, we belong. We’re all part of the family God has created here at Catalyst!
Did we save the best for last? Maybe so... Enneagram 7s are the life of every party. Sevens love life and want to live it to the fullest - just like Camilo in Encanto. But life isn't all fun and games - so what does it take for Sevens to slow down and be present to the hard parts of life, too?
Do you have a friend who worries constantly? Who's aware of every possible danger - most you'd never considered? You might know an Enneagram 6. While they sometimes sound like Chicken Little, 6s are called Loyalists because they're the most steady, reliable people you've ever met. What's the path to health for these 6s? How do the rest of us make space for them to flourish? Brace yourself... for answers, we're going to have to talk about Bruno!
Do you know someone who's got a sharp eye for details? Someone who tends to fade into the background, but doesn't miss anything? Someone who has only so much energy for social interactions? They might be an Enneagram Five. These Investigators are a model of curiosity and intelligence. How can they learn to operate not out of scarcity and fear, but abundance and faith? And how do the rest of us help them flourish?
You know those creative types? The suffering artist, that person who seems to have this deep well of emotions the rest of us only dabble in? You know an Enneagram 4, and like Encanto's Tia Pepa, they can be both nourishing and overwhelming. How do we keep from getting blown away by these Romantics' wild emotions? And what's their path to flourishing?
Do you know a person who seems to have an extra four hours in their day? That go-to person to get anything - and everything! - done? That magnetic personality who puts the Oh! in Overachieving - they're an Enneagram 3. And just like Encanto's Luisa, there's a lot going on under the surface that we don't see. So how can we help these workaholics find flourishing?
Who doesn't love a helping hand? A thoughtful present at just the right time? But nothing can turn those gifts sour faster than finding out they come with strings attached. If you've been on the receiving end of an underhanded offering, then you might know an Enneagram 2. But if you know a healthy 2 - like Encanto's Mama Julieta, then you know the balm of healing and harbor they provide. So how can we identify the Twos in our midst? What is their path to wholeness? And how do the rest of us help them flourish?
Do you know that person whose standards are higher than anyone else you know? They have a drive to excel that the rest of us find intimidating. And yeah... they can be a little judgy. What we don't realize is that these Perfectionists reserve their harshest judgments for... themselves. So what's the path to flourishing for an Enneagram 1? And how can the rest of us love them well?
Do you know someone who feels like a warm plate of chocolate chip cookies? Maybe you know someone who's gentle, kind and filled with care for everyone around them. They're probably an Enneagram 9 - the Peacemaker. What makes 9s special? What is their path to flourishing? And how can the rest of us learn from them and support them?
Do you know someone who is a little prickly, who has a tough exterior and a strong sense of justice? A person who stands up for the little guy, but also has a tendency to steamroll people? Then you might know an Eight. Abuela, the matriarch of la familia Madrigal, illustrates how Eights can be a potent force for good when they're healthy, but cause a lot of damage when they get off track. So how can Eights be open to the Spirit? And how do the rest of us love the Eights in our lives well?
ENCANTO is one of the most popular movies in recent memories. It's packed with spiritual truth - and each character offers us a picture of the possibility of transformation. This summer, we're diving into Encanto using the Enneagram - an ancient guide to spiritual growth - to help us look more like Jesus and love more like him too!
There’s a popular notion that all religions are different paths to the same destination. But when we explore different faith systems, we find each understands the nature of god(s) and reality very differently. Christians believe God is Trinity – a paradox that points to a deep truth at the heart of reality: God is love, and love is the most essential, powerful force in the universe!
When it comes to people who aren't Christians, the Church doesn't have a great track record. Far too often we imagine we're taking Jesus to people who don't know him. But Paul's encounter with the Athenians illustrates a powerful truth: God is already present among all the peoples of the world. Because God loves the whole world. How can we join God where the Holy Spirit is already at work?
The Church is more than a social club, more than a collection of vested interests. The Church is Jesus’ visible presence in our world. What makes the difference is the Holy Spirit – God who lives within and among us. Join us as we celebrate what it means that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is living within us, empowering us to be present to our world.
Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is following Jesus. That’s scary to admit, but it’s been true since the earliest days of the Church. What should our response be to those who claim Christianity but don’t look like our Christ? We turn to Peter’s words to his contemporaries in Acts 3 for a surprisingly grace-filled and truth-filled message of invitation and hope.
What makes a good convert to Christianity? Too often the church pursues wealth, fame and power. But as Paul's experiences in Thessalonica and Berea illustrate that it's not those markers of cultural success and acclaim we're used to admiring. Rather, what makes a good disciple is one who is curious and faith-filled. How do we spot that today?
Far too often, we view faith as something that separates us from the world. We become judgmental, condescending, celebrating when we prosper and they don't. But as the book of Acts shows us, God saves us for the sake of the world. What does a faith look like that turns to the world to embrace, rather than condemn?
What's the point of Sunday church? Why get together in a room, sing songs and listen to someone talk? And why do that weekly? Believe it or not, gathering regularly with our spiritual family is key to flourishing in our faith. Why is that? Let's let the early church show us.
Who would lie about Jesus coming back from the dead? Lots of people, as it turns out. What's at stake in Jesus' resurrection? And how do those stakes still matter today?
Love of country can morph into nationalism - putting our country before everything else. Believing we're chosen, that God loves us more than anyone else. Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus is not on our side - rather, he invites us to follow him, to be on HIS side. How does following Jesus free us to love our country truly as well?
Christianity has a long history of oppressing both women and peoples of color - often using the Bible to justify it. But Jesus is the God who freed the Hebrew slaves, who comforted the Exiles, who appointed a woman as the first apostle and preacher. What does a faith that rejects misogyny and racism look like? How can we affirm that God is not a white man?
Today’s churches are often built around and center the nuclear family - Dad, Mom, Wally and the Beav. Why is that? Jesus was single. So was Paul. And the so-called ‘traditional family’ didn’t exist until the last century. How can we avoid creating an idol out of the family? What is God’s vision for family? And how is that vision good for all of us, no matter what our families look like?
What do you think when you hear the word ‘reparations’? A political movement? A threat to the status quo? As God outlines in the book of Numbers, reparations are an integral part of the process of forgiveness and reconciliation. What do reparations look like in our individual lives? And how can we be a voice for just reparations in our culture?
US economics is based on principles of making profit and supply and demand. But does the invisible hand that guides the market belong to God? Elijah's encounter with a widow illustrates that God does not live in a world of scarcity. So as God's people, we can reject any system that insists on my success over your failure.
There are few things we value more than our individualism. But the early church identified pride as the root sin. Why is individualism so dangerous? And how can we resist the temptation to set ourselves up as gods?
Who ever wants to come back from vacation? Or go to the office on Monday? Or leave any of those places where we feel free to be most fully ourselves? Jesus shows us that God invites us into these spaces not to hide, but to receive strength and courage to take Jesus' love to the world.
Over the last several years, we've all experienced strained and broken relationships. What is the faith-filled path forward in these relationships? How do we create space for forgiveness and reconciliation? Joseph's reunion with his brothers illustrates how we can seek real healing.
How do we prepare for the work God calls us to? Spiritual practices create space for the Holy Spirit to work in us. They are not self-care, but joining with God for healing and restoration!
One of the biggest complaints about churches today is that we're too political. What we mean though, is that churches are too partisan. Because God calls us to love our neighbors the same way we love ourselves and our families - and that's a political act. So how can we be political without becoming partisan? Isaiah's vision of God's throne room is good news for anyone who's sick and tired of politics as usual.
Most of us struggle to hear God's call. Isn't that something reserved for preachers and prophets? But God calls each of us. And God calls ALL of us. Our calling is something for good - not just our own good, but the good of our community, and of the world around us. So what is God's call for us?
It's pretty hard these days to muster the energy to worship. Whether it's an ongoing weariness with virtual, guilt over feeling defeated and exhausted or a more general malaise, just showing up feels like a miracle. Would it surprise you to know that experience is common? And that it's a sign that the best place for us to be is... in worship together?
We don't like to admit we're hurting. We want to present ourselves as strong, competent, able to shoulder the burdens of life. But a strong facade actually keeps us from healing. Naming our pain, our trauma, is essential to healing. Our pain matters to God. Our trauma matters to God. Naming it is how we learn to hope.
As the pandemic wears on, more and more of us experience a deep sense of loneliness. At the beginning of this new year, how can we find God present with us in a way that doesn't ask us to ignore that pain? How does God's solidarity with us actually speak to this deep sense of isolation so many of us carry right now?
As we prepare for the new year, what should we be looking for God to do? How is God calling us to be faithful in the year ahead, especially as we struggle with an ongoing pandemic?
Aren’t presents the best part of Christmas? There’s something powerful about these tangible expressions of our love for each other. That points us to the power Christmas: Jesus’ incarnation. God became human, gave us the gift of his physical presence among us. But don’t take our word for it. Let’s hear from a woman named Hannah, who understood the revolutionary power of gifts more than 3,000 years ago!
We might be forgiven for thinking Christmas is all about the big, elaborate celebrations. But the prophet Micha reminds us that Christmas affirms God is at work in the small, overlooked and out of the way. How can we find God with us this tiny Christmas?
It can be hard for us to know how to navigate the complex experiences of the holidays. For some, it’s a time of great joy; for others, struggle and sadness. Advent offers us a unique avenue into these spaces by inviting us to confront pain and disillusionment with hope. How can we wait in the bright sadness for God’s arrival?
Christmas lights are one of our most beautiful symbols of the season. But as the prophet Micah points out, light reveals and purifies. In our preparation for Christmas, God wants to purify us, get us ready for Jesus' coming. Will we respond? Or will we hide?
At the beginning of the Advent season, we ask what hope looks like. In a world that craves peace on earth and goodwill for all people, a world that is far from those dreams, how do we hope? Jeremiah invites us into his model faithful presence in a hurting world - one that invites us to look for God right where we're hurting. That's hope.
Churches serving or doing missions work often feels paternalistic. How do we serve those outside the church, how do we love those outside the church, in ways that respect them as equally God's image-bearers? The model of the ancient pilgrimage can help us imagine a better way to meet others - as students who can help one another know God better!
Too often, faith is reduced to an intellectual exercise. But Jesus pressed for transformation, change so dramatic it was described as 'resurrection' or 'rebirth'. What does it look like for us to pursue this sort of new life here at Catalyst in the coming year?
Diversity - it's a buzzword, a trend these days. Every church claims to value diversity. So why do churches so often fail to reflect even the diversity of our communities? And how do we pursue an authentic diversity that moves beyond tokenism and trends to get to the heart of Jesus' good news for our world?
Love comes easy to some of us. But for a lot of us, being more loving is really hard. It's scary to be more vulnerable. To risk reaching out. But the thing about love is that it is inevitable. If we just keep going, we'll find it. So how do we find the strength to love?
What does love look like in public? As Dr. Cornel West says, it's justice. How can we love well, in public? What does it mean to say that love changes the world?
Party of what's so challenging about seeking out love is that we've been told God is love, but have so many unloving images of God. Jesus helps us to see who God is and how God loves us. And as we connect to Jesus, his love transforms how we engage the people we encounter.
What keeps us from being more loving? Proverbs has a list of seven things God hates - and God hates them because they're barriers to having more love in our lives. How do we spot these barriers? And what do we do to root them out?
We've all heard love is the most powerful force in the world, but it can be hard to believe it's really true. What is the nature of Love's power? And how do we find it in our life?
We mistake a lot of things for love (like, for instance, the infatuation between Romeo & Juliet). But the reality is that not all that masquerades as love is truly love. How do we spot the impostors masquerading as love so we can avoid them?
So many things in our world pass themselves off as love, it can be hard to spot genuine love. But the truth is that we're surrounded by love. So how can we learn to spot it? It helps to learn the fruit that grow from love. After all, if we can spot the fruit, we can identify the root of love from which it grows.
What does it take to love well? How do we receive love well? Our journey to love begins with making sure we're ready. And a big part of that is... just showing up! Guest speaker and author Matt Mikalatos invites us to begin the journey well.
We've all experienced financial strain as a result of the pandemic. Those strains make generosity harder. The Bible reminds us that generosity isn't about how much we give, but our attitude. Do we insist on generosity? On a faith-filled attitude that helps us remain open to our world rather than closed off in fear.
One of the biggest struggles throughout the pandemic has been the loss of our social rhythms. We don't see our co-workers, our friends or our families nearly as much as we once did. This loss of social interaction has taken a toll - because we were created to know and to be known. So how can we reclaim social rhythms? What does the practice of hospitality look like in our new reality?
With everything happening in our world, we feel crushed and hopeless. Now, more than ever, we need to reclaim the weekly rhythm of worship. Why? Because this weekly rhythm reminds us who we are: God's beloved people, called to be peacemakers in this chaotic world.
We often think of prayer as asking God for things. And while that's part of prayer, it's far from the whole. Prayer is one of the daily rhythms God invites us into. Prayer, reading Scripture and meditation are spaces where we can order our day and remember God is always with us. How can these daily rhythms transform our daily life?
The last year and a half, many of us have felt unmoored and adrift. As we're opening back up, going back to school and trying to find the new normal, how can we rediscover and reclaim those spiritual rhythms that bring us to life?
Everywhere we look today, people are afraid. And fear makes us do ugly things - all justified by a need for safety and security. The new flagship Star Trek series - Discovery and Picard - inhabit a fearful universe as well, and they invite us to choose to boldly go with them somewhere better: a world of love and freedom. How can we begin that journey, grounded in God's love for us that drives out fear?
Symbols are powerful. What do you feel when you see a Christmas tree? Or an American flag? What about your favorite band’s logo? Of course, the most powerful symbols mean different things to different people. The cross for many of us is a symbol of liberation and hope. But for many others, it’s a symbol of oppression and violence. How do we reclaim the cross for the sake of our neighbors? Surprisingly, Sam Wilson’s journey in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier offers us some clues!
Star Wars is no stranger to religious themes, and The Mandalorian is no exception. What happens when Mando's strict code contradicts itself? Will he choose law or love? The Mandalorian's way of mercy illustrates for us Jesus' own injunction to choose mercy over sacrifice. This is a teaching with real-world consequences!
Breaking Bad was a show about a man who consistently chose to be bad. One decision after another took him down the path from beloved high school teacher to murderous drug kingpin. His transformation is a dramatization of what we all know: sin is insidious, and we feel trapped by our choices. Fortunately, Jesus offers us a way out of the Walter White Doom Loop - a way to freedom from and victory over sin.
Stranger Things runs on two things: nostalgia and a fear of the Upside Down. But is turning the world upside down really so scary? Maybe only to those who benefit from the way things are. The Upside Down could be a blessing to those who struggle for justice and hope in our day-to-day reality. How can we live upside-down lives?
Does the devil make us do it? The Lucifer TV show says no. And James (Jesus' brother) agrees! James says temptation happens because of our own desires. So: how can we learn to want the right things?
Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre famously wrote that “Hell is other people.” But The Good Place begs to differ. According to the show, other people might be our best chance of truly being changed. How can we discover the path to authentic community? From Arizona trash bag to whole, healthy and loving? If we’re willing to choose vulnerability, we’ll find Sartre was wrong. It’s heaven that’s other people.
Before the Golden Age of Television was the rise of Reality TV. From Real World to the Bachelor to Survivor to cooking shows, we can't get enough of real people on camera. Why is that? What does our obsession with reality television say about our desire for authenticity? And how can we resist the temptation to produce our own lives?
Marvel's WandaVision explores our desire to hide from grief and pain. It's easier to look to the past, to pine for the Good Ole Days than it is to imagine a future on the other side of pain. But Jesus assures us that the light of his truth is better than the darkness of our self-deception. By faith, we can hope that what's ahead of us is greater than what lies in our past.
What does it mean to be a truly WILD church? On Pentecost Sunday, we're looking back at what God has shown us since Easter and considering what it means to be a revolutionary church!
There's a way of being religious that closes us up to people who aren't like us. When we walk that path, we can't be the people Jesus calls us to be to the people Jesus calls us to love. How can we remain open? We follow Paul to Athens to see a picture of bold, open faith - faith that can transform the wild!
Dr. Daniel White Hodge joins us this Sunday to invite us into the wild. What does faith that makes space for mystery look like? And how does Jesus invite us to follow him there?
If you were to make a list of people least likely to want to know Jesus, who would be at the top of that list? Paul's encounters in Acts 16 were a strong message to the early Church that no one is off limits. The Holy Spirit is working in even the wildest among us!
When we start to question foundational aspects of our faith, it feels scary. When others begin to question, we feel threatened. But "deconstruction," as this process has become known, is a vital part of a healthy, vibrant faith. It's a process that's not predictable and not quick. But Paul's nearly two decades between conversion and mission work offer a window into the good that comes when we trust that God is not only not threatened by questions, but working with us to have a deeper and stronger faith than ever.
We don't like people who rock the boat. People who don't follow the rules. We call them savages. But it's often true that the truly savage are those who enforce the status quo. How can we find the courage to face the God who invites us to be changed, to come... into the wild?
What does it mean for us to be truth-tellers? How we tell stories matters. The lynching of Stephen in the early church reveals how we can re-narrate the stories of our culture for justice and hope. What stories are we telling today?
Easter is about a revolution. Beyond the eggs and bunnies, beyond the new outfits and sunrise worship, beyond all that is something wild, something unpredictable. Something a little dangerous. Welcome to a church in the wild!
What does it take to be on top? Jesus final temptation - to rule the world if he'll worship the devil - is a clue. What kind of test was that? And how does it shed light on the path Jesus calls us to walk today?
Bad times test our faith. But good times test our faith in a whole different way. Moses warned God’s people that the privilege they would experience in the Promised Land could be toxic to their faith if they weren’t vigilant. So as we near the end of the pandemic, what does that vigilance look like for us?
It's one thing to ask if Jesus is really with us in hard times. It's quite another to ask if we're willing to stay with Jesus in those same hard times. Jesus wants us to have a mature, vibrant faith, one that is strong enough to support us as we follow him everywhere - even in the worst times.
It's natural to ask where God is in tough times. But according to Scripture, that desire to test God is a sign of an immature faith. How can a mature faith carry us through troubled times?
We've all heard "You're not yourself when you're hungry." But what if the opposite is true? What if something as basic as hunger shows us our true selves? When we're not the masters of our desires, we will miss what God wants to do in our lives and in our world. Jesus shows us how to master our desires so we can be present to God.
Some of our strongest temptations involve our cravings - food, sex, attention, connection. Why is desire so powerful? And how do we live with our desires so they connect us to God rather than poison our lives, relationships and faith?
Knowing how to follow Jesus today can be complex and difficult - especially because our world of polarized politics, social media and technology is so foreign to the worlds of the Bible. That's why Scripture invites us to grow not in knowledge, but wisdom. How can we know the Jesus who is still with us, leading the way?
We often struggle to see where God is at work, especially in times of personal or cultural hardship. How can we learn to see God all around us, continuing to create new goodness? How can we learn to live in faith that God's not finished with us?
So much of our world is grounded in competition – who gets the most votes, has the most money, the best looking family, best grades and so on. No wonder they call it a rat race. It’s nothing new – we’ve been fighting to be on top for thousands of years. What sets Jesus apart is not that he’s strong enough to win – it’s that he refuses to play the game at all. What does that mean for us today?
We all want to know why bad things happen to good people. But Scripture is much less interested in the origin of evil than the goal – to poison humanity against our creator. Jesus shows us what a faithful human response to sin looks like – and how God proves God is the one we can trust to protect and provide for us!
To say God is our creator is to insist we live in a particular story - one that believes that God created all people to enjoy peace and justice. How can we identify the barriers to flourishing for everyone, and join Jesus in creating a better world?
Life is miraculous and - from the perspective of the universe - much rarer than we realized. How does the miracle of life invite us to know God as our creator. What can we discern about our purpose from the fact that we're alive?
The New Year is a great excuse to soar up to 30,000 ft and look at the big story of God's plan. Christmas isn't a day or even a season. It's a new reality Jesus invites us into. Now we can all be part of God's giant story of redemption!
None of us can wait for 2020 to be over - but secretly we all know that nothing magical happens at midnight on January 1. Fortunately, our assurance for the future comes not from a calendar, but from the Christmas story: God is with us!
It's a bit of an understatement to say that this Christmas isn't what any of us planned. But disruption is part of the first Christmas. Mary shows us - unlike her ancestor David - what faithfulness in the midst of disruption looks like as we prepare to welcome Jesus this Christmas.
As we decorate our homes and shop for gifts, it's easy to forget that Christmas is about peace on Earth and goodwill for everyone. The work of justice can be hard - and believe it or not, sometimes the bravest thing we can do is celebrate loud and proud. Because we know how the story ends!
Too many Christians today wonder what the point of caring for the world is if we all go to Heaven after we die. But at the heart of the Advent message is an insistence that Jesus' coming is good news for the whole world. What does that look like? And how is the fact that we're waiting for Jesus to return good news?
2020 has been a rough year - rough enough that many of us are rushing to celebrate Christmas as soon as possible. But the Scriptures caution us not to rush past our pain. What healing is available to us when we choose to wait with God's people on Christmas?
It's hard to be a pilgrim when you can't go anywhere. But being a pilgrim is more than just a desire to travel. It's a commitment to seek God in the unexpected. And we've had plenty of unexpected this year. So how can we seek God in the disruptions of 2020?
One of the ongoing realities of the COVID pandemic is how thoroughly our routines have been upended. God created us to be creatures of rhythm, so how can we recover some routine as we live out this extended 'in-between' time?
Real diversity is tough. Sticking to people who are just like us is easy. Tokenism is pretty easy. But authentic diversity that values and respects everyone takes a lot of work. What does true diversity look like in the Church? And why is it essential for the people of God?
Relationships in COVID have taken a big hit - no surprise since we've had to cut down our social interactions. But it's left many of us feeling unmoored, struggling to feel connected. What does a church that's serious about relationships do in that space? We find our guide in the God who is intentional about making space to be with us.
This close to the election, there's a lot of anger. Like... a LOT. What does it mean for a people of faith to be angry? How do we know if our anger is righteous or not? And what are we supposed to do with it?
Jesus said, "I am the truth." So why are Christians so susceptible to conspiracy theories? God call us to be a people of sound teaching. How do we do that in a world of fake news and alternative facts?
When we vote, we tend to think about our own wants and needs. But Jesus implores us to put others before ourselves. How do we do that in politics? Rev. Sonya Brown invites us to consider how the practice of lament can help us hear the voices of the most vulnerable among us.
It feels harder and harder to disagree well. We hear frequent calls for civility and niceness. But for a people of faith, nice isn't enough. Rather than settle for a superficial niceness, God calls us to imitate Jesus in offering a deep kindness. Kindness insists we treat others as though they are part of our family. How do we pursue kindness together in the next month?
Every system has roles. In football, it's quarterbacks and receivers, linemen and tight ends, coaches and referees, fans and commentators. As we conclude our Faith & Race series, Sandra Maria Van Opstal joins us to talk about roles in the Church, how they've been racialized, and what it looks like to decolonize our faith.
Every institution has rules, both written and unwritten, that make it run. How should Christians engage a system with unjust rules? We explore another meal Jesus shares with Pharisees to discern how we can respond to voter suppression specifically as a people of faith.
Suburbs exist in large part because of the racialized history of American housing. How should a suburban church respond to that reality - especially as our suburban demographic is changing?
All systems are comprised of physical artefacts. As we begin our exploration of systemic racism in America, we investigate the Confederate monuments we're removing all over the country. How should persons of faith understand this issue, and more importantly: how does that illuminate how the artefacts in our daily lives are racialized too?
We've spent the whole summer learning all kinds of tools to read Scripture. But if we approach the Bible with the wrong attitude, we'll still miss the God to whom the Scripture points. With some help from John and C. S. Lewis., we learn how to read the Bible mythically.
The idea that the Bible contains mythology makes a lot of us uncomfortable. But just like other genres, myth is there on purpose - and vital to our formation as God's people. So how does myth work, exactly?
Faith doesn't have to be an esoteric, theoretical thing. In fact, the letters in the Bible present us a window into how the earliest followers of Jesus navigated the complexities of faithfulness in the real world. How can these letters help us navigate our own faithfulness today?
How are the powerless to make their way in the world? Folktales - literally stories of the people - record tricks and traps those with no social or political capital use to shape the world around them. But... why are such stories in the Bible? And can they really form us spiritually? Michelle Reyes takes us into the story of Tamar to explore the tricksters and trickstars who enact Biblical justice - whatever it takes!
We look to books like Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes for rules to help us live more godly lives. But these books don't want to make us smarter. They want to make us more wise. The difference is in how we see the world, and how these books can be guides to us, to help us live as God's people in even the most complicated situations.
Biblical history doesn't hold up to our modern standards for history. So how can we trust history in the Bible? And more importantly, how can these stories of ancient peoples and events help us know God better today?
Many of us find poetry to be an impenetrable genre. But the purpose of poetry is to point beyond the limits of language to deep truths of our existence. The Bible is more than a quarter poetry - how does biblical poetry invite us to know the God who is beyond our words about God?
Can we all admit we skip the legal codes in the Bible? It's hard to imagine texts that have less to do with our daily lives... isn't it? How can we read the Bible's legal codes for spiritual formation? Leviticus 19 illustrates just how relevant these ancient legal texts are to our world today.
Acts is a history book. But it’s ancient history that has a clever twist: the main character isn’t Peter, Paul or any other human. Acts is the story of how the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus’ first followers to take his good news to the whole world. How can we read this story so that we take part in that transformation?
One of the most challenging genres in the Bible is Apocalypse - in large part because it's a genre we don't really use anymore. But surprisingly, political cartoons can help us understand this bizarre biblical genre. We explore Revelation 14 as an example of some very good news.
We imagine the Biblical prophets as fortune tellers promising far off blessings. But the prophets were political activists, called to speak truth to power. So how do we read their ancient messages for spiritual formation today?
The Gospels are ancient biographies. Their goal is to lead us to imitate Jesus' life. So how do we read the Gospels such that we focus not just on Jesus' death, but his life? How can we learn to imitate Jesus?
Everyone knows reading Scripture is an important element of a vibrant faith. But can we be honest? The Bible is really confusing. Knowing what we're supposed to take from it is tough. This summer, we're going to explore the Bible by genre, and learn tips and tricks for reading so that the Spirit can transform us AND our world.
In the last month, violence against Black Americans has once again been undeniable. How ought the Church to respond to racism in our day and time? Pentecost Sunday – the birthday of the Church, and the day we celebrate receiving the Holy Spirit – is the perfect day to consider these questions. God makes us one body that is united but not uniform. As a spiritual family, when one of us hurts, we all hurt. So how can we stand together?
Facing the pain of the world is daunting, and can feel impossible. But the Holy Spirit knows what we're called to, and empowers us when that calling pushes us to our limit!
God gives us the ability to participate in the Church by empowering us. These abilities are gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts enable us to serve each other, to imitate Jesus. So... how do they work?
God calls us to be loving, joyful, peace-making, patient, kind, generous, gentle, faithful and self-controlled. This list of virtues is as inspiring as it is intimidating. Which of us can say we’re any of these, let alone all of them? Paul’s letter to the Galatians reveals how we come to embody these virtues: not by working at them, but by giving the Spirit space to change us.
God forgives anything... except blaspheming the Holy Spirit. What does that mean, exactly? And why is that particular sin unforgiveable? Believe it or not... the answer is actually really good news about how the Holy Spirit works to rescue us.
We like rules because they make things black and white. But real life is full-color, and knowing what’s right can feel nearly impossible sometimes. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as our judge, the one who reveals both sin and righteousness to the world. What does that look like?
None of us likes to feel put on the spot, singled out or attacked. That's part of what makes sharing our faith so scary - who knows how people are going to react! But before Jesus left us, he promised the Holy Spirit would be our Advocate. What does that mean? And how does the Spirit advocate for us in the world?
The first Easter was a time of fear and isolation. In other words, we have a lot more in common with the disciples on that first Easter than we usually do, when Easter is a big party in our church buildings. So what can we learn from that first Easter? How does Jesus' gift of the Holy Spirit offer hope to all us who are trapped inside today?
How much of our life actually involves Jesus? Is he essential or a mascot? The church at Laodicea paid Jesus lip service, but when he came to town, they left him out in the cold. On this Palm Sunday, how can we be sure we're welcoming Jesus as our lord, not ignoring him?
How does a Church measure success? Is it with numbers? Activities? Size? By any of those measures, the church at Philadelphia was a failure – and yet Jesus praised them more highly than any of the other churches. What can we learn about how to be faithful from this weak church?
What does it mean for a church to have a good reputation in the world? After all, reputation is rooted in values, and what should matter to a church isn't always what matters to Jesus. The Church in Sardis got it wrong; how can we get it right?
Part of the pain of growing older is learning the world isn't as black and white as we thought it was. We struggle to navigate a life - and a faith - that is messier than we wish it were. The Church in Thyatira faced similar problems - with different teachers advocating different solutions to their tension. They needed a Jesus with burning eyes and bronze feet (what?!). And so do we.
How often do we examine the roots of our values? Why do we really care about the things we care about? How did we decide what our vision for the Good Life is? Christians in Pergamum had the same problem we do – they assumed the values of their culture were compatible with Jesus’ vision for their lives. Jesus warns them – and us – that’s not the case. How can we know what Jesus wants for us?
Christians have always had a reputation for being a little weird. But how exactly are we supposed to be different from the culture around us? And what does that cost us?
Somehow, it's far too easy for religion to turn rotten. Faith that begins beautiful and life-giving turns cruel and judgmental. Jesus' message to the church in Ephesus reminds us: we need to return to our first love to avoid the trap of legalism.
If we think about it for a minute or two, we realize church isn’t a building, but an organization. But what kind of organization? The Church is a body of ministers, a whole group of servants. How does that work? And what does it look like when we do it well?
What does it mean to get saved? It's more than just a one-time experience. Salvation is a process that's on-going, one where we're learning how to live as God's children. What does that process look like? How can we be sure we're "working out our salvation"?
What does it mean to be #blessed? We have a sense that it's not material prosperity, but it's hard to put our finger on exactly what it IS. Jesus shows us that blessing is about experiencing God's presence, a presence available to us regardless of what we do. God shows us grace - being with us whether we deserve God's presence or not!
Is God angry at us? Did Jesus pacify a raging deity? Why did God kill his son rather than us? This week, we're diving into God's Wrath and the Atonement because we've got it all wrong. God's wrath is about love (yes, really) and the cross isn't about Jesus vs God, but Jesus vs. us.
Jesus claims to be God, but so have a lot of people throughout history. What sets Jesus apart? What proves he is God? It's not his miracles, or his birth. It's his death that proves what kind of God he is.
Who is God? The vast majority of Americans say they believe in God, but that word is so generic, it doesn't actually tell us very much. That's why the Church holds the doctrine of the Trinity as a core doctrine - Trinity tells us who God is - and what that means for us.
It's time for resolutions! Wouldn't it be amazing if we could summon a montage and instantly become great at that thing we've resolved to do in the new year? Unfortunately, spiritual formation isn't the work of a moment. Simeon's encounter with Jesus illustrates for us why remaining committed to spiritual formation is a worthy task, and a good reminder as we enter this new year!
The end of a year is always a time to look back at the highs and lows of the last year. This practice has profound spiritual value as well. Isaiah shows us how looking back reveals God's pattern of salvation: God imagines new possibilities for us, then is present with us to walk into those new possibilities. How can we prepare ourselves for God's presence in the new year?
Holidays bring a lot of family stress. If anyone can relate, it's Joseph. Matthew tells us how God challenged Joseph to imagine a bigger definition of family than he was comfortable with - and how that changed the world forever. How can we find family where we may have least expected it?
Hope isn't automatic. To be a person of hope means to live into the "maybe". Maybe things will be better if we act. Isaiah invites us to rejoice as an act of hope.
The Christmas season is all about hope, but for a lot of folks these days, hope feels like a pipe dream. The prophet Isaiah offers two pictures of hope – one that feels impossible, and one grounded in history. He reminds us that when we hope for what’s right, our hope is not in vain because God is with us!
The Christmas season is in full swing! With Black Friday behind us and the steady march toward Christmas Day begun, our wanting engines are warming up. But how do we know what the right things to hope for are? Isaiah invites the people of Judah to want God's justice and salvation: a gift for the whole world!
There are ways we just can't know God when we stay in our comfort zones. Jesus invites us to follow him out of the places we call home to discover the new and surprising ways we can grow in our faith when we dare to leave.
Discipleship is about more than just learning the right information. It's about pursuing a transformed life. We must continually employ practices that help us know the story of Jesus so that it becomes our story.
Diversity is essential to God's work in the world, but as a rule, churches are bad at real diversity. In John 4, Jesus' disciples illustrate what's at stake when we don't make a point to practice diversity.
Four big ideas are shaping Catalyst. First: Friendship. What did it mean that Jesus was called a 'friend of sinners'? What implications does that have for our relationships (or lack thereof)?
We tend to think of the project of faith as one that we do primarily alone. But according to Paul, we can't do faith alone. We need each other. And we need each other to be different. That's a lot harder, but it's necessary. How do we engage in this level of community?
What happens when it turns out our faith isn't as strong as we thought it was? Paul warns the Corinthians that God will test our faith in the End. How is that good news for us right now, as we navigate the life of faith?
Faith is founded on Jesus’ love for us. But what is faith, exactly? In other words, what are we building on the foundation of Jesus’ love? Paul sees a connection between two metaphors – a building and a field – that helps us discern the nature of our faith. So what is God inviting us into?
What is the foundation of a sturdy faith? The 'church answer' is Jesus - and the Apostle Paul agrees. But what does that really mean? For Paul, it means that God seeks us out. God initiates our faith relationship by finding us.
We’ve spent the last four months asking how we know God better. What better excuse to stop and smell the roses, so to speak? God promises that a life of faith transforms us, creating a grove of fruit that feeds the world around us. What has God been doing in your life in this last season?
To conclude our ROOTED series, Heather and JR. field a ton of questions about the Bible. From the process of choosing what books made it in to translation, from violence in the Bible to creation accounts, we go all over the place! Listen in!
To be human is to have limitations. We have our perspective - which is good, but it's also small. When we read the Bible with others, we have the advantage of remembering we're not the center of the story. God's bigger purposes come alive to us when we read the Bible together.
When do we take the Bible literally? Do we have to believe the whole thing is literal truth? We dive into the book of Jonah for an example of how to read the Bible while taking genre into account. How can reading literarily - not literally - help us know God better?
How many of us don't read the Bible because we find it too intimidating? Psalm 119 is a love letter to Scripture - and in its verses we find a Bible that's approachable and transformative. So how do we read the Bible to be changed?
What is the Bible? What does it mean to say the Bible is inspired? Far from being a divinely dictated book or a book of theological but human reflections, the Bible is both: a fully divine and fully human book. What does that mean? And how does the Bible help us know God better?
Reason is an important source of knowing God, but it has its limits. Unfortunately, we too often treat God as a puzzle to solve rather than a mystery in which we can trust. What's the difference between God and a murder mystery dinner? That answer is surprisingly important to our faith!
For over 400 years, Christians have had a difficult relationship with science. Too often, we treat science as an antagonist to faith. But if science is a tool we developed to know the natural world, then science is a pathway to know the one who made our world. How can we have a faith informed by science?
Learning to think like God is no small task. But Paul challenges us to have the same mind as Jesus. So how does Jesus see the world, and how can we learn to think like him?
Christians often treat Reason as an enemy of faith. From science and philosophy to psychology and questioning, we demonize those who use their minds as opponents of faith. But Jesus commands us to love God with all our minds. So what does that look like? How can Reason be a path to a deeper relationship with God?
What good are denominations? Are they just markers of our inability to be one family? Or are they more like siblings in God's family? We explore our denomination, the Church of the Nazarene, and how it helps us know God better.
What does it mean to be a church? For Jesus, it wasn't about buildings and activities, but a people gathered around a single purpose. So how does being the Church help us know God?
For many, tradition can be a dirty word. But to be part of the Church means we're part of a global family that shares our experience of God with each other. How does this global family help us know God better?
Our personal experience of God is essential to our relationship with God, but everyone's experiences are different. How can we know whether our experience of God is authentic and valid, or whether we're just talking to ourselves? Paul insists we need to draw close to each other in community. A personal experience of God requires a communal experience of God.
We know Christians are called to serve. Through our serving, those we serve come to know God's love. But the inverse is true, too. When we serve, we come to know God better. How is serving a pathway to know God? How can we be sure we're getting to know God better when we're serving?
One of the hallmarks of a faith that is deep, vibrant and flourishing is consistent, healthy spiritual practices. Not because we earn God’s favor, but because spiritual practices are a pathway to a relationship with God. How can we cultivate these practices that lead us to knowing God more fully?
How do we come to know God? Not just know about God, but experience a deep, personal relationship with our creator? There are four major sources of faith. Which are you employing? Which might God be using to call you to a deeper faith?
Relationships are a lot of work - but the goal isn't work, it's the relationship itself. Pentecost is a feast day - a reminder that God created us for a full, joy-filled life together. It's important to stop working and celebrate milestones. Healthy relationships feast together!
Healthy relationships take work - and they really only thrive when BOTH people are putting in the effort. So how can you learn to spot unhealthy people? Is there a way to be generous and kind without constantly being taken advantage of?
We buy into the myth that healthy relationships don’t have conflict, but that’s not true. Healthy relationships are really good at navigating conflict. What are the keys to healthy conflict resolution? How can we implement them in the conflicts we face on a daily basis?
Since we live in our own heads, we tend to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. But we judge others harshly in part because we can’t see what burdens they carry. Healthy relationships are characterized by Unconditional Positive Regard, or giving others the benefit of the doubt. This is a grace we can only give when we first receive it from God. So how do we do that?
Truly healthy relationships require boundaries. The story of Abram and Lot shows us what it looks like to draw clear, loving and grace-filled boundaries while being confident in God's love and provision.
Relationships get messy the deeper they get - and that's a good thing. Unison was never God's goal for our connections with each other. Romans 14 shows us the path to beautiful, harmonious relationships.
Healthy relationships require us to invest time in them. But not all time is equal. How can we ensure the time we share with others is quality? How can we make the most of our relationships?
Easter is about much more than going to heaven after we die. By raising Jesus from the dead, God shows us that God is faithful. How can we trust that we can die to ourselves and live for someone else? Because God raised Jesus after he gave up his life for us! Easter invites us to a better way to relate to each other – one grounded in God’s faithfulness!
Failed expectations can really hurt our relationships. What happens when we get disappointed with God? Palm Sunday invites us to ask the question: Do we think God is on our side? Or are we making sure we're on God's side?
What do you do when you hear someone tell a racist joke? Speaking up is hard - it makes us all feel awkward. And it's even worse to be called out. Why don't we just keep to ourselves? Paul's confrontation with Peter in Antioch illustrates why we have to speak up: God calls us all to be one, and we can't be one until we have justice. So what does that look like?
We've seen the promise of growth that can happen when we stay where it's awkward. But how do we endure it? Paul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus illustrates the importance of humility - not thinking too much or too little of ourselves, but rather not thinking of ourselves at all.
We're learning to value empathy as a culture, but just being able to understand another person isn't enough. Understanding without connection leads to contempt. David's encounters with Bathsheba, Uriah and Nathan show us why we need no just understanding, but kindness.
Especially when we discuss sensitive topics like race or gender, things get awkward fast. This is what experts call our ‘growing edge’. This is the place we have the most potential to transform because it’s where the gap between where we are and who we want to be is in the light. The story of Judah and Tamar shows us what it looks like when we brave our growing edge.
Why do we feel awkwardness? And when we feel it, what, exactly, are we feeling? The first awkward moment in the Bible, Genesis 3, shows us both the danger and opportunity of awkwardness. How can we refuse to hide or flee, and instead stay in the awkward promise of the cringe?
There's a gap between how we see ourselves and how everyone else experiences us. Mostly that gap is invisible - until it's not, and then things get awkward. But in awkwardness is a gift: to see beyond our self-deception to who we really are. And if we see ourselves through God's eyes, we find the path toward healing and wholeness. Our Lenten journey begins here!
We’ve spent two months talking about how to talk about Jesus with pretty much anyone. But none of that matters unless we actually DO it. Jesus’ transfiguration reminds us that God calls us out of our comfort zones to the places where people actually need to hear good news. So let’s go!
Sharing Jesus' good news with people doesn't always go well. What do we do when we meet resistance? How can we keep the conversation focused on the main thing - Jesus inviting us into a relationship?
Jargon is a really useful language shortcut for insiders, but it can be a real barrier for the uninitiated. When we share the good news of Jesus with others, how can we identify and remove our Christian jargon?
In sharing good news, we debate whether to lead with good works or with powerful words. But Jesus' example shows that to be a false dichotomy. We share good news when we ARE good news, when our words match our actions.
When we share the Good News of Jesus with people, it's easy to get distracted by a lot of side issues - conversations that are important, but not as important as knowing Jesus. How can we stay focused on the main thing: a relationship with Jesus?
How often do we expect people to learn to speak our Christian language to understand Jesus' good news? What if instead we imagined how Jesus' good news might sound if we translated it into terms they already know?
When we share the good news with others, we often fall back on formulas that don't connect with where they are. But if God is already at work in their lives, what happens if we look closer? How is God good news for the people we know and love, even if they don't know God?
Evangelism often relies on guilt, shame or fear to motivate people. But those aren't good news, and they're not where God's posture towards us begins. Jesus' baptism is an invitation for all of us to remember the heart of the good news: that we are God's beloved children, and God delights in us.
Evangelism so often comes across as bad news. But God loves all of us, and is already at work in each of our lives. The story of the magi visiting Jesus demonstrates God's persistent love for us - and that is good news worth sharing!
It’s hardest for us to speak up in the circles that know us best. But those circles – our families, our co-workers, our friends and neighbors – are where we have the most influence. So how can we find the confidence to live out God’s calling among the people who know us best? We find the answer in a little town called Bethlehem…
Ironically, too often in the midst of our preparation to celebrate Christmas, we forget to actually celebrate. The same is true of our work for justice - we burn out or get overwhelmed. The third Sunday of Advent reminds us this work belongs ultimately to God, not us. So we need to take time to pause and rejoice that God is faithful!
Who do you most identify with in the Christmas story? Maybe we most love Mary and Joseph, or the magi on their road trip, or the shepherds. The song Mary sings while she’s pregnant with Jesus is a reminder that Christmas is about more than gifts and parities… it’s about God rescuing the world. What does that mean for us? Well… it depends on where we are in God’s story.
Have you ever been silenced? It doesn't feel good. No wonder so many of us don't speak up for what's right. We feel ignored, unimportant or unworthy. But Mary's story shows us that God calls us to speak up, to join in. All God requires of us is a "Yes".
Churches often approach serving as an opportunity to take Jesus to people who don’t know him. But Scripture insists that God is always ahead of us, already at work. How can we learn to approach serving as pilgrims, looking for where God is already at work?
Churches think of Discipleship primarily in terms of learning more about God. But we only become more like God when we let ourselves be known by God. What does it look like to become a church that makes it easy to be known by God?
‘Diversity’ has become a buzz word in more and more churches. But it’s not just the trend of the day. The whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, reveals that God has called us to be a diverse body from the beginning, united but not uniform. How can we as a church embody God’s call to diversity better?
American culture is in the midst of what psychologists are calling a loneliness epidemic. How is the Church called to be a cure for loneliness? And what does that mean for what's ahead for Catalyst?
Big changes, painful loss and other significant events often test our faith. How can God be good if we're suffering? But God is at work in the midst of those painful places to bring us to trust, and to grow our faith.
When we see a need, we often think, "Oh, someone should help!" One of the biggest barriers to us stepping up is our own anxiety. But what if those are opportunities to grow in our faith? What if God is inviting us to step out and serve?
Most of us groan when we hear the word 'discipline' - especially when it comes to faith. Spiritual disciplines seem so often like chores we have to do to earn God's favor. But God invites us into these disciplines to create space for us to discover the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, and grow our faith.
We have all encountered people who impacted our faith - for better and for worse. Relationships are important - and inevitable. How can we be wise about our relationships? How can we be intentional both to see how God is working and to be ready to partner with God?
Something big happens in our faith with God's story becomes our story. Practical teaching helps us see that we can trust God in our everyday lives. Because Jesus tells us there's a big difference between knowing about God and actually following God. So how do we learn to listen to God speaking in our daily lives?
What would your life look like if you had a faith that was deep and unshakable? How do we get that sort of faith? Faith isn't about obedience as much as it's about trust - and we can learn to trust God when we learn to see God at work in our lives.
Most of us feel as though we just don't have enough. But God calls us to be faithful with what we have - to use whatever influence, power, money or means we have as gifts from God to invest in the world around us. What does it look like to love God with all of our means?
We struggle to discern God's will, as though it is a deep mystery. But learning to see the world from God's perspective is how we love God with our minds. To learn to see "upside down", we immerse ourselves in the Scriptures. They provide a God's-eye view of the world, of our neighbors and of us. God's will is not difficult to discern. God wants us to see from God's point of view.
We are bad at drawing healthy boundaries. We give and give and give until we have nothing left to offer anyone. Neither God nor our neighbors get our best. The practice of Sabbath helps us learn to say No, to live within the healthy boundaries God created us for.
We think of forgiveness as something we do with another person. But what happens when the other person isn't willing - or able - to reconcile? How can we find freedom from what was done to us? Joseph's story ends with a new world made possible by forgiveness and hope.
God’s Dream is inevitable, but it’s not always easy to achieve. How do we stay faithful to God even when we’re in the pits? Joseph’s journey to Pharaoh’s court illustrates a life of integrity and faithful hope in a God who is always with us and working – even in the pit!
Dreamers are prophets - people who help us see the future God is calling us to make a reality. How do we resist God's Dream? And how can we be sure we're all-in?
It's easy to find God in the good moments. But we struggle to find God in the bad places. Why is wrestling with the rough patches worth it? And what good news is there for those of us who feel like life has us in a chokehold?
Have you ever won a battle but lost a war? Maybe you got the upper hand in an argument but lost the relationship. Or landed the deal at the expense of a colleague. Or got your way but caused an alienation that’s ongoing to this day. We’re often too short-sighted, and allow the wrong priorities to cloud our judgment. Jacob’s 20-year feud with his uncle Laban shows us the fruit of that kind of conflict. How can we seek God’s grace and affirm the dignity of everyone we meet?
We all know what it feels like to hit rock bottom. But we struggle to imagine that God knows what it feels like too. We can’t believe that God is with us in those low times of our lives. Jacob’s encounter with God at Bethel is a powerful proclamation that we are never outside of God’s love. God is the best friend we could ask for – especially when we’re in low places.
We've all be stuck as the person who doesn't get a say. That can make it hard to be faithful to God. How do we follow God's will when we're not calling the shots? The story of Rebekah and her two sons, Jacob and Esau, is the story of a woman with no authority who found a way to be faithful to God. What can we learn from her example?
It's hard to read the stories of God's amazing miracles and not wonder, "Where's mine?" A lot of us feel less like Abraham and more like his servant - the one who never saw the action. But his story of connecting Isaac and Rebekah is a powerful reminder that when we only look for God in the miraculous, we miss God at work in the mundane.
We like to think we're not responsible for anyone but ourselves. But God has called us to be priests - we represent God to the world. That has real stakes when we do it badly, as Abraham found out when he lied to Abimelech about the identity of his wife, Sarah. How do we find grace when we've failed to represent God to the world well?
Why do strangers make us so uncomfortable? Abraham's strange encounter with God in Genesis 18 offers a picture of hospitality that's radical and challengings: our hospitality is an act of worship. God often comes to us as a stranger because we have something to learn from these strangers. How can we learn to worship through our welcome?
Change is always scary. No matter how dysfunctional our 'normal' is, it still feels like home to us. But God loves us too much to leave us in our sin and pain. Jesus invites us to go somewhere new with him. But to do that, we have to leave. We see a model of faithful leaving in the story of Abram's call. He left without a plan... only a promise of God's presence.
What does it mean to be a good father? And what do we do if we have bad fathers? In John's Gospel, Jesus teaches us what fatherhood looks like - and why it matters that God is our father, whether we're fathers or not.
Too often, we pit Jesus against God, as though they're playing good cop/bad cop with us. We end up afraid to reach out to God, afraid to pray. But John shows us that Jesus IS God, that he invites us into the interior life of God - a place where perfect love casts out all our fear!
Many of us are afraid to share the good news about Jesus because we don't think our stories are interesting or remarkable. But John's introduction to the Holy Spirit reminds us that what makes our story good news is that God has brought us to life - and that's worth sharing!
We live in a world that teaches us to hide our true selves. Maybe we’re afraid of being seen. Or maybe we’re ashamed of our pasts. Or we got hurt the last time we put ourselves out there. Whatever the reason, we hide. But Jesus comes as the light of the world, to illumine our dark places with the infinite love of God. How does his light transform us?
No one wants to admit it, but we're all really bad at being loved. Our inability to receive love poisons all our relationships. How can we learn to remain in Jesus' love so that we can share love with the world around us? What does it look like to remain in the true vine?
We live in a mechanized world. The buzz words of the day are 'productivity' and 'efficiency'. But we're not machines - we're organic, flesh and blood. Jesus calls us to be not productive, but fruitful. What's the difference? And how can learning to remain connected to the vine of Jesus help us avoid total burn out?
Karl Marx famously claimed that religion was the ‘opiate of the masses’. He meant what we know – religion can be a powerful means of controlling people. This was as true in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. How can we learn to spot religious manipulation? And what tools do we have available to us to learn to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus himself?
Why do you follow Jesus? Many of us follow because we want Jesus to change our circumstances, to work a miracle in our jobs, families or bodies. But Jesus’ aim isn’t to improve our lives. Rather, he seeks to invite us into something new. If we look to Jesus simply to prop up the life we already have, we won’t follow him all the way to the Cross.
Does the idea of fighting about religion make you nervous? Of course it does! But we’re so often taught that we have to defend our faith against people who don’t believe. After all, Jesus himself said, “I am the Way”. But what if Jesus’ words weren’t a line in the sand, but an invitation to life? How can we find a better way to engage our non-believing neighbors with vulnerability and love?
Do you ever feel like your calendar is broken? Like you wish you had the power to add hours, days or even weeks to your schedule? When did our lives get so out of control? And who is running our calendars? On this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the God who took control of time by raising Jesus from the dead. How does his resurrection free us to take control of our lives, to live in the freedom Jesus gives us?
John tells us the light of Christ shines in darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. So as Christ's light nears the Cross, why do the various players in the story turn from his light? How do WE turn away from the light today?
What happens when God disappoints us? It happens to every person of faith eventually – we come to realize that God isn’t here to be part of our story, to fit into our agendas. Palm Sunday is a warning sign: that disappointment can lead to us abandoning God (or crucifying him!). How can we learn to let God be God and sweep us up into HIS story – a story of new life and transformation?
When we confront the big evils of the world like racism or school violence, we often feel paralyzed. What can we do in the face of these behemoths it’s easy to label ‘demonic’? It’s counterintuitive, but Jesus calls us to small, consistent acts of faithfulness. His death casts out the evils of the world, so we are called not to be effective but faithful, trusting that his power is at work in our small acts of love.
What is the goal of faith? Is it safety? Is it a sense of control? Prestige and position? These were in Nicodemus’ mind when he sought out Jesus. But Jesus’ words to him are confounding: Jesus will become a snake, lifted up for the world to see. How does this image challenge our ideas of who God is and what God wants from us? How can Jesus-the-snake invite us to become more loving, more present in our world?
Does anyone these days feel like they have margin in their lives? Space in their schedules, in their finances? We tend to live at 100%, with no space to listen for God, no room to engage God’s calling on our lives. How can we make space for God to organize and orient our lives?
We're told to look for the devil in drugs, sex and rock n roll. But if we're to believe Jesus, religion can distract us from God. The only solution to satanic religion is to follow Jesus to the cross.
Living in the wilderness takes extra preparation. So too, if we're going to enter into the season of Lent, we need to prepare. God is going to do something powerful in our midst. Will we be ready for it? Will we be prepared?
Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a season of corporate prayer and fasting. But Jesus instructed us to do those things in private. So how can we do them together?
Most religions have a god who's confined to a mountain - high above the world with special people who can only access the gods on special days. But when God became human in Jesus, God left the mountain once and for all to live among us. This means that Jesus is with us everyday, everywhere we go!
Disagreement is tough - in the church as everywhere else in life. How do we engage people we disagree with - especially when we're so sure we're right? Paul tells the Corinthian church that "right" is the wrong framework. Unless we disagree on a foundation of love, we're headed for disaster. How do we pursue unity above all else?
Knowledge is power, and we can be tempted to hold ourselves above others when we have more understanding or experience. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul takes a simple question about eating meat and turns it into a discussion of loving community.
What would you do if you learned the world was ending next week? Our answers to that question reveal our ‘happiness gap’ – how far we are from the life we really want. The Corinthian Christians asked Paul whether they should marry given the trials of their culture and the immanent return (they think!) of Jesus. Paul’s advice to them is to be content where they are. Rather than focusing on the greener grass over there, we should focus on what God is calling us to right where we are.
Our culture values personal freedom above all else. We’re not the first to do so – the Corinthians did too. But the Apostle Paul challenges personal freedom as the highest value, observing that when what matters most is my desires, I become a slave to those desires. Instead, Paul insists personal freedom must submit to the law of Love. We belong to each other.
As Epiphany begins, we ask the question, “What does it look like for God to live with us?” Paul’s encounter with the Ephesians in the book of Acts demonstrates that it’s possible to be a Christian but missing out on the life God has called us to. Baptism reminds us that God has not only saved us from our sin, but also saved us for his work of restoration in the world. What does it look like for you to be all-in?
Christmas is such an intimate celebration – a time to gather with friends and family – that we often forget the global sweep of the story. But two often-overlooked encounters with the infant Jesus remind us of God’s faithfulness – not only to us, but to the whole world! As we look toward a new year, how can we be filled with hope at what God will do?
Traditions are a beloved part of our Christmas celebrations – from lights and trees to Santa and gift-giving. Changes to holiday traditions can be hard, but change is the one constant of the Christmas story. How can we find Christ present in the center of our traditions, no matter what they look like this year?
Who doesn't love Christmas lights? Light is one of the central images of the Christmas season, but sometimes we forget what the light points to: that the darkness of sin is coming to an end. That God is up to something new. That WE are called to be that light in the world! As we prepare for Christmas, what does it look like for us to shine the light of God's hope into the world?
How does our preparation for the Christmas season cause us to miss Christ? Often, our lives become cluttered with busyness and sin that keep us from seeing the God who comes to us at Christmas. Both Isaiah and John the Baptist invite us to prepare a path for God in our lives. They insist a call to repent is a comfort for us! How is repentance a sign of God’s comfort during a busy holiday season?
How often in our preparations for Christmas do we forget to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ? While the prophet Isaiah prays that God will tear open the heavens and come to us, Jesus instead comes humbly, in ways we least expect. How can we be alert and attentive this Advent season so we don't miss when Jesus comes among us?
In times of trauma and grief, it feels like all the structures that keep our lives stable have been stripped away. But as we enter into the process of Lament, those structures begin to reemerge. It’s not daylight yet, but we can begin to sense that the long night of our grief is ending. Hope draws us together and invites those voices who have long been silenced to be front and center.
We build our lives around all kinds of things that make us feel secure, in control or valuable. But these things cannot give us the meaning and purpose we crave. In Lamentations 4, we see God strip these things away from the people of Jerusalem that they might return to worshipping God alone. How can we return to God before our own idolatry ruins us?
When do we stop praying for healing? What does solidarity look like with those who are hurting? Artist and theologian Katie Fisher shares from Lamentations 3. Putting dust in our mouths is at once an act of solidarity and a declaration of hope.
Dr. Daniel White Hodge joins me to talk about race and the future of the Evangelical Church.
How can we learn to see the patterns of sinfulness in our families? My mom joins me (how appropriate is that, you guys?!) to talk about family systems therapy. We also discuss how churches can support healthy and healing families.
What does it look like when God gets angry at us? Lamentations illustrates that God's anger is God giving us what we want - life apart from God. How can we learn to see God's anger as an aspect of God's love - and an invitation to life?
Everyone is busy. Everyone's looking for balance. But maybe balance is the wrong goal. Fellow author and pastor Joshua Ryan Butler joins me to share how he helps people discover their vocation - and how that changes everything.
Dr. Sandra Glahn of Dallas Theological Seminary and I compare two queens of Israel: Jezebel and Bathsheba. Why do we sexualize, then demonize powerful women? And what is at stake when we do? Dr. Glahn speaks from her new book Vindicating the Vixens.
What does it mean to be holy? How can a discussion of holiness move beyond legalistic do's and don'ts? Pastor and author Tara Beth Leach joins me to reframe holiness as self-giving love. Plus: what a holy community looks like in terms of politics and gender relationships.
In Cain's chapter, I explore how often our anger is unrighteous - covering up fear or insecurity. But what about when it's righteous? Becky Brown shares from her years of counseling experience what we can do with righteous anger.
Grief is uncomfortable. In the face of tragedy, no words are sufficient to salve our pain. Yet in the face of others’ pain, we find ourselves offering platitudes and speaking for God so we can avoid their pain. But Lamentations 1 is a funeral dirge. We hear the woman’s honest, unflinching cries of pain and see the prophet join her, offering nothing but his presence. How can we learn to be honest about pain so we can begin the process of reorientation?
We avoid pain and grief as much as possible. When faced with someone else's grief, we avoid or offer platitudes. But the book of Lamentations invites us to sit with grief, to enter into the prophetic process of Lament. In this series, we'll explore how to grieve and how to be a friend to the grieving. Ultimately, we'll see how the process of lament invites us to be agents of healing in the larger world.
We struggle to offer grace to people we feel don’t deserve it – which is, ironically, exactly who needs grace. Uncovering the true biblical origins of Satan helps us come face to face with this graceless impulse. It turns out, refusing to extend grace to others is what makes us truly Satanic. How can we choose to be a grace-filled people?
We tend to end up in echo chambers, surrounded by people who look and think a lot like us. The danger of this is that we don’t learn how to be challenged. The spiritual consequence is that we end up missing God – imagining God in our own image rather than learning to let God challenge us. Judas illustrates the reason we need to learn to be vulnerable, to open ourselves to strange friendships.
We work to strike a healthy balance between faith, family, work and all the other elements of our lives. But Jezebel's story shows us that God doesn't ask for balance; God asks for allegiance. How can we seek God first - and why is that good for everything else in our lives?
How do you resolve conflict? Chances are, however you approach a fight, you learned it from your family. Our families shape us for good and for ill. Herodias, the Evil Queen of Jesus’ day, illustrates for us the cost of generational sin. How can we overcome the sins we inherit from our families? And how can we leave a legacy of life for those who come after us?
What does it look like for Christians to be different from the world? Too often, we treat religion as a brand – one more optional lifestyle for people to choose from. But the story of Delilah and Samson illustrates how following God’s counter-cultural way becomes an invitation for those outside the Church – and life for us, too.
What makes you angry? We seldom stop to think about the cause of our anger - particularly whether that cause is justified or not. But we learn from the story of Cain, the first murderer, that anger can be an invitation to slow down and find life before we lash out and do something we'll regret.
If we know the end of the story, we know how to live in the middle. We conclude our series on the Apostle's Creed by exploring how each of the statements in the Creed shape us. How do they help us live now as a people who will live with God forever? How can we begin now reverse engineering our lives to flourish as God intended?
How we think about the afterlife shapes how we live today. Christians confess we believe our bodies will be raised. What implications does this have for how we live in the here and now? What does this mean for how we treat the world and each other?
Forgiveness is difficult – both as an internal experience and as an external movement to restore the social relationship that’s been broken. But to be the Church is to insist on forgiveness as essential to a fully human life. The journey of forgiveness is fueled by confession – an honest accounting of where we are before God. What does it take for us to be a people who insists on forgiveness?
What does it mean to be a Church? Church isn't a building - it's the people of God, all over the world and across time. How do we be part of the Church? When we find our place as part of the universal, worldwide church it grounds us in how we can be a source of life and hope for our immediate community.
We’re deeply skeptical that people can ever really change. But God promised to make us into new creations. The Holy Spirit is the one who transforms us, who brings real and lasting change. A church who believes in the Holy Spirit is a church that holds space for people to encounter the Spirit. We trust and celebrate as the Spirit brings new life.
'Apocalypse' is a scary word - it conjures images of death and destruction at the end of the world. But the Church has long anticipated Jesus' return as Good News. How can we understand Jesus' return such that it helps us understand how we can live today?
Too often, religion is about a new program - seven steps to a deeper faith or four tips to transform your marriage. But the reason Jesus came to earth was because we can't improve ourselves. We're lost under the power of sin. The good news is that his resurrection offers us something better than self-improvement. We have been given the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. How can we learn to wait and notice where the Spirit is at work in our daily lives?
Fear keeps us from risking, from being vulnerable. But confessing that Jesus descended to Hell is an announcement that the power of Death is broken, and that the way of risk and vulnerability truly does lead to life. We can follow Jesus even to the grave, trusting in his resurrection power to bring life where we risk.
When we fail, we want to shrug our shoulders and insist we're 'only human'. Human means limited, doomed to let people down. But Jesus' incarnation invites us to consider that we might be meant for more than we could've imagined.
Awe: we've all experienced it. Those moments under the stars when time slows down. The joy of a child's love. Moments when the sacred seems to burst into our everyday lives. These moments are Jesus, God's Son, inviting us to join in God's life. They're good for us, and we should seek them out more often. How can we find that life?
Hopelessness has taken root in our culture. Many of us wonder if life truly has any meaning at all. The Apostle's Creed opens by affirming that God is the creator. This is not a scientific claim, but an insistence that each of us matters, that we all have a purpose.
For many, belief is the beginning of a relationship with God. But many others struggle with knowing what Christians actually believe. Many more have doubts and questions that are not easily quieted. Is belief really a barrier to a relationship with God? Or can we learn to follow as we learn to believe? Can believe be an invitation to a deeper trust in the God who wants to help our unbelief?
How long can you go without breathing? A minute? Two? Five? We can't do much unless we breathe... and Pentecost reminds us that the Spirit is God's breath in us. How can we take time to breathe in God's Spirit so that we have the power to do what God calls us to in this world?
We tend to quit when relationships get hard – that’s because truly intimate, life-changing relationships take a lot of work. How can we embrace the pain of true community for the sake of our own faith, the faith of others in our community, and ultimately, the faith of our world?
In the face of unspeakable evils in the world, how can we respond? Peter challenged early Christians to remain faithful to live out the story of Jesus. How does that make a difference? How can the Jesus story lived out in our lives be a path of resistance? And how does the resurrection make that resistance possible?
If The Force Awakens is criticized for anything, it’s for being too similar to the older Star Wars films. But we’re living in an age of nostalgia. Perhaps because our world is in such turmoil, we crave the familiar stability of old stories. So too, when Peter is helping suffering Christians understand God’s call, he frames their stories in the larger story of what God has been doing since the beginning. How can knowing the whole story of God help us thrive today?
Religion far too often is a tool of oppression. People in power often uses biblical texts to justify their oppression. We explore one of these texts in 1 Peter and see that the text was originally meant for liberation. Then we explore how we can hear the text today in a way that calls us to work for justice in our every day lives.
2001 embodies the myth of progress in its iconic opening sequence: technology will ultimately save us. But Peter reminds the early Church that they are saved not by their own efforts, but by what God has done for them through Jesus. The practice of Sabbath teaches us to say no to the god of Progress and rest in the life God invites us to.
Much sci-fi is about the promise of a pain-free life. But Wall-E points out that a pain-free life might not actually lead to our flourishing. Peter opens his letter to suffering Christians by reframing how they understand the pain they’re experiencing. He invites them to see their pain as an invitation into Jesus’ crucifixion. He illustrates how God works through pain to make us whole.
Easter celebrates Jesus' resurrection, his victory over death, and our invitation to new life. But in a world where there's no such thing as a free lunch, how can we trust that God really wants best for us? A classic Twilight Zone episode and a Ke$ha song help us see exactly why the resurrection proves God is good and worthy of our trust!
How often do we have to ask, “What did you say?” because we weren’t listening to someone? If that’s true in our distracted, busy lives, how much more true is it in our faith? On Palm Sunday, we ask how Jesus’ followers could have so thoroughly missed Jesus’ mission to be crucified. How could they not have been listening? How can we be diligent in listening for God to speak during this Holy Week?
Sometimes, being good is easy - just minor tweaks to a bad habit. But there are sins that live deep in our bones that seem impossible to change. These sins test our faith in a God who brings life from death. To these bone-deep sins, God speaks life. How can we trust in God's life-giving power and find victory over even these evils?
We live in a culture plagued by certainty. Everyone is sure they see each issue or situation with perfect clarity. Deep down, we know that’s not true, that no one is always right. How can we learn some humility - and how can that humility free us to see from God's perspective?
All too often, we equate faith with feeling. If we don't feel God, we must lack faith. But true faith is trusting God's character and calling even when we don't sense God's presence. By responding in faith to God, we find a deeper faith than we thought possible.
What is it like to be on the receiving end of ME? What kind of legacy am I leaving? Who is in my wake? God's call of Abram invites us to consider how we can leave a legacy of life.
We don’t like rules. Especially when it comes to religion, we see rules as God’s way of restricting us, keeping us from living a full, fun life. But the story of the first sin reveals that God’s “rules” lead to life for us. How can we turn to God in faith and find the life God calls us to?
Like most people, we look for God in super-spiritual places, on mountain tops. But the good news of the Transfiguration is that God leaves the mountain to live among us, on the ground, in the tensions of our every day world.
Should we be permissive or rigid when it comes to laws? We tend to err on one side or the other because living with the tension between the two is difficult. But we find that tension in Scripture - God refuses to give us easy answers because God wants to live in the tension with us.
We struggle to understand the connection between the rules of faith and the love of God. Is God’s love conditional? Or are the rules suggestions without consequences? Psalm 119 and Leviticus 19 help us see that God’s love and God’s law are not opposing poles in tension with each other. Rather, God’s law flows from God’s love, and leads us to God’s life!
How often have we heard we are to fear God? Many of us think of God as someone to be feared – we keep our heads down and try to keep from being noticed. But when the Bible talks about fear of God it’s more about awe. What does it mean to say that the creator of the universe loves us? How does this awe transform everything from our religious practices to our daily lives?
Should the Church focus more on personal holiness or social justice? The question plagues many Christians, but it’s a false dichotomy. This week’s prophet and poet help us discern how we embody both by living in a covenant relationship with God.
Nobody likes change, but change is inevitable. Fortunately, the God we worship does not leave us to figure out a changing world or life circumstances on our own. Rather, God embraced the pain of change to become human and die for us. We can trust God to be faithful, to walk through change with us!
When we're struggling, we need a community where it's safe to grieve, ask questions and be vulnerable. Unfortunately, Church is often a place we have to fake it. But God invites both thanksgiving and lament - both are vital to our spiritual health. So how can we be a community that tells the whole story of God?
We struggle to understand where faith fits in our busy lives. But God offers us a vocation: to be God's image in the world, to join God in the restoration of all things. This calling transforms every aspect of our lives.
2016 was a difficult year for many of us. In the wake of a difficult season of life - or even in the midst of one - how do we get up and keep going? New Year's is the perfect time to look back and realize that the God of our present is the God of our past... and our future!
Why do we sing at Christmas? Because song is the natural way we celebrate God becoming one of us. On Christmas we sing because the battle has been one and God is making all things new!
The Virgin Birth is a difficult belief to swallow for many in our contemporary world. But when we take a hard look at Isaiah's original prophecy we find surprising depths to what Matthew is doing with Jesus' birth story - depths that offer hope and meaning for a world that desperately craves peace. The Virgin Birth means that God is with us, and that changes everything.
For those with less-than-perfect lives, the Christmas season can sometimes feel like wandering in a desert, thirsty for the holiday cheer that seems to come so easily for others. The prophet Isaiah spoke to a people living in a sort of wilderness of their own, and his words help us see how we can pursue life and hope even in the midst of our own deserts because the desert is where we learn to love God best.
In a world where the powerful exploit the vulnerable, how can we find peace? Isaiah's vision of wolves and lambs offers us an invitation into a world where both flourish in the wake of God's judgment.
When faced with conflict, we all tend toward either fight or flight. But neither of these options creates peace. If we want to be the peacemakers God calls us to be, we must learn to cultivate conflict into flourishing community.
Loving those who are different from us is difficult. But Jesus tells us loving even our enemies is the path to a flourishing life. How can we learn to love those we see as enemies - especially when they are not across the world, but next door to us?
Most of us feel as though we just don't have enough. But God calls us to be faithful with what we have - to use whatever influence, power, money or means we have as gifts from God to invest in the world around us. What does it look like to love God with all of our means?
We struggle to discern God's will, as though it is a deep mystery. But learning to see the world from God's perspective is how we love God with our minds. To learn to see "upside down", we immerse ourselves in the Scriptures. They provide a God's-eye view of the world, of our neighbors and of us. God's will is not difficult to discern. God wants us to see from God's point of view.
We are bad at drawing healthy boundaries. We give and give and give until we have nothing left to offer anyone. Neither God nor our neighbors get our best. The practice of Sabbath helps us learn to say No, to live within the healthy boundaries God created us for.
We're told to "Follow our hearts," but we know desires can be destructive. How do we know the difference between desires that bring life and those that lead to hurt? Jesus invites us to love God with all our hearts, and discovering what he meant by that gives us the key. When we allow the Spirit to order our desires, we find the path to a fully human life!
Forgiveness seems impossible - even when we know we should. We find the power to forgive when we forgive with God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to participate in Jesus' sacrifice. When we forgive, we join God in creating a new reality - a gift of living free from the charge of the guilt of our sin.
Forgiveness is a nice idea, but we treat it as optional. God insists we must be a people of forgiveness. Only forgiving overcomes evil in our world.
Forgiveness is difficult because wrongs create a relational debt. To forgive is to release someone from a genuine debt they owe us. We find the ability to forgive in God’s forgiveness toward us, a forgiveness that has been ours since before the world began. A forgiveness sealed at the cross. A forgiveness that invites us into God’s new life. How can we participate in God’s forgiveness?
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen that we are givers because we bear the image of a God who is essentially a giver. But God is infinite, while we are finite. So is it really possible to give like God gives? We’ll explore two sins that inhibit our giving, and see how the Spirit overcomes our Sin to make us into the generous givers we were created to be!
Generosity is a word we appreciate in abstract but run from in practice. Jesus tells us generosity isn't about the amount we give, but what it costs us. The Spirit makes us able to give generously, whether we're sharing money, time or resources. Generosity is how we imitate our generous God.
The path to forgiveness begins with giving. But in our world, giving is challenging. How can we learn to be generous givers? We explore the generosity of God, and how that generosity is hardwired into our DNA. Life is found in generosity!
Shame is a powerful motivator for us. We never feel as though we do enough. Unfortunately, churches are some of the worst shame engines, teaching that if we don't work harder, God won't love us. How can the Church be free of shame?
According to Hebrews, Faith is the "reality of what we hope for." How can we experience the reality of what isn't real yet? A life of faith is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus, who Paul calls the "first fruits" of those who will be raised. Faith is living now as if God's promises are already true.
A lot of people are trying to convince us that the world is getting worse and worse. But the truth is, God is at work everywhere around us, bringing life and healing. HOPE is what we call trusting God’s promises are true, even when we can’t see how.
Religion does a good job of making us feel better about our lives. We go to church, we pray, we serve. But these systems often end up disconnecting us from the world God loves. How can the story of God disrupt our systems and call us back to the life and flourishing God intended for us?
Authentic relationships are difficult. Vulnerability takes risk. The movie FROZEN insists this risky love is essential to our flourishing. How can people of faith learn to risk for the sake of authentic, vulnerable relationships?
AVATAR reinforces the idea that our bodies are disposable, temporary and accessory to who we really are. But the Scriptures say otherwise. What is the Biblical vision for our bodies, and how is that good news?
We don't like pain. In fact, our culture is filled with systems and structures that shield us from pain. The Church isn't exempt - we want to skip straight from the cross to the empty tomb. But the film FIGHT CLUB insists that pain is good, that pain invites us to stop and consider how we participate in injustice. How can we embrace the pain in our lives, and how might we find the Spirit at work in the midst of our pain to bring resurrection?
How do you decide what gets the best of your time and energies? How does putting Jesus at the center free us to give our best to all areas of our lives? And what does that look like?
Are the things we own good or bad? Some Christians say God wants you to be wealthy, while others say wealth is a sign of sinful indulgence. Which one is it? The film The Boxtrolls and a story about Jesus encountering a wealthy man offer a third alternative: what if our stuff is an opportunity for us to share in God’s generous, self-giving nature?
Christians have often been hung up on clothing - everyone wearing their Sunday best? But what is the right uniform for a Christian? Colossians tells us we should put on LOVE every day. The film Up reminds us that love is found not in dramatic gestures, but in everyday acts of kindness and faithfulness.
One of the most powerful scenes in Forrest Gump is Lt. Dan's showdown with God. But most of us don't think fighting with God is okay. How does the story of Jacob's wrestling with God teach us to engage God even with our anger, doubts and fears?
Two major superhero films this year feature the good guys fighting each other. Does this reflect the anxiety we feel when we can't seem to agree with people we care about on important issues? How do we fight well? The early church's first major conflict in Acts 15 offers us guidance.
INSIDE OUT claims that sadness is actually good because it fosters relationships. In the Church, we avoid sadness as a negative emotion, but the Psalms teach us to make room - lots of room! - for grieving even in our worship. How can the Church recover the gift of grief?
You’re going along, feeling great about life and faith and then boom, something happens and an old behavior or habit you thought you’d kicked pops its head up. Spiritual Revertigo. It can be devastating – you feel as though you’ve made no progress at all, that you’re still the same old person you’ve always been, that God has done nothing in your life, not really. But Jesus assures us that the Spirit is making us new – and that the answer to our despair can be found among others on the same faith journey as we are.