St James Presbyterian Church: Recent Episodes
St James Presbyterian Church
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them…
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who became obedient to death.
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all…
One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.”…
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we…
We pick right back up in the middle of the Holy Week action today, moments after Jesus’ encounter with Pilate. Remember, last week, Jesus and Pilate discussed authority, empire, and found Jesus as the scapegoat for the people’s anger. And before I read our scripture, I want to say this: Empire feeds…
Let’s bow our heads for the prayer of illumination. God, whom we know through the scriptures and creation, speak to us in this hour. Show us the wisdom and joy of your ways, that we may know what is good and do what is right. Jesus Christ, your Word. Amen. And our scripture this morning, if you want…
Our Gospel reading today is a quintessential Lenten text. The cross is squarely in Jesus’ sites. As we considered on Ash Wednesday, now he is staring death in the face. The evil one’s work is unfolding. As well, in this text we have some of the main cast of characters in the Jesus stories. There is a…
Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said…
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see…
This week we are in the early days of Jesus’ public activity, where he is baptized and performs his first miracle in the book of John. Remember, last week, we heard Jesus put out the all points bulletin — Come and See. Come and see what God is doing, come take part, come serve and give and receive and…
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city…
On this Third Sunday of Advent, we tell of joy! Joy, joy, joy! While we are yet in the season of waiting, Joy bubbles up in us as we rest assured of God’s promises. Joy is an active word. In the sense that joy takes place in the present moment. While hope anticipates the coming of God’s peace, shalom,…
Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”…
Jeremiah 29:1 , 4–14 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God…
But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have…
Alright, we’re continuing through the narrative of the Scriptures, fully embedded now in the Prophets of Israel. Historically, we’re looking at the last 1000 years or so BCE. It’s a time of building, geopolitical change, and the evolution of the Israelite understanding of prophecy, the divine word of…
Be still. Peace. Be still. There is a lot of noise in my life right now. A lot of things vying for my heart and attention. These things include the normal parts of being a parent and in middle age, like making sure permission slips are filled out and quarterly taxes paid. But it also includes the immensity…
Alright, as we know, we’re going through a narrative arc of the Scriptures this year. We’re not hitting every story, but touching on many major points in the unfolding story of the people of Israel, the mission of Jesus, and the early church. We want to gain a sense of the scope AND look at how people’s…
What is the name of God? How dare we seek to name that which is beyond all names? Can God have a name? Can we fathom it? These questions have been central to my faith and it’s evolution over the last 20 years. In my early twenties, I had grown quite disenchanted with many of the popular, evangelical,…
Today, we continue our series of the narrative lectionary, the sacred mythos, the world of the Bible and God’s unfolding narrative of blessing humanity. We began a couple weeks ago with the Creation story. God’s presence hovers over the chaos of our lives and speaks the enchanted cosmos into being. And…
Today we continue in the beginning of the narrative arc of the Scriptures, moving from the stories of Creation to settle into the more up-close family drama of Abraham and Sarah. The cosmic God has moved closer to humanity. There is a lot to explore in this upcoming reading and I’m going to do my best…
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated…
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”…
Setting the stage of the human condition. Guilt through idolatry. Justification through Christ.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said…
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why…
There is an ancient Hebrew story from the time of Exodus, where God’s people tell of their great struggles in the wilderness, wandering as they return from captivity in Egypt. The people are tired, worn out, hot, and hungry. And what do you do when you’re tired, worn out, hot, and hungry? Well…most of…
I love this prophetic passage from Isaiah, so I’m going to read it in its entirety, from Isaiah 55 . Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not…
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah…
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. “I have said these things to you while…
John 13:31-35 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and…
Jesus, the Shepherd calls to his sheep. We, like children who know their mother’s voice, hear the call. The Mothering-God guides us through the joy and sorrow of life.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when…
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we…
After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden.…
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with…
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give…
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day…
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone…
Jesus taught that our light must be like a city on a hill, shining out in the darkness, illuminating God’s good news for all the world to see. You and me — we are that light, living here and now. Our lives are witnesses to Jesus. When we live in his way, we shine that light out for others to see, to…
Can we be honest and real about who we love and who are our enemies? Can we take an honest account AND be able to seek the well-being (shalom) of even the ones we despise/hate/are at odds with?
Happiness and woe are part of the life of Christian community. We seek happiness and avoid woe. What if we could learn to see our struggles as blessings and bring some healthy skepticism to times of elation?
Jesus calls the first disciples. What does it mean for us to engage in our calling, to fully show up to the good work God has for us?
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day,…
Baptism changes our orientation to the world, as individuals, and as members of a body. We are immersed in the waters and reemerge with new allegiances.
Luke 1:46-55 - Magnificat. On this final Sunday of Advent, we turn toward hope. These four weeks, we’ve heard words for the beginning, words like love, peace, and joy, which all come together as we, beloved children of God, await the dawning of Christ’s light among us. We embrace one another in lovingkindness,…
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children…
In this season of Advent, we are guided by Words of beginning, words that help us mark out the journey and take a step out the door, together, towards the home God has called us to. Is it a physical journey? Yes, sometimes. This journey to the dawning of the Christmas light will move us to get up, out…
What was something you were called as a child, an endearing nickname, a secret name known only by your mother or a dear grandparent? I’m not going to ask you to share it, but take a moment and try to find that name or word. For me, what comes to mind, is how when I was little, my parents would call me…
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have…
As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite…
I feel like there is a sermon I’ve been trying to preach all my career. It’s one that keeps nagging me, keeps pushing itself to the front of my mind. It’s the sermon the Spirit seems to have stirred up and put upon my heart as an identifier — Seth, this is the burning of your bones. And it comes to mind…
In between faith and works there lies a tension — a point of integration between what we know and what we do. It’s that space between right belief and right action. The tension has to exist, it has to pull in both directions, to remind us of the positive bind that exists in the Christian journey. One has to have the other. Faith and works, together, bring life. Faith without works, well, it’s dead. Works without faith are shallow, actions that lack significance, a living by just going through the motions.
This integration point is grace. Faith that lives out in works discovers the grace of Christ at the tension point. Faith that lives out in action awakens in us our need for and reception of grace.
James makes it quite clear, echoing Jesus’ teachings to simply be with the poor, to love our neighbors, to pray for our enemies. The work is right in front of us. We are formed in belief so that we may live belief out in action, an unstained, pure religious action that does not turn a blind eye to the needs of the widow or orphan, but integrates our lives with them, coming close, in love and compassionate care.
Faith produces the ability to hold the doubts and certainties in healthy tension. Faith says, “I’m gonna try.” I don’t know if I can make it (certainty and doubt), but I’m going to endure.
Do you doubt? Good. Bless that.
Do you hold some things with certainty? Good, also bless that.
Today, let us see that our doubts actually lead us right into the space where we can develop faith and seek wisdom. Doubts will always nag at us — and that’s important. We have to let doubt air itself out in order to grow, to mature, to make those next steps happen.
Jesus’ ministry is inaugurated and framed by acts doing justice with and for the poor, the captive, the hurting, and the oppressed.
Intro: Tell us about your family. Thomas, Strand. Nuclear. Chosen. As we journey in Christ, we sometimes need to be reminded that we are members of a kin-ship and family of God. We belong. We are called here to be a part of that. We go out as ambassadors of that deep, deep welcome. And what is required…
Before diving into our preaching text for this morning, I want to pause to offer some clarity on the language in this letter to Ephesians. Cultural and social contexts are so important as we clue in to what God is up to, working in and through the ways of the ancient world to unveil God’s reconciling…
God calls God's people together in unity, to come around and support the chosen King, David. So we are called to unite, to heal, to seek restoration, and come to the table as one people.
Will the invitation to fight the giants of our lives lead us to retreat or invite our courage? Will we turn towards the struggle in authenticity and humility to be a part of God's liberating work?
God looks at our hearts and moves us forward into a new vision of the world where restoration is possible.
Give us a king, who will take care of us.
Give us a president, who will fix it all.
Give us a pastor, who can hold and represent our spiritual longings.
Give us a parent, who can keep us safe and healthy.
Give us a partner, who can journey in love with us.
Give us any and all of these things — and we’ll be set.
Except, we’re not. Except, we still long for more.
May our prayer today be different: Give us yourself, God. Give us wholeness in a way nothing else can. Give us forgiveness and cleansing, in a way we can never do for ourselves. Give us meaning, connected with the great purposes of God’s restoration of all things.
Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity 3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God…
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope.…
The skies show us a glimpse of how God moves and calls us to change and grow in the world.
The River of Life 22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;…
God calls us out into the wild places to discern our purpose, hear God's voice, and take the next steps in our journey with God.
The Parable of the Sower (Mk 4:1–9, 13–20; Lk 8:4–8, 11–15) 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying:…
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there…
Christ has moved the whole world from death to life through his death and resurrection.
We take the final steps on our journey to the heart of Christ this lent as we enter the city of Jerusalem with Jesus. Jesus shows us that it is through humility and letting go of the self's desires that we find glory in God's abiding love.
This morning I want to open our Sermon reading by going back to the beginning of the chapter of Hebrews 5 to set the stage for how the lectionary positions the text. The question posed in this text is what does it look like for Christ to be glorified as he fulfills his purpose on earth. What does a priest…
It is God's grace which we receive, freely, as we step deeper into a mature faith in Christ. Grace upon grace frees us to love and serve out of God's abundance.
There is much in the Christian faith that we call wisdom and the world calls foolishness. There is much that the world calls wisdom that disciples of Jesus call foolish. Wisdom and life in Christ offers us a new perspective on what is wise, what is foolish, and what is faithful to God's purposes.
Jesus invites Nathanael to have his perceptions and skepticism confronted, offering him a way forward to come, see, and participate in God's way of justice.
God hovers over the chaos of our lives, calling creation (and us) out of the water to discover new life.
Today we look back on 2020 and remember God's faithfulness. We seek God's voice and invitation into 2021, anticipating God's love to be present in our lives and God's calling for action to lead us into the world.
GOSPEL Luke 1:26–38 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29…
The Word Became Flesh (Gen 1:1–2:4a) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life…
The Proclamation of John the Baptist (Mt 3:1–12; Lk 3:1–20; Jn 1:19–28) 1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:…
The Thrill of Hope leads us to take the first step into the Advent season. Hope keeps us awake, hope is what we trust in, hope that God will show up and set things right. There is a deep longing in all of us that God would hear our cries and know our sorrow and come quickly to our aid.
Christ's reign has begun. Outside of time, beyond past, present, and future, Christ sits on the throne and all things are being restored in Christ. Our role is to bear witness to it, to see Christ in the people we meet, and to serve with love as people who know the shepherd's voice.
Who will we be as we await the coming of the master? Will we throw in our talents with one another or will we succumb to the worry that we are not enough? The Christian community is called to lean into the work together, to contribute what they can, and to work for God's justice until the Kingdom comes.
In covenanting with God, we find a reorientation to the way of justice in the world. We prepare ourselves for this consummation by getting the oil, resting, and remaining watchful of the signs of the times.
Sure, the coin has Caesar’s head on it. Pay your taxes. Vote. Be a good citizen. And…do it all not because it is the obligation Caesar has burdened you with. Do it with a worldview that entrusts every action, every gift, every movement of your life to be a part of a whole picture of how God calls you and I to live.
We wrestle with this difficult text in order to find a meaning for ourselves and a calling to share the good news with others. You and me, we are invited...and that invitation is to be received in obedience and then shared so others can join in too.
While the religious leaders look to logic and philosophical musings to stump Jesus, we see that the way of God is unfairly bent toward blessing those who act upon God's instructions. It's not fair that our questions don't always get answers. And its unfair that God's grace is given to even those who had once turned their backs on God. This is the beautiful unfairness of the Gospel.
The parables and prophets of the Scriptures agitate our privileged vantage point, disrupting how we believe God's grace is "supposed to work" to illuminate the radical way of welcoming all, calling all to repentance, showing us all a belonging in the loving family of God.
Do Not Judge Another 14 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for…
Love for One Another (Cp Mk 12:31; Jas 2:8) 8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed…
In the house of God, we first and foremost seek to love God and love each other with a profound yielding, mutual, supportive posture. This is challenging in a world of self-sufficiency and independence. And therefore, Christian love becomes all the more radical, subversive, and refreshing -- a balm that soothes the deep wounds of sinful division and evil.
Jesus is the year of the Lord’s favor and ushers in a kingdom of forgiveness, freedom, and economic justice.
The God-given rhythm of life dedicating each seventh day of the week to Sabbath rest is also to be observed in a cycle of years. God declares every seventh year to be a sabbatical year of Sabbath-like rest, promising to provide enough resources not only for those observing the sabbatical but also a needed break for the land and laborers who produce. Sabbatical creates healthy community; lack of sabbatical risks disease and distress.
On the Sabbath, we are instructed to "rest as if the work is done." True rest comes out of a posture of trusting in God's abundance. There is always enough...enough to eat, enough to sustain us, enough to bring healing. To rest on the Sabbath in the "enough" of God is also to participate in the opening up of rest for all who long for it, all who seek healing, justice, and peace. Our enough (found in Sabbath practice) allows the followers of Jesus to be liberators of those who do not yet have enough.
The powers of the world want to hold us back, to stop our movement home, to stifle our imagination for a world where God reigns and all is made right. But the Holy Spirit will not let this happen. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is calling us forward into that new day. No power of hell, no scheme of man, no might of empire: when we are called home, we are called home.
We have been born into the empire, into the enslavement by the powers of sin. And yet we feel the groaning in our bodies, a longing and hope for what is yet unseen and promised. In this longing, we find a God who adopts us and calls us beloved, a part of a new family, set free to be a part of that coming hope.
Now that we have come to understand that our home is not found in the halls of the empire, come home to where you belong. Come home to your body, liberated by the Creator. Come home to your mind, renewed by Christ. Come home to the Spirit, indwelling you. Come home.
The language of the Empire and enslavement presents its adherants with a false choice: die or be enslaved by a life of sin. There is no other option than to simply play by the laws of sin and death that hold humanity in bondage. We journey towards another way when we see that Christ has broken down the law, broken down the sin structures, broken down the Empire who lumped upon us the false choice. Let a new kind of Freedom Ring!
When we are baptized, we pledge our allegiance to a leader who died before all the powers of the world. We align ourselves to a Risen Lord, who has overcome death. We are to sacrfice as well, put to death our sin, enslave ourselves to Christ so as to no longer be enslaved to the ways of the Empire. "The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." So it is with those who follow him.
We thought we could stay comfortably in Rome (in the Empire) and set up our lives there. But we are (and have always been) invited to voyage to a different home, a home outside of empire's rule, a home where we belong in God's loving arms. To voyage there, we will endure hardship, persist through pain, and strengthen the bonds of friendship as fellow travelers.
When we go into the world to baptize and teach, but we neglect a whole person of the Trinity, we find a stunted, dangerous embodiment of our faith. By acknowledging, fully, all persons of the Trinity -- Creator, Christ, AND Spirit -- we encounter the fullness of God's unity and our participation in it as teachers, baptizers, and faithful witnesses to the abundance of God's love for all.
Jesus is claiming to be the site of the outpouring of rivers of life-giving water. We are invited to come and drink and believe in him, from whom the Rivers of the Spirit will flow out. The Spirit is pouring out upon all flesh today, not through a building, not through a temple, not through a revival meeting — but through our hearts. Specifically, the hearts of those who hear the message, hearts of ones who have come to drink fully from the fountain that is Christ’s life.
Friends, before I begin I want to thank you for welcoming me into your homes and worship lives today. I and my colleagues at the Synod of Mid-America are so very grateful to our colleagues all across the church who serve as your pastors. For the last 2 months, they have worked tirelessly on your behalf, seeking to serve you with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love even as their own lives have been turned upside down. So we are honored to be able to take one thing off their hands this wee
John 14:15–21 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with…
Our home is found in Christ's house. It is Christ's love and knowledge of us that invites us into the family. As image bearers, we are welcomed as a part of God's family. We welcome others in this same way.
Jesus, the Gate, the Shepherd, the one who calls us, welcomes us as his sheep into his family. That welcome is extended to all who hear his voice, who listen, and follow it. As people of the Resurrection Life, we extend that radical, loving welcome to others.
The Walk to Emmaus (Mk 16:12–13) 13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,…
Jesus visits the disciples and shares with them the abundant presence of the Holy Spirit. Even through Thomas' doubts, we find a resurrection life that is filled with more from God than we could ever need -- an abundance of peace, presence, and wonder.
How remarkable that the women find the empty tomb and run to tell the good news to the rest of the disciples? As we find our churches empty, may we be people who celebrate resurrection as the Body of Christ who have been sent out of our gathering places to proclaim the good life for all, wherever we are! The Resurrection Life!
Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem to shouts of "Hosanna", but this King does not ride in for his own glory. He journeys deeper into being the suffering servant, the Lamb of God, coming more initmately acquainted with our suffering and entering into death itself as a protest to its power.
When God's people worship and praise with open hearts and joy, it is a taste of God's Reign among us on earth. We can embrace joy and wonder even as we face heartache and longing for redemption amidst disease, war, hunger, and pandemic.
Jesus sees the great need for leaders to share the good news with those who long for it and empowers disciples to go out and change lives in his name. This is not simply the role of the Good Shepherd or elders or pastors, to lead this coming of the Kingdom. As a vital church, we are called to empower servant leaders to go out and proclaim the good news, giving each other the tools necessary to change lives in Jesus' name as well.
Jesus invites the Samaritan woman to worship and be a part of a whole new way of living, drinking from the fount of living water. Our evangelism is about sharing in the good life we have found.
The life of the early church was filled with simple practices that formed them, together, unto the way of Jesus in their new community. We are invited to the same life of discipleship, praying, breaking bread, sharing in common, and caring for those in need.
Intro Good morning. Each week, we affirm that God has called us together as one body to worship, to fellowship, and to proclaim the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do this through the way we extend Loving Welcome to all who enter, in the handshakes and hugs, the friendly faces and conversations about…
Restoration of our home in God does not lead us back to an idyllic time, but rather forward into the promise of God's unfolding, restorative goodness that is always out ahead of us.
Individual Retribution 27 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over…
We let go of the ghosts of the past and future to find a home in the present, where we live out our call.