Inglewood Commons Church: Recent Episodes
Commons Church
Audio from the Inglewood parish of Commons Church in Calgary AB. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre.
It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.
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It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.
★ Support this podcast ★
It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.
★ Support this podcast ★
It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.
★ Support this podcast ★
We’re here! Easter is the festival of festivals! The Queen of Feasts! This is the day we wait for. This is the day of new life. And with all we celebrate today, Easter is the day that shapes every day to come. So hear, repeat, and return to this prayer in the Easter season. It’s a beauty and it’s a benediction.
Beyond Easter we go singing.
Having been seized
by resurrection
we are full of tears and laughter.
The way ahead is unknown. It will always be like that.
but having danced in the light we will look for glory everywhere.
–Ruth Burgess,
The Iona Community
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We are approaching Easter, seen as the greatest festival in the church calendar. But, we’re not there yet. We have a week to go and an ancient path to follow.
Egeria, a woman who was either a nun or an abbess from Spain or Gaul, left behind a diary from her time in the Holy Land (ca. 381-384). In it, she writes in detail about services
in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, worshippers celebrate and rehearse the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Then the children gather palm branches and the people walk the road that leads to the cross. Hundreds of years later, we still do the same thing.
This week, we celebrate with hosannas, but on Good Friday and Holy Saturday we will grieve. And our sorrow is the exact place resurrection comes. Thanks be to God.
After Palm Sunday, join us on Maundy Thursday to walk through the Stations of the Cross, for services on Good Friday and then to celebrate Resurrection next week.
Come and reflect on the season.
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It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.
The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty observed and plain disobedience. A story of the internal conflict between authentic honesty and dishonest selfishness. It’s all here, all of the meaning and the mess of life.
But the thing that makes Jonah’s story most helpful to us is how everything, all of it, is placed before God. And really, this is the thing most true about our humanity, the thing we most need to educate our imaginations with: there is no other kind of life except that which is lived before God.
Jonah is not a children’s tale. It is a very grown up tale that ends with a very serious question: what kind of person will you be?
★ Support this podcast ★
It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.
The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty observed and plain disobedience. A story of the internal conflict between authentic honesty and dishonest selfishness. It’s all here, all of the meaning and the mess of life.
But the thing that makes Jonah’s story most helpful to us is how everything, all of it, is placed before God. And really, this is the thing most true about our humanity, the thing we most need to educate our imaginations with: there is no other kind of life except that which is lived before God.
Jonah is not a children’s tale. It is a very grown up tale that ends with a very serious question: what kind of person will you be?
★ Support this podcast ★
It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.
The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty observed and plain disobedience. A story of the internal conflict between authentic honesty and dishonest selfishness. It’s all here, all of the meaning and the mess of life.
But the thing that makes Jonah’s story most helpful to us is how everything, all of it, is placed before God. And really, this is the thing most true about our humanity, the thing we most need to educate our imaginations with: there is no other kind of life except that which is lived before God.
Jonah is not a children’s tale. It is a very grown up tale that ends with a very serious question: what kind of person will you be?
★ Support this podcast ★
We have suspended all of our in-person Sunday gatherings, but we will be live on YouTube.
Let's talk a little bit about how we are responding to changes in our ministry patterns but, more importantly, how we can care for each other well without giving in to panic and fear in this time. Physical distance may be necessary right now, but social connection remains vital.
It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.
The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty observed and plain disobedience. A story of the internal conflict between authentic honesty and dishonest selfishness. It’s all here, all of the meaning and the mess of life.
But the thing that makes Jonah’s story most helpful to us is how everything, all of it, is placed before God. And really, this is the thing most true about our humanity, the thing we most need to educate our imaginations with: there is no other kind of life except that which is lived before God.
Jonah is not a children’s tale. It is a very grown up tale that ends with a very serious question: what kind of person will you be?
★ Support this podcast ★
It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.
The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty observed and plain disobedience. A story of the internal conflict between authentic honesty and dishonest selfishness. It’s all here, all of the meaning and the mess of life.
But the thing that makes Jonah’s story most helpful to us is how everything, all of it, is placed before God. And really, this is the thing most true about our humanity, the thing we most need to educate our imaginations with: there is no other kind of life except that which is lived before God.
Jonah is not a children’s tale. It is a very grown up tale that ends with a very serious question: what kind of person will you be?
★ Support this podcast ★
This is it.
Back in Rome for a final time.
Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ.
Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine.
How we look at each other. How we talk about faith.
So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, come along as we jump in where we left off and see how Paul wraps things up.
And if you’re new to Commons, step a little closer to a text that’s shaped who we are and who we want to become.
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In Romans 16 Paul names a number of women in prominent roles within the early church. But then in his letters to Corinth and Timothy, he seems to take a different tone. What is going on here? Should we try to harmonize these passages? Here's a bit of a deeper dive.
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This is it.
Back in Rome for a final time.
Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ.
Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine.
How we look at each other. How we talk about faith.
So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, come along as we jump in where we left off and see how Paul wraps things up.
And if you’re new to Commons, step a little closer to a text that’s shaped who we are and who we want to become.
★ Support this podcast ★
This is it.
Back in Rome for a final time.
Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ.
Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine.
How we look at each other. How we talk about faith.
So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, come along as we jump in where we left off and see how Paul wraps things up.
And if you’re new to Commons, step a little closer to a text that’s shaped who we are and who we want to become.
★ Support this podcast ★
This is it.
Back in Rome for a final time.
Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ.
Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine.
How we look at each other. How we talk about faith.
So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, come along as we jump in where we left off and see how Paul wraps things up.
And if you’re new to Commons, step a little closer to a text that’s shaped who we are and who we want to become.
★ Support this podcast ★
This is it.
Back in Rome for a final time.
Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ.
Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine.
How we look at each other. How we talk about faith.
So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, come along as we jump in where we left off and see how Paul wraps things up.
And if you’re new to Commons, step a little closer to a text that’s shaped who we are and who we want to become.
★ Support this podcast ★
Swipe Right is a phrase that entered the common lexicon through the arrival of Tinder, an app designed to help people skip past the hard work of investing in the kind of healthy mature relationships we all really long for.
But here’s the truth; healthy relationships are a matter of life-and-death importance because we are far more than sexual beings; we are human beings with all that is entailed.
In this series, we intend to move past sermons on dating and relationships and talk about what it means to be a human with a brain, and a body and a soul and how all of these aspects inform our experience of love, sexuality, and relationships.
★ Support this podcast ★
Swipe Right is a phrase that entered the common lexicon through the arrival of Tinder, an app designed to help people skip past the hard work of investing in the kind of healthy mature relationships we all really long for.
But here’s the truth; healthy relationships are a matter of life-and-death importance because we are far more than sexual beings; we are human beings with all that is entailed.
In this series, we intend to move past sermons on dating and relationships and talk about what it means to be a human with a brain, and a body and a soul and how all of these aspects inform our experience of love, sexuality, and relationships.
★ Support this podcast ★
Swipe Right is a phrase that entered the common lexicon through the arrival of Tinder, an app designed to help people skip past the hard work of investing in the kind of healthy mature relationships we all really long for.
But here’s the truth; healthy relationships are a matter of life-and-death importance because we are far more than sexual beings; we are human beings with all that is entailed.
In this series, we intend to move past sermons on dating and relationships and talk about what it means to be a human with a brain, and a body and a soul and how all of these aspects inform our experience of love, sexuality, and relationships.
★ Support this podcast ★
What do your prayers sound like at this time of year? Please God, make time stand still so I can get ready
for Christmas. Please God, help me find a parking spot at the mall. Or, more seriously, Please God, turn this Christmas chaos into something calm.
Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and hope. It doesn’t mean that all longings are realized, though.
And even as the story of Jesus begins with the angel announcing the birth
of the Saviour to Mary and the world, everyone in the story is given a voice. And those voices are heard in five prayers, traditionally called “A Pentad of Prayers.” Five prayers named after the Latin word for the start of each prayer.
The Fiat mihi - Let it be with me ...
The Magnificat - My soul magnifies ...
The Benedictus - Blessed be the Lord ...
The Gloria in excelsis - Glory to God in the highest ...
The Nunc dimittis - Now dismiss your servant ...
Which prayer will guide you through this season? Let’s find out, together.
★ Support this podcast ★
What do your prayers sound like at this time of year? Please God, make time stand still so I can get ready
for Christmas. Please God, help me find a parking spot at the mall. Or, more seriously, Please God, turn this Christmas chaos into something calm.
Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and hope. It doesn’t mean that all longings are realized, though.
And even as the story of Jesus begins with the angel announcing the birth
of the Saviour to Mary and the world, everyone in the story is given a voice. And those voices are heard in five prayers, traditionally called “A Pentad of Prayers.” Five prayers named after the Latin word for the start of each prayer.
The Fiat mihi - Let it be with me ...
The Magnificat - My soul magnifies ...
The Benedictus - Blessed be the Lord ...
The Gloria in excelsis - Glory to God in the highest ...
The Nunc dimittis - Now dismiss your servant ...
Which prayer will guide you through this season? Let’s find out, together.
★ Support this podcast ★
What do your prayers sound like at this time of year? Please God, make time stand still so I can get ready
for Christmas. Please God, help me find a parking spot at the mall. Or, more seriously, Please God, turn this Christmas chaos into something calm.
Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and hope. It doesn’t mean that all longings are realized, though.
And even as the story of Jesus begins with the angel announcing the birth
of the Saviour to Mary and the world, everyone in the story is given a voice. And those voices are heard in five prayers, traditionally called “A Pentad of Prayers.” Five prayers named after the Latin word for the start of each prayer.
The Fiat mihi - Let it be with me ...
The Magnificat - My soul magnifies ...
The Benedictus - Blessed be the Lord ...
The Gloria in excelsis - Glory to God in the highest ...
The Nunc dimittis - Now dismiss your servant ...
Which prayer will guide you through this season? Let’s find out, together.
★ Support this podcast ★
What do your prayers sound like at this time of year? Please God, make time stand still so I can get ready
for Christmas. Please God, help me find a parking spot at the mall. Or, more seriously, Please God, turn this Christmas chaos into something calm.
Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and hope. It doesn’t mean that all longings are realized, though.
And even as the story of Jesus begins with the angel announcing the birth
of the Saviour to Mary and the world, everyone in the story is given a voice. And those voices are heard in five prayers, traditionally called “A Pentad of Prayers.” Five prayers named after the Latin word for the start of each prayer.
The Fiat mihi - Let it be with me ...
The Magnificat - My soul magnifies ...
The Benedictus - Blessed be the Lord ...
The Gloria in excelsis - Glory to God in the highest ...
The Nunc dimittis - Now dismiss your servant ...
Which prayer will guide you through this season? Let’s find out, together.
★ Support this podcast ★
In a world that, moves faster and faster each year, the season of Advent becomes even more important. Waiting, anticipating, lamenting and journeying these are part of the beauty that ultimately awaits us.
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What do your prayers sound like at this time of year? Please God, make time stand still so I can get ready
for Christmas. Please God, help me find a parking spot at the mall. Or, more seriously, Please God, turn this Christmas chaos into something calm.
Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and hope. It doesn’t mean that all longings are realized, though.
And even as the story of Jesus begins with the angel announcing the birth
of the Saviour to Mary and the world, everyone in the story is given a voice. And those voices are heard in five prayers, traditionally called “A Pentad of Prayers.” Five prayers named after the Latin word for the start of each prayer.
The Fiat mihi - Let it be with me ...
The Magnificat - My soul magnifies ...
The Benedictus - Blessed be the Lord ...
The Gloria in excelsis - Glory to God in the highest ...
The Nunc dimittis - Now dismiss your servant ...
Which prayer will guide you through this season? Let’s find out, together.
★ Support this podcast ★
“Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.”
—Henri Nouwen
We’ve all likely had the experience where someone made space for us.
A grandparent, a dear friend, a stranger who didn’t speak our language, or even someone we didn’t agree with.
Maybe they offered us welcome. They made us feel safe.
They chose to be vulnerable.
They extended kindness when they could have withheld it.
Whatever the case, these kinds of experiences show us how powerful hospitality can be. How embrace transforms us. How, in a world of tension, hostility, and boundary-making, we often come alive when we choose to open and hold space for others.
Let’s consider how the Scriptures show us a God like this, always making room.
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“Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.”
—Henri Nouwen
We’ve all likely had the experience where someone made space for us.
A grandparent, a dear friend, a stranger who didn’t speak our language, or even someone we didn’t agree with.
Maybe they offered us welcome. They made us feel safe.
They chose to be vulnerable.
They extended kindness when they could have withheld it.
Whatever the case, these kinds of experiences show us how powerful hospitality can be. How embrace transforms us. How, in a world of tension, hostility, and boundary-making, we often come alive when we choose to open and hold space for others.
Let’s consider how the Scriptures show us a God like this, always making room.
★ Support this podcast ★
“Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.”
—Henri Nouwen
We’ve all likely had the experience where someone made space for us.
A grandparent, a dear friend, a stranger who didn’t speak our language, or even someone we didn’t agree with.
Maybe they offered us welcome. They made us feel safe.
They chose to be vulnerable.
They extended kindness when they could have withheld it.
Whatever the case, these kinds of experiences show us how powerful hospitality can be. How embrace transforms us. How, in a world of tension, hostility, and boundary-making, we often come alive when we choose to open and hold space for others.
Let’s consider how the Scriptures show us a God like this, always making room.
★ Support this podcast ★
“Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.”
—Henri Nouwen
We’ve all likely had the experience where someone made space for us.
A grandparent, a dear friend, a stranger who didn’t speak our language, or even someone we didn’t agree with.
Maybe they offered us welcome. They made us feel safe.
They chose to be vulnerable.
They extended kindness when they could have withheld it.
Whatever the case, these kinds of experiences show us how powerful hospitality can be. How embrace transforms us. How, in a world of tension, hostility, and boundary-making, we often come alive when we choose to open and hold space for others.
Let’s consider how the Scriptures show us a God like this, always making room.
★ Support this podcast ★
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible.
The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic.
“The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz
Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible.
The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic.
“The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz
Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible.
The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic.
“The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz
Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible.
The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic.
“The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz
Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible. The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic. “The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
Matthew 6:19-34 The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible. The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic. “The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
We put together a series of YouTube videos as a companion to this series working through each of thee 8 beatitudes. We've collected them for you here.
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Matthew 5:11-16 The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible. The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic. “The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
Matthew 5:1-10 The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given. This is Jesus at his most accessible. The intriguing phenomenon is, however, that the closer one looks the more one becomes fascinated with the beauty through which Jesus addresses each topic. “The experience can be compared with visiting famous old castles or cathedrals. Tourists may put in thirty minutes to walk through, just to get an impression, and that is what they get. But if one begins to study such buildings with the help of a good guidebook, visions of whole worlds open up. Whether it is the architecture, the symbols and images, the statues and paintings, or the history that took place in and around the buildings, under closer examination things are bound to become more and more complicated, diverse, and intriguing, with no end in sight.” –Hans Dieter Betz Our hope is that this familiar sermon can become just as intriguing again if we take the time to look closer.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
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Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
★ Support this podcast ★
Prayer is a pretty big deal. After all, at Commons we opened this year with prayer and we’re closing the year with prayer. From the Lord’s Prayer in the fall, to the Psalms prayer book in the summer, we’ve got instructions and illustrations to shape our prayerful souls in all seasons. So what’s prayer to you? Is it the recitation of prayers you learned as a kid? Is prayer the words that spring up inside you like “thank you,” “help me,” and “I’m so sorry”? Maybe prayer is becoming less wordy and more connected to deep breaths, centred contemplation, and heart-soaring awe. There are Christians in all kinds of traditions that pray the Psalms every day, morning and night. And sure, the prayerful poems are more familiar year after year, but they never stop speaking and shaping the human heart before God. Dive into the Psalms with us this summer and find yourself refreshed with honesty, lament, and praise.
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Are you one of those people who loves change or hates change? Maybe somewhere in the middle? Maybe you see the necessity of change but you don’t like the discomfort it brings. Maybe you rage against change and then, when you finally give in, you realize you need it. Everything in life is touched by change. Our bodies change and age, our relationships struggle and grow, and our world is full of change and instability too. But what about our relationship with God? Can our dance with the sacred withstand significant change? Let’s look at a time in ancient Israel’s history when change rocked God’s people. Israel was exiled by Babylon, and when they slowly made their way back home they discovered that home wasn’t quite what they hoped it would be. Change can do that - it can upend you. The Ezra and Nehemiah stories call us to prepare, rebuild, and intentionally choose healthy change. So if change is going to happen, let’s at least be ready.
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Are you one of those people who loves change or hates change? Maybe somewhere in the middle? Maybe you see the necessity of change but you don’t like the discomfort it brings. Maybe you rage against change and then, when you finally give in, you realize you need it. Everything in life is touched by change. Our bodies change and age, our relationships struggle and grow, and our world is full of change and instability too. But what about our relationship with God? Can our dance with the sacred withstand significant change? Let’s look at a time in ancient Israel’s history when change rocked God’s people. Israel was exiled by Babylon, and when they slowly made their way back home they discovered that home wasn’t quite what they hoped it would be. Change can do that - it can upend you. The Ezra and Nehemiah stories call us to prepare, rebuild, and intentionally choose healthy change. So if change is going to happen, let’s at least be ready.
★ Support this podcast ★
Are you one of those people who loves change or hates change? Maybe somewhere in the middle? Maybe you see the necessity of change but you don’t like the discomfort it brings. Maybe you rage against change and then, when you finally give in, you realize you need it. Everything in life is touched by change. Our bodies change and age, our relationships struggle and grow, and our world is full of change and instability too. But what about our relationship with God? Can our dance with the sacred withstand significant change? Let’s look at a time in ancient Israel’s history when change rocked God’s people. Israel was exiled by Babylon, and when they slowly made their way back home they discovered that home wasn’t quite what they hoped it would be. Change can do that - it can upend you. The Ezra and Nehemiah stories call us to prepare, rebuild, and intentionally choose healthy change. So if change is going to happen, let’s at least be ready.
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For better or worse, we’re more or less a collection of the things we do repeatedly. For some of us, this is something we approach strategically, crafting our schedules to produce the best version of ourselves. For others, our patterns and tendencies leave us feeling like they control us. In talking about these realities, David Brooks says that somewhere between our ‘resume virtues’ and our ‘eulogy virtues’—between our pursuit of wealth,significance, success and our desire forkindness, bravery, integrity—there is a need for an intentionally formed inner life. Which means that, wherever we findourselves, there’s always an opportunity to start something new. A new approach. A new tradition. A new practice. Join us as we consider how the scriptures can be an unexpected guide on this journey.
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For better or worse, we’re more or less a collection of the things we do repeatedly. For some of us, this is something we approach strategically, crafting our schedules to produce the best version of ourselves. For others, our patterns and tendencies leave us feeling like they control us. In talking about these realities, David Brooks says that somewhere between our ‘resume virtues’ and our ‘eulogy virtues’—between our pursuit of wealth,significance, success and our desire forkindness, bravery, integrity—there is a need for an intentionally formed inner life. Which means that, wherever we findourselves, there’s always an opportunity to start something new. A new approach. A new tradition. A new practice. Join us as we consider how the scriptures can be an unexpected guide on this journey.
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For better or worse, we’re more or less a collection of the things we do repeatedly. For some of us, this is something we approach strategically, crafting our schedules to produce the best version of ourselves. For others, our patterns and tendencies leave us feeling like they control us. In talking about these realities, David Brooks says that somewhere between our ‘resume virtues’ and our ‘eulogy virtues’—between our pursuit of wealth,significance, success and our desire forkindness, bravery, integrity—there is a need for an intentionally formed inner life. Which means that, wherever we findourselves, there’s always an opportunity to start something new. A new approach. A new tradition. A new practice. Join us as we consider how the scriptures can be an unexpected guide on this journey.
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The great land owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away... —John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath We live with wealth. And not just money. We have time and resources and talents and opportunities that surround us here in Canada. And so the question is not so much whether wealth is good or bad but instead how we will steward such wealth— comparatively slight as it may seem at times—into channels that serve the Kingdom of God on earth. Walter Brueggemann writes, “a study of the various biblical texts on money and possessions makes clear that the neighbourly common good is the only viable sustainable context for individual well-being.” Our challenge then is to explore what it means to enjoy our blessings, to plan wisely for our individual needs, all while contributing to the common good around us. May we be wealthy well.
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The great land owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away... —John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath We live with wealth. And not just money. We have time and resources and talents and opportunities that surround us here in Canada. And so the question is not so much whether wealth is good or bad but instead how we will steward such wealth— comparatively slight as it may seem at times—into channels that serve the Kingdom of God on earth. Walter Brueggemann writes, “a study of the various biblical texts on money and possessions makes clear that the neighbourly common good is the only viable sustainable context for individual well-being.” Our challenge then is to explore what it means to enjoy our blessings, to plan wisely for our individual needs, all while contributing to the common good around us. May we be wealthy well.
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The great land owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away... —John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath We live with wealth. And not just money. We have time and resources and talents and opportunities that surround us here in Canada. And so the question is not so much whether wealth is good or bad but instead how we will steward such wealth— comparatively slight as it may seem at times—into channels that serve the Kingdom of God on earth. Walter Brueggemann writes, “a study of the various biblical texts on money and possessions makes clear that the neighbourly common good is the only viable sustainable context for individual well-being.” Our challenge then is to explore what it means to enjoy our blessings, to plan wisely for our individual needs, all while contributing to the common good around us. May we be wealthy well.
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Each year at this time we talk about our common vision. Each year we take time to look a little ahead of ourselves, project where our path might lead us, make adjustments if necessary, and reorient ourselves to our true north. This is the chance to share what is on our minds and hearts, what it is we can do and be for our friends and families, for our communities and workplaces, for Calgary and our world. This is a day to find alignment as a community around some of our most exciting possibilities. And there is a lot on the horizon.
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Luke 15 If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let them enjoy this beautiful and radiant day. If anyone is a grateful servant, let them, rejoicing, enter into the joy of the Lord. If anyone has wearied themselves in fasting, let them now receive recompense. If anyone has laboured from the first hour, let them today receive their just reward. If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let them feast. If anyone has arrived at the sixth, let them have no misgivings, for they shall suffer no loss. If anyone has delayed until the ninth, let them draw near without hesitation. If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour let them not fear on account of tardiness. For the Master is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one He gives, and to the other He is gracious. For Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the tomb! –St. John Chrysostom (d. 407CE)
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Luke 18 We are approaching Easter, the centre, the hinge-point of the Christian faith. The moment we stop and watch, realizing that what we witness is on our behalf, for our life and hope and future.
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Our lives are a collection of stories. The ones we find ourselves in. The ones we watch and read and listen to. The ones we invent and create. And what’s curious is how Jesus’ life and ministry were shaped by these same contours. His lived experience...the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions he learned...and, of course, the stories he told. In our walk through Lent this year, we turn our attention to a particular set of tales Jesus gave his followers. Parables of lost sheep, midnight visitors, and trees that don’t grow fruit. In the end, we come back to the words of Jesus each year to understand the Divine story and its connection to the meaning of our own. And we hope too that, whether we ‘get’ the parables or not, we begin to see them as “first and foremost God’s way of getting to us.” –Robert Farrar Capon
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Our lives are a collection of stories. The ones we find ourselves in. The ones we watch and read and listen to. The ones we invent and create. And what’s curious is how Jesus’ life and ministry were shaped by these same contours. His lived experience...the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions he learned...and, of course, the stories he told. In our walk through Lent this year, we turn our attention to a particular set of tales Jesus gave his followers. Parables of lost sheep, midnight visitors, and trees that don’t grow fruit. In the end, we come back to the words of Jesus each year to understand the Divine story and its connection to the meaning of our own. And we hope too that, whether we ‘get’ the parables or not, we begin to see them as “first and foremost God’s way of getting to us.” –Robert Farrar Capon
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Our lives are a collection of stories. The ones we find ourselves in. The ones we watch and read and listen to. The ones we invent and create. And what’s curious is how Jesus’ life and ministry were shaped by these same contours. His lived experience...the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions he learned...and, of course, the stories he told. In our walk through Lent this year, we turn our attention to a particular set of tales Jesus gave his followers. Parables of lost sheep, midnight visitors, and trees that don’t grow fruit. In the end, we come back to the words of Jesus each year to understand the Divine story and its connection to the meaning of our own. And we hope too that, whether we ‘get’ the parables or not, we begin to see them as “first and foremost God’s way of getting to us.” –Robert Farrar Capon
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Our lives are a collection of stories. The ones we find ourselves in. The ones we watch and read and listen to. The ones we invent and create. And what’s curious is how Jesus’ life and ministry were shaped by these same contours. His lived experience...the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions he learned...and, of course, the stories he told. In our walk through Lent this year, we turn our attention to a particular set of tales Jesus gave his followers. Parables of lost sheep, midnight visitors, and trees that don’t grow fruit. In the end, we come back to the words of Jesus each year to understand the Divine story and its connection to the meaning of our own. And we hope too that, whether we ‘get’ the parables or not, we begin to see them as “first and foremost God’s way of getting to us.” –Robert Farrar Capon
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Luke 15 Our lives are a collection of stories. The ones we find ourselves in. The ones we watch and read and listen to. The ones we invent and create. And what’s curious is how Jesus’ life and ministry were shaped by these same contours. His lived experience...the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions he learned...and, of course, the stories he told. In our walk through Lent this year, we turn our attention to a particular set of tales Jesus gave his followers. Parables of lost sheep, midnight visitors, and trees that don’t grow fruit. In the end, we come back to the words of Jesus each year to understand the Divine story and its connection to the meaning of our own. And we hope too that, whether we ‘get’ the parables or not, we begin to see them as “first and foremost God’s way of getting to us.” –Robert Farrar Capon
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Chapter 12 We return this year for a penultimate swing through Paul’s letter to the Romans. We’ve been working our way, chapter-by-chapter, through this monumental letter. And this year, we pick up where we left off last spring starting in chapter 9. Romans is full of heavy theology, but underneath it all is the tender heart of a disciple who wants to communicate the story of Jesus. What is the “good news” of Jesus Christ? Why do people need to hear it? How can we experience it? What will it mean for our future? And what does Jesus have to do with our everyday lives? It’s these fundamental questions that form Paul’s agenda in Romans—an agenda dictated by a combination of audiences, circumstances and purposes but always pointing us back to Jesus.
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Chapter 11 We return this year for a penultimate swing through Paul’s letter to the Romans. We’ve been working our way, chapter-by-chapter, through this monumental letter. And this year, we pick up where we left off last spring starting in chapter 9. Romans is full of heavy theology, but underneath it all is the tender heart of a disciple who wants to communicate the story of Jesus. What is the “good news” of Jesus Christ? Why do people need to hear it? How can we experience it? What will it mean for our future? And what does Jesus have to do with our everyday lives? It’s these fundamental questions that form Paul’s agenda in Romans—an agenda dictated by a combination of audiences, circumstances and purposes but always pointing us back to Jesus.
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Chapter 10 We return this year for a penultimate swing through Paul’s letter to the Romans. We’ve been working our way, chapter-by-chapter, through this monumental letter. And this year, we pick up where we left off last spring starting in chapter 9. Romans is full of heavy theology, but underneath it all is the tender heart of a disciple who wants to communicate the story of Jesus. What is the “good news” of Jesus Christ? Why do people need to hear it? How can we experience it? What will it mean for our future? And what does Jesus have to do with our everyday lives? It’s these fundamental questions that form Paul’s agenda in Romans—an agenda dictated by a combination of audiences, circumstances and purposes but always pointing us back to Jesus.
★ Support this podcast ★
We return this year for a penultimate swing through Paul’s letter to the Romans. We’ve been working our way, chapter-by-chapter, through this monumental letter. And this year, we pick up where we left off last spring starting in chapter 9. Romans is full of heavy theology, but underneath it all is the tender heart of a disciple who wants to communicate the story of Jesus. What is the “good news” of Jesus Christ? Why do people need to hear it? How can we experience it? What will it mean for our future? And what does Jesus have to do with our everyday lives? It’s these fundamental questions that form Paul’s agenda in Romans—an agenda dictated by a combination of audiences, circumstances and purposes but always pointing us back to Jesus.
★ Support this podcast ★
We return this year for a penultimate swing through Paul’s letter to the Romans. We’ve been working our way, chapter-by-chapter, through this monumental letter. And this year, we pick up where we left off last spring starting in chapter 9. Romans is full of heavy theology, but underneath it all is the tender heart of a disciple who wants to communicate the story of Jesus. What is the “good news” of Jesus Christ? Why do people need to hear it? How can we experience it? What will it mean for our future? And what does Jesus have to do with our everyday lives? It’s these fundamental questions that form Paul’s agenda in Romans—an agenda dictated by a combination of audiences, circumstances and purposes but always pointing us back to Jesus.
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Best friends. Old friends. New friends. Kind friends. Weird friends. Hilarious friends. Sad friends. Forgotten friends. Facebook friends. Forever friends. Let’s really think about our friendships across a lifetime. Who was your best friend growing up? How did your friendships shape you in your twenties and thirties? What do you hope your friendships will look like in your forties, fifties, and beyond? The terrain of friendship is well- travelled by some, and less familiar to others. There are days when you just know you wouldn’t make it without your friends. But other days you find the rules of friendship shift right under your feet. We’re asking what the Creator’s intention is for friendship. How did Jesus extend radical welcome and still hold his best friends to a high standard of love and loyalty? Why do we need friends to find the Spirit at work in our lives? Bring all your experiences to the conversation on friendship and be reminded why this work of love matters so much in the end.
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Best friends. Old friends. New friends. Kind friends. Weird friends. Hilarious friends. Sad friends. Forgotten friends. Facebook friends. Forever friends. Let’s really think about our friendships across a lifetime. Who was your best friend growing up? How did your friendships shape you in your twenties and thirties? What do you hope your friendships will look like in your forties, fifties, and beyond? The terrain of friendship is well- travelled by some, and less familiar to others. There are days when you just know you wouldn’t make it without your friends. But other days you find the rules of friendship shift right under your feet. We’re asking what the Creator’s intention is for friendship. How did Jesus extend radical welcome and still hold his best friends to a high standard of love and loyalty? Why do we need friends to find the Spirit at work in our lives? Bring all your experiences to the conversation on friendship and be reminded why this work of love matters so much in the end.
★ Support this podcast ★
Best friends. Old friends. New friends. Kind friends. Weird friends. Hilarious friends. Sad friends. Forgotten friends. Facebook friends. Forever friends. Let’s really think about our friendships across a lifetime. Who was your best friend growing up? How did your friendships shape you in your twenties and thirties? What do you hope your friendships will look like in your forties, fifties, and beyond? The terrain of friendship is well- travelled by some, and less familiar to others. There are days when you just know you wouldn’t make it without your friends. But other days you find the rules of friendship shift right under your feet. We’re asking what the Creator’s intention is for friendship. How did Jesus extend radical welcome and still hold his best friends to a high standard of love and loyalty? Why do we need friends to find the Spirit at work in our lives? Bring all your experiences to the conversation on friendship and be reminded why this work of love matters so much in the end.
★ Support this podcast ★
Christmas is packed with personal traditions. Every year we hang up the same tree decorations. Every year we gather with our loved ones to celebrate the same big holiday. Every year we try to come up with a creative gift for someone special and basically get the same gift we did the year before. So the question is, can the story of Jesus in a manger really surprise us one more time around? Can Christmas hold more meaning than all the ornaments, intricate family meals, and presents wrapped under the tree? Advent is a time to return to the story of Jesus’ coming. And in returning, we find that we aren’t the same person we were even a year ago. The Divine’s coming to us in human flesh is charged with the unexpected. There’s the unexpected way an old story becomes new. There’s an unexpected baby who holds the mystery of the universe. There are unexpected angels sent to declare that heaven has come to earth and nothing is the same anymore.
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Christmas is packed with personal traditions. Every year we hang up the same tree decorations. Every year we gather with our loved ones to celebrate the same big holiday. Every year we try to come up with a creative gift for someone special and basically get the same gift we did the year before. So the question is, can the story of Jesus in a manger really surprise us one more time around? Can Christmas hold more meaning than all the ornaments, intricate family meals, and presents wrapped under the tree? Advent is a time to return to the story of Jesus’ coming. And in returning, we find that we aren’t the same person we were even a year ago. The Divine’s coming to us in human flesh is charged with the unexpected. There’s the unexpected way an old story becomes new. There’s an unexpected baby who holds the mystery of the universe. There are unexpected angels sent to declare that heaven has come to earth and nothing is the same anymore.
★ Support this podcast ★
Christmas is packed with personal traditions. Every year we hang up the same tree decorations. Every year we gather with our loved ones to celebrate the same big holiday. Every year we try to come up with a creative gift for someone special and basically get the same gift we did the year before. So the question is, can the story of Jesus in a manger really surprise us one more time around? Can Christmas hold more meaning than all the ornaments, intricate family meals, and presents wrapped under the tree? Advent is a time to return to the story of Jesus’ coming. And in returning, we find that we aren’t the same person we were even a year ago. The Divine’s coming to us in human flesh is charged with the unexpected. There’s the unexpected way an old story becomes new. There’s an unexpected baby who holds the mystery of the universe. There are unexpected angels sent to declare that heaven has come to earth and nothing is the same anymore.
★ Support this podcast ★
Christmas is packed with personal traditions. Every year we hang up the same tree decorations. Every year we gather with our loved ones to celebrate the same big holiday. Every year we try to come up with a creative gift for someone special and basically get the same gift we did the year before. So the question is, can the story of Jesus in a manger really surprise us one more time around? Can Christmas hold more meaning than all the ornaments, intricate family meals, and presents wrapped under the tree? Advent is a time to return to the story of Jesus’ coming. And in returning, we find that we aren’t the same person we were even a year ago. The Divine’s coming to us in human flesh is charged with the unexpected. There’s the unexpected way an old story becomes new. There’s an unexpected baby who holds the mystery of the universe. There are unexpected angels sent to declare that heaven has come to earth and nothing is the same anymore.
★ Support this podcast ★
Christmas is packed with personal traditions. Every year we hang up the same tree decorations. Every year we gather with our loved ones to celebrate the same big holiday. Every year we try to come up with a creative gift for someone special and basically get the same gift we did the year before. So the question is, can the story of Jesus in a manger really surprise us one more time around? Can Christmas hold more meaning than all the ornaments, intricate family meals, and presents wrapped under the tree? Advent is a time to return to the story of Jesus’ coming. And in returning, we find that we aren’t the same person we were even a year ago. The Divine’s coming to us in human flesh is charged with the unexpected. There’s the unexpected way an old story becomes new. There’s an unexpected baby who holds the mystery of the universe. There are unexpected angels sent to declare that heaven has come to earth and nothing is the same anymore.
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The journey of Joseph’s complicated relationship with his brothers will be our focus for this fall season. This is a common and extraordinary tale: sibling rivalries, dreams of destiny, acts of betrayal, realizations of loss, sudden reversals, acts of kindness, restored peace. And in this whole mix, there is God. In fact, like any really good story, there is more going on here than at first meets the eye. Joseph was a person in process, just as we continue to be. We see him grow up from a despised younger brother to a respected leader, from one presumed dead to the centre of life and action. And if we pay close enough attention, we might see what perceptive readers have always noticed: that Joseph’s story carries an uncanny resemblance to the story of Jesus himself.
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The journey of Joseph’s complicated relationship with his brothers will be our focus for this fall season. This is a common and extraordinary tale: sibling rivalries, dreams of destiny, acts of betrayal, realizations of loss, sudden reversals, acts of kindness, restored peace. And in this whole mix, there is God. In fact, like any really good story, there is more going on here than at first meets the eye. Joseph was a person in process, just as we continue to be. We see him grow up from a despised younger brother to a respected leader, from one presumed dead to the centre of life and action. And if we pay close enough attention, we might see what perceptive readers have always noticed: that Joseph’s story carries an uncanny resemblance to the story of Jesus himself.
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The journey of Joseph’s complicated relationship with his brothers will be our focus for this fall season. This is a common and extraordinary tale: sibling rivalries, dreams of destiny, acts of betrayal, realizations of loss, sudden reversals, acts of kindness, restored peace. And in this whole mix, there is God. In fact, like any really good story, there is more going on here than at first meets the eye. Joseph was a person in process, just as we continue to be. We see him grow up from a despised younger brother to a respected leader, from one presumed dead to the centre of life and action. And if we pay close enough attention, we might see what perceptive readers have always noticed: that Joseph’s story carries an uncanny resemblance to the story of Jesus himself.
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The journey of Joseph’s complicated relationship with his brothers will be our focus for this fall season. This is a common and extraordinary tale: sibling rivalries, dreams of destiny, acts of betrayal, realizations of loss, sudden reversals, acts of kindness, restored peace. And in this whole mix, there is God. In fact, like any really good story, there is more going on here than at first meets the eye. Joseph was a person in process, just as we continue to be. We see him grow up from a despised younger brother to a respected leader, from one presumed dead to the centre of life and action. And if we pay close enough attention, we might see what perceptive readers have always noticed: that Joseph’s story carries an uncanny resemblance to the story of Jesus himself.
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The journey of Joseph’s complicated relationship with his brothers will be our focus for this fall season. This is a common and extraordinary tale: sibling rivalries, dreams of destiny, acts of betrayal, realizations of loss, sudden reversals, acts of kindness, restored peace. And in this whole mix, there is God. In fact, like any really good story, there is more going on here than at first meets the eye. Joseph was a person in process, just as we continue to be. We see him grow up from a despised younger brother to a respected leader, from one presumed dead to the centre of life and action. And if we pay close enough attention, we might see what perceptive readers have always noticed: that Joseph’s story carries an uncanny resemblance to the story of Jesus himself.
★ Support this podcast ★
The journey of Joseph’s complicated relationship with his brothers will be our focus for this fall season. This is a common and extraordinary tale: sibling rivalries, dreams of destiny, acts of betrayal, realizations of loss, sudden reversals, acts of kindness, restored peace. And in this whole mix, there is God. In fact, like any really good story, there is more going on here than at first meets the eye. Joseph was a person in process, just as we continue to be. We see him grow up from a despised younger brother to a respected leader, from one presumed dead to the centre of life and action. And if we pay close enough attention, we might see what perceptive readers have always noticed: that Joseph’s story carries an uncanny resemblance to the story of Jesus himself.
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We can be honest. Prayer is hard sometimes. And yet, prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under- utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, sometimes the more significant the struggle becomes. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the profound practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series, we want to imagine the Lord’s Prayer as a series questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed.
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We can be honest. Prayer is hard sometimes. And yet, prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under- utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, sometimes the more significant the struggle becomes. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the profound practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series, we want to imagine the Lord’s Prayer as a series questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed.
★ Support this podcast ★
We can be honest. Prayer is hard sometimes. And yet, prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under- utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, sometimes the more significant the struggle becomes. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the profound practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series, we want to imagine the Lord’s Prayer as a series questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed.
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September always feels like a new start. School is back in session, the pause of summer vacation has come to an end, and there is a fresh focus on moving forward with renewed vigour. It’s no different for us at Commons. So every year we like to start September with a reflection on the central concepts that guide our community. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Welcome the start of our fifth year as Commons Church and our first fall launch in Inglewood!
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