“The Power of the Spirit to…” (Pentecost Sunday June 9, 2019)

from Acts 2

We tend to land in one of two places when it comes to the Holy Spirit…either you crave the “signs and wonders,” above other expressions of the move of God, or the idea of a Holy Spirit that is present and active just plain makes you nervous.

Acts 2 offers us, perhaps a new understanding of just what the role and work of the Spirit of God is in this world, and how we might be a part of that work by creating space for the Holy Spirit to move.

w/ Vern Collins

“Life Together: Confession and Communion” (May 13, 2018)

from Psalm 51:1-17

Paul writes in his letter to the church in Galatia that, “it is for freedom that you have been set free,” and challenges the believers there to no longer be yoked by slavery…and yet, many of us walk around bound by the weight of our failures and our sin.

We bear it to the point that we become experts at hiding it…

But what if freedom is found, not in hiding it…but by being willing to be honest about those times when we miss the mark?

What if in choosing freedom, we are also choosing to look more like the church Jesus imagined?

w/ Vern Collins

“Set Free: Love” (September 17, 2017)

from Galatians 5:1, 13-25

This week begins an 8 week series looking at the Fruit of the Spirit Paul points to in his letter to the church in Galatia.

Living in the freedom that Christ offers is meant to look like something…the question is, are you living free or are you bound by things that have taken control in your life.  To live freely means that God is able to bring things from you that are produced by the Life that is in you…imagine how different things could be!

w/ Vern Collins

“Life Giving Rhythms” (April 23, 2017)

from Daniel 6:10

What if rather than working in order to be able to rest, you began resting in order to work?  For many of us that would be a seismic shift in our way of life…and yet, not only is it not outside the realm of possibility, it is actually the rhythm you were CREATED for.

A rhythm in relationship with Jesus that feeds your soul, changes your heart for others, and transforms your perspective on those things God has placed before you to do.

From Daniel’s life, guest preacher, Reverend Ken Shigematsu invites us into a rhythm of relationship with Jesus that doesn’t feel burdensome, rather it actually lifts us and supports us in the things we are navigating day in and day out in this life.

w/ Reverend Ken Shigematsu

“Pray Like Jesus: Forgive” (January 22, 2017)

from Matthew 6:12

We live in a world that is full of hurt, and many of us carry that hurt around inside us.  Whether we hurt over the things we have done that we feel guilt over, or whether we have been hurt by others…our lives are marked with pain of some sort.  The question is, what do we do with that hurt?  Do we simply learn to deal with it, or are we willing to release it?  To seek forgiveness, to be forgiven?  What about forgiving others?

Are we willing to name our pain, and trust that God can release us from it?

Are we willing to release others from the pain they have caused us?

Too often not…but it is not impossible.  Perhaps all it takes is a new understanding of forgiveness, what happens when we are forgiven, and what can happen when we forgive.

w/ Vern Collins

“Transitions: Bread for the Journey” (August 2, 2015)

from John 6:24-35

The journey through this life is full of transitions…transition between jobs, transition in relationship, transition in faith, transition in family, transition in seasons of life…we’ve talked about what it means to navigate those transitions, but the questions remains: what anchors you in those transitions?  Do you have what you need for the journey?
In our passage this morning from John’s Gospel, we find Jesus promising a bread that will last…what is this meal He is offering?  Is it still available today?  If so, where do we find it, and how could it be so lasting?
Come to the Table, and see…
w/ Vern Collins

“Transitions: Rooted and Sent” (July 26, 2015)

from Ephesians 3:14-21

For many the idea of committing one’s life to Christ is committing to a life full of rule-following and void of freedom.  In Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus, he prays that they would be rooted and established…but he is not praying that they would be rooted and established in RULES, rather in LOVE.
Perhaps it is not about a loss of freedom that Paul is after for followers of Christ, but that they may know what freedom truly is.  A freedom from fitting the mold the world tries to force you in to, so that you are open to inviting the world into a life grounded in the One Thing that doesn’t change.  God’s love for humanity and His desire that they may know the fullness of life only found in Him.
w/ Vern Collins