(June 19, 2022) “Summer in the Psalms: Psalm 51-Receiving Grace”

from Psalm 51

Walter Bruggemann says of the Psalms: “On the one hand, Israel’s faithful speech addressed to God is the substance of the Psalms.  The Psalms do this so fully and so well because they articulate the entire gamut of Israel’s speech to God, from profound praise to the utterance of unspeakable anger and doubt.  On the other hand, as Martin Luther understood so passionately, the Psalms are not only addressed to God…They are the voice of the Gospel, God’s good word addressed to God’s faithful people.”

Where do you need to be given permission to be honest with God? With what you are feeling. With your frustration. With sadness, or disappointment, or fear, or anger. With great joy and thanksgiving. This summer journey with us as the reality of what it means to be human collides with the goodness and unending faithfulness of God.

w/ Ben Fitzgerald

(March 28, 2021-Palm Sunday) “Redeeming Our Mess: Humility”

from Matthew 21:1-11

The season of Lent is a time of reflection. It is an opportunity to examine our lives before God and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal to us those things that are hindering our relationship with God and with those around us…and it is an opportunity to invite God to go to work in our lives…the hope which makes all of this possible is the Cross of Jesus toward which we are journeying. 

But what if Lent wasn’t just about seeking forgiveness for and repentance from our sin…what if God was able to take our mess and redeem it? What if it’s not just about doing away with something, but about God taking our lives and turning them into something beautiful for His Glory?

On this Palm Sunday, we are brought face to face with the very clear statement Jesus makes about the king of King He came to be. For the people of Jerusalem…for many of us…the kind of King Jesus came to be is not the kind of King we WANT Him to be, but if we are willing to humble ourselves before Him, we find that Jesus is exactly the kind of King we NEED Him to be.

w/ Vern Collins

(November 15, 2020) “Christ’s Kingdom: One Small Step in Humility”

from John 13:1-17

As we approach the season of Advent, we approach a season in which (among other things), we consider the significance of the Kingdom that was inaugurated in His birth and through His ministry…but what does it mean to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom? What should mark our lives?

In His final moments with His disciples before His Passion, Jesus set an example of what posture in His Kingdom should look like. It is a posture of humility and self-giving love that is bent toward forgiveness and reconciliation.

Imagine how this could change not only your life but the lives of those around you.

w/ Vern Collins

“Broken: How Sin Affects Our Relationships” (March 17, 2019)

from Matthew 5:21-26

We are meant to be a reflection of God for the world around us. One of the things that is true about God is the relationship in which God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, why are relationships one of the most difficult places for us to reflect Who God is? What if we began to allow God to bring healing to the brokenness that exists in our relationships with those around us?

w/ Vern Collins

“Healing Connections: Humility” (October 7, 2018)

from Philippians 2:1-8

Not only were we created for relationship with God, but we were actually created for relationship with one another as well.  We know that Jesus makes possible through His death and resurrection, relationship with God.  But Jesus also makes life-giving relationship with one another possible through that same death and resurrection.

The problem is, something that is meant to be such a gift and such a reflection of Who God is in the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…relationship with one another…is the cause of some of our greatest frustration and hurt in this world.

So how do we love one another well.  How do we operate in ways that are healthy and foster relationships that reflect Who Jesus is to the world around us?

We begin with humility.

w/ Vern Collins

“Life Together: Ministry” (May 6, 2018)

from James 1:19-27

One of the key pieces of the shape of the Christian life is that of ministry.  That is, giving all of who we are to the work of Christ in this world.

What if ministry isn’t so much about the things we DO, but how we give ourselves in relationship with others?  That changes not only our approach, but might just call of a reordering of our priorities.

w/ Vern Collins

“Falling Into Goodness: Follow Jesus” (March 25, 2018-Palm Sunday)

from Matthew 21:1-11

What is the statement you are making with your life?

Is it one of security, or of uneasiness?  Is it a statement of confidence, or are you seeking identity in people and possessions?

Everything we do or say makes a deeper statement about who we are and what we believe…everything we do even makes a statement about Who we believe Jesus to be.

What if this Palm Sunday, you didn’t merely watch Jesus “pass by” on the road into Jerusalem amid shouts of “Hosanna!” but you chose to turn and follow Him?

w/ Vern Collins

“Falling Into Goodness: Choose the Humble Path” (March 11, 2018)

from Matthew 5:1-3

As we continue our series through the season of Lent, we are invited to consider one of Jesus’ keys to the kingdom we have been talking about in recent weeks…

Humility.

What if, instead of the way we tend to think of humility, as what we stand to lose by choosing the humble path, we dare to consider that humility is instead about what we might gain?

w/ Vern Collins

“Disordered Love: Pride” (April 9, 2017)

from Matthew 21:1-11

Pride affects not only our relationships with others, but our relationship with God.  It divides and pits us against the One Who came to meet us at that very point of our weakness…at the point of our need to be at the center…that our lives and our love might become rightly ordered.

w/ Vern Collins

“You Asked For It: How Do I Navigate Disagreement?” (August 21, 2016)

from Philippians 2:1-16

The advent of social media makes our ability to share our opinion as easy as the click of a button…and at a time in our history such as this, there is plenty to have an opinion about.  Unless you live this live in complete isolation it is likely that sometime in the past week…perhaps even at some point today, you have come across an opinion that you disagree with.

Sure, in the arena of internet we can unfriend, ignore, or keep scrolling beyond those comments and opinions with which we disagree…but what happens when the person you disagree with is sitting next to you in worship, or across from you in your community group…what do we do with the argument against the church that says, “I don’t want to be a part of a group who can’t even get along with each other?”

What if this life were less about winning an argument or proving a point…what if it were less about having the last word, and more about living as if Jesus has already had the final say?

w/ Vern Collins

“Rhythms: Prayer” (February 28, 2016)

from Matthew 6:5-15

While prayer is one of the highest and holiest works to which we can strive, it is at the same time so simple a child can do it.

And yet it can be one of the most frustrating aspects of our journey with Christ.  We know it is something we should do, we know it is vital to our growth, our connection with God and with this world…but why is it so frustrating?  Why does it seem so difficult?

Jesus invites us, right where we are, into a deeper connection with the Lord…His concern is less with how we pray and more about what God is able to do in our hearts when we do.

w/ Vern Collins

“Overwhelmed: Relationships” (October 4, 2015)

Ephesians 2:11-22

In the Creation story in Genesis we see that were not only born out of the relationship of Who God is in Three Persons, but we were created with relationship in mind.  Add to that science’s understanding that physically and emotionally we have to have relationship (because without it both the mental and physical state of our bodies suffer), and we know we need relationship.

If this is the case, then why are relationships often one of the biggest burdens and largest source of stress in our lives?  Because we are broken people trying to be connected to broken people.

What if you approached relationship differently based on the relationship God has mended with you through Jesus Christ?

w/ Vern Collins