Author Sky Jethani writes, “The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is not a to-do list; it is a good news list. Jesus is describing who has the most to gain by the arrival of His Kingdom. He is not prescribing what you must do to enter it.” W...

Promises are powerful but only when they are kept. On that first Easter Sunday Jesus' tomb was empty, proving that his promise to deal with evil once and for all was not an empty promise. Join us on Easter Sunday as we celebrate the victory of ...

Our Lenten journey has been an in medias res, or Latin for in the middle of things. We started in the middle of the story with the Passover and ended last week with Jesus’ crucifixion. And today we are going back to the beginn...

Our reading this week is Luke’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion. You may be thinking, “But wait, it isn’t Good Friday yet!” This is true. But the cross of Christ is central to the life of the Christian and is at the heart of our preparation for E...

We live in a complicated world; that may be an understatement. Following Jesus in this world is getting more complicated as time marches on. We have had many opportunities this Lenten season to be honest about how as we participate with the evi...

With one voice the religious leaders spoke evil against the Son of God. It is easy to read the accounts recorded in Luke 22 and 23 and think I would never respond to Jesus like those people did! That is a dangerous place to find oneself in. As ...

Lent is a season for us to be honest about our participation in the evil that has infected this world like cancer. As we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter morning, we must pause and face the reality that our good-willed intentions...

We begin the Lenten season by joining Jesus in the upper room where Jesus and his disciples celebrate the Passover meal together. Jesus begins to prepare his disciples with a warning; Things are about to get difficult. Evil is coming for you. A...

We live in a culture that is obsessed with moving up and to the right. As the season of Lent begins we pause to remember that from the dust we have come and to the dust we shall return. There is no escaping death. The smearing of ashes on our f...

Healing, forgiveness, and restoration are all blessings from God. As James wraps up his letter to the church he shows us how God blesses his church with these gifts through other people, showing us that when it is all said and done we need each...

The unknown future, wealth, and suffering. What do these all have in common? Join us this week to find out as we get close to the end of James’ letter to the church. This week’s passage will help broaden our imagination on how to best prepare o...

We all have misplaced desires. This week we will explore what it looks like to say no between our strongest worldly desires and submit ourselves to our deepest God-given desires.James 4:1-10 (ESV)What caus...

"James speaks about wisdom often in this letter. This week James will help us understand where true wisdom comes from and what the kind of fruit wisdom bears in the life of a Christian.” James 3:13-17 (ESV)Who is wise ...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” We often underestimate the weight our words carry in our digitalized and depersonalized culture. James reminds us that with our words comes great harm or great bles...

James writes, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” His words may make you a bit nervous since you have heard that we are saved by grace. Join us this week as we explore a...

We are often drawn to people who look successful and powerful, even in the church. But this morning James will remind us that God’s kingdom does not belong to the elite of this world; God has chosen the poor to be heirs to his kingdom. Join us ...

“Do you hear me?!” Maybe you feel like that is what God is saying to you most of the time. Maybe to really listen to God we need to make sure we are looking in the right place. Join us this week as we continue to walk through James as we learn ...

James doesn’t begin his letter with a greeting or prayer. He gets right to the point by addressing the one thing all humans will face- adversity. This week we will explore how the various trials that you will endure, when experienced t...

In the church the Feast of the Holy Innocents is commemorated after Christmas to reflect on the first martyrs because of Christ the children in Bethlehem who lost their lives as Herod, in fear, tried to snuff out the light of Christ to protect ...

Zechariah, regaining his speech, reflects on how God has been faithful and looks forward to his child preparing people for Christ. With only a few days remaining in Advent the light of Christ burns brighter. We reflect and remember how God has ...

The center of Advent is Emmanuel, God with us. Christ came to our messy earth, our busyness, our imperfection. We embody advent when we invite ourselves into one another’s lives and care and love others with Christ at the center. Christ came to...

Faith, in a world full of shadows, is a practice of letting go and choosing to believe. Faith reminds us that we need a Savior and that because of him we’re worthy of being saved. Advent is an act of faith. Trusting that Jesus comes and he deli...

Advent is brief. Christmas goes by even faster. There is a saying “the days are long but the years are short”. Sometimes in the middle of all the things life throws our way we lose sight of how quickly things come and how quickly God moves. Oh ...

The world is not as it should be. Not yet. We wait in the shadows for God’s full redemption and perfect light that we are promised. As we wait expectantly for Christmas we also wait for an even greater hope for the earth. Preparing for Christma...

Everything is Holy because Christ is king. He is in everything and he is over everything. He is incarnate and present in all and through all. Jeremiah 23:1-6 (ESV)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep o...

2 Corinthians 9:5-8 (ESV)So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.The point is th...

Sacred opportunities orchestrated by God for us to be faithful. In Christ, every moment is holy.The life of a disciple is fundamentally hearing the call of Christ and following Him.. Christ is everything and in everything. Together we le...

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Matthew 5:1-4This Sunday, we celebrate All Saints' Day and wrestle with how to grieve and yet remain hopeful in the resurrection to come. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4Blessed be the God and Fathe...

Reformation is a celebration of what Christ accomplished for us but it is also an invitation to be faithful and live fully the life that Christ gives.  Shame and guilt leads us into holy spaces and places with Christ. John 8:3...

Competition is meant to be fun. It can be motivating and encouraging. The ways we compete in sports, academics, music etc. is holy. It speaks to the parts of our soul that desire maybe a bit of what has been lost to sin. We love to see people m...