We begin a new year within the church waiting, not for an infant but rather we are waiting for Christ’s return.
Read More
Away from home, separated from family and friends, the loss of what was known - the song practically writes itself.
Read More
Tell the oppressed to be grateful for their oppressor or the abused to be grateful for the abuser and let me know how that works out.
Read More
Why don't we read from the prophet Joel more often? Is there anything the Spirit can't do? Is grace unacceptable?
Read More
This book is confusing. I have been reading it - off and on - since I received my third-grade bible with bonded leather with red letters. I have spent countless hours studying in the basement of a seminary, with friends and strangers, and around dining room tables and I can tell you this - I have not figured it out.
Read More
Words like Grace make little sense outside of communities unified in the Lordship of Christ.
Read More
Whatever may come the way of the church, we know that the faithfulness we exhibit is grounded in the faithfulness of Christ. Without relying on the faithfulness of Christ, to the point of death, the church then and today has little to stand on.
Read More
The DIY faith Paul is writing to correct calls us away from quick-fix solutions, and towards grace and mercy, telling us the work of Christ was and continues to be insufficient. Paul was calling the ancient church away from revolutionized human teachings - three-quick and easy steps and back to a life of extravagance.
Read More
Foolishness, according to Jesus, is not merely a flippant attitude but instead is an obsession/need for more - greed.
Read More
In Christ, we have humanity’s first encounter with the fullness of G-d, fullness of G-d, becoming a physical reality in our world. Jesus is the capital “W” Word of G-d taking on flesh. Every Old Testament prophesy pointed towards Jesus as the fulfillment of those lowercase “w” words. Jesus is the fullness of what G-d has to say to us, and Jesus is the fullness of G-d made visible.
Read More
We cannot fully understand or recognize the extravagant mercy of the Good Samaritan until we ourselves have been pulled from the ditch by Christ.
Read More
To make Paul’s words through this entire letter plain - Simply put… it is foolish to think we can fool G-d with self-righteous works of the Law to achieve salvation. Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection are sufficient for all people.
Read More
As the confirmands receive the sign of the cross on their foreheads and the baptismal waters flow off of your head Milana, we as a community will pray that the Holy Spirit take up residence inside you, inside the confirmands, moving, prodding, and leading you all to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Read More
If the hand tells the food it is not needed and can be cutoff, the body is not unified.
Read More
The premise of Naked & Afraid is to find out whether or not, when someone is in their most vulnerable state, can they survive? With the bare minimum, can a team of people thrive? It is great reality television but what draws many to the show, I suspect, is that many of us expect our day-to-day lives to be like this. We feel exposed before the world and thriving is off the table because we are just trying to survive.
Read More
We ask questions with predetermined answers in our minds and when the answer from the responding party does not fit our expectations or needs, we keep asking. We keep asking because we need empirical truths, we think to produce faith.
Read More
Faith that comes from the peace of Christ is not something we do or attain on our own. We see throughout Christ’s ministry, death, and now in the aftermath of the resurrection - in the light of the empty tomb - faithfulness in places where our own faithfulness falls short. Regardless of our demands for signs to subside our doubts the faithfulness of Christ provides us with the peace we need.
Read More
On the most important psalm, proper agency, life on the other side of the resurrection, the best hangover, death breath, The Sorting Hat, and subversive obedience.
Read More
Christ’s resurrection, overcoming the power and defeat of death, is what has made us able to live in the newness of what G-d is creating. Resurrection was and is divine transformation and renewed our relationship, humanity’s relationship, with our Creator.
Read More
Paul wrote to a church in Philippi contending with issues of arrogance and disunity. Arrogance and disunity act as prohibitors to imitating Christ’s love as a community. Arrogance and disunity were distractions, and Paul extended grace to the Philippians by reminding them of what the love of G-d in Christ had accomplished.
Read More