Forgetting our identity is our greatest spiritual malady. We, as siblings in Christ, are vessels of a great and everlasting love. We need to remember and remind each other of the mystery we carry in the depth of our being. This is why we come together, again and again, to pray and praise, to share […]
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Each week, we come to hear the word of grace and share in the holy supper, that we may taste and see the healing power of the kingdom in every moment of life. We want to feel and know what we so often forget: We are blessed. The life of the one who is everlasting […]
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“Follow me,” Jesus says, and four young men immediately leave what they are doing to be with him. It is impossible to know what was in their hearts… Maybe Jesus’ words excited their imagination and stirred hope for a world very different from the one in which they lived. Poverty was everywhere. Nutrition was poor, […]
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“What are you looking for?” Jesus’ question cuts to the heart of our humanity. What will satisfy the ache in our heart for that something more that is so hard to name? What do we need to live a life of joy and purpose, a life in which the light of love and abundance cause […]
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Jesus stands in the shallows of the Jordan River, his feet in the mud. Wading toward John the Baptist, he is surrounded by the confused, the wandering, the lost, the sad, the broken, the fearful. People like us. They come, confessing their sin and hoping it is still possible to change their lives and know […]
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Have you ever received a gift that just keeps on giving? Sloganeers love to invoke this phrase in advertisements to entice gift givers with the promise of a gift so good that it will unleash its original sense of excitement long-term. In most cases we can spot the sales pitch, but in other cases we […]
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Did you celebrate Christmas at home this year? As Perry Como popularly sang, our culture tells us that “there’s no place like home for the holidays.” Yet, not everyone has a place that feels like home. While some people have lived in the same town or even in the same house for many decades, others […]
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Christmas Eve Worship 4PM and 11PM
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“Do not be afraid” is God’s constant refrain, beginning with scripture’s earliest stories in Genesis and continuing until the Bible closes in Revelation: “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last” (Rev. 1:17). God’s empowering litany gives merciful courage to Joseph in a dream and to shepherds in the fields. It is […]
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John the Baptist, just last week crying out in the wilderness with a voice unmistakable and bold, has dramatically changed his tone. Now imprisoned by Herod, he has abandoned his confident pitch that pulsed at the river Jordan’s banks. His confidence tottering and proclamation fading, John now implores about his cousin Jesus, “Is he the […]
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