Imago Dei Community

Is God’s community worth investing in? The church used to be a place where we received cultural and social benefits, a place where we “found our people” and grew in our relationship with our surrounding community. But as culture has rapidly secularized and been inundated with technology, we don’t need the church for a good social life or even for spiritual content. The early followers of Jesus see...

Haggai is a minor prophet whose book is just two chapters. But it is packed full of a massive question: do we prioritize what God prioritizes? Hidden in this book is a call for the people of God: “Consider your ways,” Haggai says, and think about all the effort you put into all you prioritize: is it fulfilling? So much of modern life involves experiences of losses that we disguise as gains. What w...

For two weeks, we will be listening to Jesus pray. During his time on earth, the gospel writers record dozens of moments where Jesus cried out to God in public and in private. What did Jesus pray about and why is that important? While this series could last all year due to the number of prayers he prayed, we will spend three weeks looking at three different prayers of Jesus to ask this question: h...

For two weeks, we will be listening to Jesus pray. During his time on earth, the gospel writers record dozens of moments where Jesus cried out to God in public and in private. What did Jesus pray about and why is that important? While this series could last all year due to the number of prayers he prayed, we will spend three weeks looking at three different prayers of Jesus to ask this question: h...

With the cultural rewards of church attendance gone, what reasons are left to be a part of a church? We no longer rely on the church to build community, receive Christian teaching, or even to serve worthy causes. So what’s left? We are in need of fresh vision for God’s mission and church. This Sunday, we will look at our mission and our vision as a church and consider why on earth anyone in Portla...

Preacher: Bob Howard Text: 2 Corinthians 13:4

The wise men saw a star and went looking for God only to realize that the star was God looking for them. Meeting with Herod, they asked the whereabouts of the God incarnate, the king of the Jews, but none of their tactics worked. The strategy, might, and political power of Herod offered them nothing. Their own efforts to “seek God” only resulted in the great realization that God had sought after t...

Joseph is the first story in Scripture to unpack (in a major way) God’s transformational presence in darkness. No one in all of the Old Testament gets as low and near death as Joseph: he is literally thrown in a grave, betrayed by his own family, and left for dead only to be sold as a slave. His narrative is one where we as readers are challenged to see the shocking presence of God in the depth of...

When David is made king, he makes his first move a simple but profound one: he moves the ark of the covenant back to the center of life for God’s people. His willful action doesn’t bring the presence of God, rather, it brings the peoples’ attention to the fact that God is present. The season of Advent reminds us that no matter how dark, God is near. God’s presumed absence is often an invitation to...

Simeon spent his whole life waiting for the Messiah to come. He spent his life alongside God’s people in darkness. And then he saw the child Jesus. His prayer shows us a profound theological reality of what happens to darkness when God arrives upon its depths.

Jesus is good news even when things fall apart. In this episode, Pastor Seth King looks at the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

The final stanza of the Apostles’ Creed is, “I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” The early church paired its belief in the church with its belief in forgiveness and resurrection. How do these two things relate? How can thinking about forgiveness and resurrection help us be more firmly committe...

At first glance, the Holy Spirit seems to get the least press in the Apostles Creed, just a single line. But the Holy Spirit actually pervades the entire creed, starting with the first two words: We believe.  The Holy Spirit has been working through all of history and is the power that brings us to belief. But how often do we turn to the Spirit for help, guidance, companionship and power? Regardle...

“He will come to judge the living and the dead.” This is the final line about Jesus in the Apostles’ Creed. We often think of judgment as a terrible aspect of God’s nature and work, but Paul told the church in Thessalonica to “encourage one another” in issues around the second coming of Christ. How is God’s judgment good news? And how can we encourage one another as we await his return?

This week, we look at the line, “And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son…He suffered…crucified…descended…rose again and ascended…” from the Apostles’ Creed. Everyone today is trying to answer profound questions of life. Most often, we look to elite thinkers, culturally aware artists, and educated professionals to guide us. What does the Christian story have to offer to answer these deep questions about...

This week, we look at the line, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,” from the Apostles’ Creed. What do we mean when we say we believe in God? Which God is this? The Apostles’ Creed leads us to the one who laid the foundations of the earth, who precedes time and space. To be a Christian is to be one who acknowledges creatureliness. We are not our own; we are made . Wh...

Text: 1 Timothy 6:20-21 Preacher: Chris Nye Description: “I believe” is the starting point of the Apostles’ Creed. It is a declarative statement used to this day by all kinds of people for all kinds of things. In the Western world, we use “I believe” as a precursor for self identification, but in the ancient world, saying “I believe” was a way of identifying with others. Early Christians pledged a...

Michelle Jones finishes the series on Sacred Spaces.

Pastor Michelle Jones preaches on experiencing the "hereness" and nearness of God.