The Gathering

Over the next few weeks, we are going to talk about this problem. Specifically, I want to talk about the biggest ways in which Jesus’ name is being distorted and his message is being misrepresented by those who claim to speak for him. As we do that, I want to instead teach and remind us of what Jesus actually said, what he actually stands for, what he actually commands us to do. But today I want t...

There is a line in the Easter story that I had never noticed or paid attention to. But this year, it stuck out to me. It happens right after the women hear that Jesus is risen, but before they actually see him. It says: So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy… (Matthew 28.8) Faith is living with fear and great joy. While faith starts in the dark, it doesn’t stay there. It was women i...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. While this answer – exposing sin of the community – may sound differen...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. The answer to the question this week is, "to forgive us." We, as human...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. The answer to the question this week is, "to inspire us to love." We c...

The cross is seen as the supreme example of God's love for us, but many struggle to understand why Jesus had to die or if He had to die at all. There's no one right answer, but the Bible offers us glimpses or clues as to what Jesus's death really means for our lives. Traditionally, these “answers” are called atonement theories. The answer to the question this week is, "to redeem us." If God can re...

Atonement means "to put back together something that is broken." Each theory or answer shows us how Jesus helps to put us back together or make us whole. What you will see is that each theory has a different understanding of the problem we face, and therefore a different way in which Jesus offers us an answer on the cross. And today we are going to start with probably the earliest theory or answer...

Our world tempts us every day to make life about us. We're tempted to think about what we have to do, what we have going on, what we need, but Jesus turns this way of life on its head and says that life is really found not when we focus on ourselves, but when we serve others. Serving can look a lot of different ways. Followers of Christ are meant to be people of service. That is why it is one of o...

Our world tempts us every day to make life about us. We're tempted to think about what we have to do, what we have going on, what we need, but Jesus turns this way of life on its head and says that life is really found not when we focus on ourselves, but when we serve others. Serving can look a lot of different ways. This week we’re talking about what it looks like to serve the world. After, all,...

Our world tempts us every day to make life about us. We're tempted to think about what we have to do, what we have going on, what we need, but Jesus turns this way of life on its head and says that life is really found not when we focus on ourselves, but when we serve others. Serving can look a lot of different ways. In this series, we'll talk about what it means to have a life of service and how...

Today we are wrapping up our series Shift Happens: When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned. We are talking about how to move through seasons when our life takes a left turn, goes off track, or isn’t working out as we expected. Each week we are looking at a different reason why by reading the stories of people in scripture who had their own plans fail for different reasons. As we read their stories we are...

Today we are continuing our series Shift Happens: When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned. We are talking about how to move through seasons when our life takes a left turn, goes off track, or isn’t working out as we expected. Each week we are looking at a different reason why by reading the stories of people in scripture who had their own plans fail for different reasons. As we read their stories we are l...

Today we are continuing our series Shift Happens: When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned. We are talking about reasons that our plans get upended and how we move forward when that happens. Each week, I am talking about a different reason our plans get messed up. We are looking at a different character of the Bible, and how they dealt with failed plans. As we explore their stories, we will learn strategie...

Over the next 4 weeks, we are going to explore characters in scripture who experienced plans shifting for a variety of reasons. We are going to learn what happened to them and how they moved through it. Each of them deal with circumstances that are universal, things that we all deal with. As we explore their stories, we will learn strategies for how we can deal faithfully with those same situation...

As I was praying about this morning—this first Sunday of 2026—I started wondering: What if we had "The Gathering Wrapped"? What if we could pull the data on our spiritual life as a community? If God ran the algorithm on The Gathering McCausland for 2025, would our "Minutes Listened" be skewed toward fear and anxiety, or toward hope and action? This morning is our "Visioning Sunday", wherein we loo...

Today, we are going to focus on the bit after Linus Van Pelt’s recounting of the Christmas tale. What happens next after Jesus is born? Through the remembrance of the Christmas story, we’re called to be transformed. To have our lives changed in light of God’s willingness to become a person like you and me, and be God with us, here in creation. We are called to have our expectations of the world su...

Today we finish up our Peace series. The question today is how do we have peace with God? It’s not about what we think or feel so much as it is how God sees us, humanity. Now we could go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible and name the ways God views us as humanity, so today’s few points are not an exhaustive list by any means. But what I hope you know is that God's stance through mille...

When you read the Christmas story, and really listen to what it says, you begin to see what this peace can look like and feel like in your life. At Christmas, Jesus brings peace through Through Proximity – being close to you and not leaving you alone; Through Power- the capacity to do what you can’t do because nothing with God is impossible; and Through the Promise that when evil does come, or str...

At Christmas, strained relationships can weigh especially heavy. This weekI will talk about how God’s treatment of us in Jesus offers us a model for our treatment of one another. Joseph embodies this model in his treatment of Mary. The Christmas story says that Jesus is an expression of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness towards us. What would it look like for us to treat others in our lives with...

The angels at Christmas declared that Jesus’ birth would bring us peace. In a divided world, with complicated families and stressful schedules, we still need that gift. Throughout the Christmas season, we will talk about how Jesus can help bring peace to all aspects of our lives. From our inner spirit to outward relationships, Jesus can resolve tension, reduce stress, heal relationships, and bring...

Practicing gratitude takes time and energy that is in short supply for most of us. Because of that, we tend to be people that blaze right through life, along with a lot of good stuff, without noticing or stopping to say thank you. In our focus on anxiety about the future, we often fail to practice gratitude for the present. In the middle of busy and hectic lives, we are called to be people that gi...

Today we continue our series on gratitude. Last week we talked about giving thanks in good times, but today I want to move to a different challenge, giving thanks in seasons of struggle and when the circumstances in your life aren’t great. When Paul tells us to be glad in the Lord always, or to give thanks in every situation, he isn't trying to deny difficulty. does not want us to pretend that tou...

We’re starting Three Weeks of Thanks. We’re in this season that’s centered around thankfulness and gratitude yet we often as humans struggle with what it means to be thankful, to show gratitude.. This isn’t something folks have a hard time only in challenging times in life, we often can struggle to show thanks even when things are going well in our lives. In this series, we’re going to chat about...

Faith requires risk, moments when God asks us to trust and step out in faith. When Peter sees Jesus in the storm, Jesus doesn't come to meet him in the safety of the boat, rather Jesus calls Peter out on the water into the storm. Peter had a choice to make, a risk to meet Jesus somewhere new. He took the step, and even though he faltered, he got to experience walking on water! For many of us, the...

Have you ever received a really great gift? What made it good? How about a really bad gift? What made it bad? When Jesus and the disciples were in Jerusalem, they observed people making an offering. Jesus does something surprising, he deems certain gifts as better than others. Why? In part 4, we will talk about what makes a gift generous and allow God to challenge us to think about the nature of t...