ReNew Ames Messages

In several different places in the gospels, Jesus shares what his purpose is. Here's one from John 10 - he says, "I have come so that you may have life and have it abundantly." Then a little later on - in John 15 - he tells his followers that if we want to have abundant life, we need to stay connected to the vine. Problem is, that's not always that easy. That picture of abundance isn't the only on...

Pentecost - birthday of the church - the day the Spirit came. All of that. Wind is unpredictable. I think one of the best ways to describe wind is that it's powerful. We've been harnessing the power of wind for a really long time. Windmills - sails - etc. As we enter the story of Pentecost, here are three things to think about: 1) This wind power - spirit power is creative power - it can bring som...

If you knew you were about to die, what would you say to those in this world you love the most? What hope or dream would you share? What advice would you give? That's essentially what we get in Jesus' words. He knows the end is near. So what dream does he give them? A command and a promise. The command - love each other. Jesus doesn't say, act as if you love each other. He doesn't let us off the h...

The image of the good shepherd brings up complicated feelings for me. I'll explain why - hoping everyone else sort of feels the same way. I don't have answers in this message. All I come with is a bunch of questions. I'll ask them and I'll try to answer them. 1) Why does Jesus use this metaphor for himself in this particular setting? A lot to explain here in the email so I'll boil it down. Given h...

There are lots of things we do without thinking about the reason we do them. A relevant example on a Sunday morning is how we order our worship services. Why do we worship? More specifically, why do we do the certain things we do in worship? It's called the liturgy - which means the work of the people. There's an intentionality to it - a reason - a purpose for the order in which we do things and t...

So Jesus has been gone, his disciples aren't with him anymore. Peter says, "I’m going fishing, who’s with me?" And they all go back to their previous way of life. We often do this, too. God reveals something to us and we’re sure of what next steps to take. But life hits us hard and we end up not doing what we just committed to doing. We revert back to the safe and comfortable. Then Jesus shows up...

Doubting Thomas story. Yay. The word "believe" is so important to John. He includes this story about someone who just can't believe. I'm glad that Thomas made it into the story. Because sometimes it's hard to believe. Do we really believe this stuff? I think it's a fair question - and it's a question we shouldn't hesitate to ask. Christianity is made out to be a set of beliefs you have to assent t...

The disciples are locked in a room. Jesus comes through the door and suddenly dead isn't dead anymore. Twice he says, "Peace be with you." Says, "As the Father is sending me, so I'm sending you." Here's what I think Jesus might be getting at: "Just like I created an environment for you to be transformed - become new - I'm now sending you into the world to create that kind of environment for others...

We're going to walk through John's account of the resurrection. If we piece all the stories together, we can tell there was a whole lot of confusion about the day. How many guards were there? Was there really an earthquake? What did the angels say? Did Mary go to the tomb alone? Or not? All of these discrepancies in the story show that these people were trying to describe an event that didn't fit...

There's a Dallas Willard quote where he argues that Jesus is the smartest person who ever lived. It's pretty cool. Not only is Jesus brilliant, but he's also one of the greatest communicators to ever live. He communicated with words, yes. But he also communicated with his body. So the question is: as we watch Jesus enter Jerusalem, what is he trying to communicate? Was this a parade, a party? Or w...

*We apologize for the sound quality, our system was having difficulties this week* The parable of the rich young fool has been read and interpreted many ways. There are some who would see it as a cautionary tale against gaining wealth, and others who would say it is more about what you do with your wealth. Perhaps it is somewhere in between, asking us to examine who we consider with our wealth, an...

Simple one note message. We're just gonna walk through the story and see if we can make sense of it. Mark's story is important to put into context to understand what's going on here.. The disciples have seen and experienced some mind-blowing things. They're on a spiritual high. Jesus senses it, so he asks them who people think he is. Then he asks them, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter stands up a...

It's a common belief and teaching within the Western Church that the passages about not worrying, not being afraid, are commands to never be anxious or worry. That if we do, we are sinful and should repent for those responses to events and wonderings. But this is not the case. Framed as gentle admonishing, or kind reassurances, it is like a parent saying, "Hey, don't worry, it's going to be okay,...

Jesus in the wilderness, tempted by the evil one. Okay, I've preached on this like six times between Matthew's story and Luke's. But a different angle today. This is always the story that begins Lent, and we need the lessons in this story because of what it says about Jesus. 1) We need the Jesus of the wilderness. Jesus knows anxiety, knows depression, knows social isolation, knows hurt, knows pai...

Pink Himalayan Salt. Yeah, it's all over my TikTok right now and seems to be a thing. Maybe I'm wrong and people will be like, "Dude, what the hell are you talking about?" Don't care. Gonna talk about it anyway because we're thinking about salt. Salt is important today - the ancients knew this, too, for a variety of important things. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." We're gonna stay wi...

1) Our self-worth begins with the knowledge that God isn't distant. This would have been a revolutionary idea at the time. No, this God cares for and loves and interrupts the lives of human beings. 2) Our lives began with God knitting us together. This is the image of a woman intricately weaving or knitting something together. It's creating something for one's own pleasure. God creating humanity t...

What does the upcoming year look like? Because it feels like it's gonna be an upward climb. We live in a very different world than just a few short years ago. The past is gone and, as always, the future is unknown. But the future now looks to be a bit more shaky than usual. The context of this passage is Israel's time in Babylonian captivity. They were afraid. Their past was gone and the future lo...

New Year's resolutions are hard to keep; so many people don't even make it out of January. But I think they're still good things. Something inside of us says, "Dammit, life could be better for me. Something's gotta change." That's how it was for Israel - God looked at the state of his relationship with him and thought, something's gotta change. God calls them to be intentional in how they live the...

So it's the first Sunday of Epiphany. During this season, we normally take a look at the stories in the Bible where God reveals God's self to people in new and different ways. This is certainly one of those stories. Jesus appears to John in a big robe with a golden sash. He's huge - his hair is white and his eyes are like fire and his feet are bronze and his voice is like rushing waters. We're tau...

This is the story of the birth of Jesus. Why would God come to us in this way? Why would God do such a thing? It's a question I've asked and answered before - this time in a little different way. 1) I think God did such a thing to show us that God's not afraid of the mess. This story is so messy - from an unwed pregnant 14 year old Mary all the way to the animals and shepherds who smell like anima...

The story of the choosing/calling of Mary. We're going to walk through Mary's Song. "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior." How might this be good news for us? In her circumstances, she responds with a song. And not just any song, it's a song that before it's about anything else, it's about joy. She responds with joy. This song reminds us that an appropriate response...

J the B preparing the way. John's mission is to prepare people for the coming of Jesus. His message was all about repentance. To change your mind. Be open to the possibility that the way you perceive the world might not be the very best way. Turn around. Move in a different and better direction. Wake up and take corrective action. Problem is, we don't like change. We don't like to take responsibil...

When was the last time you were really vulnerable - like you really needed help? This is the context into which Isaiah is praying. Israel really needed help. Tear open the heavens and come down! Advent begins from a place of desperation - the place of helplessness - the place of vulnerability. If we're honest about it, we're all in that place of vulnerability. The ways in which we've messed things...

We're moving toward Advent and this scripture gets us there. John is writing this letter to real people in a real place and time. These are people who needed to be reminded that God is present and that God is large. So John gives them a vision of the divine that is much larger than our brains can comprehend: God is larger than space and time as we know it - but also invades space and time as we kn...

The calling of the prophet Samuel. I love the honesty in this story. Clearly, Samuel wasn't ready for a call from God. It took him 4 times before he realized it was God calling and even then he had to have someone else tell him what was going on. If we're honest - no one's ever really ready for a call from the divine. Just read through the Bible - the only one that seems close to ready is a young...