The Gathering

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transforme...

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transforme...

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transforme...

We have four different stories of Jesus’ life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transforme...

For three years Jesus teaches and asks us to follow, to live like he does. And not only that, but he gives us all sorts of help. Manure if you will – gifts, abilities, relationships, resources – he gives us so much that we could use for the sake of God’s Kingdom. But it is up to us to do something with what we have been given, to bear fruit.

At some point your faith stops being an intellectual activity and starts to be something that you act out. Faith is not something you (just) believe but something you do. Reading, worshiping, studying, thinking will only take you so far. At some point, to grow you must go.

We are all here (literally and spiritually) because of others who came before us. They saw themselves less as consumers of faith and more as producers of faith. We too need to recover a sense that God calls us not to simply consume the faith given to us by others, but help produce that faith in new generations of people. Remembering our roots reminds us of our mission.

In a time where modern technology and social media promises to connect us and draw us closer and make us more friends, then why are we facing an epidemic of loneliness? People are lacking connectedness, closeness, and friendship more than ever. The disciples and their interactions with Jesus offer us some insight into how friends can show up, and how we sometimes show up as friends.

Singleness takes all forms. Some choose it, some don’t. Some want to find someone else, others enjoy being single. Whether you are young and still single, widowed, gone through a divorce, or just haven’t found a person you want to date – you are not less than or incomplete simply because you haven’t found that person. For those of you who choose to be single, you are honored. To those of you looki...

It is true really of all relationships, but especially with marriage, you don’t just find the right person and live happily ever after. Strong marriages aren’t found they are built. Like so many topics, there isn’t one scripture or section that is about marriage. Instead, to arrive at these principles, let's look at the various passages of scripture that talk about marriage and jump into 5 biblica...

Today we are beginning a new series called We Just Click: God’s Design for Meaningful Relationships. This whole series could be summed up in a single verse, that comes at the beginning of the Bible. God says it at the end of creation “It’s not good that the human is alone.” – God (Gen. 2.18). In other words, we need others, we need relationships. So let's start by understanding why relationships a...

The resurrection is a declaration that hope is real and worth it. Jesus is doing something new in your life even, and especially, when you can’t see it. Hope is working its way through your life, but on its own schedule. Let’s look at what the resurrection story teaches us about the character of hope.

The peace and calm of Jesus didn’t make sense. On a base level, human beings are self-preservationists; most creatures naturally are. We avoid suffering or pain, and we don’t like feeling threatened. When our safety is threatened, our brains and bodies prepare to fight or run away, and nobody would have blamed Jesus, human as he was, for choosing either of those options. But, Jesus was also the So...

The gospel writers seem to wrestle with how to describe an emotional Jesus, especially in this story in the garden. It is told three different times by Matthew, Mark and Luke. When they describe how Jesus felt, they all use different words. They say he felt sorrowful, troubled, anxious, and anguish. This fear/anxiety is something that we all deal with, and so did Jesus. Learning to deal with this...

Disappointment happens when our expectations and reality do not align. So what can Jesus teach us about dealing with, preventing, and moving forward in moments where we are disappointed?

The Palm Sunday story marks the beginning of Jesus’ last week. And while the week would be an emotionally hard one for him and the disciples, today's scripture is a story of joy! While we often focus on everything that was hard about this time in Jesus’ life, it is worth noticing that in the middle of the darkest season, his followers were able to experience this moment of great joy.

Anger is often telling us about something going on beneath the surface. God gave us the emotion of anger for a reason. Anger is good, helpful, informative, and helps us to have deeper insight into what we’re feeling about given situations. As imperfect people we will never express violence in a just and honorable manner. It’s important we feel the anger as it comes, express the anger, and then wor...

The shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus Wept". As we begin our new series "Emotional Roller Coaster: The Ups and Downs of Jesus' Last Days" we will look at how human Jesus was and how he felt real emotions. What can we learn from these real-human emotions Jesus expressed?

Now that we have learned about what racism is, how it's a sin, and how we can unify, how do we pursue racial justice? Today we hear from Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker, as we continue our series The Beloved Community.

Implicit or unconscious bias is attitudes or perceptions we have about people without our conscious knowledge. It is when we make a snap judgment based on stereotypes, cultural attitudes, and assumptions. And because of racism, white people do this all the time when it comes to the ways that they view, treat, or talk to people of color.

Because racism is still active and growing in our society, we are not yet the Beloved Community that King and indeed God calls us to be. Racism threatens our faith in God. Why? Because racism is a sin. Sin gets in the way of our relationship with God. If we don’t address it, sin keeps us from God.

There are a lot of voices competing for our attention, for the chance to tell us who we are. Rather than listening to the foolish, the critic, or the narcissist, tune in to the voice of God. They have a lot to say about who you are, and what you were made for.

The Narcissist navigates the world through a transactional, non-empathetic, and arrogant lens. Jesus reminds us that we're called to be the opposite. To seek love, humility and empathy in our relationships.