This Message is the Start of a New Series: Hidden Figures: We will be looking at the stories of an array of people throughout the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). These are some of the women and men that partner with God to advance the story of redemption. They are often overlooked either because of their gender, their ethnicity, their social standing, or because of their mistakes and poor choices.
What makes Eve a Hidden Figure is not that she's overlooked or forgotten. But that's she's typically remembered for her wrongdoing. How she and Adam broke God's story rather than the ways she advanced that story. In other words, she's remembered for her broken trust and sin, instead of any kind of faithfulness or redeeming qualities.
But there's more to Eve's story that we often remember. Eve tells the truth. She speaks of both what influenced her choice as well as her own responsibility in making that choice. She’s not just the first person to fail in Scripture, she’s also the first model of repentance in scripture.
Today we proclaim the good news: In God's story the morally comprised are experts of repentance. Those devastated by disappointment and loss are the first to find hope. And those are vilified for their failures become models of faith for everyone. Today beloved, receive your first Mother, no as a pariah, but as a flawed yet faithful example of how God makes good on his promises. Follow in her footsteps, become her children. Learn from Eve and call on the name of the LORD.
Even though we continue to suffer and doubt and grieve, tonight, our Advent longing makes room for Christmas JOY. Because in the incarnation of Jesus, the word made flesh, God has taken on all that it means to be human… All our suffering and pain and weakness and frailty are now shared by God and brought into God's presence to be seen and dignified and honored. From this moment on, friends, humanity and divinity are inextricably connected at the deepest level. From this moment on, we have a human God. And our full human experience is honored as holy.
A new identity is given to us this Advent as we move toward the light of God’s presence this Christmas. But this light is a fire that has come to burn away all the junk in our lives and to make the soil rich for a plant that will bear much fruit. So, prepare for this light and fire by rethinking your relationships… to your wealth, work, and the weak. A fresh start is here.
Advent means: Getting in touch with our own waiting, our own suffering, our own darkness in solidarity with the rest of God’s people as we watch and pray for the arrival of Jesus, light in the darkness. God is meeting us in the middle of this mess to instill HOPE and strengthen our hearts in holiness, as we watch for the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ who brings justice and redemption. Though the days are dark, beloved, the kingdom of God is near.
Stay awake, stay connected, and practice love.
The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the PATTERN of Eternal Life. What has happened to Him WILL happen to us. Therefore, your body isn't a prison from which your soul needs to be set free. You ARE an embodied soul. And Eternal Life is FULL of bodies, moved and animated by God's Spirit. And that Spirit is available to you today to train you for the life you’ll always have in eternity.
Where do u need Eternal Life in your body today?
The church is not a community of the pure; it is a community of the forgiven.
Sin is not the end of our story; Sin is an identity crisis for those who have been claimed by love. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and this is what we are. So, let’s contend for our true identity today, trusting that there is always a way back to who we’ve always been.
The Spirit of God broods over creation today, bringing peace from the chaos of fractured human relationships. Brothers and Sisters, the church is a foretaste of that peace… offering communion and salvation to everyone. So, today, we are held firm together with all the church throughout history. Come and find your place among the saints and join the work of healing that the Spirit brings.
Beloved, Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead, and that will be the best thing that ever happens to us. When God renews the whole cosmos and makes everything sad become untrue, Jesus himself will be personally present as the center and the focus of new creation. He comes to save, not to destroy. And He saves us by His judgment, because His judgment is love.
Death does not defeat God's promise. Death is not separation from God. In Jesus, God has dwelt among the dead. God has touched the very limits of our nature, from birth to death, in order to renew us and to unite us to God. The Living has embraced the dead. Death has been subsumed by life. Now, church, we are ambassadors of that life in every realm of death, bearing light that drives out all darkness.
Today we arrive at maybe the most challenging statement for our modern, scientific minds to receive as true… I believe in Jesus Christ… WHO… suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
The good news we declare today is: In the person of Jesus, God suffered AS one of us WITH all of us because suffering is how God disarms the powers and authorities that stand opposed to our freedom. So, beloved, do not despise the humility and suffering that inevitably come along with the struggle for liberation. Jesus did not die so we don’t have to… He died so we might die alongside him for the sake of love. This is how the Kingdom of God is birthed in our world.
The one born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring life and order from death and chaos. So, fear not: God has not abandoned you. The One who was born to impossible odds has drawn near to make us children of the promise. Take heart and receive Mary’s good news. No word from God will fail.
The good news this morning is that the CORE of our faith is Jesus Christ. He was there at the beginning of time working for us. In love, He chose to be born among us and to die for us, and He is working for us now and until the end of time. Our faith and our lives are rightly centered on Jesus, our foundation, our hope, and our Lord and King.
We are invited to confess and know God as Father… But this is not the coercion of an abusive or authoritative patriarch. This is the loving call of an attentive parent whose power is made perfect in weakness. So, draw close to this Father today and allow him to heal you of every wound.
Today we arrive at the last piece of the first statement of the Apostles' Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth."
The good news that we declare today: We live in a world made by the loving hands of God, redeemed with the loving presence of God, that will one day be renewed by the loving Spirit of God. Friends, this world is good and our God is fully committed to its flourishing. So today, let’s join our heavenly father by pledging our allegiance to all of creation. Flooding the darkness with light until everything and everyone is healed.
We are invited to give our whole hearts to the story of God’s unfolding, unfailing love for the world.
Beloved, today you belong to and participate in the global, historic body of Jesus Christ, even if you’re not sure what that means. Because belief is about trust, not certainty, God meets us in the mystery of our faith. So, bring your uncertainty and your questions. You are safe and you are loved.
Many things start with a question. One of my teachers used to say “Questions are alive; answers are dead.” Sometimes a small question of curiosity ultimately leads to a scientific breakthrough. Sometimes a big sweeping question about the meaning of the universe could ready us for an encounter with the Creator. A mentor’s single question may enable a student to escape the rut of well-explored thinking to find a new arena of possibilities. A direct question might shake a politician off script and allow people an authentic moment of genuine connection. Questions can kick off a new relationship, prepare the ground for crucial decisions, or pave the way for deep understanding.
Jerusalem was abuzz with questions after Jesus’ memorable arrival to the city in Mark 11. His manner of entering the gates carried hints of royalty, a whiff of prophecy, and inklings of revolution. The rumor mill turned in overdrive, and for many, expectations for something good were sky high. What will he do next?
Jesus’ death is not a cosmic disappointment. Through his faithfulness to enter into suffering and death, Jesus gets to the root of evil, defeating the powers and principalities that seem to rule our world. So, church, as we wait for resurrection, let Jesus meet you in the in-between space, turning death to life and hope.
The way of Jesus is expansive and inclusive, granting acceptance and access to those who are rejected and excluded. Church, the world needs the good news of Jesus today, that he came to heal and save, not to attack and police and punish. How do you need that good news today? And how can we embody this good news today?
The good shepherd looks after His sheep. Let's journey with a servant heart. Let's commit to following Him.
The good news of Jesus is that we either inherit the kingdom of God together or not at all.