God’s plan, his great goal for us, is to form us so that we look – in our character, our habits, our priorities, our focus in life – just like his Son, Jesus. But this is only possible through his empowering presence, through the work of God the Holy Spirit. How do we posture ourselves to experience this transformation? We’ll begin our new series, “God At Our Side: How the Living God Transforms Us,” with this message that focuses on how God the Spirit is working in us.
As we approach the New Year, Jesus' teaching on the health of our eyes (Luke 11:34-36) will invite us to examine how we are spending our most valuable commodity: our attention.
As we gather to celebrate this Christmas Eve, we hear the words of the heavenly messengers expressing their praise to the baby Jesus born that night: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” As the shepherds pass on this message, we find that Mary “ponders” these words in her heart. And now, it’s our turn to ponder all that we are learning about Jesus in this text, including what we hear the prophet Simeon sing in the next section – that Jesus himself is our salvation. That God’s rescue is not just something we experience, but a Person.
Zechariah's song rises out of silence. Sometimes, God calls us to wait, watch, and listen for His action.
Step into the story with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she shares how our lives and hers are woven together in a divine story. Like Mary, we live in dark and violent times that cause us to long again for the coming of the Messiah. Like her, we discover that Jesus disrupts our lives and invites a response. And as Mary, filled with the Holy Spirit, burst forth in song, so the Spirit now longs to birth new things in and through us today.
Disappointment: with life, ourselves, with God. And joy: In our relationships, in our own hearts, in God. These are two of the most poignant realities in life. And both are at the forefront as we look at Elizabeth’s role in the unfolding Christmas story. How do we deal with disappointment? And how do we know the joy that Jesus brings? We’ll look into both this week.
In our Advent series, “The One Who Set the World Singing,” we’ll see how God’s big “drama of salvation” comes to its climax when Jesus – God the Son – steps onto the stage. But like any good production, there is a lot of work to do in preparation. Isaiah 9 speaks of the reality of the darkness that our world faces but is also filled with hope: for a light that is dawning. The main “Actor” in God’s salvation story is coming, and this text prepares us to meet the One who brings life, truth, and beauty. We find that this One is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And he is that for all of us.
Today, we wrap up our series looking at the story of the rich young ruler and his interaction with Jesus. As we do, we discover that a great reversal takes place with God's coming kingdom. We look at the benefits that come from following Jesus and explore what it means to become "last."
Wealth is spiritually dangerous. Jesus warns against wealth for its opposition to the ways of the kingdom: humility and sacrificial love. But there is one who can thread a camel through the eye of a needle...
We are all following someone or something. We are all giving our hearts to someone or something. The question about who or what that is will determine the whole shape of life now, and our eternity. In Mark 10, we are introduced to two very different ways to respond to Jesus: one is a rich man, the other a man who is blind. One walks away, the other walks behind Jesus. What will you do with Jesus? That’s the question we all have to answer. This text helps us see more clearly the way to do that.
There is a tension we feel between the goodness of creation, but also the fact that it is so broken too. And we know that brokenness and long for restoration. The Christian view holds all of this together, and in Jesus own body, he answers are most significant question about what real hope would look like. We’ll see in this message that “new creation” involves transformed bodies, the renewal of creation, and Spirit-empowered mission.
This week, we contrast the creative projects of the tabernacle and the golden calf in Exodus, and look at what they can teach us about engaging with the arts as followers of Jesus.
God’s nature, his 'attributes,' include many important features: omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, among other things. But we don’t always ascribe the attribute of joyful or (gasp!) playful to God. But a quick look at God’s creation, and the Scriptures, and we find a God who is full of joy and wants us to be as well. Joy is a ‘fruit’ of the Spirit after all. This week, we’ll explore the question: What would it look like for the Good News of Jesus to be a way into a life of levity, joy, and even a certain kind of playfulness?
Through Psalm 139, we learn to see our bodies as good this goodness has profound implications for our lives and purpose. We are here to love and be loved.
In this message, we are going to listen to what ‘wine’ has to say about God, about our humanity, and about redemption and hope. We’ll also see that there is a kind of wisdom that enables us to appreciate the goodness of God’s creation whether we do, or do not, drink wine.
Food, in the Biblical story, is about far more than simply nourishing our bodies. One of the things we notice as we get inside the long and winding story of the Bible is that the most significant moments in God’s economy, God’s plan of redemption, happen at a table – at a meal. For the table, and your place at it, that’s how you know you belong; that you’re part of the family; that you’re welcome and loved. In this message, we’ll explore the goodness of God’s provision of food and our human calling to cultivate tables that are places of welcome and beauty and gratitude.
Jesus' cross represents not just the reconciliation of God and people, but the beginnings of the reconciliation of God and all creation. Colossians presents an image of redemption and salvation where we aren't saved from creation, but for it.
What does it mean to be human? It’s a huge question, and the answer you get probably depends on who you ask. The Biblical picture of being a human is far more elevated, and far more earthy, than we often imagine. We’ll see the goodness of what it means to be human, and particularly see how Jesus – God in the flesh – elevates and dignifies the material world, and us within it.
God’s creation is still good. This might seem like a very basic point, but from the beginnings of the early church until today, there are ways of thinking that devalue the material world in favour of the spiritual realm. Through this series, we will be noting some of these tendencies and listening to how the scriptures re-inform our thinking and living to recognize and celebrate the inseparable connections between the physical and spiritual world.
Proverbs observes a grace possessed by the wise: restraint. The wise show emotional, verbal, and opinion restraint to live in harmony with God's good order.