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 give thanks continually. This is, after all, God’s will for us. We practice thanksgiving when we notice, when we speak, and then ultimately when we act.Paul writes that he has figured out the secret of being content in all circumstances, and the secret is gratitude.

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 tough times are anything other than hard. But what Paul does offer us is a pathway through seasons of struggle. And the pathway is defined by gratitude. Paul writes that he has figured out the secret of being content in all circumstances, and the secret is gratitude.

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 gratitude, how we’re built to be people who give thanks, and how to practice gratitude in every season.

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 move towards generosity feels like a risky step of faith, but it is one that can lead to incredible experiences of Jesus.

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 the gifts we make.

Jesus doesn’t teach generosity to subtract from our life. He doesn’t talk about it in terms of sacrifice, or the giving up of something. Instead, Jesus says that giving is a pathway to a fuller way of life. So why do we give? What does generosity do in us and for us? Jesus put it really simply. A life of generosity is better. In part 3, we will look at biblical teachings around what a life of generosity can do for us and what it looks like to grow in this practice. We will also unpack the vision again in this message as well as the pathway to giving.

If we want God to do more through our church, we have to allow God to do more in our lives. Generosity is one of the ways that we make more of our lives available to God – to shape, mold, use. The young ruler wanted God to do more with his life, but he was unwilling to allow God to do more in his life. Jesus challenged him to follow, and he couldn’t do it. We too have an opportunity to allow God to do more with us by allowing God to do more in us. Will we follow?

From everyone who has much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected. (Luke 12.48 CSB)

Much Given, Much Expected.

Jesus doesn’t mince words. From the parable and then this closing line, he is making something really clear. There are two ways that we can respond to all that God has given us, entrusted to us, blessed us with. We can work to use what we have been given for the sake of God’s purposes, or we can sit back, coast, and use all that has been given to us for ourselves. Jesus implicitly is asking the disciples and all of us a very basic question. What will you do with what you have been given?

Today we finish our series on the most familiar and famous prayer in the history of the church. We call it the Lord’s Prayer.

Here at The Gathering, we say these words every single week. Many of us grew up learning, repeating and reciting these words. But sometimes it is precisely the most familiar parts of our faith, that we don’t spend time thinking about. And yet they are so powerful, shaping not only how we understand God, but how we understand prayer!

Today, we are going to focus on the final section of the prayer:

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

Today we are beginning a short series on the most familiar and famous prayer in the history of the church. We call it the Lord’s Prayer.

Here at The Gathering, we say these words every single week. Many of us grew up learning, repeating and reciting these words. But sometimes it is precisely the most familiar parts of our faith, that we don’t spend time thinking about. And yet they are so powerful, shaping not only how we understand God, but how we understand prayer!

So beginning today we are going to actually talk about these words that we so regularly speak, but do not always think about, beginning with "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name."

Today we are beginning a short series on the most familiar and famous prayer in the history of the church. We call it the Lord’s Prayer.

Here at The Gathering, we say these words every single week. Many of us grew up learning, repeating and reciting these words. But sometimes it is precisely the most familiar parts of our faith, that we don’t spend time thinking about. And yet they are so powerful, shaping not only how we understand God, but how we understand prayer!

So beginning today we are going to actually talk about these words that we so regularly speak, but do not always think about, beginning with "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name."

In the New Testament, before there was a name for ‘church’, they just called it ekklesia — which is Greek for the gathering. A place for people to find one another, to build one another up, and to connect with Jesus.To stand in this church today, in this beautiful space, surrounded by this vibrant community, is to see that dream not just realized, but flourishing and multiplying in ways we could have only prayed for.But we are not just spectators. We are participants. We are the builders. We are the body. Each of us has a part to play. We get to invite, to serve, to give, and to celebrate all the good that is being done here, so that together, we might become a mature body, filled with the fullness of Christ.

We are one church united in our desire to follow Jesus and grow in our faith. But we are different from one another, most notably, we span 7 generations. We have an incredible opportunity to listen and learn about our faith FROM each other instead of talking PAST each other.

In our final week of Boomers to Zoomers, we're focused on Boomers. A couple of weeks ago, several boomers from our church gathered together to share what they would want others at church to know about their generation. So what do Boomers have to teach the rest of us about faith or what it means to be the church?

We are one church united in our desire to follow Jesus and grow in our faith. But we are different from one another, most notably, we span 7 generations. We have an incredible opportunity to listen and learn about our faith FROM each other instead of talking PAST each other. Today is all about Millennials.

We didn't forget you, Gen X! This week is all about you. Grunge. Latchkey. Gen-X's unique role as bridge-builders are not merely characteristics but profound gifts that enrich our collective faith journey. So, to all of us here today, let’s embrace and learn from these strengths.

We are one church united in our desire to follow Jesus and grow in our faith. But we are different from one another, most notably, we span 7 generations. We have an incredible opportunity to listen and learn about our faith FROM each other instead of talking PAST each other. Today is all about Millennials.

This past week, we sat down with some of the Millennials in our congregation to hear what they are going through and what they wish others in the church knew about their generation. If there is a through line to our conversations, the survey results, and the research, I would say the through line is Authenticity. Let's talk about it.

The church is a community of people following Jesus. We are united together in our common faith in Jesus and desire to grow closer to God. But while we are united in this, we are not uniform. We are not uniform in what we look like, what we are thinking, where we’ve come from and what we are going through. We are also multigenerational – having people from 7 generations. So we have different perspectives on life and faith. We could learn so much from each other, but it is also easy to talk past each other.

We're starting off this series with our kids and teens. What can they teach us about mental health and it's relation to our faith? What can they show us about the church being a place of belonging? How do the relationships we have in our church impact us?

God is referred to as He, Father, King so much in scripture that many people just assume that is the proper way to talk about God. But people are often surprised that God is also consistently talked about in feminine ways in the Bible as well, especially as a Mother. All of us have images and metaphors for God that are comfortable to us. We need images and metaphors to understand God, but God is always greater than these images. To say God is Father or Mother is a way of getting at God’s character. Like a parent God watches over, protects, disciplines, encourages, and loves us. But this language describes God’s character, not God’s essence. So no matter what words you use to describe God, don’t ever think that those words capture all of who God is.

God is referred to as He, Father, King so much in scripture that many people just assume that is the proper way to talk about God. But people are often surprised that God is also consistently talked about in feminine ways in the Bible as well, especially as a Mother. All of us have images and metaphors for God that are comfortable to us. We need images and metaphors to understand God, but God is always greater than these images. To say God is Father or Mother is a way of getting at God’s character. Like a parent God watches over, protects, disciplines, encourages, and loves us. But this language describes God’s character, not God’s essence. So no matter what words you use to describe God, don’t ever think that those words capture all of who God is.

Does God have a plan. Is God in control? Yes. Do you get to make choices and shape your life? Yes. When you hold these both together, it offers a lot of hope. God is in control and scripture promises that God goes before us, walks with us, and has determined to save us. But in this journey, we have choices about how to live and move through life. And you don’t have to be worried about “missing” God’s plan for your life, because there are so many ways to be faithful to it.