We can and should debate all day long on immigration policy. The ability to love one another while being united in mission in the midst of disagreeing viewpoints is one of the hallmarks of a strong and healthy church. But what is the role of the Church when politics and Biblical teaching collide?

One Hope: God's Promise Through Isaiah

One Hope: God's Promise Through Isaiah

All day, every day, we’re surrounded by people making judgment calls about us. We’re led to believe that the key to our success is in being memorable for all the right reasons. We don’t want to feel forgotten. Or worse - that we, ourselves, are forgettable. So what does God say to a group of people afraid of being forgotten, afraid of being left behind, to you and to me in those moments?

One Hope: God's Promise Through Isaiah

One Hope: God's Promise Through Isaiah

Unexpected: When God Catches You by Surprise

Unexpected: When God Catches You by Surprise

When we are desperate, when we are longing, when we want to know HOW God is going to show up and help, it’s no wonder that we respond with some ambivalence! For most of us, the Spirit is either...this intangible mysterious gift better left unopened...OR this super-dramatic, even scary force that I better keep my distance from. AND YET, the angel’s answer, the answer of Scripture again and again, to all our “How” questions, is the Holy Spirit. So who is this Holy Spirit, and why is this Spirit good news?

The good life was still within my reach, I reasoned. I just needed a little bit more and I’d be all set. When times get tight, financially, do you ever spin out like me? Start wandering down the paths of “if only …” and, “I’d be set if only...” I would bet that most of us have gone down this rabbit trail at some time or other. But here’s where we get it wrong. Here’s how I got it wrong. We think that the connection between money and contentedness comes down to this one word: security. I think, if I had more money, I would feel more secure. If I had more security, I would be happier. Therefore, more money would make me more happier. Or maybe for you, it’s not about money. It’s what that money can get you. Musician John Mayer was interviewed awhile ago when he was 25, and he said, “The odd thing about having this kind of money at 25 is that everything always works. My watch works. My car works. Everything around me always runs smoothly. Things are supposed to break when you’re 25, but they don’t break for me.” So many of us, we don’t want money in and of itself. It’s not about that for us. We just want everything to work. We don’t need the nicest stuff. We just need the nicer stuff. The stuff that doesn’t break all the time, that we don’t have to worry about. That would make us happy. Is that too much to ask? And you know, sometimes that logic works out, and for a while we find happiness. But sometimes it doesn’t.