Series:  Fear the 0f Other

Title:  Sheep and GoatsLast week we began to look at Fear of the Other through the lens of Acts 10 where Peter was stretched beyond his borders with the Gentile Cornelius. Peter showed us that we can’t “call any man impure.” But what about passages like Matthew 25 where Jesus Himself seems to construct an “us vs. them” caste system where he uses the images of sheep and goats?  Isn’t this passage a sacred sanction to categorize people? Or is this story an old fashioned finger-wagging to the 1st century religious machine that denied the Gentiles a place in the story of God? Our study this week is called - Sheep and Goats.

Series:  Fear the of Other

Title:  Truth & Experience

This week we want to explore an ancient story found in the book of Acts of the Apostles - chapter 10 & 11. It is known as the story of the conversion of Cornelius (a centurion in the Italian Regiment), but this plot is multi-layered as we also encounter a conversion of Peter (& even others believers in Jerusalem). Everybody is transformed through this process of spiritual friendship. This is really a tale about how God rearranges everyone’s notions of how the world works. How do we look at the outside world? How do you see those who don’t believe in Christ? We are naturally susceptible to creating an us vs them culture. Plan to be with us as we allow God to break down old categories and distinctions. Our study this week is called: Truth & Experience.

Title:  The Golden Chain Part 2

We will continue by centering our thoughts on Spiritual Direction. What is Spiritual direction any way? Was Jesus a proponent of this discipline? Does Paul urge fellow believers along this path? Is the Holy Spirit the ultimate Spiritual Director? Is this ancient practice even relevant in our time and place? Direction sounds awful heavy-handed, controlling and authoritative for our culture. Is there a better word for it? Plan to be with us as we explore how to receive soul care through spiritual companions. Our study is called -The Golden Chain (pt 2).

Title:  The Golden Chain

What a spiritual director was expected to be and do, and how individuals in the church could benefit and grow through the practice of spiritual direction in their lives. We will also consider how this practice has been handed down through the centuries and is still extremely relevant in our present society and spiritual climate. Please join us as we look at "The Golden Chain."

Title:  Gardens of the Kingdom

Our worship will focus on “gardens of the kingdom.” Gardens are places of work and transformation yielding sustenance. The scriptures begin & end with man in a garden (and some pivotal moments in the story-line of

Scripture involve Jesus in a garden). Each one of us is an “icon” of God with garden cravings - longings for beauty, yearnings for wholeness, a magnetic pull to connect with the divine and a deep connection to the dirt from which we emerged. Many people’s obsessions in contemporary culture are simply efforts to experience the garden. What if Jesus came to give us samples of the garden now? Every time we see miracle stories in the Gospels, they are indicators or foretastes - free samples of the garden. Jesus came announcing the kingdom of God to invite people back into an experience of the garden right there. Each one of us, as we follow the way of Jesus, becomes a window to the garden. We can live in the garden now & get the garden then too! Plan on being with us as we explore this theme & reflect on what Jesus is doing in the garden of our souls!

Title:  Mystery that Overwhelms and yet Attracts Part 2

We have been exploring four different lenses that can serve as guidelines to a joyful theological approach to scriptures (& life). Last week we considered that Jesus Christ - not the Bible itself - is the Word and how we should see God’s love in every instance and passage. This week we will continue with the special relationship and bond between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and end on the importance of embracing tension and mystery.

Title:  The Present Future

We have recently just celebrated the Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. When we truly understand (and live out) the events of the Christian year, we are shaped as a church into a people of the future. The End of all things has invaded the present hour, and now the church becomes a preview of what is to come. We are a people “on whom the ends of the ages have come.” It is as if we are from the future showing this present age where everything is headed! What might it look like to be “the evidence of things not seen?” Explore with us this mystery in our study called - The Present Future.

Title:  Mystery that Overwhelms and yet Attracts

We want to piggyback on those thoughts and explore four different points that can serve as guidelines to a joyful theological approach to scriptures (and life). The hinge on which all theology turns must be the revelation of a loving Father who freely gave His Son to reconcile us back to Himself and engage us in the life of the Spirit. Taking our eyes off Christ’s relationship with the Father (and our inclusion in that) degenerates our worship into meaningless, idolatrous rituals. Our study this week is called: Mystery that Overwhelms and yet Attracts.

Title:  Jesus as Our Point of Origin

When we take a journey, we often think of our point of origin as the place that we are trying to distance ourselves from.  But in the spiritual life, we begin to see that our point of origin is in fact also our ultimate destination. Jesus calls us to become who we already are, to realize the fullness of our humanity that is found in union with him. Join us this Saturday as we consider the life that is ours when we learn to live with Jesus as Our Point of Origin.

Series: The Trinity

Title:  What if God want to share the "Holy, Holy, Holy" with us?

The first weekend after Pentecost (in the Church calendar) is always a celebration of the Triune life of God (known as Trinity Sunday). In Isaiah 6, the prophet finds himself caught up in a most fantastical vision. His eyes behold the glory that is God and a host of six winged seraphim dancing around His throne and adoring the beauty that they encounter. Are these angels just singing a repetitve worship tune, or is there something more deep and mysterious in what they are observing and declaring? What if the whole of creation occurred not so that God could have a people, relationship or family, but so the whole human race could become part of a preexisting family?  What if God wants to share the “Holy, Holy, Holy” with us? Plan on exploring this extraordinary story with us and celebrating the mystery of the inner life of God!