This week we will be contemplating the idea of gratitude and what it means to be thankful. We will stop for a few moments and reflect on people and circumstances that have made a difference in our lives.

This week we contemplated and put into practice the idea of Awareness—an Awareness of God who is at work in every facet of our world. God is at work in everything, in everyone! There is no secular or sacred, no part of our lives that isn’t building the kingdom of God. We are called to be aware and see God in His wonderful creation, in the work that we do on a daily basis, and in the people we encounter all around us. It is so easy to mindlessly rush through life, missing God’s presence, not hearing what Francis of Assisi called “the song of the angels,” and losing sight of God’s continued presence in the world and in our lives. So join us as we examine what it means to: Be Aware, Be Very Aware!

Title: Beauty Will Save the World

Our first gathering back will be focused around the theme of -- Beauty. How does the gospel make us beautiful? What if Salvation is really about the transformation of the self into the beauty of God?

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: Release the Rage

This week we go back to Psalm 137 and notice the movement from lament to imprecatory. As Christians what are we to do with these pesky, imprecatory Psalms that cry out for blood-thirsty revenge? Are these Old Covenant anthems still relevant for a Christian playlist? The ending of the Psalmist’s song does not seem to connect at all with Jesus’ thoughts on enemy love. What can be done when we find rage rising up within our soul? Rage needs to find expression as much as lament. Plan to be with us as we look at the sacred art of relinquishment in a study called - Release the RAGE!

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: Our Harps Upon the Willows

We are still in our summer series with the Psalms. This week we will encounter the Psalms as blues. Psalm 137 is a soundtrack for the lost art of lament. Lament prevents us from sliding prematurely over suffering and loss into a happy ending. Sometimes we must park stubbornly in the grief and anguish of a moment and stay there for awhile. This ancient tradition of lament Psalms gives us words when there are no words. God validates our pain, and our cries of mourning are an invaluable part of spiritual growth. What does the power of lament say to us in a culture of denial? Plan to be with us as we explore this Psalm in a study called: Our Harps Upon The Willows.

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: Fear...... But don't Fear.

We are continuing with our series, Psalms of the Summer. The fear of the Lord is a concept that is mentioned throughout the Psalms, but it is one that we don't really understand well. However, as we learn what it means to walk in the fear of the Lord and how to actually live in that place of awe at the divine mystery who is God, we realize that we don't have to fear the many other things that are around us. Living in the fear of the Lord actually causes us to lose our fear of the things that can beset us from all sides. Join us as we consider the message: Fear.... but don't Fear.

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: Envy - the offended self

Envy sits at home in this age of the offended self. Envy has a green-eyed view of the world that damages a community, damages your own soul, and damages your life in God. Envy needs to be seen and known for what it is so that a remedy can be applied.  Come and consider this deadly vice, one that hails back to ancient days. We will consider: Envy -- the offended self.

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: Enough - Simplicity and Fidelity in an Age of Excess

We are in our series: PSALMS of the Summer. This week we will explore Psalm 73. There is just enough disappointment, unfairness, injustice, and hurt in any person’s life to provide the raw material for the imagination to work itself up in a frenzy of self-pity.  The 73rd Psalm shows us the movement of faith out of a painful disorientation into a joyful reorientation which is marked by a simplicity and fidelity to God and others. This particular Psalm is an act of faith -- a mighty engagement with God, a railing against God, and then a deep communion with God. Maybe Psalm 73 can function as a script to diagnose the pathology of our society (celebrity culture and consumerism) by which we are easily seduced from a life of union with God and communion with others. Our study this week is called -- ENOUGH - Simplicity and Fidelity in an Age of Excess.

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: Shock and Awe

As we continue with our series, Psalms of the Summer, we will be considering the idea of awe. What does God do that causes people to be awe-inspired? Do we sometimes get so focused on "awesome" things that we miss the wonders of God that are around us all the time? What does it mean to live life well with a sense of the presence and wonder of God in all that we do and see and in every person we encounter? We will walk together through Psalm 65 in a message called: Shock and Awe.

Series:  Psalms of the Summer

Title: True Grit

We will begin a new series for the summer called: Psalms of the Summer.  The Psalms are the root system of daily prayer. (This has been the consensus of the church for 2,000 years.) Augustine called the the Psalms a “school.” Ambrose provided us with a livelier metaphor: “gymnasium” (where we go for daily workouts, keeping ourselves in shape for a life of spirituality). To pray the Psalms is to embrace the whole gamut of human experience — the bright lights (gospel music) and dark corners of the human soul (the blues). The Psalms equip us to "come to attention" and notice the grace of God that is always at work in our lives. This week will be an introduction to the Psalms as a whole in a study called: TRUE GRIT.