Title: When the Wind Blows.

We have been exploring different episodes and encounters in the life of Jesus during this season of Epiphany. We examined Jesus and the prophetic tradition (John the Baptist) in the waters of Jordan as Jesus sanctified the waters of baptism and received the Holy Spirit into our humanity. We inquired into Jesus and the Evil One in the wilderness temptation as Jesus overcame temptation on behalf of all humanity. This week we consider Jesus with the religious elite (Nicodemus) in John 3. Nicodemus, in the dark night, is asked to rethink everything and be born from above. Being born again is risky business! Our study this week is called: When the Wind Blows. 

Title: The Devil made me do it.

We are in this time of Epiphany where we are examining the life of Jesus. Following his baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the Judean wilderness where he would spend 40 days praying and fasting, as he was on the cusp of his public ministry. Maybe Christ was contemplating how he would go about the work of being the Messiah. What path would he take? As Jesus pondered how to go about his mission we are told the devil came to him with some detrimental alternatives. Was Jesus really tempted by these unsuitable options? Did this trilogy of bread, entertainment, and power really make him consider the dark side? Plan to be with us as we explore the temptations of Jesus in a study called: the Devil made me do It. 

Title: A Dove and a Voice

We always begin each new year by remembering our baptismal vows together, so we find ourselves in the Gospel of Mark with John in the wilderness ministering a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. What is odd is that while John is proclaiming repentance and baptizing sinners in the waters of Jordan, Jesus comes to be baptized! Jesus has sanctified the waters by plunging into them. How are we to understand the sinless One being baptized for repentance? What is happening in this moment? Plan to be with us as we explore our baptism and the baptism of Jesus in a study called -- A Dove and Voice.

Series:  Advent

Title: Love came Down

he final week of Advent and Christmas Eve. No one but God could have ever conceived of a plan like the Incarnation! Eternity entering time. The infinite contained in space and time. The Creator becomes a part of His creation to redeem it from corruption. Heaven colliding with earth. God becoming man! We want to take some time to meditate and ponder on how the Eternal God took up residence in the womb of a virgin. The heart of Christianity lies in this scandalous mystery, and we want to allow space for this to move from being merely doctrine to something that intrudes into our dailyness. Plan to be with us for this gathering that will be filled with readings, traditional carols, the Eucharist, and a sermon entitled: Love came Down. 

Series:  Advent

Title: Joy

This week the Advent calendar beckons us to consider joy. It is the life we were made for, but somewhere along the way our joy has become twisted and confused, and it has lost its deep roots. We will be looking at joy this Saturday night and how to live joyfully, in community, in the midst of our everyday lives, and in the sure hope of all that God has planned for us.

Series:  Advent

Title: Peace

During the second week of Advent we look at: PEACE. The angel trumpeted "Peace on Earth" that first Christmas. Yet, we live in a world of conflict:  inner turmoil and outer tumult. What is the peace that God promises? From social media posts to conversations over family dinner, how can we become peacemakers? 

Series:  Advent

Title: Hope

This Sunday we ponder what it means to hope and to wait. The prophet Isaiah will lead us, proclaiming a vision of ultimate hope:  the new heavens and the new earth. What does it really mean to believe that ALL things will be made new? 

Series:  Skepticism, Doubt, Uncertainty, Divine Hiddenness - FAITH on the EDGE

Title: Hide and Seek Pt 2?

This will be our last sermon in our series-- Faith on the Edge. Last week, we saw how God’s hiddenness is actually an expression of His love. He hides, so we have space to cultivate a seeking heart. He doesn’t overwhelm, and He desires to grow us beyond just being interested in Him for His gifts. Are there other reasons He seems hard to find? The Bible is full of examples of God’s presence going unnoticed and unrecognized where people were completely unaware. It seems like it is possible for people who should be most able to identify the presence and work of God to be unable to discern His visitation in their midst. When it comes to divine hiddenness, we often contribute to our own blindness. Plan to be with us for this conclusion in a sermon called: Hide and Seek (Part 2). 

Series:  Skepticism, Doubt, Uncertainty, Divine Hiddenness - FAITH on the EDGE

Title: Hide and Seek?

We have been looking at Faith on the Edge and last week started exploring the hiddenness of God. The overarching storyline of the Bible is about a divine pursuit - humanity hides, God seeks. But other passages of Scriptures talk about God’s absence, His silence and even hiding. So why would God hide? The quick, easy answer is - sin (which rings true in many situations). But are there other reasons for divine hiddenness? Might love and hiddenness have more in common than we originally imagined? Plan to be with us as we examine some of the reasons behind God’s hiding. Our study is called: Hide and Seek.

Series:  Skepticism, Doubt, Uncertainty, Divine Hiddenness - FAITH on the EDGE

Title: Hound or Hidden?

Picking back up with our series (Faith on the Edge), we move from ex- ploring the gifts of uncertainty and the nature of faith to the hiddenness of God. Some artists and thinkers have talked about God as hidden, secret, cryptic, or absent. Others have found Him everywhere and in everything. So which is it? Is God playing hard to get, or is He always readily available? Plan to be with us for this introduction to the next part of our series called— Hound or Hidden?