Mark 2:23-3:5 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | From ancient times, God's people have been curious about what we can and cannot do on the Sabbath. But, if we properly understand Jesus' exchange with the Pharisees about the Sabbath rules, we should figure out ways that we can work the Sabbath for our own benefit and the benefit of the inbreaking kingdom of God. What are the ways that Christians living in the 21st Century can fulfill the demands of the third commandment and receive the gracious gift of Sabbath?

Genesis 2:1-3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The Sabbath is not given so that we can be refreshed for another grueling week of work. If this were so, we might understand toil and hardship to be the destiny of humankind. Quite the opposite, the Sabbath, according to one Jewish rabbi, is the "last in creation, first in intention." Sabbath is God's intention. It is a means by which we learn to delight in the Lord and by which learn to appreciate the gift and vocation of creation.

Luke 12:32-41 | Rev. Miriam Smith | Robust, living faith involves questions. We ask questions of God; God asks questions of us. It's in wrestling with these questions that we better come to understand ourselves and discover the growing edges in our relationship with the Lord.

Ruth 3:11-13; 4:1-12 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The biggest danger to any relationship is dishonesty, especially when practiced in families. Dishonesty erects walls that prevent intimacy and love. And when intimacy and love are not available, families fall apart. Boaz conducts his family business in the open, preferring to risk a potential marriage than to build it on deception.

Ruth 3:11-13; 4:1-12 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The biggest danger to any relationship is dishonesty, especially when practiced in families. Dishonesty erects walls that prevent intimacy and love. And when intimacy and love are not available, families fall apart. Boaz conducts his family business in the open, preferring to risk a potential marriage than to build it on deception.

Mk 11:1-11 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | When Jesus enters Jerusalem to inaugurate his kingdom, to fulfill his journey to death, and to offer himself for the sins of the world, he does so upon a previously unridden donkey. God's salvation is so unprecedented, so new and remarkable, that even its conveyance into our lives is unsullied and unadulterated by our pasts, our sins, and our failures. It is entirely new. The Kingdom's entrance into our lives today must needs be no different.

Mk 11:1-11 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | When Jesus enters Jerusalem to inaugurate his kingdom, to fulfill his journey to death, and to offer himself for the sins of the world, he does so upon a previously unridden donkey. God's salvation is so unprecedented, so new and remarkable, that even its conveyance into our lives is unsullied and unadulterated by our pasts, our sins, and our failures. It is entirely new. The Kingdom's entrance into our lives today must needs be no different.

Num 13:1-2, 17-29 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Sometimes all we have is a glimpse of the future, a glimpse that can be interpreted in any number of ways. Sometimes the greatest challenge in the wilderness is keeping our eyes fixed on the fruit that God is already providing, focusing on the signs of hope, and trusting that the same providence that has led us up to that point will see us through whatever challenges remain.

Num 13:1-2, 17-29 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Sometimes all we have is a glimpse of the future, a glimpse that can be interpreted in any number of ways. Sometimes the greatest challenge in the wilderness is keeping our eyes fixed on the fruit that God is already providing, focusing on the signs of hope, and trusting that the same providence that has led us up to that point will see us through whatever challenges remain.

Numbers 11:10-23 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Even our grumbling is not an occasion for God to desert us. God has staked his claim in us, and God will be responsive to our needs. God knows that none of us can carry the burden alone, not even the most talented and dedicated among us. We are blessed by a rich diversity of gifts, enabled by God's own Spirit, that provide for the leadership, resources, and talents needed for the completion of the journey.