In our Focus Text for this week Jesus challenges the idea that the 'correct' thing to do is always the right thing to do. The correct thing would be to NOT to do any work on the Sabbath Day, the right thing was healing a suffering man. He also challenges our assumptions about what is a place of honor and who should be welcome at the table. Do not assume your place of privilege & power, rather invite the powerless to find a place at the table.

How can Jesus tell us “do not worry” when that simply isn’t an option. Pastor Chad acknowledges there is no magic switch that turns off worry, fear, and anxiety. He introduces us to a story told by St Francis of Assisi about The Wolf of Gubbio. Fear of the wolf gripped the town so tightly they were paralyzed. Francis on the other hand, went out to the forest to observe the wolf and learn what was behind its behavior. By better understanding what was behind their fear the town was able to come together to address the needs of the wolf. By acting in love as a community they were able to remove the power fear held over them. That is why Jesus can tell us “do not worry” because as we seek out God’s Kingdom in community with AGAPE love we loosen the grip fear has on each other.

Good Samaritans are known around the world as the strangers who help the injured or the stranded. But Pastor Stephanie reminds us that there is more to the story than just being helpful. We need to recognize what Jesus was doing when he made an outsider the hero of the story. He was challenging the lawyer’s view of who could be a hero and therefor who was his neighbor he was called to love as he loves himself. We are called to love everyone as we love ourselves, even (and especially) those who don’t look or believe or behave like we do, those we disagree with, and those on the other side of the road. This is AGAPE love shared with everyone without condition!

It's a New Year and that often prompts us to decide where we need to be in 2026. Our Focus Text is the only Gospel that shares anything about Jesus' life between his birth and his Baptism by John some 30 years later. Pastor Chad invites us to consider this guidance for our own lives. Like Jesus we can benefit from listening and asking questions to help us discern who God is calling us to become in the year ahead. In 2026 take time to discern more than decide, to listen & question to grow in wisdom and in years!

Advent is about love. Promises are made in wedding vows, promises that seem filled with love. While the best intentions are behind these vows, the reality of life quickly brings them crashing down. Pastor Chad wonders if wedding vows are overpromised much like the marketing of the newest phone. We quickly become disappointed when something overpromised doesn’t materialize. So, does God overpromise? The Birth of John the Baptist, our Focus Text this week, is a reminder of the promises God makes to accompany us through the tough times, God doesn’t promise the absence of trouble but the presence of hope & love in the midst of it.

Advent is about joy. We’re not talking about happiness, which is momentary and based on circumstances or accomplishments. Joy is lasting and based in gratitude. Even when Mary was facing an uncertain future as an unmarried pregnant girl she found joy in the promises God had made to her and to generations of her ancestors. With the same hope and faith we can find joy even in the darkest of circumstances and when we feel we have failed.

Advent is about waiting. We are waiting for the birth of Jesus but we are also waiting for God’s vision for the world to become a reality. The Prophet Isaiah shares imagery of what some have called The Peaceable Kingdom would look like. The problem? It sounds like nonsense, predator and prey eating together, children playing in deadly places, you’ll be waiting a long time for that to happen! But when we are waiting with hope we start to see God’s vision become a reality as we work to build the community God is calling us to become.

As we enter the Season of Advent, the season of waiting for the birth of Jesus Pastor Stephanie invites us to consider the different ways we wait. How can the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth teach us to wait?

In a country obsessed with the idea of royalty, how does Jesus being Christ the King fit in? As we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, we will explore the differences between human royalty and Jesus as our King.

How do you envision God? Is it the same “old man with a long beard floating in the clouds” you imagined based on the stories you heard as a kid? Or has it changed with life experience? The parable in this week’s focus texts features a character whose vision of his master scared him so much that he buried his Talent in the ground. If we envision God as judgmental we will tend to experience the world as punishment and not live in the freedom God intends. If we envision God as full of grace, mercy, compassion, and love we reflect that in the way we share an AGAPE type love in action with our neighbors.