When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem from exile in 538BC, nothing was as they hoped.

Politically: Their hopes had been dashed, and they found themselves under the reign of Persia rather than building an independent government.

Professionally: Their efforts were fruitless, because as farmers they’d found the land they returned to in drought.

Relationally: Many of their neighbors looked at them suspiciously, and there was a mutual distrust between these people moving back in and those who had been left behind.

So the people turned inward and focused on building their own personal homes. "The world’s a mess so I’ll just work on my own small plot." Sound familiar? Understandable?

But God said NO! Instead, God instructed them to Rebuild, Rebuild, Rebuild!

There are times God tells us to wait: times God tells us to start something new; times God tells us to stop, let go, and move on. But sometimes, God says, take what you have – things that seem ruined – and rebuild.

Think about what needs “rebuilding” around you and within you. Then read the Scripture passages for this sermon and ask God to help you see what "temples” in our lives have been left in ruins that God wants us to help renovate, restore, or redeem.

So the story goes... St. Patrick was kidnapped into slavery from his home in England at the age of 16. After years of slavery in Ireland he escaped, returned to his homeland, and became a priest. But one night, God woke him with a dream, encouraging him to go back to his captors - to the strange land Ireland - and take the Good News of Jesus Christ there. Until St. Patrick, Christianity had not spread past the Roman Empire, but God asked St. Patrick to leave his home and return to the place he was enslaved to help set THEM free with the grace that comes from God in Jesus.

Ask yourself who God is asking you to forgive? Where in your life or history is God asking you to extend God’s grace? For when God’s heart becomes our home, it’s not luck but a love that knows no boundaries that takes us to the strange land of healing and reconciliation.

As we explore “Does God Have Home?” in this sermon through 1 Kings 8 and Luke 2:41-52, passages about the Temple dedication, the extravagant number of sacrifices, and Jesus making the Temple a priority, ask yourself why you take time to come to a "temple” and worship God? And take a moment to define “extravagance” from God’s perspective.

"Abraham then moved on to the hills … and pitched his tent. There he built an altar to the LORD.” Genesis 12:8

As we journey through Lent, we move from the Garden, God’s first home with Adam and Eve, to the wilderness with Abraham.

Oh I love this image of Father Abraham wandering in the wilderness, pitching his tent for the night. Did you know that the term “Hebrew” likely comes from the word ABHAR, “to pass over,” hence EBHER, in the sense of a "sojourner" or "passer through" as distinct from a "settler" in the land? And this applies to the condition of Abraham (Hebrews 11:13). Some even say that Hebrew means the equivalent of bedouin, a wandering people.

Interesting, isn’t? The first people God calls His/Her own are a people without a home, traveling from one place to another. And yet, as Abraham finds himself in a new place each night, he pitches his tent and then makes an altar. In other words, although his surroundings have altered, the altar reminds him that God’s promises remain the same.

Do you feel like your "surroundings" have shifted or been altered recently? Do you feel like you or we as a people are wandering? It is in that sparse place that God makes great promises. Read about the promises God makes with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-8 and this week's Psalm - Psalm 121. Then, listen to this sermon as we wrestle with what “God will provide” really means, especially in the wilderness as well as what trust can look like in a deserted place.

It is with a sad heart that I let you know that Pastor Alisa was not able to preach this Sunday as her husband, Chris, had a loss in his family. His Grandmother, whom he wrote about so beautifully in his Lenten Devotional from 2016, passed way, so they are away for a celebration of her life.

Strikingly, I think Chris' devotional from last year helps us to prepare for this sermon. There, he talks about how his Grandmother created a home for her family - a place to find new life. Just before one of the Scriptures for this sermon (Genesis 3:1-9), God has created a home - a place of new life - for Adam and Eve in the Garden.

Think about your own home of origin. What was it like? Was it a place that you always wanted to go back to, or was it a place you wanted independence from? Why?

This Lent, we are considering the belief that God desires to reside in us, and God desires that we reside in God. But do we strive to stay there, or do we seek independence from God? Why?

My hope and prayer is that this Lenten season will help all of us to strive to stay there (even as God often leads us to new places).

I am pleased to say that Rev. Mark Schaefer, the University Chaplain for American University and a United Methodist Elder, was here to guide us into the Genesis passage noted above as well as Matthew 4:1-11. So, I hope you'll take some time for reflection and prayer around these Scriptures as you prepare to enter into God's presence by listening to this sermon.

For this sermon, we encounter two Scriptures where God meets men up on mountains. One is Moses climbing Mount Sinai to receive stone tablets of commandments and laws from God, Exodus 24:12-18. The other is Jesus with James, John and Peter and not only does Jesus become shiny and dazzling white, but Moses and Elijah appear on this mountain in Matthew 17:1-9. Now there is so much going on in these stories, it’s almost easy for us to miss that in both, God gives some very important instructions. God commands Moses to come up the mountain and wait. And in our second Scripture, God commands Peter, all the disciples, to listen.

Now, I don’t know about you, but those are two instructions that I don’t always love receiving. I’m impatient and like to things to progress quickly - waiting, uggghhhh. And usually when I’m instructed to listen, it’s because I’m not and really need to be. Despite that I likely need to be scolded, it’s rarely fun.

As we prepare for Lent (beginning March 1st, Ash Wednesday), we will explore how these stories teach us to reclaim and practice listening and waiting as a way to connect with God and one another.

One way I’ve been listening and preparing for this sermon, is by reading Exodus 24:12-18, God telling Moses to “Come and Wait” followed by the Alabama Shakes Song “Hold On.” There is something about Brittany Howard’s bluesy and soulful voice that helps me to hear Moses’ story: what it means to wait for God in a new way. If you connect to God through music, I encourage you to do the same!

Can you keep a secret?

Is keeping a secret something easy or difficult for you to do? Can you be stealthy with a secret, or do you find yourself almost giddy wanting to share that secret with others? Does knowing a secret ever change the way you live, even a little bit?

Think about how you think we are to live our lives of faith. Should our faith be "loud" or "easily recognizable" as Christian; should it be lived in "secret;" or should it be some combination to the previous two? I ask, because this week, we'll be considering Jesus as 007. How do those two images - Jesus and a Secret Agent Man - fit together in your mind, or do they at all?

To guide our ponderings, we'll look to Matthew 13:31-33 and 1 Peter 3:9-17. So, I hope you'll take some time before listening to consider what light these passages might shed on the questions above.

As you look back over the week, have you spotted Jesus? Think back: where might you have seen him this week - anywhere strange or the usual places?

As we continue our sermon series, “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?” we are going to explore Mark 5 with the help of Acts 2. In the gospel, we find Jesus in a strange place. He’s surrounded by a Legion of Demons. More specifically, Jesus is out in the “tombs” with a fiercely strong, seemingly crazy stranger. And we find Jesus in the midst of deliverance ministry.

Does that idea, “Deliverance ministry," pique your interest or give you the heebie jeebies? Does it instantly conjure up flashbacks of the old Exorcist movie or something else? Take a moment before listening, and ask yourself a simple question: "If Jesus suddenly showed up on my shore, like he did the man in the gospel lesson, what would I hope to be delivered from?"

Then listen, ready to explore this ancient, sort-of unrelated text, as we discover the Jesus who delivers.

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