This Sunday, we continue our new series leading us toward Advent. Together, we’ll look at Scripture’s first picture of empire—Babel—and see how even the mightiest power collapses when it’s built on pride and set against God’s way. Then we’ll turn inward, asking where the seeds of that same impulse might be taking root in our own hearts.

This episode is meant to cover some ground between each of our stories.  Two things are happening throughout this series: (1) we are covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and (2) I'm assuming an interpretive lens in my storytelling.  In this second bridge talk, I cover both the distance between last week's sermon and next, Babel, and talk about civilization, patterns, and genealogies in the text.

This week we continue a new series that will carry us through to Advent. This week we begin to look at the seeds of empire and how they arose from the first sin, and continued until their natural production and foundation of violence gave way to the flood that destroyed it all. Destruction is never the end; it is sort of a built-in self-purification, and so as throughout all of scripture, sin and chaos never have the final word.

This episode is meant to cover some ground between each of our stories.  Two things are happening throughout this series: (1) we are coving a lot of ground in a short amount of time and (2) I'm assuming an interpretive lens in my story telling.  In this first bridge talk I cover both the distance between last week's sermon and next; and I address the interpretive lens I use to tell these stories. 

This week we begin a new series that will carry us through to Advent. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be telling the story of the Hebrew Bible—the Old Testament. We’re doing this for a few reasons. First, many of us as Christians aren’t sure what to do with the Old Testament or why it matters. Second, we want to paint a picture of the world that made a Messiah necessary—or, put another way, the world into which Jesus was born. And finally, we want to rescue the Old Testament from being seen as a one-dimensional historical record and instead breathe life into it as a story—not just a story that was told, but a story we find ourselves in. This week, we begin with Creation.

In the final sermon of our Liturgical Theology Series, we turn to the familiar subject of Word—Scripture itself. This week, we’ll examine some common but unhelpful (and at times even destructive) ways of approaching the Bible. From there, we’ll build a healthier framework for engaging Scripture—one that honors what it claims for itself and leads us deeper into the life it points toward.

In this week’s sermon, we turn to the familiar subject of Prayer. Before prayer is about receiving answers, it is about realignment with God. Like every liturgy we’ve explored, prayer is a practice of formation—shaping us to live more fully in God’s way. In a world driven by wants and needs, Jesus invites us through prayer not to get more, but to become more—more like him.

In this week's sermon, we wade into the waters of mystery.  We begin by talking about sacraments in general, and funnel down to the speak specifically about communion. While communion is an act of memory, it is so much more when we approach it with a heart of faith. 

This week’s sermon is about confession - the liturgy of truth-telling. Long before it became liturgy, it was part of Israel’s rhythm. Because confession is truth-telling, it’s therefore formational. In a world that prizes curated facades, the church resists by practicing confession as worship.

In this week's sermon we embark on the touchy subject of giving.  Before giving is about meeting needs, which it is.  Before giving is about attempting to steward our possessions, which it is.  Before giving is about paying church salaries, which at times, it is.  Giving is about formation.  In a world that bows to the idols of accumulation, a growing bottom line, and excess Jesus calls us to rebel against these values through the worshipful act of giving.