In the modern world, you are more likely to hear about fasting from a Muslim, Buddhist, nutrition expert, or fitness guru than from a serious disciple of Jesus. Most followers of Jesus in the West no longer fast; if they do, it’s rarely on a weekly basis, despite the fact that it was the common practice of the church for well over a millennium and a half to do so. Yet in his teaching on fasting in Matthew 6:16, Jesus said, “When you fast ….” Not “If you fast ….” He assumed his apprentices would follow his example by fasting. What if we are missing out on one of the most essential and powerful of all the practices of Jesus?

Fasting

Fasting is one of the most essential and powerful of all the practices of Jesus and, arguably, the single most neglected one in the modern, Western church. Fasting is a way that we can integrate our whole body into life with God.

Stories are hardwired into our brains — they are how we make sense of the world around us and our experiences within it. From ancient cave paintings and oral histories, to classic novels and plays, to blockbuster movies and TV shows, our culture is both understood and shaped by stories.

It should come as no surprise then that Jesus came as a master storyteller. God created us as narrative beings and so stories are the perfect way for us to understanding the Kingdom of God.

Most people spend their lives pursuing, but coming up short on finding happiness. The whole entertainment industry in the West has been built upon this pursuit, but this search leaves so many feeling feeling unfulfilled because we are hardwired by our creator for a similar but yet deeper experience that scriptures call "joy".

Advent 2025

The build up to Christmas is a time of intense preparations, but we get so busy preparing our homes that we forget about preparing our hearts. Culturally we are more conditioned to prepare for the arrival of Santa than we are Jesus! But that's why for hundreds of years the church has embraced the season of Advent — an invitation to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus afresh in our lives again at Christmastime.

Instead of being simply the absence of conflict, the biblical idea of peace runs so much deeper. Peace is wholeness and completeness — it is the opposite of brokenness. There is so much brokenness in our lives and the world at large, but at Advent we look forward to Jesus' coming and return — the Prince of Peace who will one day heal brokenness at every level of society once and for all.

Advent 2025

The build up to Christmas is a time of intense preparations, but we get so busy preparing our homes that we forget about preparing our hearts. Culturally we are more conditioned to prepare for the arrival of Santa than we are Jesus! But that's why for hundreds of years the church has embraced the season of Advent — an invitation to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus afresh in our lives again at Christmastime.

If you want to see the power of hope in operation, just take a look at a child as they long for the day that they get to find an unwrap the perfect gift under the Christmas tree. Hope can sustain us, but the flip side of hope is waiting, and we aren't very good at waiting. Waiting reminds us that we are not in control of our lives — it's an affront to our pride — but it's in the waiting that God does his work.

Advent 2025

The build up to Christmas is a time of intense preparations, but we get so busy preparing our homes that we forget about preparing our hearts. Culturally we are more conditioned to prepare for the arrival of Santa than we are Jesus! But that's why for hundreds of years the church has embraced the season of Advent — an invitation to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus afresh in our lives again at Christmastime.

Even the most die-hard lovers of the holiday season would admit feeling stressed at some point at this time of year. Taking our already busy lives and adding an additional layer of shopping, parties, school performances, and food preparation often pushes us over from busyness (having a lot to do) into hurry (having too much to do). If we want to experience this time of year as the season of hope, peace, joy, and love that it was always meant to be, it's going to require us to take some steps to slow down, and become more present to those who are closest to us.

Stories are hardwired into our brains — they are how we make sense of the world around us and our experiences within it. From ancient cave paintings and oral histories, to classic novels and plays, to blockbuster movies and TV shows, our culture is both understood and shaped by stories.

It should come as no surprise then that Jesus came as a master storyteller. God created us as narrative beings and so stories are the perfect way for us to understanding the Kingdom of God.

Everyone has the own idea about what the "good life" is and how to find it. It's what every advertisement is trying to sell us, but the good life can't be found in a new car or phone. Jesus' take on the good life shocked his first hearers. He taught that the good news of the coming kingdom of God is that the subjects of the kingdom get to experience the good life, but that it wouldn't look anything like they imagined...

Everyone has the own idea about what the "good life" is and how to find it. It's what every advertisement is trying to sell us, but the good life can't be found in a new car or phone. Jesus' take on the good life shocked his first hearers. He taught that the good news of the coming kingdom of God is that the subjects of the kingdom get to experience the good life, but that it wouldn't look anything like they imagined...

The idea of miraculous healing provokes so many different reactions among people. Some believe in it, some don't. Some run after it, some are afraid of it. Some want to experience it but are not sure where to start, and some are tired of praying for it with little to show for it. Join us for a conversation about this complex topic as we share stories of both healing and suffering, and get real about the joy and the pain of going after divine healing in our church community.