King Solomon is one of the most fascinating figures in history. He was a great King, Poet, Lover, Philosopher and Prophet. In 1st Kings Chapter 3 we read about God coming to him in a dream and offering to fulfill his greatest wish. Rather than wishing for riches or a long life, Solomon desires wisdom. This weekend, Dr. Jim Keck will delve into the story of Solomon for wisdom we can use in these trying times.

The great dream of Jacob where angels are ascending and descending upon a ladder has often been interpreted as the better angels of our own nature as we strive to manifest our most noble traits. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend as we share this aspirational and inspirational dream.

One of the events that most shaped the story of our faith is the Babylonian captivity. In the sixth century Jerusalem and the temple fell to invasion and thousands of people were exiled to a foreign land. In this time of pandemic, perhaps many of us feel exiled. What was Gods message to the exiled Jews? This week we will read Isaiah together and listen for a word of hope.

Using the passage about the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, Dr. Keck will explore how we each lack a perfect clarity of vision and our brain tends to over compensate and make us more confident of our perceptions than is sensible. Fun optical illusions, Immanuel Kant and Buddhist non-duality will all make it into this sermon about spiritual understanding.

So often it's easy for us to see someone in need and pass right by, thinking "That's not my neighborhood. That's not my responsibility. That's not my Child." Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that we are all neighbors and that when we truly follow Jesus we cannot ignore our brothers and sisters who are suffering; we must not turn away and look to the other side of the road. It's time for us to be more like Jesus and courageously love one another.

Much of Jesus ministry was lakeside. The lake of Galilee is so prominent in our Gospels its virtually a character in the story. (It's called the "Sea of Galilee" simply because their language did not differentiate between oceans and lakes). Let's spend this Sunday on the lake and recall again the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5. In these difficult times, a simple story about abundance, joy and some time at the lake might do us all some good.

We live in a time where worship at churches has been mostly suspended due to the pandemic. Quickly, the faith communities reacted and moved into the realm of digital worship. At some point, we will return to in-person worship, but now there will always be a digital opportunity for worship and the nature of Christian worship is changing before our very eyes. Join Dr. Jim Keck at 10:30am online to consider the spiritual effects of the massive changes underway.

Using a remarkable passage where Jesus himself seems to display a culturally conditioned prejudice but reacts quickly to right the wrong, Dr. Jim Keck will highlight that one of the major impulses behind the creation of our New Testament was an effort to bridge the divide between Jew and Gentile which could be a model for healing our current divisions.

It is Pentecost Sunday and Dr. Jim Keck will use Acts Chapter two to envision a new Pentecost underway in our time of the pandemic. Like the first Pentecost, the Christian movement is being transformed in our own time. Come Holy Spirit, Come!

Jesus begins his great sermon by announcing blessings on the very people that felt cursed by their circumstances. In these difficult days of a pandemic, it is a good time to gather together as a church around these amazing words of Jesus and discover together that God's blessings never cease. Join Dr. Jim Keck this Sunday for church online!