Often following graduation there’s this urge to go find the perfect job that will pay a bunch, invest well, and get rich. (Isn’t that why you got educated?)  Solomon warns about trying to get rich, especially “get-rich-quick” schemes. On the other end of the spectrum are those who think life will be handed to them, […]

Graduation and graduation talks are not usually packed with humble words. Instead, graduates hear about how they have arrived, they did it, they are smart, how far they’ve come, and that the future is in their hands.  Sometimes this can cause feelings of pride and superiority to all those somewhere behind them in the academic […]

Shame, belonging, failure, wanting and needing love. These are core concerns for children in foster care, but they are issues we all face. We are children of a God whose love is extravagant and unconditional. How does that reality help to heal our own insecurities and equip us to restore others?  

The great commission to go and make disciples of all nations and Jesus’ declaration that, when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be my witnesses, have often felt like a call to share information. There is important information to share, but if we look back at our first week and the definition expanded, […]

It may seem almost natural to love our own team. It’s no big challenge to be devoted to the people who are on our side, our party, our school, our church, our neighborhood.  But the call of Christ is to bless the opposition. This means not restricting our love to those we define as loveable, […]

We believe there is only one God, and that God has defined himself as love. So, are we open to recognizing that “love” is a revelation of God in all world faiths, not just Christianity? John seems unequivocal that “whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him,” and that if anyone says […]

Taking a look at 1 Corinthians 13 and Jesus’ “greatest commandment” will enable some enlarging of the definition into how we practice love and how to recognize counterfeit love, especially in ourselves. How does love behave, and what are some clear signs that, regardless of loving words, the actions and behaviors can’t be love because […]

Resurrection and resulting resurrection life are both done by the Spirit for us and not by us.  The night before the crucifixion, Jesus prepares his followers for his death and for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t tell the disciples and us how to form resurrection life in ourselves, but simply tells us […]

We live in a world that is constantly in transition.  What is true of the world is also true of the church. In this complex context, many today are asking the question, “Where do I fit in?”  The sermon attempts to show that there is permanence and belonging in Christ. Guest Speaker: Dan Jackson, President […]

Many of us feel as though we just need to live with guilt.  After all, it is our place and our state of being, right? In Romans 3:23, the Bible says “all have sinned and fallen short.”  Though God never intended for us to live within this emotional and spiritual state, it has been the […]