Teaser: Our neighbors (especially in the PNW) are increasingly likely to answer "none" when asked their religious affiliation. And what about those who have tried church and want nothing to do with it? How does this affect Jesus' call for us to love them?

Teaser: What can Jesus teach us about hanging out with people who are different from us? (hint: he's kind of into it)

Key words: hospitality, curiosity, openness,

Teaser: Luke describes the time Jesus sent 72 followers into towns to learn the Art of Neighboring. What took place in all those homes? People told stories and disciples "earned the right to be heard" by . . . listening before they talked.

Key words: listening

Teaser: In a familiar episode that for many elicits a "flash of annoyance," Jesus forces each of us to ask out our relationship with time. Productivity is great, but our addiction to hustle can sabotage our availability to the interruption of the Gospel, whether at Jesus feet or on the porch next door.

Key Words: neighboring, time, productivity, annoyance, reconciliation, relationships

Theme: Trusting in God's presence to get us beyond the threshold of fear to make kind contact with our neighbors.

Teaser: Jesus' beloved parable tells us a lot about God, but it also tells us a lot about fatherhood . . . as in, it's not easy. In this classic parable Jesus paints a remarkably frank picture of the heartbreak that's never far from the experience of being a dad. Relationships fragment, kids make poor choices, families stumble into dysfunction. All this from a dad Jesus presents as a model for God (or perhaps, that's His point). What's it mean? There's hope for every father!

Key words: Father's Day, forgiveness, Thank You, Churchill, parenting, grown kids

Teaser: Typically we hear about the miracle that took place first Pentecost as a miracle of speaking--each disciple bursting forth in an otherworldly incomprehensible tongue. But read closer; that's not the story Luke tells. Instead, the miracle Luke describes that day is the miracle of hearing. . . of comprehending . . . of crystal clear communication. In giving the Holy Spirit God is at long last reversing the curse of Babel from way back in Genesis 11, creating the possibility of restored community by restoring the possibility of genuine listening.

Key words: Holy Spirit, community, listening, Pueblo Indians, Babel, political discord

Theme: Matthias, "with us the whole time, a witness with us of the resurrection"

Teaser: "Why do you stand here looking into the sky?" With these words, two mysterious men challenge the disciples' initial assumptions about the event Luke chooses for the grand finale of his Gospel--Jesus' ascension into heaven (the quote is actually from the "reprise" of the scene in Acts 1:11). Heeding these words, we'll examine our own assumptions about this climactic (if often perplexing) episode.

Key words: Ascension, Jesus' presence, abandonment, the Lorax

Teaser: What worries you most about our world today? Do you feel "anguish and perplexity," like the "roaring and tossing of the sea"? If so, it doesn't surprise Jesus: he told us it would be like this before it gets better. Yet not only does Jesus promise not to abandon us, he promises to return soon to set things right.

Key Words: future, hope, redemption, courage, end times