Journey Church

It is much easier to shine light on skeletons that aren’t ours than it is to shine light on skeletons that are.  What happens when we let that light in and allow God to restore those skeletons to who they were created to be?

Are we in pursuit of a knowledge of God or are we in pursuit of God? From what well are we drawing our nourishment? What is our source of sustenance. Are we dependent or do we insist on trying to live as self existent beings.

European Christianity is struggling to survive. The nation of Islam sweeps through the civilized West conquering everything in its path. It is finally halted in the Battle of Tours. The fusion of church and state continues and on Christmas Day 800 AD Charlemagne is crowned as the new Roman Emperor. How do we share our faith – though violence or invitation?

As the Roman empire crumbles and Europe becomes fragmented through invasion and disease, the church remains and its leadership in the west emerges in the form of The Papacy. We have a tendency to look back at history as the good and the bad, but the two are often intertwined. How does this reflect our own story?

Where did we get the bible from? Is it trustworthy? How long has it existed? This is a conversation about authority and trust.

In response to the morphing of the church in the era of Constantine, men and women began to flee to the desert and began a new form of Christian expression. Monasticism was both harmful and helpful. They have modeled for us how to avoid excess and create space. What thing is in your life that demands your attention in such a way that you are torn from God?

Worship in the early church was expressed through imagery. Our canvas is the context for our creativity. Yes, it has limitations just as all mediums have limitations, but what if the limitations were actually a gift?

Guest Speaker- Hank Fortener. We are all wounded. No one else but Jesus has the ability to cauterize the wound, heal us, give us life again, and send us to the very place where we are standing.

St. Augustine was remembered as the father of grace in the history of the church. He fought for the centrality of grace not as an intellectual, but as someone whose life experienced it. What would our lives look like if we were able to experience that grace?

Many people believe that the most important day of their life is the day of their greatest victory. In reality, if you embrace it,  the moment of your greatest defeat has the power to make a rich and profound impact for good in your life. Or as Thornton Wilder once said, In Love¹s service, only wounded soldiers can serve.