As Jesus uses uniquely feminine imagery for Himself as He talks about Jerusalem, we see the nurturing, protecting side of God.  Like a loving mother, God longs to gather all of His children under His protection and care.

The Bible tells us that Satan is 'The Father of All Lies" In all of our temptations to fall away from our faith we find lies...lies that God couldn't love someone like us, lies that we're not good enough, lies that we can never do good work for God, lies that we are hopeless. But God's Grace overcomes the lies to let us know that God considers us worthy.

Ash Wednesday 2016

I got in trouble once for saying that Jesus was weird. I didn't mean it as an insult to Jesus I simply meant that Jesus was pretty bad at being normal. When we read the Gospels, Jesus is shown to be an excellent teacher, preacher, and healer. But if you pay close attention you will see that every time Jesus does something amazing there is always someone taking offense. This seems to happen because Jesus was not good at maintaining the status quo. Jesus' teachings and lifestyle are always in conflict with the societal norm - so much so that He is killed by those who are resisting change.

The very core of the Christian faith is based upon the fact that we benefit from what someone else has done for us. Although we all deserve condemnation for our sins, Jesus instead offers us forgiveness and love. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1-2). Grace means that we receive wholeness and life, not based on what we have done, but on what God has done for us.

Conflict is a part of life whether it's a controversial political issue, a family struggle, or opposing views on religious beliefs, people find strife and disagreement in the home, church, community, and workplace. We find so many ways to build walls between ourselves and others.  But Jesus was a terrible wall builder, Jesus was just not good at dividing.  Jesus was all about acceptance, love and grace. Jesus spent his whole life tearing down all of our walls of division.

Do miracles really happen? If they do, what does it take to label something "miraculous"? Am I a poor excuse for a Christian if I doubt the miraculous claims of others? Today we'll examine these questions and more as we consider whether, and to what extent, God might choose to intervene in our everyday lives.

The question of how an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God can allow evil to exist has bothered believers and delighted skeptics since the dawn of time. It makes no sense to us, so it causes all of us to doubt; but that's okay, because doubt is not a lack of faith, but a means to grow in our faith.

Does God Exist? I would say that most people at some point or another ask themselves this question. The truth is that it is a great question and the answering of it has implications far beyond how we schedule our Sundays. A question this important should be considered. It should be wrestled with and pondered.  Fortunately for us people have been pondering this very question for a long time and have passed down what they have learned and witnessed through stories and writings. If you have ever doubted the existence of God - welcome to the team. Don't be ashamed, doubt is not a lack of faith but part of our natural process of learning and engaging. Doubt leads to wonder, and wonder is required for us to consider the divine.

During the season of Advent we have prepared and waited anxiously for the birth of Christ. Now that Christmas has come we get to use words like Emanuel which literally means God with us. We are done preparing - God has sent Christ our Emanuel into the world and we are celebrating. The humble birth of Jesus , the presence of God in human form signals redemption for all of God's people and creation itself.  The Journey of the three wise men shows us that Christ's birth did not only herald redemption for a few but for ALL who would hear and welcome it.