One of the only accounts we have about Jesus's childhood comes from Luke. It's the story of how, after Passover, Mary and Joseph somehow found themselves a day back towards Nazareth without their son. Though the modern reader might see a sitcom premise here, Mary and Joseph's experience was a good deal more justified than it seems. And it has a lot to teach us about the character of Christ and what happens when we suddently realize we're not on his path.

The beautiful, peerless, outstanding mother-to-be Allison Otwell (whose husband continues to enjoy his creative freedom to write these descriptions) breaks down the tradition of Epiphany and the visit of the Magi. The star guiding the Magi to the child, the jealous Herod's search for him, the family's flight to Egypt...All these events signify the start of a new Kingdom; one of Jew and Gentile alike.

Merry Christmas from Chapel Hill, everyone! Joy to the World, the Lord is Come! Every year, it seems like the same story. Christ born in a manger, attended by the shepards and livestock. Yet there is always something new to learn from the narrative of God coming to us as the child of a poor an desperate family. How often have you walked by something of pure beauty when it arrived as something unexpected and inconvenient? Stop. Look again.

The prophet of Zephaniah has his own prophecy to the scattered people of Israel. After years of hardship, God's people would come together in a new Kingdom. Though they were persecuted, they would come together one day singing new hymns of such priase that God would sing over them as well.

In order to begin to appreciate the season of longing that Advent represents, we look back 400 years from Jesus' birth to the last book of the Old Testament: Malachi. John the Baptist and Jesus are fortold as coming Messengers, and they bring judgement and fire. As aggressive and intimidating as this might sound during the Christmas season, there is a hope for personal purification here; not destruction. Also, special guests Seth and Annalise Walker share their new mission in Charleston, SC with us.

The time of Advent is upon us again! As we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ as a child, we turn back to the prophet of Jeremiah. We are reminded that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's covenant made to the people over the many generations of God's people breaking each of those covenants.

Our own Josh Paxson returns to the stage to close out this series on Ephesians. In the last chapter of Paul's letter, he uses imagery of armor. The tenants of Christianity form the entire suit, from the helmet to the sword. Are we now being called to take up weapons and to fight our enemies? Not quite. Josh discusses how, so armed, we stand for what is right.

It's a chapter that creates a bead of sweat for many people reading it in 2017, especially if they have to preach about it. Ephesians 5 has the famous(ly controversial) verses where Paul instructs his new community's wives to submit to their husbands and slaves obey their masters. What is Paul suggesting here? Is the new Christian movement to be founded on the submission of women and an endorsement of slavery? Look more closely. Paul is taking accepted moral codes of the region and actually turning them on their heads.

Paul's letter to the Ephesians is separated into two distinct sections, as are most of his other letters. He opens his letter with high theological language, and then transitions into practical directives for his new church. Starting in Ephesians, he describes the steps the church should take to better embody the community of Christ. Their path of growth remains our own challenge today.

Paul writes to Ephesus describing the emerging Way as a community of people who are themselves Temples for the Spirit. We were not just saved by his death on the cross, we also witnessed the breaking down of the barriers to God and to each other. The temple curtain has been torn and we are ourselves the Holy of Holies. But don’t think this means that each Christian becomes a church by themselves…