We have stepped into the season of Lent. This is a season of repentance, of recognizing our dependence on God.

One of the major images of Lent is the desert. The desert is the place where trust is cultivated. The desert provides us the opportunity to remember who we are and what we trust as we cling (often with the tips of our fingers) to the hope of Easter.

One of the ways that we cultivate this trust is through rhythms, disciplines, which orient our mind, body, and will towards Christ. These may include fasting, prayer, and scripture reading. Here are a couple of great resources for this season.

The Daily Prayer App is a simple, beautifully designed guide for prayer and scripture reading throughout the day. It is a simplified form of the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer. This app will help you to create space (and reminders) for regular prayer.

Lent Begins next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday.

Lent is a season of repentance, of making room for God in our lives. Some of the images associated with Lent are desert, ashes (we come from dust and will return to dust, without God we are only dust), and oil.

Many choose to fast something during Lent. An important thing to remember about fasting: All Can. Some Should. None Must. Fasting is never to be done in order to attempt to earn something from God or prove our holiness. Fasting is a spiritual discipline, a way of forming our hearts towards dependence on him.

This Sunday, the Church reads the stories of Moses descending from the mountain after being given the covenant, and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is a great way to begin Lent because both stories speak of God's empowerment and revealing of himself before a difficult journey ahead. Both stories also speak to the the human calling to radiate with God's presence into the world.

This Sunday, we continue our series on The Sacred Journey that is the Christian faith.

We have celebrated what it means to encounter God as well as explored how revolutionary it is to follow Jesus. This Sunday we will explore the new world that Christ calls us into. Specifically? What does it mean to live as a Christian? We will look at the idea of Christian virtue.

God has always been the God of forgiveness, the God who reaches out to those who have been alienated and brings about redemption. This Sunday, we see this played out in the story of Joseph and his embrace of his brothers (Genesis 45:3-11, 15); Paul's explanation of how life is brought out of death in the resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50); and Jesus' invitation into the posture we should have towards our enemies (Luke 6:27-38).

Join us as we seek to live into this new grace-filled world!

This Sunday, we continue our series on The Sacred Journey that is the Christian faith.

Last Sunday, we celebrated the beauty of what it means to encounter God. It is such an amazing thing that God desires to be close to us! In God's presence we are called to worship; we are aware of our brokenness; we are healed in by his Word and in communion with him; and we are sent into the world with a new vocation (as fishers of people).

This Sunday, we look at what happens when we are challenged by that thing to which we have been called. After all, the Sacred Journey is not just one of many other paths; it is completely counter-intuitive. It is revolutionary!

Specifically, we have chosen the path of dependence rather than independence (Jeremiah 17:5-10). We have chosen the reality of resurrection, even when the world says that is not a thing (1 Corinthians 15:12-20). We have chosen a path which leads blessing for those who are hurting now and woe to those who have trusted in the ways of of a broken world (Luke 6:17-26).

This Sunday, we begin a new series on our life with Christ. The texts for each week will lead us to explore various stages in the Christian life. We hope you'll join us on this journey!

This Sunday- "People Catchers"- What does it mean to encounter God? We will be looking at what happened when the prophet Isaiah met with God in the heavenly throne room as well as how the disciple's lives changed because of their first encounter with Jesus.

February 17th- "The Path to Revolution"- How is the Christian Story different from anything else? We will be looking at Jesus' revolutionary call.

February 24th- "After You Believe"- How do we live out this revolution of forgiveness, love, and hope? We will look at Jesus' command to love our enemies.

March 3rd- "Water for the Desert"- What does it mean that God is with us in difficult times? We will prepare for the season of Lent by remembering that God is always with us.

We are in the middle of our series called "A Light," exploring what it means that the call of God always goes out into the world. We are being challenged to see ourselves as participating in the healing, sight-giving, forgiving work of God in the world.

We have been encouraging you to think about those in your life who need to hear the good news of God's love and grace. Who do you know in need of liberation? What might this mean for the structures of our world?

This Sunday, we look at how the Word of God always goes out. God's speaking changes us and changes the world. We will look at the response of the people to God's Word in Nehemiah 8; the ways that the church always looks different from, and upends traditional power structures (1 Corinthians 12); and how Jesus embodies the mission of God's people to heal and liberate (Luke 4:14-21).

We live in an interesting cultural moment. Many of us have grown up in a society where Christianity is the majority religion. And yet, that is changing.

Many Christians respond to this changing world with fear. We are afraid that our kids will not grow up in the faith, will not be surrounded by influences that foster the faith. Sometimes we respond to this fear with the desire to fiercely defend, convincing others that they are wrong and we are right.

Some of us have a different kind of fear. We are afraid that being openly Christian will make us stick out awkwardly. We are aware of the ways that others have tried to fiercely defend, the ways many minority religious groups have been marginalized, so we are almost silent about our own faith. We act as if faith is something private, without much to say about the world in which we live.

The Light of Christ will always lead to outward expression. That outward expression will lead us away from fear and towards love. Christians love our neighbors, celebrating the fact that each person was created in God's image. And Christians seek to allow Christ's light to shine through us.

This Sunday, as we continue into the tide of Epiphany, we are beginning a new series that we are calling "A Light." Our scripture texts will lead us to four themes: Beloved, Illumined, Shining, and Proclaiming.

Join us as we explore what it truly means for Christ to be The Light of the World, and what it means that he calls us to join Him as he is the Light in the darkness.

Did you know that Christmas is not just a day, but a season? We are currently in the "12 Days of Christmas." Historically, the season of Christmas begins on Christmas Day and continues until Epiphany (January 6th).

Christmas is not simply a day we rush towards, are finished with, and move on. Christmas is a time for living into the reality of the Incarnation, an extended time of celebrating God's rescue and redemption.

This Sunday, David Walley will be preaching and leading the service. It will be a special time of Christmas reflection.