Saint James Messages

When the disciples went to sleep on Saturday night, they were sure death had won, that the Roman Empire and religious authorities had succeeded. Sunday morning offered a new and unexpected response. New life is not limited to an Easter morning two millennia ago; what would new life look like for us today?

Join us as we ponder the meaning of the crucifixion and how we might be impacted by the death of Jesus today.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. Jesus is headed into Jerusalem and the crowd/mob turns his arrival into a parade, For the moment, they only see Jesus as an answer to their problems, a fulfillment of a promise. They have placed their own expectations on Jesus and those expectations shape the way they receive Jesus. Their assumptions lead to misunderstanding, rejection, and death. How do our conceptions of Jesus lead us to our own misunderstandings? Just who is Jesus and what can we learn from the Palm Sunday parade?

The disciples offer Jesus food. He's been talking to someone next a well. His response is purely Jesus- it becomes a teachable moment. What does food mean for you? Is there another place for us to get our nourishment?

After Jesus's initial encounter with the woman at the well, we discover more about her and she becomes part of the good news. Join us this week as we continue the story of Jesus and the woman who was transformed in meeting him at a well.

Jesus is traveling through town and stops to rest at a well. The disciples head into town to scare up some food to eat. Jesus encounters a woman at the well. She has come for water but can Jesus offer her more?

We turn our attention to a questioner who made his way to visit Jesus under the cover of darkness. Our questioner, Nicodemus, probably had a variety of reasons to show up at night and we'll explore our own propensity to ask questions and sometimes avoid answers as we seek this Path that Jesus laid out for us.

This represents the first message in a three-part series about gratitude as an attitude worth cultivating.

Who really wants to be persecuted? And yet Jesus tells us,

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What would it look like to be persecuted for the sake of "righteousness?" This week we take a look at this last of the beatitudes and ponder together what it might mean for us in our daily lives now.

This week we turn to the #peacemaker #beatitude:

How blest are the peacemakers; God shall call them sons and daughters.

Those who bring and make peace are called "God's children" by God!