Galatians 5.13-25  -  The Fruit of the Spirit is one of the most useful passages for us to assess ourselves and our situations.  In a time where people have wildly different ideas and messages, we can work through Paul's list of the fruit of the Spirit to help with our discernment.  In a world where we can feel that we are being biblically responsible in our actions and words, we can look to this list to evaluate if we are "Spirit-led" or simply "spirited."

A major battle for us all is to let the selfish desires of our hearts be put to death.  So often we try and make OUR way be God's way.  This kind of thinking leads to certain outcomes that Paul has listed as the "works of selfish desires."

Paul is reminding the church in Galatia to evaluate the agenda of the teachers who have shown up and pressured them to abandon the gospel of Christ for the gospel of Law.  We still fight this battle today.

Let's evaluate ourselves...

Let's evaluate our church...

Let's evaluate our understanding of God's will using this wonderful and beautiful list of the Fruit of the Spirit to identify how we can live into the way of God.

Luke 8.26-39  &  Galatians 3.23-29  |  We are invited into freedom in Christ Jesus.  Understanding all this means involves a realization that you are NOT free, what you can be freed FROM, and what you are freed FOR.  Paul walks the Galatians through this process when they are digressing back into a world where the LAW (Torah, Pentateuch, Genesis-Deuteronomy, Books of Moses) provides the means of right relationship with God and neighbor (the Kingdom of Heaven/Reign of God).  The Law simply gives you rules to help you understand what sin is: it cannot bring your life healing/salvation.

Jesus Christ brings people, all people, an invitation to freedom.  Paul reminds his church in Galatia which reminds the church today that we have been freed and clothed in Christ.  This changes everything in how we live, act, relate to others, and pursue the things of this life.  Sometimes, like the Galatians, we digress back into the old way.

Will we listen to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit?

She has so much more to say.

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31;  Romans 5:1-5;  John 16:12-16  -  Entering into the season of Pentecost leads us through Trinity Sunday.  Much of our attention at church is centered on Jesus and God, but the role of the Holy Spirit is just as important.  The presence of God's Spirit is eternal stretching all the way back prior to "the beginning."

Let us consider how this Wisdom can impact our hearts and lives TODAY and, through us, the hearts and lives of others around us TOMORROW.

There is much more to be said.  Will we listen?

John 13:31-35  &  Acts 11:1-18  |   The church has existed for almost 2,000 years.  The death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, God's Anointed (Christ), created the reality of the Spirit of God being available to all.  The thing is...it took some time before the church realized that the Spirit of God was available to ALL.

In our world of religion, dogma, and theological sparring we often forget that the whole thing was always about bringing unity between all people to one another and God.  We often find that we have drawn lines, built walls, and created exclusive circles with our pride, fear, anger, and confusion as our true lords.

The world is all about boundaries, borders, and divisions.  The Spirit is all about breaking boundaries.

Let us revisit the story of Peter as he retells the story of an encounter he had with the house of a Roman centurion and the Spirit already active in their lives.

Let us consider how we are called to "Go" and BE the good news in flesh to ALL.

Luke 15  -  Some religious leaders and Bible experts were grumbling about the kinds of people Jesus was establishing relationship with around the table.  Why is the joyful healing and celebration of some a nightmare for others?

We read Luke 15 and try to understand all that is happening in the story.  There is 1 father and 2 sons.  Typically, we reduce the whole point down to one son and leave it at that, but there is SO MUCH MORE going on here.

What does it mean to be a child?

What does it mean to be a sibling?

Let's revisit the story with fresh eyes and ears to see what kinds of new life the Spirit might unlock within us.

Luke 24.13-35  -  In our second week on this passage we focus on the first recorded meal of the New Testament and comparing it with the clear and alluded to partner text from Genesis 3--the first recorded meal in our scripture.

Comparing the "opening" of the eyes from these two meals allows us to understand how our Gospel writer is speaking to the church of his/her own day and ours as well.

Understanding the framework the overall Gospel narrative is presented speaks to the calling we have today as individuals and as a church body.

What does a resurrected Jesus mean for you and your world?

How will you approach the table and your calling?

Luke 24.13-35  -  The first story of the Resurrected Jesus occurs in a mysterious way: to disciples who have decided to abandon the mission.  This rich passage offers us a look into ancient worship practice and a story all too familiar for us all.  In our first of two weeks examining the story we consider where we have become distracted in our own journey--our own walk in the Way.

Where might Jesus be walking with us unrecognized waiting to encounter us and bring us back into the life which we have longed to live?

Luke 24:1-12  -  The story of an empty tomb is not a new story, nor is it the point.  Our story is of the resurrected Christ among us now, but do we tell that story?  We preach a Crucified Savior, but I wonder if we have stopped looking for our Resurrected One.  As the church, we must look within to understand ourselves before we can look beyond to understand others or our world.

Let us consider looking for life through the Resurrected Jesus.

Let us look for the living among He who lives.

Mark 16.1-8  -  The original and most trusted ending of our oldest Gospel is quite peculiar.  Attempts have been made to undo this peculiarity by adding to the original ending.  There is a theory that the ending of Mark was passed along originally just as we have it today, "they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid."  What do we do with a resurrection story that has no resurrection?

Let us consider what it means when the end is not the end.

Let us consider what it means for us to finish the story.

John 13.1-17, 31b-35  -  Our 4th Gospel tells the story of Jesus' final meal with his disciples unlike the other three.  The meal takes place on the night before Passover and there is no meal described.  Instead, building off of the ongoing development of this sacred festival, we are taken to a scene which happens after the meal.  The washing of the disciples' feet is ground-breaking if we but understand its significance.

Let us walk through the bigger story which this scene takes place to understand more of what is happening after this meal.

Let us consider just what Jesus has done for his disciples, what he has done for us, and what we are called to do for one another.