There is a continunity in the Bible. From Leviticus, to Romans to Jesus we get the message that we are called to be holy, to be Christ-like, to be transformed. Love for God has implications in the real world starting with loving our neighbor as ourselves. So it's not trying to be perfect. Rather, faith is participation in the holiness of God. NOTE: Preached and recorded at Wesley United Methodist Church using their sound equipment for our annual July joint worship service of word and table. July 3, 2011.

We didn't create church, church was given as a gift to us by the Holy Spirit. So it is not essential that we all agree on the issues of the day. We can disagree and still be church together because we were called to drink of the one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12).

The church has a lot to celebrate because of what God does week after week in our midst. Celebrating helps us in our community formation, so we know more fully who we are: that we have been blessed and that we are a blessing. We are a living stones being built into a spiritual house for God.

We can know all the right facts, but see none of the meaning. An encounter with the Risen Lord, no matter how brief, shows us to see that the end may may be a new beginning.

Jesus came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. We have to practice this type of LIFE, because it is very different than our normal and initial human responses. Resurrection often puts us at odds with the headlines.

Our tendency to seek security can protect us from life, but the resurrection teaches us that we wil find life in unexpected places. Earthquakes connect us to the ever-present Realm of God.

We don't have to be scared of the dark. God is with us in the shadow of the valley of death. Even the rod and staff are good news, because without limits and guidance, we wouldn't know where to go.

The birth of Jesus opens up a portal so that we can experience the Kingdom of God all around us. It means that God is creating a home for us here on earth, showing us how to do radical hospitality.

In the middle of some crazy driving during the busy Christmas shopping season, I've learned that God is asking us to slow down so that we may pay attention to what God is already doing in the world. Slow down, perhaps even say no to something, so that we can be free to sing with Mary songs of praise.

Zacchaeus stopped living the lies of "there is not enough" and "more is better" and gave away half of his possessions. Stewardship is the joyous response of giving out of gratitude. It allows us to become the people (and church) that God created us to be.