Everyone from Tim Keller to Ta-Nahesi Coates has written a commentary on the Book of Jonah, and it's not because they’re flummoxed by the idea of “ great fish”, but because some of the very same sociological issues that we deal with today, Jonah dealt with, too. Today, we learn that whenever God does something new it's always because he’s up to something good.

(Scripture Reading: Jonah 1: 1-3)

This week we focus on how even the most mature followers of Jesus, become children of God (again).

This week we're looking at governance of the church and seeking its purity and peace, through Matthew 18:15-20.

With 1 Corinthians 13, Paul pastors a church that has lost its way. They have been blessed with gifts and they gotten busy doing “the things” the church is supposed to do. Yet, in doing them they've lost sight of God. When we lose sight of God, we cease to be the vessels of God’s sacrificial, never-ending love, which is what he intended. As we look at the fourth of our five membership vows...   “Do you promise to support the worship and work of the church?”

In order to answer the question above,  perhaps we need to ask "How do we support the worship and work of the church?" "1 Corinthians 13 tells us the purpose of our gifts (the work of the church) is Love. And the way to not lose sight of loving is Worship.

(Scripture Reading 1 Corinthians 13)

Immanuel Kant said that what defines a truly rich man, not by what he/she has, but by what he/she can live without.  What we learn from this passage is that in world full temptations, the one thing we cannot live out is the Holy Spirit. So dependent are Christians on the Holy Spirit, that we cannot even promise to follow Jesus without recognizing our reliance upon Him.

As we endeavor to follow Christ we must endeavor to understand the Spirit of God. In the same way that Jesus was the divine presence of God in the lives of the disciples, so now will the Holy Spirit serve as the divine presence of Christ in his absence.

Vow #3:“Do you promise in humble reliance upon the Holy Spirit to endeavor to walk as becoming a follower of Christ?”

This week we reflect on the 2nd of our membership vows:  

"Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?"

Jesus came to reverse our brokenness. Even in the face of desperation and death, Jesus comes with his touch of compassion while challenging the status quo. Faith in Christ may not remove us from our momentary trials but answers our deepest needs and gives us a family to walk with.

As a Church we are revisiting the doctrine of membership and being part of the Body and we are doing that by teaching through the five vows of our denomination which can be categorized as follows: Our Predicament, Our Provision, Our Power, Our Participation and Our Privilege.

This week we’re talking about our Predicament. Christians acknowledge that we’re “sinners in the sight of God” that we’re “justly deserving us God’s displeasure” apart from his Sovereign mercy. This is quite a predicament. And there is no better place to understand that predicament than Psalm 51, where King David repents before God.

(Scripture Reading: Psalm 51 ESV)

Now, if you were to ask someone living along the High Line what exactly does an Ambassador of Christ represents you might hear words like Love, or Grace, but I doubt we would here the topic we are being asked to consider today. Which is one of “reconciliation.”  Christians, are Ambassadors of God’s reconciling work to the world, through Jesus Christ. (Scripture Reading 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 ( ESV )

This week, we unpack what it means to be a “believer.” “Believing” into Jesus means that you move from an agnostic, atheist, or a general, “worshipper of God” to trusting in Jesus as Lord. For the disciples (and each of the new followers found in these verses) this meant that Jesus ruled over human hearts and entire households, over our bodies and our suffering.

(Scripture Reading from Acts 16:13-34)

(Scripture Reading from Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Timothy 2:1-3)