Sunday service

Most of us have learned to tell when it's about to rain by looking up into the sky. In a similar way, we can learn to discern spiritual signs that God is speaking to us or offering us direction and guidance or something new to think about. "Sign" language is God's way of saying, "Hey, there's more going on here than you think--I want you to look beneath the surface!"

God expresses love to people by GIVING--and he often gives THROUGH people instead of just TO people. Living on less-than-your-paycheck is an awesome way to address the needs of others in this world, whether it's through supporting a child in poverty, donating to your local crisis center or homeless shelter, or helping out your own neighbors.

One of the ways God expresses love to people is through GIVING--and he often gives THROUGH people instead of just TO people. Tune in to think on how you can get in on sharing God's love with others through acts of generosity!

There's a mysterious, counter-intuitive pattern in the Bible where people give away money in response to God's invitation and then see God provide for their needs in surprising ways. One of the most exciting experiments you can do on a journey of following Jesus is to give away a tenth and then sit back and watch how God takes care of your needs. This isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. Rather, it's a way to grow in your assurance that God is good and has your back.

Every one of us has dreams about what our "fun money" can do for us. We can set it aside for big things like a house, cars, or vacations, and we can spend it on smaller things--like Airliner pizza and Hawkeye game tickets! And, sometimes we give our money away to a good cause. But did you know that the people in the Bible who were the most generous with their money and their stuff were the ones who were the most connected to God? Being connected to God's love inspired them to make God's dreams come true--and that often involved using their money to help others.

"Creation care" is one key to living justly toward the world's populations that live in direct dependence on stable climates and environments. Listen in to think about how your decisions to care for creation can advance God's mission of justice in the world.

"Consumption consciousness" is one key to living justly toward those who are on the other end of the supply chain of the goods we consume. Listen in to think about why decisions we make as consumers can advance or detract from God's mission of justice in the world.

It was our first birthday, so we invited our network superintendent, Tom Jacobs, to come talk about what it means to be part of a healthy, vibrant, and community oriented church.

Prayer, or connection and communion with God, is the best way to center our action as we seek to live justly. Listen in on how Jesus taught his own disciples to be rooted and grounded in their connection with God, so their hearts would always be in the right place when they took action to help others, speak against evil, and spread the good news of God's love far and wide.

Living justly is central to a life of faith, and advocacy for those who don't have a voice is a big part of just living. Listen in to think about how you can be an advocate for others and advance God's mission of justice in the world.