Three ghosts visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, and over the course of one night, forever change him into a generous man who truly knew how to keep Christmas in his heart. We may not be visited by Ghosts, but we celebrate a different visitor this Christmas season, Jesus Christ. Join Damascus Road this Christmas season for A Christmas Carol as we consider what the birth of Jesus Christ means for our own past, present, and yet to come.

Week 2 of A Christmas Carol

Upon meeting Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Present declares, "My mind is full of the here and now” before whisking Scrooge off to show him the Christmas celebrations of those around him, including his poor but loving nephew Fred and his loyal but unappreciated employee Bob Kratchet. Scrooge was always too focused on his work to see the joy of their celebrations. We also often struggle to be present in our presents, but Christmas reminds us our savior first blessed us with his holy presence as he was born a human infant. As we consider our Christmas Present, let us learn to be present with our present God.

Three ghosts visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, and over the course of one night, forever change him into a generous man who truly knew how to keep Christmas in his heart. We may not be visited by Ghosts, but we celebrate a different visitor this Christmas season, Jesus Christ. Join Damascus Road this Christmas season for A Christmas Carol as we consider what the birth of Jesus Christ means for our own past, present, and yet to come.

Week 1 of A Christmas Carol

The first ghost is a light unto Scrooge’s past, showing him events full of pain, longing, and joy that shape the man he has become. Our own pasts are also full of stories that make us who we are today. Each year Christmas invites us to look back on our pasts, on our stories, our traditions, on promises broken and fulfilled, as Jesus’ birth was the fulfillment of a long awaited promise in the midst of a long and painful story. As we examine our Christmases Past, can we learn from them about who we have become? And what new story are we invited into this day?

Jesus calls us into something better in His kingdom than overfilling our homes and schedules trying to find something to fill the sense of lack that we feel. The way of Jesus calls us towards freedom, to abide in his goodness and love, to savor what really matters, towards true contentment and generosity. In this series on Jesus’s radical discipline of simplicity, we will go deeper on what He tells us will truly satisfy.

Week 6 of All That is Needed  

No matter how much we have, we each face a struggle to feel at peace with our circumstances. We want more, whether it’s more stuff, more time, more validation, more peace, more of anything. Until we face this soul craving and invite God to meet us in that space, we will continue to feel an ache that cannot be satisfied apart from the One who truly provides for us. Through the entwined practices of contentment and generosity, we can seek God in our disordered desires and find peace and joy beyond our understanding.

Jesus calls us into something better in His kingdom than overfilling our homes and schedules trying to find something to fill the sense of lack that we feel. The way of Jesus calls us towards freedom, to abide in his goodness and love, to savor what really matters, towards true contentment and generosity. In this series on Jesus’s radical discipline of simplicity, we will go deeper on what He tells us will truly satisfy.

Week 4 of All That is Needed  

God designed fun-we are hardwired for joy and delight. At the same time, the toll of excess and want push this desire for pleasure out of alignment with God, leading us into fleeting pleasures that leave us and others hurting and unsatisfied. In a broken world, our pursuit of fun and pleasure is broken too, leading us out of real delight and into control, exploitation, and pain. Let’s explore what wisdom the Bible offers in how to simplify our desires towards the pleasure and delight God has for us.

From bumper stickers and Facebook posts asking for “God Bless America” to the idea of “One Nation Under God” our American and Christian identities appear to be pretty compatible. However, as politics divide us and friends and family fight while the Church struggles to bring people together, we need to step back and reconsider. What does it mean to be a Christian in America? Join us for American/Christian, a 2020 Damascus Road series, and consider how our American Dream can be replaced by a God-centered, neighbor-loving Christian Dream. 

Part 4 of American/Christian

The history we hear in our textbooks, novels, and stories is that America was a pristine wilderness waiting to be discovered and settled by Christians from Europe, pursuing religious liberty, and that the great sin of our age is that we Americans have not returned to our hallowed, God-ordained roots. We have absorbed a persistent imperative to do our part to return Christians in America to our former political, social, and cultural power, and to make America what it once was. But Jesus, who was God, did not come to seek power. He came to be king of a different type of kingdom, one that won hearts through love, humility, and service instead of power and might. And he changed the world in incredible and dramatic ways. As Christians, if we hope to see the world change, should we seek power or are we called to something else?

Jesus calls us into something better in His kingdom than overfilling our homes and schedules trying to find something to fill the sense of lack that we feel. The way of Jesus calls us towards freedom, to abide in his goodness and love, to savor what really matters, towards true contentment and generosity. In this series on Jesus’s radical discipline of simplicity, we will go deeper on what He tells us will truly satisfy.

Week 2 of All That is Needed  

Ask anyone how they’re doing, and the most likely answer you’ll get is “busy.” It’s almost a cultural sin to not be overwhelmed by our schedules-why would you rest when there’s things to accomplish, deadlines to meet, social obligations to keep up with, and a million other claims on our time? We find ourselves exhausted and screaming to a halt, trying to make up for our lack of time and energy with caffeine, technology, or another round of Candy Crush to numb our frazzled brains. But Jesus calls us into a life that is truly satisfying, not harried and draining.  How can we begin to simplify our schedules around what matters?

From bumper stickers and Facebook posts asking for “God Bless America” to the idea of “One Nation Under God” our American and Christian identities appear to be pretty compatible. However, as politics divide us and friends and family fight while the Church struggles to bring people together, we need to step back and reconsider. What does it mean to be a Christian in America? Join us for American/Christian, a 2020 Damascus Road series, and consider how our American Dream can be replaced by a God-centered, neighbor-loving Christian Dream. 

Part 3 of American/Christian

We fear what we cannot see, what we cannot control. We fear sharks because they are huge and powerful, and lurk in the depths of the ocean, even though refrigerators kill more people each year. We fear others who are not like us because we do not understand them, their story, or their dreams. Instead of loving our neighbors, we fear our neighbors and retreat into our homes and lock the doors for safety. Safety is fundamental to American life. We desire safety. We avoid pain, danger, and even discomfort if we can help it. But does Jesus offer us safety or security in this world? Or are we called to something else?

Jesus calls us into something better in His kingdom than overfilling our homes and schedules trying to find something to fill the sense of lack that we feel. The way of Jesus calls us towards freedom, to abide in his goodness and love, to savor what really matters, towards true contentment and generosity. In this series on Jesus’s radical discipline of simplicity, we will go deeper on what He tells us will truly satisfy.

Week 1 of All That is Needed

What is at the center of your life? In a world built on accumulation and success, it’s hard to not feel bogged down by the desires for more, better, faster. If we want to follow the call of Jesus to simplify our lives so that we might find real joy, we will need to dig into our foundations and find what we need to simplify our lives around.

From bumper stickers and Facebook posts asking for “God Bless America” to the idea of “One Nation Under God” our American and Christian identities appear to be pretty compatible. However, as politics divide us and friends and family fight while the Church struggles to bring people together, we need to step back and reconsider. What does it mean to be a Christian in America? Join us for American/Christian, a 2020 Damascus Road series, and consider how our American Dream can be replaced by a God-centered, neighbor-loving Christian Dream. 

Part 2 of American/Christian

In America, we are not comfortable talking about money, yet at the same time, we’re inundated with messages telling us we never have enough and need more. We need a bigger house in the nicer part of town, the new clothes which happen to be on sale, and all the trappings of a luxurious or at least a comfortable lifestyle. America is the promise of affluence, but not for everyone. The system simply does not work for everyone. How does our own pursuit of the American Dream keep us from seeing the poor, the disenfranchised, and the marginalized that Jesus spent so much time with, that Jesus declared blessed?

From bumper stickers and Facebook posts asking for “God Bless America” to the idea of “One Nation Under God” our American and Christian identities appear to be pretty compatible. However, as politics divide us and friends and family fight while the Church struggles to bring people together, we need to step back and reconsider. What does it mean to be a Christian in America? Join us for American/Christian, a 2020 Damascus Road series, and consider how our American Dream can be replaced by a God-centered, neighbor-loving Christian Dream. 

Part 1 of American/Christian

In America, we are not comfortable talking about money, yet at the same time, we’re inundated with messages telling us we never have enough and need more. We need a bigger house in the nicer part of town, the new clothes which happen to be on sale, and all the trappings of a luxurious or at least a comfortable lifestyle. America is the promise of affluence, but not for everyone. The system simply does not work for everyone. How does our own pursuit of the American Dream keep us from seeing the poor, the disenfranchised, and the marginalized that Jesus spent so much time with, that Jesus declared blessed?