When bad things happen, what does God do? God limits suffering. God shows up, and is present with us until the suffering ends, offering hope in the midst of hardship.

Often we think of “negative emotions,” like anger, doubt, disappointment, or sadness, as a lack of faith, and think we cannot express them to God. We explore the role that these emotions can have in strengthening our faith, and try to answer the overriding question - Is it ok to be angry with (or annoyed with, or disappointed in, or to doubt…) God?

Is God fair or just? Many people think God’s idea of justice is retributive - basically that if you do something bad, he will punish you by having bad things happen to you. But, there is another way to understand justice. Perhaps God does not act according to strict retributive justice, but instead promises us restorative justice, or setting right what sin has eroded. Perhaps God is less interested in punishing wrongdoers than moving them towards repentance, forgiveness, and transformation.

It’s human nature to want to believe that “everything happens for a reason,” especially when we’re suffering. We want to believe that suffering serves some greater purpose. We’re taking a look at the role that suffering plays in our life, what God can offer us through it, and the limitations of trying to always give our suffering a greater meaning.

Every day, we’re faced with everything from tragedy in the world to struggles in our everyday life, leaving us constantly wondering why? We're exploring this question by looking at the story of Job, learning how God shows up even in our darkest moments.

Political fear is something the disciples experienced, also.

We're talking about how Jesus centers us in a climate where our fear is not only real but also exploited. Fear in fact was a major theme of Jesus’ ministry, evidenced by how often he says, “fear not."

Politics can threaten our relationships.

When we feel that divide unfolding, we can practice 3 simple rules of engagement:

1. Do No Harm

2. Do Good

3. Stay in Love with God

These three rules, coined by Methodist Founder John Wesley, offer us a framework for love that can often challenge us, but that models Jesus.

Jesus is the foundation of our faith, and that faith shapes how we engage in politics and how we respond to those we deeply disagree with. Many of us are asking the question, "How does my faith shape the way I respond to what's going on around me?"

Luckily, we can look to Jesus' political engagement as an example for our own. But, we first must dispel two myths: Jesus wasn't political. Jesus was partisan.

He was involved in politics, but he didn't align with any party or side. Let's unpack what that means for us today.

Faith is something we believe. But, on a deeper level, it's something we practice. As we step away from a conversation about our Shared Practices, Pastor Charity Goodwin reminds us why they're so important - and how we can practically begin implementing them in our lives.

Invitation doesn't have to be hard. Jesus gives us an example of how to invite: start with the people you know, listen for opportunities, risk an invitation, let go of the outcomes.

People need good news, and we have the opportunity to be the ones that help them find it. It is powerful when someone is able to change their life in light of Jesus. And, often all of that starts with one, simple invitation. That makes Jesus worth sharing.