I heard a story this week about a Christian man, Mark Uptain, father of 5 and husband who last September led a guided elk hunt. His hunter/client shot an elk. The next day they returned for the elk to clean it and prepare the meat and trophy for transport on horses. That's when two grizzly bears appeared out of the covering charging with full force. Mark had a choice. Run for his life or lead the grizzlies away from his client saving at least one of them. He did the latter and was killed. He sacrificially gave his life for another. I know no more profound story of that kind of sacrificial love than the story of Jesus. As we approach our text for this weekend, I Corinthians 8, we are talking about what it looks like as a believer of Jesus to choose love for the sake of someone else. There are certain situations where we are free to take care of our own needs, to run, to protect our own interests. The Apostle Paul called the church to a higher calling of love. It's a freedom that is demonstrated in love.

Todd

It is difficult to underestimate the enormous influence that Disney Princess films have had in shaping our imaginations and longings for marriage in our current culture. Ultimate fulfillment and meaning are typically portrayed in finding the love of one's life and living happily ever after. As a result, we often struggle to make sense of the adult single life, without adding pressure and expectation that marriage is a necessary end-goal. We in the church need to open up honest conversations about the reality of marriage, singleness, and our sexuality, allowing the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures to challenge our assimilated cultural narratives. The apostle Paul does just that in 1 Corinthians 7, and this Sunday we will wrestle out some of his insight as we focus on the beautiful possibilities of the single life in our contemporary moment.

Bill

Church is a family. A family is made up of parents, kids, grandparents, pet dogs, rats, and chinchillas, stray cats, aunts and uncles, and long lost relatives. The church is a lot like a family. You don't get to pick who's in it. And that can be exciting and it can also be a real challenge. I always felt bad for a distant relative that always seemed lost to the rest of our family. Maybe due to life circumstances, they were pushed to the outer banks of the family. I'm not sure what actually happened. I was too young to know the real story but it broke my heart. I remember secretly wishing this distant relative and their family could have what we had. But that was never going to happen for lots of reasons. Now to the church. There are no strays, no outsiders, and no more advantageous roles to play in the church. Where you are in life is as Paul said, a good place to be. In I Cor. 7, he says over and over again, "remain as you are." If you are married, focus on that. If you are single, that's just as valuable. If you are widowed, you play a role too. You don't have to play another role other than the one God has given you right now. Your status doesn't change the fact that God values you as part of His family.

Todd

Looking back over my life, now 58, I would never have imagined all the downright difficulty life would bring. In High School, I never thought life could be so challenging. So here's what I have learned. Darkness has become my friend. I don't look forward to it. I don't invite it. But at times, I live in it. And in it God is most clearly visible. Gregory of Nyssa was a bishop in Cappadocia (Modern day Turkey) in the 300's. He wrote about Moses. He believed Moses' cloud (darkness) was a cipher for the spiritual life - a code, a mystery that needs to be solved. He said, in darkness one sees the opaque splendor of God. Opaque splendor seems to be an oxymoron. How can something you can't see through have splendor? That's the mystery of God. God does His deepest and most profound work in our darkness. That's why Isaiah says in chapter 50:4-11, our passage for this weekend, "Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." Learn the spiritual mystery of darkness.

Todd

Remember when you were little and afraid of the dark? It's ok to admit you were convinced of monsters under your bed and boogey-men in your closet. Petrified and unable to move or sleep you called out for help. The mere presence of a parent or older sibling lying next to you on your bed brought calm and assurance of companionship. Even with the lights out, the monsters seemed manageable.

Though a mystery, God leads us into the darkness and speaks words of deep truth during the night when the lights are turned out. No one can walk this road for us, but a few friends can join us on the journey. We are learning to walk with God in the darkness, and this weekend we will consider how others can help us along the way. Consider Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." What does it look like to "carry each other's burdens" in a way that helps rather than hurts?

Bill

Ready for another dousing of darkness? This weekend I plan to bring Part II of a message I started last weekend entitled, "Getting Comforatble with Darkness" from the life of Moses. Moses met God on Mt. Sinai in darkness. Several things from his life and experience parallel our lives as Christ followers. For one, it’s often confusing why we have to go through darkness to find God. For another, it seems odd that God would envelop himself in darkness. Why all the secrecy? How about the length of time we have to remain in darkness until God finally shows up? As Moses came to learn, I too am learning that darkness plays a useful part in my spiritual development. There is something there for me in my darkness. I wonder if that’s why Theodore Roethke, an American poet once wrote, “In a dark time, the eye begins to see” and why the Psalmist writes, Darkness is my closest friend.” I am learning that faith requires us to see in the dark, when everything is not clearly lit before us. It’s a place where we must take another step and not know exactly know what the outcome will be. Our eyes begin to adjust, our heart stops racing, we focus less on the darkness around us and more on a presence around us.

Todd

I hope you are not afraid of the dark because we are going to be talking about darkness for the next several weeks in our new series: Walking With God In The Dark. The subtitle of the series is, Just because the lights are out doesn’t mean God is not present or something like that. Every single one of us will go through a period of darkness at some point in our lives. When I was in High School, I battled my self identity. In college, it was relationships. When I got married, it was how to quit being so selfish. While raising our family, it was how to provide. Now as I enter a new phase in my life, it’s how to stay alive. It’s always something isn’t it? Our problem, as Miriam Greenspan once said in "Healing Through the Dark Emotions" is that we have a low tolerance for sadness. Wow. That’s profound. We Christians want to live in the light of God’s blessings and avoid darkness at all cost. However, what I have been learning is that God wants to meet me in the dark. I guess I have to start taking some walks in my own dark. One last quote by Jacques Lusseyron, a french author and political activist who became totally blind at the age of 7 said, “The problem with seeing the regular way is that sight naturally prefers outer appearances.” I want to look more deeper than that. God has more for us if we care to stand the dark.

Todd

Christians: You've seen them on TV (think Ned Flanders or Angela from 'The Office'), you've heard about them in politics (not going there!), and you've probably got a few of them in your life (hence why you're at church today). Join us this Sunday for a special message: "What a Christian Isn't." If you are curious about Christianity or have been a follower of Jesus for decades, join us as we squash a few myths and unpack a few transformational truths!

James

Easter service with James.

Sunrise service with Bill.