Together #forSalem

That spark of hope many of us feel at Christmas… isn’t just a warm feeling from too much eggnog, expert marketing, excitement for presents, or nostalgia of selective childhood memories. It is a glimpse of something real. it is a beacon to a real hope for our real lives right now. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from… You can experience this hope today.

When we look around the real world doesn't really give us more to hope for. But we don't have to give up, try to ignore what’s wrong, or distract ourselves with pointless diversions. There is real hope. We are all invited to play our role in a revolution of hope for the entire world.

Hope. It’s turned into an elusive feeling we cynically relegate it to an ethereal, magical feeling for kids at Christmas. But hope is real. And real hope is powerful. Real hope is tangible. Real hope is available to each of us personally. It’s a hope that was realized over 2000 yrs ago by a teenage peasant named Mary and it’s a hope each of us can personally experience this xmas and the rest of the year.

The holidays are supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year.” But often they end up being the worst time of year. Do we have a choice? Is there a way to enjoy the holiday season no matter what is going on around us?

We are experts at finding ways to judge each other. And we get caught in an endless cycle of anger, passive aggressive avoidance, and even outright hostility. Jesus offers a better way. A way to avoid all of this pointless anger and judgment.

Johnny Cash reads chapter 7 of Matthew (Sermon on the Mount).

We are experts at finding ways to judge each other. And we get caught in an endless cycle of anger, passive aggressive avoidance, and even outright hostility. Jesus offers a better way. A way to avoid all of this pointless anger and judgment.

We all feel like we need to prove we are worth knowing and loving. But what if there’s nothing to prove? There’s a better way, where we can accept that we are accepted and simply enjoy being who we were made to be. It’s the way that produces a life that actually works.

Johnny Cash reads chapter 6 of Matthew (Sermon on the Mount).

We all feel like we need to prove we are worth knowing and loving. But what if there’s nothing to prove? There’s a better way, where we can accept that we are accepted and simply enjoy being who we were made to be. It’s the way that produces a life that actually works.