1.22.23 Message – Say Yes to Rest: Sabbath as Escape

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Say Yes to Rest: Sabbath as Escape (Matthew 11:28-30)

Sabbath interrupts our routines and helps us reset our bodies, minds, and spirits into a healthier space. Whether our lives are comfortable or difficult there are always things we need to escape from, even just temporarily. We already know we could all use a break, but what we struggle with is how to take that break. We think we can’t take a break until all our tasks are finished, but that’s impossible. There’s a never-ending list of things we need to finish. Perhaps instead we could think of Sabbath as a resting place along our journey of life—and that’s where we find what we need to be able to continue on that journey.

1.15.23 Message – Say Yes to Rest: Sabbath as Resistance

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Say Yes to Rest: Sabbath as Resistance (Exodus 20:1-11)

We live in a culture where more is often never enough and we fill our days with the anxious and restless pursuit of more…more stuff, more activities, more accolades, more work. How do we understand that production is not our life’s work? How do we stop consuming our lives and live in a way that recognizes the value of our relationships with one another?

God created a day of rest and asks us to honor it…can we do that in today’s culture and how would it change our lives for the better?

1.8.23 Message – Say Yes to Rest: Sabbath as Rhythm

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Say Yes to Rest: Sabbath as Rhythm (Matthew 14:13-24)

Do you ever feel as if you’re schedule is too full, too busy? That you’re anxiously and hurriedly running through life, never able to quite catch up on all you need to do? How do you get it all done? Do you know anyone, yourself included, who is not tired?

We’re not meant to be constantly busy. While we’re meant to live our lives as fully as possible that also means regular and intentional rest for our bodies, minds, and souls. It’s not easy to let go of all the internal and external demands on our time. But what if there’s a better way? A way that God’s built into our lives that can help us do what needs to be done and also protects our mental health?

12.11.22 Message-From Generation to Generation: We Choose a Better Way

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From Generation to Generation: We Choose a Better Way (Matthew 1:18-25)

Joseph had choices to make when he learned that Mary was pregnant. He could have exposed her to shame and harassment from her community. Instead, he chose a different path, a path that was compassionate and faithful. He choose to do the right thing for Mary, Jesus, and himself because of his faith. He choose peace over violence, grace over condemnation.  He choose his “yes” to God, just as Mary did before him, and it made all the difference in his life.

When have you had to make a difficult choice in your life? When have you had to choose a better way, knowing that way could be harder and messier? What difference has it made in your life and in your faith?

11.27.22 Message: From Generation to Generation

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Generation to Generation: There’s Room for Every Story (Matthew 1:1-17)

We are all the culmination of all the generations of those before us. Known and unknown to us, all have contributed to the story of who we are now. In that long list of names there are stories to tell, expected and unexpected, and God has worked through each one, up to the very present. Those revelations can bring both triumph and trauma, but when we zoom out we can see how each story is woven together through time into the larger tapestry of who we are.

What is your story and how can you see that God is present and active in it?

11.20.22 Message: Love Always Wins

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Colossians 1:11-20

When you think of your image what do you want to see? What do you hope others will see?

God has an image too. There are many biblical stories which show God’s image–powerful, awe-inspiring and mysterious. It can inspire, but does that image help us feel the closeness we yearn for in our relationship with God?

This is where Jesus comes in. God’s compassion, love, and connection to us can be seen through in Jesus’ life. And while there is much about Jesus that is mysterious and awe-inspiring, it is through the life and work of Jesus that God feels more accessible to us because we see ourselves in the lives of the people he taught, healed, and loved.

11.13.22 Message: Love Always Wins

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

When we’re waiting for something important, anticipating how wonderful it’s going to make our lives it can be really difficult to concentrate on the realities of life. Especially if some of those realities are nowhere near as fun as what we’re hoping for. Whatever hopes we have for the future, we know we live in the present. As Christians we have a foot in two worlds—the reality of our daily lives and the hope that we have in through Christ that will lead us to Heaven. Both of these places make the Kingdom of God. How do we live our lives in ways that keep us grounded, but also help us live with hope and compassion? The love of Christ for all of us always wins, and we can express that love for one another right now in ways that help all of us.

11.6.22 Message: Love Always Wins

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Love Always Wins (Luke 20:27-38)

We all have anxieties about what happens at the end of our lives. Where do we go? What does that look like? Who’s there with us? Where is God during that process?
Honestly, we don’t have what we’d like to call firm and absolute answers…we tend to have more questions than answers, but we do have traditions and beliefs that have upheld the church for generations. These traditions and beliefs can be a comfort to us, but we are also allowed to push back on them and see how they hold up with what we know about God in our lives today.
But one thing that we do know is that Love Always Wins because God has been in our past, is in our present, and will always be in our future.

10.30.22 Message: Our Money Story

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Our Money Story: Restore (Genesis 33:1-17)

Today we finished our sermon series, Our Money Story. We all have a money story, whether we recognize it or not. Perhaps we are living from a story of fear or shame. Or a story that our actions won’t have an impact. Or a story that we don’t have enough. Where might God be speaking a new narrative into the limited ones we have told ourselves? This sermon series invites us to discover and tell our money stories in light of God’s money story of liberation and justice. This series encourages us to transform our stewardship practices into more full expressions of who we are and what we believe.

10.23.22 Message: Our Money Story

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Our Money Story: Reimagine (Mark 12:38-44)

Scriptures call us to reimagine a world where our social and economic systems are not built to disparage or impoverish, but instead to provide for and benefit all.