Passion Sunday | Ephesians 3:13-3:20
Passion Sunday | Ephesians 3:13-3:20
Jesus final week offers the central story and pattern of life for Ephesians’ new creation community.
Why We Can’t Ditch The Church | Ephesians 2:19-3:13
Why We Can’t Ditch The Church | Ephesians 2:19-3:13
We’re not merely rescued by God, not merely included by God, and not merely recreated by God. We are God’s sacrament to a dying world
Inclusion is the fruit of the Spirit | Ephesians 2:11-18
Inclusion is the fruit of the Spirit | Ephesians 2:11-18
God’s divine embrace extends to the far off, yes even you. Once we realize this, we also realize that we are called to be an active part of that embrace, seeing, including, and loving the ‘other
You Have Been Created to Co-create | Ephesians 2:8-10
You Have Been Created to Co-create | Ephesians 2:8-10
The surprising reality of God reaching down and re-humanizing us has a plot twist. In our re-creation, we are made co-creators by God. We call this Church.
The Antidote to Shame | Ephesians 2:4-7
The Antidote to Shame | Ephesians 2:4-7
Many of us have come to understand that we need to be saved from God's wrath. But Ephesians tells a starkly different story, one that will deeply transform our sense of self if we will let it be our story.
Is God In Control | Ephesians 2:1-3
Is God in Control? | Ephesians 2:1-3
Ephesians lays out a dynamic picture of a cosmos in need of God’s re-ordering. This complicates overly simplistic clichés about what Jesus is up to among us. And leaves us with a much richer story to make sense of our lives.
Spiritual but not Religious | Ephesians 1:15-23
Spiritual but not Religious | Ephesians 1:15-23
Do we need church to believe in and follow Jesus?
Are we predestined by God? | Ephesians 1:1-6
Are we predestined by God? /|Ephesians 1:1-6
Has God predestined us? The confounding opening of Ephesians does not attempt to pose an interesting theological question. Rather, it makes a striking claim, redefining the very core of your existence.
The Gift of Lament | Psalm 13:1-6
The Gift of Lament | Psalm 13:1-6
We don’t need 2024 to go a certain way for us to be okay. We can experience God’s goodness right where we are. Through the practice of lament, even our deepest pains and doubts can be transformed into resilient joy.
Love Remains | Ephesians 2:1-10
Love Remains | Ephesians 2:1-10
In every situation, love is the better choice.
Christmas Eve: God as a Baby \\ Zephaniah 3:14-17
Centering Ourselves in the Coming Messiah| Advent IV \\ Isaiah 61:1-4 & John 1:6-8, 19-28
In our desperation for all that is broken to be restored, we are tempted to grasp for control and try to bring about this restoration ourselves. When we let go and center ourselves instead in Jesus our coming Messiah, we can experience the love and the safety we so desperately long for, even now as we wait.
Centering Ourselves in the Coming Messiah| Advent IV \\ Isaiah 61:1-4 & John 1:6-8, 19-28
Centering Ourselves in the Coming Messiah| Advent IV \\ Isaiah 61:1-4 & John 1:6-8, 19-28
In our desperation for all that is broken to be restored, we are tempted to grasp for control and try to bring about this restoration ourselves. When we let go and center ourselves instead in Jesus our coming Messiah, we can experience the love and the safety we so desperately long for, even now as we wait.
The Paradoxical Christian Life | Advent III | Isaiah 40:1-11
The Paradoxical Christian Life | Advent III | Isaiah 40:1-11
The Christian life is one of great paradoxes, and the Advent season is a time that draws us into this very reality. We are a people that simultaneously hold a life of waiting and longing with a life of laboring and preparing. We are fully rooted in the present while also pointing ourselves towards the coming Kingdom of God. The Israelite people have much to speak into our lives regarding this theological paradox.
The Weary World and the Absent God | Advent II \\ Mark 13:24-37
The Weary World in the Shadow of Death | Isaiah 25
We live in the dark veil of death. Advent is about watching and waiting for God and all that comes with Him, Justice, peace, and finally the end of death.
The Weary World in the Shadow of Death | Isaiah 25
The Weary World in the Shadow of Death | Isaiah 25
We live in the dark veil of death. Advent is about watching and waiting for God and all that comes with Him, Justice, peace, and finally the end of death.
The Table is Crossed Shaped | Luke 9:23-27
The Table is Crossed Shaped | Luke 9:23-27
Jesus table is cross-shaped. And those seated at His table are invited to participate in cross-shaped living. What seems like death, actually offers life.
The Table: Busyness // Luke 10:38-42
The Table: Life with God | John 15:1-11
Enjoying God is not meant to be a human luxury, but the heart of what it means to be human. Jesus has some thoughts on how we might begin to experience this enjoyment here and now, even in the busy, broken, places of our lives