So Jesus has been gone, his disciples aren't with him anymore. Peter says, "I’m going fishing, who’s with me?" And they all go back to their previous way of life.We often do this, too. God reveals something to us and we’re sure of what next steps to take. But life hits us hard and we end up not doing what we just committed to doing. We revert back …

Doubting Thomas story. Yay. The word "believe" is so important to John. He includes this story about someone who just can't believe. I'm glad that Thomas made it into the story. Because sometimes it's hard to believe. Do we really believe this stuff? I think it's a fair question - and it's a question we shouldn't hesitate to ask.Christianity is mad…

The disciples are locked in a room. Jesus comes through the door and suddenly dead isn't dead anymore. Twice he says, "Peace be with you." Says, "As the Father is sending me, so I'm sending you." Here's what I think Jesus might be getting at: "Just like I created an environment for you to be transformed - become new - I'm now sending you into the w…

We're going to walk through John's account of the resurrection. If we piece all the stories together, we can tell there was a whole lot of confusion about the day. How many guards were there? Was there really an earthquake? What did the angels say? Did Mary go to the tomb alone? Or not? All of these discrepancies in the story show that these people…

There's a Dallas Willard quote where he argues that Jesus is the smartest person who ever lived. It's pretty cool. Not only is Jesus brilliant, but he's also one of the greatest communicators to ever live. He communicated with words, yes. But he also communicated with his body.So the question is: as we watch Jesus enter Jerusalem, what is he trying…

*We apologize for the sound quality, our system was having difficulties this week*The parable of the rich young fool has been read and interpreted many ways. There are some who would see it as a cautionary tale against gaining wealth, and others who would say it is more about what you do with your wealth.Perhaps it is somewhere in between, asking u…

Simple one note message. We're just gonna walk through the story and see if we can make sense of it. Mark's story is important to put into context to understand what's going on here.. The disciples have seen and experienced some mind-blowing things. They're on a spiritual high. Jesus senses it, so he asks them who people think he is. Then he asks t…

It's a common belief and teaching within the Western Church that the passages about not worrying, not being afraid, are commands to never be anxious or worry. That if we do, we are sinful and should repent for those responses to events and wonderings.But this is not the case. Framed as gentle admonishing, or kind reassurances, it is like a parent s…

Jesus in the wilderness, tempted by the evil one. Okay, I've preached on this like six times between Matthew's story and Luke's. But a different angle today. This is always the story that begins Lent, and we need the lessons in this story because of what it says about Jesus.1) We need the Jesus of the wilderness. Jesus knows anxiety, knows depressi…

Pink Himalayan Salt. Yeah, it's all over my TikTok right now and seems to be a thing. Maybe I'm wrong and people will be like, "Dude, what the hell are you talking about?" Don't care. Gonna talk about it anyway because we're thinking about salt.Salt is important today - the ancients knew this, too, for a variety of important things. Jesus said, "Yo…

1) Our self-worth begins with the knowledge that God isn't distant. This would have been a revolutionary idea at the time. No, this God cares for and loves and interrupts the lives of human beings.2) Our lives began with God knitting us together. This is the image of a woman intricately weaving or knitting something together. It's creating somethin…

What does the upcoming year look like? Because it feels like it's gonna be an upward climb. We live in a very different world than just a few short years ago. The past is gone and, as always, the future is unknown. But the future now looks to be a bit more shaky than usual.The context of this passage is Israel's time in Babylonian captivity. They w…

New Year's resolutions are hard to keep; so many people don't even make it out of January. But I think they're still good things. Something inside of us says, "Dammit, life could be better for me. Something's gotta change."That's how it was for Israel - God looked at the state of his relationship with him and thought, something's gotta change. God …

So it's the first Sunday of Epiphany. During this season, we normally take a look at the stories in the Bible where God reveals God's self to people in new and different ways. This is certainly one of those stories. Jesus appears to John in a big robe with a golden sash. He's huge - his hair is white and his eyes are like fire and his feet are bron…

This is the story of the birth of Jesus. Why would God come to us in this way? Why would God do such a thing? It's a question I've asked and answered before - this time in a little different way.1) I think God did such a thing to show us that God's not afraid of the mess. This story is so messy - from an unwed pregnant 14 year old Mary all the way …

The story of the choosing/calling of Mary. We're going to walk through Mary's Song."My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior." How might this be good news for us? In her circumstances, she responds with a song. And not just any song, it's a song that before it's about anything else, it's about joy. She responds with joy. T…

J the B preparing the way. John's mission is to prepare people for the coming of Jesus. His message was all about repentance. To change your mind. Be open to the possibility that the way you perceive the world might not be the very best way. Turn around. Move in a different and better direction. Wake up and take corrective action.Problem is, we don…

When was the last time you were really vulnerable - like you really needed help? This is the context into which Isaiah is praying. Israel really needed help. Tear open the heavens and come down!Advent begins from a place of desperation - the place of helplessness - the place of vulnerability. If we're honest about it, we're all in that place of vul…

We're moving toward Advent and this scripture gets us there. John is writing this letter to real people in a real place and time. These are people who needed to be reminded that God is present and that God is large. So John gives them a vision of the divine that is much larger than our brains can comprehend: God is larger than space and time as we …

The calling of the prophet Samuel. I love the honesty in this story. Clearly, Samuel wasn't ready for a call from God. It took him 4 times before he realized it was God calling and even then he had to have someone else tell him what was going on. If we're honest - no one's ever really ready for a call from the divine. Just read through the Bible - …

What is prayer? Do we have an adequate definition? If we're honest, prayer is kinda hard to define. Jesus never gives us a definition, but he does give us a prayer. The one we find in Luke is the shorter version of The Lord's Prayer. Some of us know this prayer so well that we can say it without thinking about it. Like brushing our teeth, or puttin…

The story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz is one of faithfulness, love, and welcome. What may not always be highlighted when studying this passage is just how above and beyond every character takes their love and loyalty for one another. Naomi, during her time in a foreign land, loving her daughters-in-law, and then looking out for Ruth once the two of th…

We're gonna stick with the identity question - who are you? Verse 10 will be our focus - For we are God's workmanship (handiwork), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.There's this idea that we are the creators of our own lives. Nowhere do we see this more than in social media - no wonder humanity eve…

We're going to talk about the foundation of our identity - who we are.The foundation of our identity is in what God has done for us - we've been rescued. Rescued from the worst things we have done - our past does not define who we are.We've been qualified. We've been made worthy to become citizens of the kingdom of God. Sometimes we don't feel wort…

Seeds, Weeds, and Little Birdies, baby!I'll start with a TikTok about parenting - Jim Gaffigan is the best, man! Parenting really is hard. And here's the reason: we want to be in control. If we could force our teenagers to make the right decisions we would do it. Because we love the ideal of control. And it's not just a parent thing - it's a human …

Sin is a condition we all find ourselves in. We just make a mess of things. It's who we are. But if we only talk about it as a condition, we only get it half right AND we let ourselves off the hook. If we read the stories in the Bible, we come to find out that it's also about the choices we make. We have a choice in the matter. The classic example …

How did they conduct business 4000 years ago? They made covenants. Here's how the covenant ritual worked: they cut animals in half, made an aisle, stated the terms of the deal, and both parties would walk through the dead animals saying, "Maybe I become like these animals if I fail to keep my end of the deal."So then comes Genesis 15. God promises …

Let's talk about the James Webb Space Telescope. Scientists talk about what they're experiencing when they first see new images and discoveries. They wax poetic - they're astonished, amazed. They talk about it almost as if it's a mystical experience or an intense spiritual experience.We get that. Sometimes creation can do that to us. That's what's …

Jesus tells a story about a king who puts his servants in charge of some cash money. While the king is gone, they're supposed to use it as if he were still present. Two do, one doesn't; bad things happen to the one who doesn't.1 - God wants us. God wants to be in our lives.2 - We don't want God. When we look around at the world it doesn't take us v…

If we knew what people were going through, would we act with more kindness? Would we walk through life with more awareness of others' pain, and joy, and everything in between?In order to really love like Jesus, we have to carry that kind of empathy.Speaker: Marlin VisScripture: Luke 18:35-19:10ReNew Ames による

This is Matthew's version of the "It is not right to throw the children's bread to the dogs" story.This one is a little difficult to summarize so I'll be brief. Two major points:1) Can God be bigger than our theology? Is God more loving than we even know? Are there people in our lives that we despise but now we need to show love and mercy?2) This w…

The take-away is listening to the Holy Spirit - being watchful and prepared for the encounters in which God places us in order to care about the one person right in front of us. In the first 8 and a half chapters of Acts, we see God calling the apostles to preach to the masses - and thousands of people coming to believe in the Gospel of Christ. Pre…

So, full disclosure. Remember when Covid happened? Remember that first Facebook live I fumbled through trying to have a conversation about this story cuz I didn't know what to do? Yeah, this is the sermon I was supposed to preach. Now I get to do it live.We'll walk again through the story and I'll have - you guessed it - 3 things to say.1) Here we …

The Church is a place for sinners who long to be saints, not a place for saints who have long forgotten they are sinners.The Church is a place for celebration and joy, not a place for gloom and doom and somber faces.The Church of Jesus Christ is a place where old ways are constantly giving ground to new ways—where God is understood to be dynamic an…

Let us love one another. God is love. There's always something about these words that seems foundational to me. Like, there's something about these words that seems to form what ought to be underneath everything we say and do in this place - like DNA level stuff. It gets me thinking about how ReNew started. Just a few people meeting together trying…

We're going to zero in on the first line of Hebrews 11 - faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.Everyone has faith. We have a lot of faith in the things that we have created - technologies. It's a lot harder to have faith in things like the promises of God. We find the promises of God in our liturgy of baptis…

James gives a lot of practical teaching up to this point in his writing. Now he changes directions - adds something new. Now he starts talking about the root of it all - he starts talking about the heart, what's inside.Bitter envy, selfish ambition, etc. He calls is false wisdom. We all have it.So what do we do about it? Again, practical teaching. …

More practical theology - practical faith from James. The tongue is a fire. Today we have two things to talk about fire, and one about water.1) Our words can be like fire that scorches the lives of others. We see this all the time. From the people who lead our nation to the people inside our own homes.2) Words of gossip can spread like wildfire. Co…

Far more than it shows a model for marriage, or for an individual relationship between two partners, Genesis 2 shows God's design for us to be together. Whether it is just a few people or an entire community, we are made to be in regular connection and to share life's ups and downs with those around us. None of us can do it alone. And we don't have…

James makes it clear at the beginning of his letter that there's a power available to Jesus people. It's a power that has the ability to form a new kind of community that is different from the rest of the world. And that power comes from Jesus. He makes it clear that faith in Jesus changes everything about the way we live our lives. In some ways, w…

What are we doing here? Why do we come on Sunday mornings when there are all sorts of other things we could be doing to be productive in life? Why do we play this church game at all? One of the biggest reasons is that we come to pay attention to the divine. That's one of the meanings of the word "religion." It comes from the Latin root "lig" which,…

Peter gets a vision that disrupts his reality. Then he gets an invitation to go to Cornelius's house. He suddenly gets the meaning of the vision. God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. He understands that God wants to include the whole world - not just Jews.Divine disruption - it challenges current ways of seeing the worl…

Many of the smaller stories we find in the Bible are just little microcosms of the big themes of change and transformation. The LORD brings Jeremiah to the potter's house and uses the imagery of the potter and the clay. God wants to transform Israel - but it all depends on repentance - it all depends on their willingness to change.Now, when we hear…

This story is about keeping priorities straight, and keeping a right perspective on life. The rich man, in all of his privilege and wealth, loses sight of what is important in the midst of his excess stuff. Are we paying attention? Are we keeping our eyes on the needs of those around us, and seeing people as Jesus does? Or are we sitting in the mid…

People in the scientific community live into the theological themes of repentance and sanctification better than most religious people do. They live life and undergo authentic evolution all the time. They're able to let go of previously held beliefs about the world through the scientific method.In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he calls the Jewish…

We're walking slowly through the story of Jesus appearing to the two disciples walking to Emmaus.They were talking about everything that had happened. That's a loaded four words. "Everything that had happened." They were there witnessing the previous week ending with the crucifixion of Jesus. Then they heard the reports that Jesus' body was missing…

Here's a question given to us by Brian Zhand: did you ever notice that the gospel writers don't even attempt to describe the resurrection? They talk all about the crucifixion. But for the resurrection, there's just the announcement that it happened. Then he suggests that they couldn't describe it. Death belongs to the old age - we know all about de…

Sometimes we only see what we want to see. The people in the story saw Jesus as the one who was coming to liberate them from Roman oppression. That's why they were waving palm branches. They'd seen this play out in their history with Judas Maccabeus. Of course that's what they saw.But that's not who Jesus revealed himself to be. He was teacher - he…

Raising of Lazarus - yeah, we're doing it again. So we've got a new spin. This is a hard story to wrap our heads around. It's a strange story that raises all sorts of questions that are difficult, if not impossible, to answer.So even though this is a confusing story - hard to understand - there is something we all can understand. Two words. Yup, a …