You know that terror you feel about letting someone down when you receive an invitation, so you mark "maybe" even though you know your answer is actually "no"? That's the aspirational RSVP, and while it can feel like the better option in the short term, it can leave a communication mess in the end. People in Jesus' day faced their own communication messes, and Jesus' advice was humbling but incredibly helpful.
Read MoreJesus' "you have heard it said... but I say..." statements seem extreme and crazy at first read. But he's actually doing something quite brilliant in making these statements, which allows him to both knock the religious elite of his day (the Pharisees) off their high horses, and also inspiringly point people toward the spiritual, psychological, and emotional health that being humbled brings.
Read MoreProviding an avenue to psychological health. Exposing our tendency to scapegoat others... Just a couple of the things at play in Jesus' meaning-packed statement that he came to fulfill (not abolish) "the Law" of the Ancient Israelites.
Read MoreJesus' famously evoked the images of "salt" and "light" in showing his followers how to be good news to the world around them. However, exhaustive polling of younger American's attitudes toward church & people of faith (conducted by the likes of the Barna Group) reveal quite the opposite of that... What if our church was good news to people?
Read MoreJesus' Beatitudes (blessed are the poor, mourning, insulted, persecuted, etc.) are remarkable because no one actually believes them. But what if a community made it feel safe for people to believe them, instead of "blessed are those who present well"?
Read MoreThe rhythm of marking Jesus' death and resurrection every year attaches us to the reality of God's continued alive-ness in our lives and world today, and how we can participate daily in resurrection.
Read MoreIf we want alive and lasting spiritual fulfillment (and not just a passing experience of faith that's nice but nonetheless fades), Jesus tells us to "seek first the Kingdom of God" -- in other words, set our sights higher than just our own selves, and look to participate in the grand, all-of-history-spanning story of all life. This Kingdom of God story, it seems, is as relevant as ever in light of current events.
Read MoreA reflection on Christmas from Co-Lead Pastor Kyle Hanawalt
Read MoreThe question "What are you about?" is posed to us more often than we might think. What if that doesn't have to feel overwhelming? What if we all have within us a unique set of values that God wants to help us discover, so we can be driven by those values, instead of reactive to anxiety? We want that to be true of our church!
Read MoreFrom the chaotic and unsure standpoint of the suddenly-freed-from-Egyptian-slavery Hebrew people, the Ten Commandments was the most compassionate and revolutionary offer of guidance that anyone could have asked for. But what really shows us the enduring helpfulness of the Ten Commandments -- even today! -- is the perspective on them Jesus would add.
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