Pentecost +15 – Unexpected & Changed

This week our lessons share two stories of unexpected encounters with Jesus.  The first challenges Jesus’ idea of inclusion.  The second story changes a life that is now able to hear and proclaim the Good News.  In Mark’s Gospel, there is a slow revelation happening right now – that Jesus …

BAIYB…We can live in God’s wisdom

What does it mean to make the most of time? Does it mean that we should cram as much as we can into a day, hour, minute—get more done than some think is more than humanly possible and then add more to the list just for kicks? Or does it …

We Live as Imitators of Christ

Baggage – we’ve all got it.  When I travel with youth, I’m fond of saying, you pack it you carry it.  There’s a lot of it in our lives.  And it gets heavy and hard to bear. There’s physical baggage, emotional baggage, spiritual baggage.  It’s tiring to just think about …

We are One in Christ

John Lennon’s iconic song “Imagine” begs of the listener to imagine a world as one.  St. Paul, from jail, declares to the Ephesians that in Christ we are one – one body, one Spirit, one hope, for the building up of the body of Christ.  Not something to imagine.  Something …

Weekly Announcements for July 22, 2015

We Welcome. Don’t Forget – Midweek Summer Worship! As part of our summer experiment, Wednesday nights in July and August will feature a light meal and worship!  The meal is served at 6:30 PM. We ask a suggested donation of $2 per person. We will then worship around the tables …

BAIYB…We Live in God’s Abundance

How do you define abundance?  Our culture is oriented toward accumulation and often we can hardly see beyond it.  It’s a defense against not having enough. Behaving as if we believe that we line in God’s abundance means that what we have comes from something more lasting than anything here …

BAIYB: Blessed, Chosen, Adopted, Forgiven, Redeemed

Pentecost P+7, L15B Ephesians 1:3-14 July 12, 2015 BLESSED: CHOSEN, ADOPTED, FORGIVEN, REDEEMED This morning – I’d like to start with you all thinking about you.  You will need a post-it note and a pencil. What are 5 characteristics that you would use to describe yourself?  Write them on the …

BAIYB: Christ is Our Peace

This week, we continue with our summer series – Behave As If You Believe… Moving into Ephesians 2, we now focus on the peace that Jesus brings to our lives. And let’s admit it – day to day, there isn’t a whole lot of that in our personal or public …