Uncategorized

We are so good at being good, we have a word to describe individuals who are hyper focused on it: perfectionist. We put attention into all kinds of things, our home, our work, our family, our social media, politics, but what if we were never meant to be perfect, or even pretend we can be close?

Most of us worry, like a lot. Like we can be pro worry-ers. Yet so much of what we worry about is out of our control, and in some cases, God is inviting us to entrust it to him, to trust that He cares about it, trust that He knows about it.

Jesus says that his yoke is easy and the burden is light. This phrase of a yoke and burden was commonly used by rabbis to speak about the expectations for those who would choose to follow them. Jesus is painting a picture of discipleship that sounds less stressful than the way in which many of us follow Jesus. So why exactly is his yoke easy, and what does it mean for us?

The sermon is about God’s patience with Isreal, in teaching them to trust him. In seeing how God treats Isreal we can come to understand the patience that he has with us. How all that he does in our lives and in history is a testament to his trustworthiness.

Growing up, the idea of hearing from God sounded foreign. What did God sound like? How do you know? Do people really hear from God like you would from a trusted friend? Or even if you have a sense of what God sounds like, how does that line up with what scripture shows? In 1 Kings God has an encounter with a prophet, but the way, the place, and the circumstance is nothing like the prophet ever expected.

You know what the voice sounds like. The inner critic. That whisper that tells you not so nice things about you, or your spouse, or that tough project at work. How do we go about working through that voice, as we seek to encounter God? Jesus models for us in Matthew 4 some ways that we can work through those voices as we seek God.

Silence can be loud. You know it because you settle into bed, turn off the lights, and sometimes the chatter, the noise, the back and forth in your own mind can feel like a lot. When we create space for solitude we will encounter ourselves. How you are feeling, the ache in you knee, the dream of a new job, or that trip you hope to maybe go on.

Everyone is looking for you! This feels like a common refrain in most of our lives, whether it is said explicitly, or through phone notifications, or asks to join another team, take on another project, do another initiative. Yet, we see in Jesus’ life that he often takes time away from it all to be with God, to be quiet, to experience stillness. To go to a quiet place.

Asking why is such a simple and complex question. It has the ability to cut to the core of things with one simple word. In 1 Peter, the question is why do we place our hope in Jesus? Bill will share a bit of his why in his walk with Jesus.

As the holiday season comes to an end, we prepare ourselves for the hurry of school, sports, and work getting back to “normal”. In this hurry we can lose a valuable sense of stillness and peace. Join us as we work through what it means to look to Christ for peace and how presence with him is our ultimate goal.

We have all had mountain top days and experiences. Weddings, births of babies, promotions at work, big performances. On those days it can be easy to believe that the world is good, and that God is with you. But what about on days when life is not going as expected or challenges arise. God has a conversation with King Solomon that helps remind us that God’s faithfulness, God showing up for us, is unchanging, even if the circumstances of our lives are ever changing.