![Soar: Vision (10/13/19)]()
October 15, 2019
A popular poster hanging from many office walls portrays massive, threatening storm clouds covering the earthen landscape below. All life on the ground has sought a place of safety and shelter. But above the dark, ominous clouds an eagle soars with outstretched wings. The caption reads: “When storms arise, sparrows head for cover, while eagles soar higher.”
When the hardships of life press in all around us and we begin to grow weary, or when a storm or crisis overturns our world and threatens to overwhelm us, we are often inclined to run for shelter, take cover, and wait it out—hoping simply to get through it in one piece. But the eagle knows that in the storm lies both danger and opportunity. By locking its wings in a fixed position, it can use the wind of the storm to fly higher in a matter of seconds, thereby avoiding the perils below and gaining a whole new perspective.
In this four-part “Soar” series, we hear from the prophet Isaiah, who reminds us that, in the face of every storm, God gives us the strength and courage to soar like eagles, rather than hide like sparrows.
![Soar: Trust (10/6/19)]()
October 15, 2019
A popular poster hanging from many office walls portrays massive, threatening storm clouds covering the earthen landscape below. All life on the ground has sought a place of safety and shelter. But above the dark, ominous clouds an eagle soars with outstretched wings. The caption reads: “When storms arise, sparrows head for cover, while eagles soar higher.”
When the hardships of life press in all around us and we begin to grow weary, or when a storm or crisis overturns our world and threatens to overwhelm us, we are often inclined to run for shelter, take cover, and wait it out—hoping simply to get through it in one piece. But the eagle knows that in the storm lies both danger and opportunity. By locking its wings in a fixed position, it can use the wind of the storm to fly higher in a matter of seconds, thereby avoiding the perils below and gaining a whole new perspective.
In this four-part “Soar” series, we hear from the prophet Isaiah, who reminds us that, in the face of every storm, God gives us the strength and courage to soar like eagles, rather than hide like sparrows.
October 9, 2019
In one of his most famous parables, Jesus gives us a model for Christian service through a man who finds himself in the right place at the right time and actually gets off his donkey and serves a person in need.
Like the Good Samaritan, believers are called daily to dismount, get down and dirty, and live a life that makes a difference.
Join us for this series on the call to faithful service and greater community engagement in order to do our essential part in creating a world worth living in.
October 9, 2019
In one of his most famous parables, Jesus gives us a model for Christian service through a man who finds himself in the right place at the right time and actually gets off his donkey and serves a person in need.
Like the Good Samaritan, believers are called daily to dismount, get down and dirty, and live a life that makes a difference.
Join us for this series on the call to faithful service and greater community engagement in order to do our essential part in creating a world worth living in.
October 9, 2019
In one of his most famous parables, Jesus gives us a model for Christian service through a man who finds himself in the right place at the right time and actually gets off his donkey and serves a person in need.
Like the Good Samaritan, believers are called daily to dismount, get down and dirty, and live a life that makes a difference.
Join us for this series on the call to faithful service and greater community engagement in order to do our essential part in creating a world worth living in.
October 9, 2019
In one of his most famous parables, Jesus gives us a model for Christian service through a man who finds himself in the right place at the right time and actually gets off his donkey and serves a person in need.
Like the Good Samaritan, believers are called daily to dismount, get down and dirty, and live a life that makes a difference.
Join us for this series on the call to faithful service and greater community engagement in order to do our essential part in creating a world worth living in.
![Nudge: Bear Witness (9/1/19)]()
October 9, 2019
One of the greatest mistakes we can make in this life is to assume that God’s presence and call is limited to certain “holy” times and places. We’re inclined to think that God-moments only happen in church, or during particularly religious experiences, or when we are especially deserving of them. We tend to look for God in the extraordinary, when more often, God shows up most powerfully in the unexpected and ordinary moments of our lives.
Moses had one of those moments. While tending Jethro’s sheep in the wilderness, a bush caught fire but was not consumed—an extraordinary event in the most ordinary of places. Moses took notice, paused, beheld the beauty and mystery of it all, and heard a distinct call that would change his life and the course of history for the Hebrew people.
Every bush is burning around us, but it takes grace, patience, and imagination to awaken to the God who speaks through them. How do we recognize the signs of God’s in-breaking presence in the ordinary world? How can we trust and respond to them when they seem so unlikely and unexpected?
![Nudge: Witness (8/25/19)]()
October 9, 2019
One of the greatest mistakes we can make in this life is to assume that God’s presence and call is limited to certain “holy” times and places. We’re inclined to think that God-moments only happen in church, or during particularly religious experiences, or when we are especially deserving of them. We tend to look for God in the extraordinary, when more often, God shows up most powerfully in the unexpected and ordinary moments of our lives.
Moses had one of those moments. While tending Jethro’s sheep in the wilderness, a bush caught fire but was not consumed—an extraordinary event in the most ordinary of places. Moses took notice, paused, beheld the beauty and mystery of it all, and heard a distinct call that would change his life and the course of history for the Hebrew people.
Every bush is burning around us, but it takes grace, patience, and imagination to awaken to the God who speaks through them. How do we recognize the signs of God’s in-breaking presence in the ordinary world? How can we trust and respond to them when they seem so unlikely and unexpected?
![Nudge: Happiness (8/18/19)]()
October 9, 2019
One of the greatest mistakes we can make in this life is to assume that God’s presence and call is limited to certain “holy” times and places. We’re inclined to think that God-moments only happen in church, or during particularly religious experiences, or when we are especially deserving of them. We tend to look for God in the extraordinary, when more often, God shows up most powerfully in the unexpected and ordinary moments of our lives.
Moses had one of those moments. While tending Jethro’s sheep in the wilderness, a bush caught fire but was not consumed—an extraordinary event in the most ordinary of places. Moses took notice, paused, beheld the beauty and mystery of it all, and heard a distinct call that would change his life and the course of history for the Hebrew people.
Every bush is burning around us, but it takes grace, patience, and imagination to awaken to the God who speaks through them. How do we recognize the signs of God’s in-breaking presence in the ordinary world? How can we trust and respond to them when they seem so unlikely and unexpected?
![Sabbath: Consecration (8/11/19)]()
October 9, 2019
In the unrelenting busyness of modern life, we have lost the rhythm between work and rest. All life requires a rhythm of rest. There is a rhythm in our waking and in our sleeping. There is a rhythm in the way day dissolves into night, and night into morning. There is a rhythm to the seasons as the growth of spring and summer is hushed by the dormancy of fall and winter.
In a culture that values action and accomplishment over rest and respite, we have lost our rhythm. Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the stillness that would give us wisdom. We miss the quiet that would give us peace of mind. We miss the delight of simply being—with God, with others, with ourselves. For want of rest, our lives are in danger.
It is time to recover the rhythm of rest by reclaiming the meaning and practices of Sabbath. Join us for this seven-part series on finding rest and delight for our busy lives. What we’ll discover along the way is that when we keep the Sabbath, we are caring not only for ourselves, but for the whole world.
