Matthew 5:1-13

There is no blessing for those who place order above wholeness, or the law above what is truly right. But there is a blessedness beyond reason to those who place wholeness and righteousness above human whims.

John 1:1-14

We will only be able to worship this tiny, fragile baby Jesus, when we dwell in his presence with those who are vulnerable.

Luke 2:1-20

Christ is brave enough, strong enough, powerful enough to stand the smell of this world, the ugly reality we know, the darkness all around us, and invite it into his eternal light.

Romans 13:8-14; 14:1-4, 7-10

We join the Church today in remembering our mortality and that we die in the same manner that we were born: held in love, shepherded by the Lord of all, and part of a communion of saints that is far bigger and more beautiful than we can ever grasp.

Matthew 25:31-46

One of the most unexpected divides in this story is between those who were trying to discern which people were “deserving” of grace and those who were extravagantly indiscriminate in their care for others.

LUKE 16:1-13

[Today's] parable stands out from the others, because it shows us that money can also be used to sculpt new relationships, mend the breaches of our community, and give unexpected freedom to those who are burdened.

Luke 12:32-40

Christ will not come again as a militaristic punisher. Christ will come again as a guest from a wedding banquet — Christ will come from a place of abiding joy and unmeasurable love.

Luke 9:51-62

Let the dead bury the dead, and let’s start making room for the living. Everything depends on plowing a furrow ahead, getting ready for the Spirit’s seeds of hope, and anticipating a harvest that our children and grandchildren will reap.

Romans 5:1-5

God is so big, that even our faith—our very salvation—is an act of God... It is the faith of Jesus Christ which brings us into righteousness and peace.

ASCENSION OF THE LORD ∙ Acts 1:1-11

These disciples are rubbernecked to heaven — to a spiritual event of the past, and a ministry of the past, and their ways of the past. In trying to figure it out, they forgot about Jesus’ words: “To Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

EASTER SUNDAY ∙ John 20:1-18

There is a constellation of hope, and love, and joy in this place. It won’t make us unshakably certain, or unmovable strong. But it will make us alive — united in Christ, starstruck by the God of resurrections.

MAUNDY THURSDAY · John 13:1, 31-35

Jesus orders us to love one another, indiscriminate of whether others are citizens or immigrants; criminals or not; Christian or not; sober or not; mentally ill or not; politically-aligned or not; reciprocally loving or not.

PALM SUNDAY · Luke 19:28-40

Every Sunday, we witness God taking the island of misfit toys and assembling coronations, holy meals, unexpected anointings, and a new creation from it all. Through Jesus Christ, everything takes on a new meaning.

John 12:1-8

As we enter into Holy Week starting next Sunday, we are encountering mysteries that can only be expressed in music and song. It’s a messy week steeped in humanity: the very same humanity that is full of joy, and beauty, and complexity, and pain, and uncertainty, and everything else under the sun; the very same humanity within us that sings.

Luke 18:1-8 and 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Today, we hear a parable about a widow who was willing to die on a hill. She sought justice, constantly, persistently, even foolishly, and made her whole life into a song of protest. She made her whole life into prayer – in her words and her deeds. Sometimes, it turns out, there are hills we should die on, where God asks us to make our lives into a prayer—and song—of protest.

Luke 13:31-35

Singing itself might change us. After all, God’s people have sung for thousands of years. It’s a spiritual discipline that at face value seems superficial, but if we trust the Spirit’s work, it will shape this church and our lives.

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus is coming of age in this passage. In this wilderness—like the wildernesses every humanity walks in adolescence—Jesus is on a pilgrimage to his ministry. He was baptized; now comes time for his confirmation as the son of God.

Luke 6:27-36

In an economy that is predisposed to transactionalism, Jesus invites us to commit acts of unexpected generosity, and to find freedom in letting go of our wealth. Jesus is earnestly, fervently inviting us to do what is unintuitive to the powers of the earth: to love, to pray, to bless, to give.

Luke 2:1-11

This miraculous deed is a sign that God is not content with our mere survival; God is determined to bring about joy and celebration within our deepest souls, for the whole human race. In Christ, we envision a community of Newton that is more connected, more alive, more stable, more enfranchised in every way.

Luke 3

Baptism was the start of Jesus’ ministry among us, stirring him to a life of radical peace, hospitality, healing, and hope. We see, flowing from Jesus’ baptism a life that was marked by relationships with the poor, sick, and morally disreputable. And that same baptism is wrapped around our waists, too, leading us back to the love and grace of our Creator.