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.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

We are incubated in the love of Christ, constantly moving from adolescence into adulthood, constantly becoming increasingly alive and awake through the power of the Spirit. Patience, kindness, forbearance, hope: these will not let us stand still.

Luke 1:46-55 & Matthew 2:1-12

The magi are all the wrong people, looking in all the wrong places. And yet, these wrong people, in the wrong places, were woven into the story of redemption, the people God chose to meet at the front door of life. We see time and time again that is “who” and “where” God fashions the sacred into the world.

John 11

All Saints' Day is when we break the silence on grief—pull the cork out of the bottle together—and acknowledge that to be alive, means to have a relationship to death. Life, and death, are always talking to each other.

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-25

“The man who tried to be a superhero has come to realize that he’s not a superhero. Worse yet, Moses made himself a martyr by his own hand — trying to be so faithful, so righteous, so perfect, that he inadvertently destroys himself and his neighbors."

Psalm 78:23-29 and John 6:35, 41-51

Once we eat of the bread of life, we will come back again and again and again—because we know that there is a bread that never runs out, a Sustainer that never lets go. Once we go to God’s wide table, we’ll never be able to leave. Nothing else will ever compare.

Philippians 2:1-13

This moral pattern of humility is where the mission and ministry of Christ Jesus is made incarnate. It is not found in political influence, large voices, and big sticks, but Christ is incarnate in our frailty, relentless giving, and quiet, persistent service.

Psalm 78:1-7

The same love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit that was in this church one hundred years ago is still here, beckoning us to action. And we are writing our life together as one great liturgy that spans across seasons and pastors and hurts and traumas and arguments.