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The new church year certainly got off to a wild start with all the freezing rain coming down. It’s not the ‘new thing’ we want to happen at this time of year as we long earnestly for Jesus’ return but God often does the unexpected. It was unexpected to send Jesus to earth as a baby born into poverty. It was unexpected that redemption would be achieved through a cross. It was unexpected, but a delightful gift, to then be adopted into God’s family once again. With this act of love and justice brought about peace with God the Father through Jesus the Son. As we celebrate God’s gift of love and also light the candle of peace, let’s continue to move deeper into the beauty of the season. See you Sunday!

Happy New Year! At least for the Church it is. We start our new church calendar year with the celebration of Advent. In this season we quiet our hearts and lives (in this crazy season) to mark the first coming of Jesus Christ and to longingly expect His return. While the world around us enters into a busy Christmas season, we want to enter into the quiet, the hush of Advent. It’s as if we are holding our breath in suspense, waiting for Jesus to burst onto the scene. We mark the great themes of love, hope, peace, and joy, but also our longing for Jesus. This first week we are going to look at the love of God which opens the way for our adoption into His royal and divine family. Looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday . . .

In John’s gospel Jesus asks His first two disciples what they are looking for. It’s a much deeper question than we realize. A little later on Jesus asks another question of a man who has been paralyzed for decades. Again, it seems like a strange question to ask but not so strange when we dig a little deeper. “Do you want to get well,” Jesus asks this unnamed man. The answer seems obvious, and if this is the case then why ask the question? Our relationship with Jesus has to begin somewhere and it is easy to miss those connection points if our lives are too crowded or if we are focused on one way of ‘being.’ Jesus comes along not just to respond to our need but to also open our eyes to a whole new world. Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!

“What are you looking for?” It’s a simple enough question. Sometimes. If you lose or misplace something you can, ‘I am looking for . . . have you seen it?’ Often it goes deeper than this. You may be looking for something you want without really knowing, or even denying, what you need. In John 1 Jesus asks the question to two of John’s disciples who were following Him. It’s a loaded question in this case. How would you answer the question, at a deeper level? Let’s open this up together on Sunday and listen for God’s answer. Looking forward to seeing there!

“A lot of hope is dangerous.” These words, spoken by President Snow, one of the main villains in “The Hunger Games,” have a lot of truth in them. Hope is dangerous for dictators trying to maintain control of a people. Hope is dangerous for our enemy Satan because he knows that stealing away hope brings despair. God holds out hope to us. Our hope is more than wishing though for God’s promises are sure. What He says He will do gets done. God speaks hope all through His Word but for this Sunday we are going to see the hope God brings as He asks the question “can these bones live?” Hope to see you there!