October 20, 2013 Living Within Culture: The Word of God Written on our Hearts

There are so many different things written on our hearts - in fact the cultures in which we live often shape what is written on our hearts.  But we are a people who are called to live within culture, live within the world exhibiting a life-giving reality among the many life-inhibiting realities all around us.

As God's people we come living in the presence of the Spirit because we have a different reality written on our hearts - the Word of God in its many manifestations - God's Word, the embodied Word of Jesus, the written word of Scripture and the declared word of proclamation in the power of the Spirit.  We participate with God in God's transforming mission in the world as we live in light of the Word of God written on our hearts and minds.

Link to message:  Living Within Culture: The Word of God Written on our Hearts

October 13, 2013 The God Who Comes - Living in God's Presence

We often think about our mission as God's people as "Going" into all the world.  However, when we think of God, we always think of God coming to us.  Often in our going, we are perceived as being ones with an agenda - we come in and leave and go on about doing our thing.

How might we be seen as a community which "comes" to the ones to whom we are sent?  By coming as God comes.

Jeremiah offers us some insights as we explore Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7.  Settling down in a place puts us in a posture where we focus more on coming than "going."

Link to Message:  The God Who Comes: Living in God's Presence

September 1, 2013 The Sin We Commit: Drinking from Cisterns and Not the Living Spring

Our relationship with God is a mutual relationship – God not only interacts with us, God desires for us to interact with God in deeply personal ways.  And yet, though God is faithful to us, we often are not faithful to God.  We like to have God around (as a consultant), but God wants to be more than a consultant – God wants to be a confidante, one who walks with us and we with God.  The sins we commit are not so much behavioral “sins” but the sin of not needing God.  We think that we are self-sufficient – but life is to be found in being centered in God. 

Jeremiah reveals the waywardness of the priests and people in which they sought to find living water elsewhere than from the life of God.  From where do we draw our life?

Link to Message: The Sin We Commit: Drinking from Cisterns and Not the Living Spring

August 25, 2013 - Hearing God's Voice

Today’s scripture (Jeremiah 1: 4-10) invites us to hear God’s voice.  God speaks to us.  Do we hear, do we respond to God calling us?  To hear God speaking to us we are invited to have a mind that is open to hear from God. To see, to hear we need an open mind.  To adapt a statement by Robertson Davies, a Canadian author, “the eye sees [and the ear hears] only what the mind is prepared to [encounter and] comprehend.”

Jeremiah gives us some insights in developing the courage to hear and respond to God's voice.

Link to Hearing God's Voice

July 14, 2013 Plumb Lines in an Out-of-Kilter World

How do we measure up to the righteousness, the justice of God and God's ways.  When we measure our place in the world by our comfort or by what benefits us, we see nothing wrong with the way we engage or do not engage those who touch the heart of God.

But when God holds a plumb line to our lives, we begin to see how far our ways are removed from God's.  Amos challenges us to realign ourselves with God and God's justice in the world.

Link to message: Plumb Lines in an Out-of-Kilter World.

July 7, 2013 Engaging the Prophets - Hope: Peace Like a River

As we begin our series on the Prophets we are exploring what concerned the hearts of the prophets- in what ways were the people aligned or not aligned with God and the purposes of God.  We explore the prophets to check on our alliances.

Link to message: Hope: Peace Like a River (Introduction to Prophets)

June 30, 2013 - Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Road construction just does not happen in our cities in the summer, in preparing the way of the Lord, we are involved in road projects so that God has free access into our lives.

Link here to: Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord