Category: Minister’s Blog

This Sunday we will be continuing our Advent series on finding God in unexpected places. As we continue to look at the first two chapters of Matthew, we encounter the magi who experienced God through following a star. This caused me to think of the times I walk outside at night so my son can look at the stars and the sense of wonder that provides. It is easy to become so consumed with our day to day routines, with our jobs, with our obligations, that we no longer feel a sen…se of wonder about God. We can become jaded and skeptical because of things we endure, the pain we see in the world, and the ways people treat each other. We lose sight of the Presence which sustains us. Of the love which surrounded the coming of the Messiah. Of the God we see not only in the stars but in all that we encounter.
This Sunday we will also have a special musical performance during our service. And our first Christmas Make and Take will be held on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 3. Children of all ages are invited to come and make Christmas ornaments, decorate Christmas cookies, and take them home. We hope to see you for what I anticipate will be a special Sunday of celebration.

The holidays can be a time of disappointment.  As children, we are disappointed when we don’t get the toys we want.  As adults, our disappointments around the holidays usually become less material.  We are disappointed that a loved one won’t be with us to celebrate Christmas or that a relationship hasn’t been mended.  We look back on what our life was like in previous years and are disappointed with where we are now.  We thought we would be happier, our health would be better, our children would be in a better place.  This Sunday we will continue our Advent series, Finding God in Unexpected Places.  We will consider the circumstances of Joseph at the time Mary finds herself with child.  And we will see that our disappointments are often an unexpected place in which we can find God.

Our theme for Advent this year is Finding God in Unexpected Places. Many of us have been taught where to go when we want to experience God. We know the familiar places. We attend a worship service, Sunday school, or a Bible study. We spend time individually reading our Bible or in prayer. And we can narrow ourselves to those experiences. We can think that we will only find God in the places that we have always found God. But often times the places we see God, the places we have the most powerful experiences of God, are the places we do not expect. Throughout Advent we will be looking at these unexpected places based upon the opening chapters of the book of Matthew. Join us this Sunday as we look at the genealogy of Jesus and see that our experiences of God can come through unexpected people.

This Sunday we will be looking at the account of Zechariah receiving word from the angel Gabriel that his wife would give birth to John the Baptist.  As these events unfold, the people of Israel were in a state of waiting, a state of expectation.  They had longed for a messiah while living under the oppression of Roman rule.  Many were likely living in a state of uncertainty over the future and unhappiness over their current circumstances.  Zechariah himself was struggling after years of being unable to have children despite living a righteous life.  But into this uncertainty, Zechariah receives a word of hope. And while he is initially in disbelief that change can come, he later sings praise to God and gives hope to others.  Join us this Sunday as we recognize Thanksgiving and seek, like Zechariah, to proclaim words of hope and reassurance in our uncertain times.

While it seemed that the day may never come, tomorrow is finally the election. While I am sure there is great relief that we no longer have to watch political ads and that the latest crisis plaguing the candidates will no longer be all we hear about on the news, I am also sure the reaction to the election results will not the same for everyone. Some will be relieved, some will be joyous, some will be despondent, and regardless of who you support, everyone will have some concern about what the future holds. It is easy in the wake of a controversial election like this to just throw up our hands in despair. To give in to a sense of hopelessness. This Sunday in the wake of the coming election we will take a look at some advice Paul gave to a church which was succumbing to despair. And we will be challenged to renew our vision and not grow weary in our work for God despite our fears for the future.

This Sunday we finish our series on why many churches are facing decline and what we can do to change that. We will be looking at the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. What we see in the interaction between Jesus and this person of a different race, gender and religious view is something we desperately need in our churches today – fearless conversation. There has never been a more important time for the church to engage in honest dialogue with those both within our church and in the greater community. In many ways, people are more isolated than they have ever been. As the church, we need to foster an environment in which we feel free to question and be honest about our struggles. It is through such fearless conversation that true spiritual healing can take place as together we encounter God.

This Sunday we will be continuing our series on why the church in North America is facing decline. One of the traits which most characterized Jesus and his ministry but which is often missing from the ministry of the church is humility. As the church, we have often portrayed ourselves as having it all together. When we fail to be honest about our own struggles and our own failures, we do not create an environment in which vulnerability and openness to the transformative power of God can be experienced. We cannot expect people outside the church to go where we ourselves are unwilling to go. I hope you will join us for our new fourth Sunday worship service this Sunday as we are challenged to mirror the humility of Jesus.

This Sunday we continue our series on what we need to be doing as the church to remain a vital force for the kingdom of God in our communities. Last Sunday we talked about the importance of connection with each other as the body of Christ. This Sunday, we will discuss the importance of experiencing God in our worship services. A study I recently read indicated that less than 50% of people say they have experienced God when in church on a Sunday morning. This is not due to the absence of God. God is actively seeking us. But it is up to us to respond to this initiative by God. I hope you will join us this Sunday as we examine how to enter worship with the expectancy that we will encounter God and be transformed as a result.

We hear much about declining church attendance. People question whether the church remains relevant as our congregations age. For the next several weeks we will be looking at possible reasons why people may be less interested in going to church. But we will be doing more than bemoaning our situation. We will be discovering ways that the church can be a vital force in our community witnessing to the power of God’s grace. This Sunday we will be looking at the familiar story of Zacchaeus and his interaction with Jesus. We will see the power that genuine connection can have in advancing the kingdom of God. And we will be challenged to be a community in which this genuine connection is fostered.

This Sunday is World Communion Sunday, a day in which we recognize the oneness of the church. We are consistently tempted to give in to pressures to separate ourselves from those we view as different. To isolate into our own communities out of fear. To refuse to forgive. This Sunday we will be looking at the relationship between forgiveness and faith. Rather than withdrawing out of a desire for self-preservation, God calls us to a lifestyle of forgiveness and reconciliation. A recognition of our inter-relatedness and our responsibility to each other. And this lifestyle of reconciliation, although challenging, becomes easier as we daily seek to deepen our own spirituality and follow the example of Christ.