Teaching
We gather around the scriptures to learn the unfolding story of God.
Friendship for the City – John 15:12-17
We are all looking for connection, relationships, and friendship, yet, somehow, we can't find it. Jesus's example is a life of friendship; Jesus ate, drank, talked, celebrated, walked, and just dwelt with his friends. Jesus chose to do it with others, from the mundane to the extraordinary. In his example, we commit to presence, serving, and vulnerability.
Families for the City – Ephesians 1:3-5
The United States is predominantly identified as an individualistic culture, in contrast to the collectivist cultures seen in many other parts of the world. Elements of individualism have been a part of American society since its early colonial days. But as apprentices of Jesus, we should prioritize togetherness– for ultimately, the people of God are family.
Community for the City – Philippians 2:1-11
There is no such thing as a perfect church or ideal community because there is no such thing as a perfect people. And yet Christ still invites us to participate in it. The good news is that on the other side of this idealistic or dream community is true unity around the person of Jesus and radical servanthood.
Churches for the City – Acts 2:41-47
Despite its failures, the Church is still Jesus’s chosen plan for healing the world. The Church is called to serve as the best example of what God can do with the human community, specifically through unity and presence.
Disciples for the City – Matthew 28:16-20
The idea that you can be a Christian without following Jesus is a Western idea incompatible with the New Testament. The invitation of Jesus is to be a disciple and to make disciples. Jesus calls for a grassroots movement to transform the world from the bottom up.
Death Defeated - 1 Cor 15:50-58
The Christian hope is that our future resurrection will not just change our outward appearance; it will change the world around us and the inner reality of who we are and what we are. The ordering of our disordered desires. And that change is beginning even now.
Empty Cemeteries, New Bodies– 1 Corinthians 15:12-22, 35-49
The Christian faith is often reduced to “I will go to heaven when I die.” But this summary is more gnostic than Christian. It assumes that the material world must be escaped. The Christian hope, as Paul tells it, is embodied. Somehow our God will empty cemeteries and give us new bodies.
Can I Get a Witness – 1 Corinthians 15:5-11
In so many ways, followers of Jesus can be made to feel like our faith is unreasonable, clinging to faith in an event despite the obvious, clear, and overwhelming evidence against the Resurrection. But our faith isn’t unreasonable. It isn’t a blind leap into nonsensical belief. Trust in the bodily resurrection of Jesus is reasonable. Jesus appeared to many: disciples, family, skeptics, and outspoken opponents. These witnesses were so convinced by their encounter with the risen Jesus that many were unwilling to recant that belief even as they were executed for it.
According to the Scriptures – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Too often we settle for badly summarized Gospels; formulas that are less than compelling. Paul articulates the Gospel as the climax of the long story of Israel, the beautiful and compelling story of God’s activity to save the world.
Let this Cup Pass – Matthew 26:36-46
For many the divinity of Jesus is easy to grasp, but Christian orthodoxy declares that Jesus is also human; and the humanity of Jesus is most on display the night he would be betrayed. In a Garden called Gethsamene, Jesus weeps, pleads, and experiences the whole range of human anxiety. It is in this short story that we begin to see the depths of God’s love for us that he would join us in our suffering.
The End of the World – Luke 19:41-44
For every generation, for every time, there are “what is this world coming to moments.” Since 2000, in just 24 short years, we have seen– 9/11, the housing crash of 2008, the war in Afghanistan, the Syrian crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. in the crushing wave of the 24-hour news cycle, we are constantly aware of all the tragedy, all the violence, all the death; it feels like the end of the world all the time. But these moments are not new. Every generation has lived through these moments. As we look to the life of Jesus we find a startling practice that can help us navigate these “end of the world” moments– Lament.
The Dry Season – Psalm 42
There are times in our walk with God that feel more like a desert than an oasis. These seasons are dry, desolate, and lonely and we feel more of God’s absence than his presence. In these moments we need to be reminded we are not alone, God has not abandoned us, and there might be something to learn from the dry season.
Joseph’s Grief – Genesis 49-50
When suffering crashes into our lives all humans are prone to ask some of the same questions. Is God just? Does God run the world by His justice? Why is there evil? These are the same questions posed by the Book of Job. A tragic story that invites us to reconsider our search for easy answers even as we wrestle with God.
The Tragedy of Job – Job 1:1, 6-12
When suffering crashes into our lives all humans are prone to ask some of the same questions. Is God just? Does God run the world by His justice? Why is there evil? These are the same questions posed by the Book of Job. A tragic story that invites us to reconsider our search for easy answers even as we wrestle with God.
Fighting – Luke 4:1-13
We live in a good world but also a world fractured by evil, both externally in the world and internally within oneself. Teachers of the Way of Jesus have long been warning of three enemies; the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. If we are to be disciples of Jesus committed to the healing of our world, then we must know the dangers; and that victory is possible in the power fo the Spirt.
Healing – John 11:32-44
Healing is often a profound and deeply perplexing topic. Unlike other gifts of the Spirit, healing is intertwined with the most tender and sensitive parts of our life; pain and suffering. But when we experience the healing of God, we are given a trail marker, a signpost: a compassionate beacon pointing us toward God's Kingdom and the world to come.
Prophecy – 1 Corinthians 14:1-5
Communication is messy. Within the communication act there is a sender, a message, and a receiver; and at any point in that process confusion, hurt, or misunderstanding can occur. Yet, spoken communication remains the primary conduit for connection, beauty, story, instruction, and love. In the biblical narrative, God’s love is communicated through the practice of prophecy; hearing and speaking God’s voice on behalf of an individual or group.
Unlearned Languages – 1 Corinthians 14:1-6
In the Post-enlightenment, Western society we tend to be compartmental in our thinking. We easily imagine human beings as segmented; mind, body, emotions, and soul. But the story of Christianity is that humans are deeply interconnected, and the practices of tongues, or unlearned languages, can help us become that integrated whole.
Receive the Spirit – John 20:19-23
As late-modern Jesus-followers we can often limit ‘knowledge’ to data, information, or facts; content that can fit well in a book or spreadsheet. However, the great danger to that perspective is believing that we can think our way to God. The story of the Bible testifies to a God that is known through experience and encounter. And Jesus’ invitation in John 20 is to know God through the reception of His Spirit.
Finding Hope Beyond Consumerism – Romans 15:1-13
Consumerism deceives us into believing we can achieve earthly immortality. We look outside of ourselves to find the solution to what is going on inside of us. And we begin to hope in the things we are consuming. But the invitation of Advent is to embrace a hope born on Christmas; a hope robust enough to carry us through all of life.