Will You Sabbath With Me?

Will You Sabbath With Me?

“How are you?”  “Pretty good. Just tired.” If we only had a nickel for every time we responded this way or heard this from our loved ones. A few years back, Ryan (my husband) and I had gotten to a point where we were complaining of being tired constantly. We were both working full time jobs, leading a small group, trying to stay connected to our people, starting grad school, etc. These good things that God had given us had become a chore. Exhausted, we looked at each other and knew something HAD to change. 

The Church As Family

The Church As Family

We have all heard the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As a church, we don’t just believe that children need a village, we believe that every human needs a village. What we love about our village is that it is Christ-centered and our church is an extension of our household families. Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us that we are adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ. The church is not just a building, it is the people inside that are a direct extension of the family. 

The Meta-Narrative of Scripture

The Meta-Narrative of Scripture

As a child, I loved the felt board in Sunday School. Really, the physics of a piece of magazine-like paper sticking to a vertical surface is what interested me the most. But those felt board pictures stuck in my mind too. They taught me the compartmentalized stories of certain people from particular stories in the Bible. Short stories are a great way to teach children, but we all need to grow into an understanding of the Bible for formation not just information. Seeing the overarching “metanarrative” (or big picture) of Scripture is a great first step beyond reading the Bible for information. Here I’ll cover creation, fall, and salvation (redemption), but know that consummation (restoration when Jesus returns) is also included in the meta-narrative.

The Nature of God

The Nature of God

The more time I invest in getting to know God through reading His Word, looking for signs of His presence and character in His created world, and listening to His indwelling Spirit, the more aware I am that there is so much more of Him to know. And the more of Him that I do know, the more I want to know! Yes, I know Him better than I used to, but not as well as I would like or as I believe I one day will. While I don’t want to miss knowing all that I can about God on this side of Heaven, I also appreciate that God is more magnificent and multi-layered than my mortal mind can fully grasp. This is all both perplexing and inspiring.

Imaging God In Our Work: A Panel Recap

Imaging God In Our Work: A Panel Recap

In the first chapter of the opening book of the Bible, God repeatedly states that we as humans are made in His image, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the live-
stock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.  So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27, ESV)

Focus on Caring

Focus on Caring

Sit back. Take a moment. And really think. What would imaging God in our community look like? Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." As God's beautiful workmanship, each one of us has a calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Being the church is not only about loving others - although, loving others is the vital beginning. But being the church also envelopes the attitude and actions of caretakers. Miriam-Webster defines caretaker as one that gives physical or emotional care and support. In order to be the hands and feet of Jesus in endowing care and support to others, we must focus beyond ourselves and even beyond our own families. We must be intentional in truly seeing the needs of others, not just around the world, but also in our own community.

My Brokenness and His Image

My Brokenness and His Image

As she navigated the crowded food court to an out of the way corner table, she caught my eye and my heart  – tattered coat, uncombed hair, downcast eyes and stressed face.  I could see in her movements familiar feelings and fears  – lonely but isolated, in a crowd but hidden, out of the way, afraid of being too much but also in need.

FIND YOUR SPOT!

Take Our Survey!