This summer we’re going to walk through 1 Corinthians 13 phrase by phrase, considering both the nature of love, and how to embody it. It’ll be ugly at times, because none of us are touching the way of life in this chapter. But it will be hopeful, because we can see real growth in love, individually and as a community....
Here's what you need to know and remember about coming back to the building for worship as we reopen. ...
For our Signs sermon series we had several artists from New City represent the sign in their artwork. Sadly we had to cease meeting together in the midst of the series but here are the pieces and brief descriptions from the sermons shared in the series either in person or via our house church liturgies. Thanks to all the artists who encouraged us by using their gifts to create these delightful works! ...
In light of Pastor Josh's Good Samaritan sermon on Sunday, many of you have come up to me to ask about best practices when helping people in certain situations. Some of you understand the tricky balance between the desire to help others and the fear to cause more harm with our assistance....
Keep ReadingIt’s helpful to read the Gospel of Luke as a travel narrative: something like Kerouac’s On the Road or Steinbeck’s Travels with Charlie, except Jesus wasn’t seeking adventure or spiritual enlightenment. Jesus was on the road to die. All of Luke points toward this end -- his entry into Jerusalem and his eventual death and resurrection. This is the point of the story...
Keep ReadingDuring the Psalm 69 sermon last Sunday we came across an example of an imprecatory prayer. Imprecatory prayers are those that call out for justice and the condemnation of evil, and they are pervasive in the Psalter. If you just flip through the first ten psalms, you'll notice that more than half include warnings about God's judgment, prayers for judgment, or promises of ju...
Keep ReadingGratitude was one of the things we talked about last weekend. Psalm 67 is a harvest psalm, praising God for his provision and reasoning from that to confident hope in his ongoing care in the future. I suggested one practical application would be to find regular and intentional ways of giving thanks....
Keep ReadingThe Leaders Collective exists to help pastors and church planters sustain healthy, fruitful ministry so they - through Jesus' Church - can advance the gospel throughout the world. In 2018 I joined a two year, eight retreat cohort through the Leaders Collective. It was a tremendously helpful experience for me, and I continue to meet with my same cohort of pastors now 5 year...
Keep ReadingWith all apologies to REM, when we think of "the end of the world as we know it," most people don't feel fine. This was certainly true for the church at Thessalonica. Paul had written a previous letter trying to encourage them and calm their fears. But as time passed, the situation grew worse. So Paul writes again to offer clarity about the return of Christ. What he tells ...
Keep ReadingOne of the most vivid images in the whole New Testament is that of a man running. Jesus tells a story in Luke 15, about a son who can’t wait to get out of dodge. He gets his share of the family wealth, tells his father, "I want my money; I don’t want you,” and he leaves. After awhile, things go poorly. He squanders the money and he comes back home. He expects to grov...
Keep ReadingOurs will be a Tenebrae service -- Tenebrae meaning “darkness” or “shadows.” Once a service for the monastic community, Tenebrae later became an important part of the worship of the common folk during Holy Week. We join Christians of many generations throughout the world in using the liturgy of Tenebrae....
Keep ReadingWhen the church worships on Maundy Thursday, it remembers the last evening that Christ spent with his disciples in the upper room. Three major events make up this evening: he washed the disciple's feet, he instituted the Lord's Supper, and he gave them the "new" commandment to love one another. ...
Keep Reading"Solomon the preacher is giving me a hard time, as though he begrudged anyone lecturing on him. But he must yield."...
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