At The Dwelling Place

During this season, we will take a tour of the Hebrew Prophets and what they have to say. The first prophet we will meet is Amos. Amos is really more shepherd/farmer than prophet, but he received a word from God nonetheless. Amos reminds us that social justice and human rights are a divine concern. Worship is never an end in and of itself. Worship and justice walk hand in hand, so that we might be shaped and formed into a just people. Plan to be with us this week as we explore this particular Hebrew prophet in a study called: The Great Worship Scam. 

It is that time of year (the Sunday before Lent) where we remember the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. This is a climactic moment in the gospel story where the old gives way to the new. The law and the prophets find their goal and fulfillment in the person of Jesus. In this narrative account we are called, by the Father, as Christians to “listen to Him" (Jesus). Plan to be with us as we explore this mystical moment in the journey of Jesus.   

During the season of Epiphany we have been looking at the teachings of Jesus. This week we want to ask this question: Who has the final authority -- the Bible or Jesus? How do we read the whole counsel of God as centered in Jesus? Sometimes people have a flat reading of Scripture where the Old Covenant command to not eat shellfish is on par with Jesus’ New Covenant command of enemy love. This doesn’t seem right. Even the Bible has to be re-thought in the light of Jesus. Paul reminds us that “all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in Christ.” Our study this week is called: Reading the Bible Backwards. 

Living in an economic and military Superpower like the US, many Christians have lost the way of Jesus. The Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount call us back to the way. Our posture in the world will either be as people immersed in the spirit of the age or as ones who are baptized in the spirit of Christ. The very spirit of the beatitudes is in fact the Holy Spirit at work in us. Jesus’ teaching is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of this age, and beatitude-shaped people will be profoundly counter-culture. Plan to be with us as we continue to explore the teachings of Christ in a study called -- The Blessed.

This is the season of Epiphany, and we are exploring Jesus’ kingdom teaching. At the beginning of Jesus’ most famous sermon (the Sermon on the Mount) we encounter this  eight-tiered announcement about who will be most blessed at the arrival of God’s coming kingdom. These pronouncements of blessing are not simple platitudes, but rather they are shocking paradoxes that unfold the counter-intuitive wisdom of God. Plan to be with us as we take a fresh look at the beatitudes.  

We are in the season of Epiphany in the life of the church, and we will explore Jesus' teaching ministry. What causes lifelong fishermen to drop their nets and follow this makeshift Rabbi from Galilee? There must be something about this Jesus! Even to this day following Jesus means leaving certain things behind. Jesus went around the towns and villages and preached the gospel of the kingdom. Is the kingdom of God just a spiritual kind of thing, or is it a real political entity that bids us to rearrange our lives and society? Plan to to be with us as we examine Mark 1:14-20 and the central message of Jesus.

The First Sunday in Epiphany is where we remember the baptism of Jesus. Why does Christ wade into the waters of repentance? He didn’t need baptism, but baptism needed Him. Jesus is immersed into the river with us, so that He might sanctify the waters (make them holy) and receive the Spirit for us. The account of Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan is full of rich symbolism. Plan to be with us in this second Sunday of the New Year as we consider Jesus as the New Adam giving us a new start. Our study is called: River of no Return. 

It is still the Christmas season, so we will be celebrating with liturgy and songs and more thoughts on the incarnation of Christ.  Plan to be with us as we look at the year ahead and celebrate all that has been given to us in Jesus Christ! 

Advent Week 4 Once again, we will explore one of Isaiah’s ancient oracles. Join us for an evening of celebrating the Incarnation! The sermon is called: a new way to be human. 

Advent Week 3 Just as Mary was expectant with the holy being borne in her, we are to be pregnant with the incarnate one. What is being formed and birthed in you? Where is God inviting you to move beyond despair into hope? Your journey, your voice matters. Come, and let's craft this message together.  

Advent Week 2 We are currently exploring the poetry and music of the prophet Isaiah, and we find ourselves in chapter 35 where Isaiah sings about streams flowing in the desert. What actually causes the land to blossom and the lame to leap? God comes! But many still missed the Messiah, because they were attached to particular paradigms that created assumptions and expectations on how God will come. We always run the risk of missing God when we are honed in on a specific desired outcome.  Plan to be with us as we examine Isaiah, John the Baptist and Jesus in a study called: Blessed is the one not Disappointed. 

Advent Week 1 This will be the first week of Advent. Advent is a season of anticipation, preparation, and longing. A lot of our Christmas lingo comes from the Book of Isaiah, so we will be exploring some of these passages during Advent. The first text comes from Isaiah chapter 2 where we find traditional weapons of warfare being forged into tools of cultivation. This passage invites us to “walk in the light of the Lord and study war no more.”  Our study this week is called: Isaiah and his Reimagined World.

A popular sentiment in our time says, “Jesus did not come to start a religion.” Is this true? Is there something lacking in this statement? Was Jesus anti-religion? Is the only answer to bad religion ... no religion at all? Or is there an alternative to abandoning religion? Some people try to solve the dilemma by saying, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” But the Bible paints many portraits of Jesus engaged in religious practices. There is a kind of empty, hollow spirituality that is afoot in our culture that really is just religious consumerism at its core. Christianity, on the other hand, is a received faith. Join us as we explore our current culture and religion in a study called: Spiritual but not Religious?

We will explore another sin of society - haste. The early church father, Irenaeus, offered that maybe the original sin of Eden was haste. Hurry is the ancient enemy of time and transformation. Dallas Willard once said, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” To be truly formed into the image of God one cannot rage against the process or skip levels of progression. Haste is a kind of violence against time, but the good news is that in Christ everything is being transformed - even time itself. Our study for this this week is called: Haste makes Waste.

We are going to start a two-week miniseries on Sins of Society. There are some cultural wrongs that we unknowingly imbibe. Walter Brueggemann says of our culture that we are “schooled in denial.” We have been taught from an early age to suppress our pain, wounds, and sorrow. Of course, this kind of denial just festers in our insides and breeds all manner of havoc in our lives. But when our grief is owned and processed, the door of divine comfort begins to open to us. Plan to be with us as we explore our culture of denial in a study called: The Door of Comfort Opens on the Hinge of Mourning. 

We will continue looking at the world around us, how it works, and how we can see God in everything. Our consumerist society has boxed us in. We tend to view almost everything as a product or resource, and we often get so caught up in the rush of the pace that is forced upon us that we can miss the many ways that God is appearing all around us. This week we will look at some practical ways that we can recognize God in the world and learn to see and hear him at work in what may be some unexpected places. Join us for Part 2 of "Awakening to the Sacred." 

We will start a two-part mini-series that looks at the world around us, how it works, and how we can see God in everything. While speaking in Athens, the apostle Paul stated that "God is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being". What if advances in modern science actually seem to point to the fact that this really is the case? How might that change the way we see the world, each other, and Jesus himself? Join us as we see what it means to be "Awakening to the Sacred."  

What do Bob Dylan, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Jesus have in common? All of them could see the fake-ness of society. Most people don’t suspect a thing as they scurry through life. Others feel it and don’t quite know how to name it. Pilate dared to ask, “What is truth?”. Both Pilate and Jesus have an answer, but they lead in two very different directions. Plan to be with us as we enter into the narrative of Jesus’ trial in a study called - Fake News.

We will conclude our series -- on the goodness of work. Last week, we peered into the future and hopefully caught just a glimpse of our blessed hope. Our vision of the future has massive implications for how we work/play/rest here and now. The writers of the New Testament have a view of the end and goal of human history that sweeps into our present hour and shapes and inspires our work. When we follow the divine rhythm of work and rest, we can experience "a foretaste of glory divine.” Plan to be with us as we explore how to participate in God’s future now. Our study is called: Tomorrow’s People. 

We are going to pick back up with some thoughts connected to our summer series -- on the goodness of work. We looked backwards at Genesis and the creation story, and now we join the New Testament writers in looking forward. What does our blessed hope say about our work, calling, vocation, and culture in the present? Does the vision of the future presented to us by the biblical authors shape our present activity and understanding? If the goal is heaven why do we work towards a better earth now? Plan to be with us as we explore how the future molds the present hour, and the ancient challenge of 2 Peter 3:3 -15. Our study this week is called: LIFE AFTER Life after Death.