Seek and Fear
Graves into Gardens
A Quiver Full
One Thing
Boring Thanksgiving
"God will not deliver him"
Out of the Cellar and Into the Sun
This morning we consider the third contemplative practice in our series: confession. Confession is not meant to depress us, but to cleanse us. Like stepping out of a dark, damp cellar into a bright, sunny day, confession can be uncomfortable and overwhelming. But you wouldn’t want to live your whole life in the cellar, would you?
Rummaging for God
As we continue our short series learning about contemplative spiritual practices, we approach the ancient practice called examen. As Fr. Dennis Hamm once wrote, Examen is like “rummaging for God—going through a drawer full of stuff, feeling around, looking for something that you are sure must be there.” This morning we consider how we might rummage for God, and how we might invite him to rummage through our life, so we might become more like Christ.
One Thing I Ask
This morning Rev. Doug Birdsall challenges us with a simple question: what one thing do you want, more than anything else? In Psalm 27 King David sings, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and to seek him in his temple.”
Feasting as an Act of War
This morning we continue to reflect on Psalm 23, this time exploring the image of God, the host of a great dinner party, who invites us, his prized friends, to a feast. How does it change your life to know that God not only provides for you and protects you, but he prizes you?
A Song for Dark Days
The most famous Psalm begins, The Lord is my shepherd. This morning we reflect on the image of a shepherd and his sheep. When the days are dark and we find ourselves in the valley of the shadow of death, lasting hope can only be found with a good shepherd.
A Song for When Sin Seems Good
Each of us looks to various desires to prove our significance in life. We may find our worth in providing for family, finding a spouse to fulfill us, achievement at work or school, establishing a good reputation, or even in physical beauty.
The Psalms teach us that those things will inevitably fall short, and that the Christian response is not renounce those desires, but to find a better desire—one that can actually deliver on its promises. Hear this morning how Jesus is our better desire.
A Song for When We are Afraid
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
It feels like we have had lots to fear over the past year. How can we find freedom from those fears and anxieties? This morning our region minister, Dale Edwards, shows us how our fears make poor counselors.
A Song for Sleepless Nights
What keeps you up at night? In David’s case, it was his own son trying to kill him, and possibly widespread crop failures, and his opponents ridiculing his reputation. Yet he writes, “I will lie down and sleep in peace.” (Psalm 4:8)
Where does such confidence come from? How can we likewise sleep well when we face worry, stress, and anxiety?
The Fuel and the Accelerator
A car without fuel won’t go anywhere. Neither will a car full of gas, but without pressing the gas pedal. You need both fuel and an accelerator to get anywhere.
Knowing God is similar. We need a fuel—a hunger for him. And we need an accelerator—a way to put that fuel to good use. This morning we consider the accelerator of the Scriptures. How can a consistent, day-in-and-day-out engagement with God’s word draw you closer to God and make you more Christlike?
The Courage to Wait
Psalm 27 strikes us with an unresolved ending, like a dissonant jazz chord: Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. This morning we explore what it may look like to wait for the Lord, and how remembering his faithfulness in the past gives us courage to wait well.
Lament
With the deep racial tension in America today, how do we respond? The answers aren’t clear, especially in a majority-white church in one of the whitest states in America. We feel that we have to do something, but we’re not sure what.
As we take time to carefully listen to our non-white brothers and sisters, we will inevitably find ourselves drawn toward lament. Although lament seems dark and hopeless, it actually paves the way forward. Hear how the gospel empowers us to lament well.
We Believe: God the Father
As Christians we think and talk about God a lot, but what do we actually believe about God? Who is he? What are his attributes? What has he done throughout history? And can an ancient idea like God actually be relevant in the 21st century?
God is more than just an idea; he is the powerful, righteous, and gracious creator and re-creator of everything that exists. This morning we learn some of the most essential Christian beliefs about the first person of the Trinity, God the Father.
Resources:
SOAP Guide (pdf) (more SOAP guide formats on Documents page)