NewChurch Live

Let us look together at the birth of hope into our lives this holiday season.

 

11/28/21

Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday, one of the most joy filled. And within that joy lies an opportunity for a life-giving shift around seeing - a movement from what we see (counting our blessings) to how we see (seeing the gift of "enough" everywhere).  

What’s more important than knowing who God is? The clearest picture we can get may just reveal itself by studying how God lives.

 

with Curtis Childs

Churches, just like individuals, mirror a certain “twoness.” Parts of many churches are open, loving, and filled with joy. Other parts can be narrow, judgmental, and at times even cruel. Any church, synagogue, or mosque that is open, loving and joy-filled can do amazing and miraculous things in the world! How can that happen more?

One well known marriage counselor famously said that when working with any couple, four people show up, only two of which are worth talking to. That should bring a smile! How do we choose to communicate and connect with others from the correct two, and not their opposites, allowing our best and highest selves to connect with theirs?

In all of us there is a basic tension between our heart of stone and our heart of flesh, as the Bible puts it. We all have at some level, an “evil twin” as it were that shows up with distressing frequency when the conditions are right (or wrong).

How can we look at both those opposing “hearts”, not as enemies locked in perpetual conflict, but as the wholeness of our experiences, held by God, to move us forward in our lives, to move us toward choice, and to move us closer to heaven?

For many it is easy to confuse a complex faith with true faith. But true faith is simple – not easy, but simple. And the implications of that simplicity change the world! Together we will delve into that simple faith, and the freedom that follows.

We live embedded in a social media world filled with numerous, and at times overwhelming contacts. But how do we move deeper? How do we move beyond superficial contacts towards the deeper connections God calls us to? We’ll discuss some of the tools that help to guide and keep us there.

Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote, “There is no way to peace along the way to safety. For peace must be dared. It is the great adventure and can never be safe.” His words point to the necessary battles we all will face, and how we can face them together.

Any new adventure brings a transition, a crossing over and into, while pushing through the stuckness of our normal lives towards new horizons. This week, we explore a refreshing way to view a new start, a start blessed by God.