Who Are We?

Recently, our church launched a new brand logo -- an outward symbol of something much deeper: our shared identity as a Christian community of faith. But what does that identity truly mean? What does it include? And how does it shape the way we live each day?

Join Pastor Brian from April 28–May 17 for a new worship series, Who We Are, as we explore these questions together. Through scripture and reflection, we’ll be reminded of who God calls us to be, and encouraged to live more fully into that calling as we move together into God’s future for us.

            April 28 - Remember… (Revelation 2:1-7                                                and 1 Peter 4:8-10)

            May 2 - Gratitude (1 Peter 4:8-10                                                            and 1 Chronicles 16:8-13)

            May 9 - Compassion (1 Peter 4:8-10                                                        and Luke 10:29-37)

            May 17 - Service (1 Peter 4:8-10                                                                and Matthew 25:31-40)

He Came Singing Love

“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:6-7).

Just as we read in Mark’s account of the resurrection, inherent in the message of Easter itself is the call to each of us to “go and tell” others that “[Jesus] is going ahead of us” and will meet us wherever we are and through whatever we experience in life, good or bad.  In the words of an anonymous Christian poet,...

“He came singing love. 

 He lived singing love. 

 He died singing love.

 He arose in silence. 

 If the song is to continue,

 WE must do the singing.”

You see, as glorious and joyful as our celebrations of Easter are, we’re not supposed to keep the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and life to ourselves.  Instead, we’re to share it with others through our words, our deeds, and our care. 

I invite you to join me this Easter season as we not only celebrate our risen Savior, but also as we share that good news with others: our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, workmates, and schoolmates.  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

24 Hours That Changed the World

If you knew you only had 24 hours of your life left, how would you spend them? In his final day, Jesus faced total betrayal, crushed trust, and a brutal end. Yet, those 24 hours flipped the script on history, sparking a movement that billions follow today. What was it about that one day that carried so much weight? Join us as we explore how Jesus’ final 24 hours didn't just change the world -- they can change my life and yours, as well!.

February 22 -- The Last Supper (Mark 14:22-25)

March 1 -- Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42)

March 8 -- Accusation and Denial (Mark 14:43-46, 61-62, 66-72)

March 15 -- Jesus, Barabbas and Pilate, Oh My! (Mark 15:1-15)

March 22 -- The Passion of Christ (Mark 15:16-21)

March 29 -- Crucifixion and Death (Mark 15:22-39)

April 5 (Easter) - The Resurrection (Mark 16:1-6)

 

Prayers for Minnesota

Please join me in praying for the people of Minnesota in the light of the recent tragic shootings there.  Regardless of the political views any of us may hold, violence in the name of law enforcement is a practice that must be employed very carefully, lest it become brutal oppression. 

Throughout history -- including in Jesus’ own day and time -- violence has been used by those in power as a suppression tactic to silence those who disagree.  As examples, one need only reflect on the military violence used by the British government to “suppress" the “radical” patriots during the American Revolution, or the enforcement of "Jim Crow" laws in the late 19th and early 20th century against black Americans, the violence used both by protestors and law enforcement during the American race riots of the 1960s, of the crackdown and killing of protestors by the Soviets in Czechoslovakia in 1968, or the brutal violence used by the Chinese government in Tiananmen Square in 1989 to suppress the Democracy movement there.

Yet, our American nation was built on the right of its people to protest what they feel is unlawful, unjust and/or immoral.  So, whether or not we agree with what is being protested, both violence used in protest and violence used simply to silence those protests is un-American and un-Christian.  At its core, our Christian faith is based on Jesus’ teachings and practices of non-violence (for example, read Matthew 5:9 and 38-48, Luke 22:47-53, and others), and non-violent protest movements such as those of Mahatmas Ghandi in India in the early 20^th-century and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in America in the 1960s are faithful examples of this.

Speaking against the oppression of the Nazis in Hitler’s 1930s Germany, pastor, author and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote this now-famous challenge to people of Christian faith, “Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christians should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.” (cited from https://brianmclaren.net/more-on-violence-from-bonhoeffer/)

I’m not asking you to agree with me about all (or any) of this -- unlike much of today’s world, you and I can choose to be civil and “agree to disagree,” if needed -- but I do hope and pray that you will join me in praying for peace in Minnesota and anywhere in our nation or world where violence is being used to either to protest or enforce any “law.”  Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers for peace!