God’s desire for us is that we become all that God created us to be. Life is the process in which we can resist or yield to God’s desire for us. When we yield we sense God’s burning love as warm and liberating. When we resist we experience God’s burning love as pain and wrath. Read More
God’s love is victorious! But perhaps not in the way that you’d expect. We often associate victory with our ability to control or defeat others but God’s victory encourages our freedom rather than squelches it. (We love discovering art that connects us to God in unique ways. Thank you to Dale Johnson for incorporating his art into this weekend’s sermon.) Read More
The love of God expressed in Christ on the cross shows the radical lengths God is willing to go to restore us. This healing of our relationship with God takes the form of a covenant, not a contract. Read More
The love of God expressed in Christ on the cross was “foolishness to the Gentiles” and “a stumbling block to the Jews”. God’s love is scandalous to us all in different ways. Read More
It is impossible to fully grasp God’s love because it is infinite! The best we can do is humbly recognize our limitations in this way and give ourselves over to the overwhelming love that God extends to us. Read More
When Jesus entered Jerusalem he wept as he foretold its destruction. This is important because we gain an profound awareness of how it pains God when we resist him. Read More
There is a consistent and persistent message God has been sending through both the Old and New Testaments: Love your neighbor as yourself. And everyone is your neighbor! What was recorded as law in Lev. 19 was echoed by the prophets and reiterated by Jesus in the gospels. Read More
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus teaches about the love of God. Instead of using his power to force us to choose what’s best, God loves us so much that he gives us room to cause him pain in our relationship with him. And then when we do, he waits for us to return to him and runs to meet us. God runs to us because he loves us more than we can fathom. Read More
In the familiar Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus shows us a God who, out of his great love, goes after outcasts deprived of opportunities, safety and rights. Sharing from her own personal experience, Shawna illustrates this love and helps us understand the extreme nature of God’s goodness. Read More
God is a FIRE. To all who are open to him, God’s presence is a fire of love, salvation, healing and purification. To all who are not, God’s presence is experienced as a fire of destruction. Jesus reminds and warns us to build our lives on him; depending upon where our hearts are, God’s fiery and holy love either saves and purifies us, or it destroys. Read More
