02/26/2023
We are looking at The Story of God’s relationship with God’s people,
beginning with the birth of Jesus and ending with the revelation of
eternity, offered by John. It’s no mistake that when followers of Jesus
have publicly declared their faith, they too have historically done so
as a narrative. There are many wonderful creeds that have guided
God’s people over the centuries, but I like this one which was written
relatively recently as a summary of our beliefs. It was put together by
Pastor and author Brian McLaren and is included in his book (which I
recommend) entitled, The Story We Find Ourselves In.
May these words and the story they tell motivate you to join us
this spring in reading through The Story, either on your own or within
a small group. I pray that together as a church we too might begin to
see ourselves in the story of God’s redemption of His creation.
We Believe
We believe that You created all things
In all their beauty and mystery.
We believe we broke the boundaries You gave
To keep this world in harmony.
We believe You called a family,
Blessing them to bless all families.
We believe You spoke and listened through sage
And prophet, priest, and poet.
This we confess, affirm, and believe.
We believe You walked among us in
Human flesh, to share our history.
We believe You reconciled us,
Upon a cross, brought hope from agony.
We believe You raised Jesus
From death to life, for our salvation.
We believe You send us out with saving love
For all creation.
This we confess, affirm, and believe.
We believe Your Spirit dwells in us now
With the power for life and mission.
We believe Your Spirit makes us one
In purpose, hope, and vision.
We believe You’ll banish evil and fill the earth
With holy glory.
We believe You call all people to life
Forever in Your story.
This we confess, affirm, and believe.
Adapted from: The Story We Find Ourselves In By Brian McLaren
Archived Posts
Back and Forth with Chat GPT
Many of you know that I’ve found a new consultant to bounce my ideas off in regard to preaching. My good buddy Chat GPT and I sometimes disagree—often miscommunicate—but usually come up with some fruitful illustrations.
One More Thing About Becoming Wholly Human
I was talking Sunday about the work of Hare and Woods and their idea of ‘the survival of the friendliest.’ Essentially, they conclude that “our greatest evolutionary advantage wasn't that we could do everything ourselves. It was that we could do things together.”
Here’s a preview of our congregation’s Core Values
In the coming weeks we will be exploring the importance of presence, prayers, gifts, service, witness, and growth in grace. These are at the heart of what we commit to when we join a Wesleyan grace-led church like ours. But we choose to broaden them out and state them in a new way…
The Biblical prayer we don’t know what to do with
Psalm 137 is written by people who have experienced catastrophic loss.
They have been conquered...
Patience and Trust
Sunday, in my benediction (which traditional folks did not hear) I talked about the Marshmallow Test. The original results of that test with children was that those who could delay gratification did better in life than those who could not.
Gandhi and the Sugar
I wasn’t preaching Sunday, Reverend Jackie Chandler was. And she talked about the power of influence you get when you practice what you preach. This famous illustration came to mind. It fits Jackie’s points quite well. Enjoy!
Not Just for Parents
Our current sermon series is about How To Talk Parent, but it doesn’t require any of us to be parents to appreciate the bits of wisdom OUR parents shared with us growing up.