2023 Annual Report

Do you remember your dreams? I try to pause when waking and think about my dreams, because I know they will scamper away the minute I get busy with my day. Having a dream is one thing. Interpreting its meaning is another. And turning a dream into reality is a whole different level. What are your dreams? Where is God in your interpretation of them and your implementation of them?

In some of the most beautiful verse in scripture, the psalmist calls us to remember how deeply we are known by God, and how deeply we are loved. And it matters deeply. Sometimes in life we feel alone, we worry that either we have strayed beyond where God would follow, or we feel life has taken us past the limits of where God’s love would extend. It is a lie we tell ourselves—that we are beyond God’s love. It is a lie we tell about other people too. As we celebrate PRIDE, and wrap up our sermon series on the Psalms, come be reminded of how much God loves you. Yes, you.

A concerted band of doomsayers bind us with their messages: the world is ending, we're all gonna die, the sky has fallen and we just haven't noticed yet. God's Word tells us of an alternative plan: The Great Unwinding. Shed your funereal outlook! Rewrite your story! Let's dance!

We often think of the word "bless" in the context of God blessing us. But Psalm 103 tells us five times to "Bless the Lord." What does it mean to bless God? On this Father's Day, as we look at a psalm that describes God as a father who has compassion for his children, we acknowledge that not all human fathers are this way. And we remember that God is described as much more than just a "father" in the Psalms and in scripture. Join us as we continue our sermon series on the Psalms and what they might reveal to us about God, humanity, and our relationships.

We gather in worship for praise. We also gather for worship in lament. In our life of faith, we should be able to bring to God, and bring to our community, the entirety of our lives. What kind of community grows in a place where people can be honest about the pain and the joys of their lives?

Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise. In it, the entire earth is called to praise, because praise is a job description of those God has created. Orienting our lives toward praise and gratitude is not an act of putting on rose colored glasses and refusing to see the broken and painful parts of the world. It helps keep the broken and painful parts of the world in the right perspective, which gives us the energy and the strength to work to make the world less broken, less painful. Let us praise God together.

There is an old Italian saying: "Traduttore, traditore." It is a remark that assumes that the task of translation is hopeless, that you can't ever properly transmit a work from one culture to another. But what if the translator is God? This Pentecost, wear red and experience how God is translating love, peace, and unity for us in this world. 

There is an old Italian saying: "Traduttore, traditore." It is a remark that assumes that the task of translation is hopeless, that you can't ever properly transmit a work from one culture to another. But what if the translator is God? This Pentecost, wear red and experience how God is translating love, peace, and unity for us in this world.

We'll end our sermon series on being resurrection people by looking at what Paul said to the church in Corinth about resurrection.