Graduations and "comings of age" can mean so much more when we mark them in communal spiritual practice. Join us as we begin a new annual tradition for our church: Graduation Sunday.
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Unfortunately, one of the most enduring legacies of American Christianity is a sermon from 1741: "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God". Few today know the sermon, but most know the belief behind it, as its influence over modern images of God and faith is immense. This week, we deconstruct the term “sinner” and unpack an alternative Christian belief: that the most true thing about you is that you are loved by God.
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Concluding our discussion of the modern experience of crushing, constant guilt, Hayley and Vince move us to the topic of grace: a close-relative of forgiveness, but also distinct in important ways.
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How does our church’s ongoing equity work relate to another of our core values: emotionally healthy spirituality? Vince and Kyle discuss how defensiveness is more toxic than discomfort, how emotional health for those on the bottom of society is only made possible through equity, how an equitable society is better for the privileged too, how living in accordance with our values is awesome, and how Jesus changes the answer to the question, “what is the good life?”
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If Jesus’ death on the Cross is just a confusingly violent picture of a God that requires punishment for his plan to work, Vince feels unsettled. But if Jesus’ death on the Cross is a picture of a loving and self-sacrificial God that chooses solidarity with scapegoats instead of solidarity with the powerful, then Vince finds himself pulled out of his small life and into a big and inspiring story. And he needs that!
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Does Jesus on the Cross paint a picture of an angry, violent God who needs his wrath satisfied? Vince shares his journey away from that unsettling interpretation of Jesus on the Cross and toward a different interpretation that is the opposite of unsettling — one that is loving and inspiring and beautiful in the way it speaks to humanity in general and in the way it can speak to each of us personally.
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Most everyone seems to have a knee-jerk reaction against “all talk, no action”, and toward the active, genuine way of Jesus. But in the midst of the demands of Modern American society, how on earth is anyone supposed to live as a halfway-responsible adult AND be consistently active in love and service at the same time? Vince shares some thoughts and suggestions from his experience.
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When it comes to the benefits that a commitment to honesty has for our lives and for our communities, Kyle wonders if there is a difference between just "not lying" and true honesty, and considers how the old saying "it's not the crime, it's the cover up" seems to be at the heart of some of the words of the Apostle John.
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In a jumble of plenty of negative experiences with church, there has been a noteworthy thread through Kyle's life of experiences of feeling unconditional loved by something outside of himself. What has that taught him? What can that teach us?
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The question "What are you about?" is posed to us more often than we might think. What if that doesn't have to feel overwhelming? What if we all have within us a unique set of values that God wants to help us discover, so we can be driven by those values, instead of reactive to anxiety? We want that to be true of our church!
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