VIEW A SERVICE

It's hard to be true to yourself, your beliefs and values, and to navigate relationships. During this season of Lent, we explore a series of conversations, many but not all involving Jesus. We will listen in, learn how Jesus made a way through many of these conversations, and finally reflect on our own path and how we define ourselves and our own purpose.

It’s so close you can sense it. The Celts spoke of thin places, where you could experience the coming together of heaven and earth. Jesus came and announced “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” An encounter with God changes us. When we can see into that other realm, perhaps even surrounding us, we begin to understand the urgent work before us. We find motivation to persist in God’s light and revelation and bring an experience of that into this moment and this life.

Our experience of darkness is profoundly human and spiritual. To kindle a small light in a place of darkness with a lantern or candle warms our spirit. It comes as a gift. Jesus says in Matthew 5 that his followers are now “the light of the world” and to “let your light so shine.” Our own light is kindled by Christ’s love and grace. We are called to be light for this moment. And so, we seek to bring that light and grace into any place where there is despair, loneliness or scarcity because of Christ’s generosity and selflessness for us.

Grace opens up new possibilities and allows us to breathe again and flourish individually and collectively. God’s grace takes many forms in scripture and can be experienced by people of faith in many ways, including through forgiveness, healing, justice and freedom. Grace offers the possibility of a radical transformation of the most impossible situations. Are you open to God’s grace transforming your life and our world?

Sometimes what seems lost to history comes back around. Trends, movements or styles are long gone, until they’re back again. Christians focus most of our attention on the teachings of the New Testament, but during this series we’ll recall some important stories and lessons from the Old Testament that are worth reclaiming as a resource for understanding our human story and the way forward. 

Jesus invited people to learn and follow him. His students (disciples) learned a way of living and seeing life that was often in stark contrast to the alternatives championed by tradition and the powers of their day. It’s a way of life that has endured for 2000 years and remains a gift for us. This way equips us to bring healing and hope to dark places, to step out in courage, to see people as neighbors rather than the “other,” to value people, and teaches us to pray and experience God’s divine presence. It’s a path that brings life. This is the way.

Find older service videos in our video archive or on our YouTube Channel.