One of the messages of the manger is that grace is available to us and that it can bring us new life. In Scripture, we are told (multiple times) that Jesus not only has life and gives life, but that He is life. His arrival in a manger brings that...
Our final study within the Deeper Waters series focuses on the often neglected practice of celebration. Throughout Scripture, including the Old Testament festivals and the New Testament encouragement to live day-to-day lives of joy, we find that the people of God are called to be rooted deeply in celebration and...
We follow a God who desires to guide our lives. This guidance can come to us in individual ways. But, there is also a portion of Christian guidance that comes through community discernment. In this sermon, we use Acts 15 as a “case study” for how the church can still...
Worship is often only associated with what happens within a church building, and even more strictly, only what happens while we are singing songs of worship. Certainly, worship through music is wonderful. But, there is so much more to the idea of Christian worship. In this message, we explore the...
This message encourages us to confess our shortcomings to one another and to God. When we confess our sins, we strip them of their power over us. God is eager, willing, and wanting to forgive and purify us and in fact has already forgiven us. Christ has borne the weight of our...
This message encourages us to serve one another, and to challenge our own motivations for serving. We are called to serve not self-righteously, but as true servants, doing so selflessly and without desire for applause or attention. Pastor Pete looks at the instance of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples,...
This message encourages us to seek out solitude in our lives. Solitude, means, at minimum silencing our words for a few moments. Deep solitude is not just seen in outward retreats, but it is an inward reality that can be carried with us even in the midst of the largest...
This message focuses on simplicity as a spiritual practice and way of life. This is easily the most practical, and perhaps most difficult, of the practices that we’ve covered so far. But, it’s well worth it. The practice of simplicity, done rightly, may be the most beautifully counter-cultural thing we...
This message focuses on the concept of Study as a spiritual practice. Studying, for many of us, has negative connotations in our memories. But, the idea of studying encourages us to Change Our Minds. This is not changing in the sense of being wishy-washy or ambivalent. When we study, we...
This message will focus us on the idea of fasting. Fasting helps to “create space” in our lives to better listen to and grow in Christ. This practice was utilized by many people in biblical history: Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Paul, Jesus. Most Christians believe that our lives after...