Tag: grace
-
January 11 Gathering: Religion vs. Jesus
A generation ago, only a very few people might have suggested that there might be a difference between being a follower of the Christian religion and being a follower of Jesus himself. But today, it’s one of the central questions of our faith, and perhaps one of the most divisive. It’s been two years since spoken word…
-
December 14 Gathering: Christmas Love Feast
God loves you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. The “Love Feast,” or Agape Feast, is a practice that traces all the way back to the early church when believers would gather around a common table for a meal, fellowship, and conversation before hearing God’s word proclaimed and celebrating the Eucharist. A millennium…
-
Nov 23 Gathering — Sex and the Bible: Guest Speaker Chett Pritchett
Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about sex? (Or maybe doesn’t say about sex?) Join Chett Pritchett, executive director of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, as he helps us explore assumptions about sex and sexuality found in Scripture (or not found in Scripture) and provides a different way of exploring bible…
-
Nov. 9 Gathering: Christians and Culture Wars
We get angry when people wish us “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” We loudly bemoan the absence of prayer in public schools. We fight against the removal of Christian symbols from the public square. We flock to any movie with a “Christian” theme or title, regardless of how good (or bad) the actual film…
-
Oct. 26 Gathering: “Unequally Yoked?” How should Christian communities engage other faith traditions?
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” 1 Corinthians 6:14 In our pluralistic culture, more religious and non-religious traditions exist within the same space than perhaps any time in modern history. Interestingly, even as many Christian communities bemoan this diversity of belief systems and worldviews,…
-
October 12 Gathering: Open Forum
What’s on your mind? What conversations should we be having more of? What issues do you want to shed more light on? As people trying to live into the principles of New Wineskins, how do we navigate the often stormy waters of religion, faith, and culture? This Sunday at New Wineskins we’ll break the routine and…
-
Sept. 28 Gathering — You have heard it said, but I tell you…
One of the enduring challenges of Christianity over the past two millennia has been how to interpret and reconcile the various writings that make up the canon of scripture. The Bible simply is not as clear and straightforward as we’d often like to believe. Among the most vexing issues we face is how to make the the…
-
Sept. 14 Gathering — When Community and Grace Collide
What happens when we embrace uncertainty for is healing power, and reckless love becomes a way of life?
-
Aug. 31 Gathering – Creation Care and the Kingdom of God
More and more we’re seeing the church step up in issues regarding creation care, from climate change to recycling to sustainable living practices. But what if our role is more than just a mandate for stewardship? What if we are called to something more, something deeper, something eternal when it comes to taking care of…
-
August 17 Gathering: Sacred vs. Secular — Two worlds in tension or one world in grace?
We tend to compartmentalize our lives in a number of different ways. Over the past century or so, Christianity seems to have become particularly obsessed with sorting out the sacred from the secular. In our effort to be “in the world but not of the world,” we have learned to isolate spiritual practices and personal…