How many of us will tell the real story of Christmas this year? Not the one with the pastoral imagery of white-washed Nativities, but the one about the unlikely delivery of a child to an unwed couple in a filthy stable in a backwater town in a two-bit corner of the Roman empire?
Tag Archives: kingdom of god
Nov. 13 Gathering: North Place Maternity House
This Sunday at New Wineskins, North Place’s Wendy Williams will join us to introduce us to the facility’s mission and vision and share how unconditional love is breaking through to transform the lives of new mothers and their children.
Oct. 16 Gathering: “The Dreams You Encourage Them to Have”
What might it look like for us to seek the best for our political opponents? How can we imagine prospering under leadership we so deeply disrespect?
Oct. 2 Gathering: World Communion Sunday Instructed Eucharist
Have we lost some of the significance of the ancient and holy rite of the Eucharist? Has it become little more than another ritual for us to march through occasionally, more out of obligation than for transformation?
Sept. 4 Gathering: Haters gonna hate — Luke 14:25-35
What do we make of Jesus’ radical call to discipleship in light of Luke’s retelling of the Exodus narrative?
Aug. 21 Gathering: Luke 13:10-17 – Rescued by the marginalized
Could Jesus be revealing something of his broader agenda in this relatively small gathering?
July 24 Gathering: Scorpions, Snakes, and a Prayer
Why does Luke’s version of this prayer differ from Matthew’s, where it appears in the midst of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? Is it the same prayer taught in a different context? Or is Luke’s agenda different? Why does it matter? And what’s all this about snakes and scorpions?
June 5 Gathering: What will the church of the future be?
Are we just trying to feed an irreparably broken model for what the church is and how it works? Or are there ways to redeem the church? To reinvent it for new generations of people who view the world through much different lenses than those who came before?
April 17 Gathering: Oh Lord, It’s Hard to be Humble!
What is it about humbleness that’s so attractive, yet so difficult? Could it be that our humility might be the most compelling thing about us and our churches?
Feb. 28 Gathering: A Radical Reorientation
What if “repenting” has less to do with behavior modification and more to do with a whole new way of being? What if it’s not so much about the bad habits or sins we need to give up, but a radical reorientation of our lives?