For Faith
Blessed
Being blessed isn’t a magical idea. In large part, it’s about tapping into the power grid that God has graciously arranged for all of us to enjoy. Nowhere is this clearer than in the poetry of Psalm 1. There the poet introduces some to and refreshes others with...
Friends
To be a servant of God and neighbor is what Jesus holds up for us, until today. According to Jesus, “…servants don’t know what the Master is doing.” But now, “I have told you everything,” Jesus says. That means we are now his “friends.” Being friends with Jesus...
Breaking News!
“Breaking news: Jesus speaks life from the garden.” That would be the headline if the Gospel read like The New York Times or The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Sometimes Rabbi, sometimes wonder-worker, Jesus of Nazareth convenes a small gathering of day laborers and...
Valley
Easter isn’t the absence of valleys in life, it’s the presence of hope despite the “shadow of death” in the valley. We get this reminder over and over again in the Bible because weariness and despair hunt us in the valleys of life. And because soul-strengthening faith...
Between
The first thing Jesus does when he’s raised from the dead, is find his friends behind locked doors in fear and offer “Peace.” Peace, not the absence of hardship, but the presence of liberation. He shows his wounds to his friends. What a defiant act. He bears no shame...
Coordinates
The first thing Jesus does when he’s raised from the dead, is find his friends behind locked doors in fear and offer “Peace.” Peace, not the absence of hardship, but the presence of liberation. He shows his wounds to his friends. What a defiant act. He bears no shame...
An Easter Message From Bishop Wright
https://youtu.be/WQoIpqP3aEA
The Center Holds
The word Easter is shorthand for God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That simple incredible claim is the center of our Christian hope. It’s the center because it reminds us who God is, who we are and that God’s future will prevail despite every refusal and...
Crucifixion
“Crucifixion ain’t no fiction,” said a 90’s rap group. As followers of Jesus, we agree. The Crucifixion of a man named Jesus from Nazareth is a historical fact. It was the public lynching of a man who stood at the intersection of politics and religion and spoke of God...
Toward Joy
If happiness is lavender, then joy has to be purple. Why purple? Because you make purple out of red and blue. Love and sorrow. Joy lives at that intersection of heartbreak and ecstasy. Joy doesn’t live alone; she has four roommates, faith, hope, wonder and gratitude....