“Lord, show us the Father” 

 It is a heartfelt, earnest request from one of Jesus’ disciples; one that we all likely have made at some time, in some way.  It’s the desire to see God, unequivocally; powerfully manifest in the present.  Jesus’ reply is patient and illuminating.  “All the time I have been with you,” he says, “I have been showing you the Father; the Father is in me, and revealed plainly in the works that I do.”  But then he adds something even more  powerful and prophetic, about the time to come:  “Greater works than these,” he says, “you will do in my name!”  Today, we reflect on what it means to live and serve “in the name of” Jesus; to live the way, the truth and the life that leads to the very heart of God.

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Third Sunday of Easter - Emmaus! 

An exotic place name from the world that Jesus knew.  In the traditions of God’s people, it is a place steeped and hallowed in history.  Today, it is a place all but forgotten … except for this one tantalizing mention, one reference only in the whole of Scripture.  It is the particular destination of two disciples as they set out from Jerusalem, on a particular day.  It is a day unlike any other because something entirely unprecedented has happened; something as world-changing as it is impossible.  They can scarcely believe the news they have heard.  They leave the city, feeling a mixture of dejection in the way events have unfolded, but exhilaration as a stranger joins them on the way.  They are headed back, back to Emmaus, back to the beginning.  And we’re invited to make the journey with them as we gather today.

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Because He Lives

Sunday After Easter April 12, 2015

Celebrate Easter Season with us!

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Because He Lives

Easter 2015

Celebrate Easter Season with us!

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Good Friday

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Maundy Thursday

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Sermon Series Sundays of Easter

Because He lives...

"After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also."   John 14:19

ἀνάστασις = anastasis = Resurrection
We are a resurrected people. The tomb is empty and we look out into the resurrected world. "To stand up again" - that is one of the definitions of the word "resurrection". Sometimes our life as faithful followers of Jesus brings us to our knees or completely knocks us flat. We face unsurmountable conflicts and situations that seem so out of our control. The promise of the resurrection lifts us up so that we once again can stand. At times we stand for and other times we stand against. This is the mission of the resurrection.

This season of Easter we will focus our proclamation toward living out the resurrection promise. Because he lives, we are released from the power of fear and are free to declare the good news of Jesus.  Because he lives we are no longer condemned by death.  We are no longer burdened by our sin and we cast off shame in order to live a life worthy of the community of Christ. Sin, shame and death are replaced by justice, boldness and peace with a community that stands up for the same. The promise of the resurrection is not only something that assures us of some after life future with God but a more authentic and just life today, here and now.  Because he lives, we live more fully.

Jesus’ “Triumphal” Entry

The arrival of Jesus and his followers for the Passover celebration evokes a tumultuous response from the people of Jerusalem.  The very nature of his entry into the city calls to mind heroic images from their past … from the promise of the prophets and from their historic struggle against the powers of empire.  It begins a series of events that bring hope to an oppressed people even as they challenge the economic, religious and political leadership of the region and threaten to provoke the Roman authority.  But it is for this that Jesus has come:  to proclaim God’s truth and God’s sovereignty at the center of power.  He will fulfill this divine calling, regardless of consequence.  Today we enter into Jerusalem and into the celebrations of Holy Week as Jesus leads us to the cross and beyond.

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