Authority is grounded in truth-telling—in naming what is even when it hurts, even when it unsettles and storms, even when it seems to raise the temperature before it lowers it.

And yet, this: the truth will set you free. A True word, a divine Word does not need a temple or an army. It sings even in a foreign land. It is an antidote for hopelessness, for despair, for a people unmoored from faith and nation.
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A true word takes courage not to just hear, but to listen, not just to acknowledge, but to obey. These acts form and recreate the beloved community. They heal us of our dis-ease. They inspire and raise up newness. Courage breeds courage. Faith breeds faith. Love breeds belonging and peace.
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Enter into worship. 

You can watch all of this Sunday's worship service in a series of linked videos, one after the other, by clicking this link. Just press the button that says "PLAY ALL" and sit back and relax. You can also just click on the graphic to the left.​

You can choose to watch all of this Sunday's worship service in a series of linked videos, one after the other, by clicking this link. Just press the button that says "PLAY ALL" and sit back and relax. You can also just click on the graphic to the left.​ Otherwise, proceed as normal through the sections.

Nathanael was certain nothing good could come from Nazareth, nor truth from an Israelite (John 1:46-47). Paul thought all things were lawful, but not all beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12). We may agree in principal, but not on specifics.

To be called as disciples is to be hemmed in “behind and before” (Psalm 139:5). This too can be good news at times and at others menace. Trapped as we are in such “interesting times” we long to escape a constant pressure we will only fully appreciate long after it is behind us. Yet we find hope as well that we live hemmed in—surrounded—by the present salvation of the God who fearfully and wonderfully made us. Indeed, this is always where faith lives.

Consider the promise and the call this Sunday. Grace upon grace for the sake of justice. Enter into worship. 

You can choose to watch all of this Sunday's worship service in a series of linked videos, one after the other, by clicking this link. Just press the button that says "PLAY ALL" and sit back and relax. You can also just click on the graphic to the left.​ Otherwise, proceed as normal through the sections.

You can choose to watch all of this Sunday's worship service in a series of linked videos, one after the other, by clicking this link. Just press the button that says "PLAY ALL" and sit back and relax. You can also just click on the graphic to the left.​ Otherwise, proceed as normal through the sections.

Darkness is, in fact, a fact of life, a feature of existence as ordinary as light. To steal a phrase from 2020, “it is what it is.”

​And it isn’t.
 How else do you explain the poet’s next breath: “Nations shall come to your light/ and kings to the brightness of your dawn”?  
How else do you explain these ancient seekers looking to the night sky to guide their hope?
 
How else do you understand Mary who, despite the assurance that a sword would pierce her own soul (Luke 2:35), said yes to the angel and to God. And Joseph too.
 
How else do you explain every choice we make that invites suffering we could opt out of to write a new history?
 
Enter into worship.