Our Mission is Growing Disciples of Jesus Christ

In my previous message, I wrote about the things in our culture that we need to turn off to better form and shape our hearts and minds as Christians and to lead intentionally Christian lives. But what should we turn on? What is the positive alternative? With what should we fill our hearts and minds, and how?

A phrase that has been echoing in my head recently is “intentional Christian living.” The words “intentional” and “intentionality” have come into use in recent decades to talk about how we shape our lives.

What do you celebrate in your life? Significant achievements? Major milestones such as graduation or marriage or the birth of a child? Do you take the time to celebrate the many blessings God gives you each day?

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Mary, the Virgin. In the Gospel reading for this feast, Mary, pregnant with Jesus, joins her cousin Elizabeth in praising God for his miracles and his mercy on the humble and lowly, undoing the injustice of the proud.

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. The Doctrine of the Trinity is often called “a mystery.” In seminary, we tried to get out of writing complex papers for our theology class by telling the professor “it’s a mystery!”

This weekend we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the time when the Holy Spirit filled Jesus’ disciples in a new way, the beginning of God pouring out his Spirit into the world through the church, where his power and presence is alive and active.

Today is the Feast of the Ascension. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, he was lifted up and out of the sight of the disciples, returning to the Father and awaiting his coming again in glory.

I pray that you are well and thriving! What does thriving look like?

But when the kids leave for college, have the parents graduated from church?

How are you growing deeper in Christ?

Happy Fourth of July! On this Independence Day, we celebrate what we see as the birth of our nation, founded on the grace of God with gifts

Last Sunday was the feast of Pentecost, where we celebrated the birthday of the church!

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly...

When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke...