Transformation

Four years and eight months ago we began dealing with the difficulty of a president who preferred cynicism, marginalization, othering, and violence as means to leading our country. Eighteen months ago we began dealing with Covid 19 and the havoc it’s wreaked on our world and individual lives. And fifteen months ago we began newly waking to white supremacy and systemic racism in our country. In the midst of it all, we’ve marched, screamed, voted, scoured for toilet paper, sown masks, choked on smoke, experienced power outages, and felt, perhaps more than ever before, at the end of ourselves. In light of all that we’ve been facing, many of us are feeling untethered and are wondering, “What is this?” and “Where am I?” and even “Who am I?” When life feels like a ship riding out a wild storm, we risk being tossed to and fro, without any sight of the end. However, below the surface, at the soul level of who we want to be is the clear and steady guidance of our values, which reflect the life of Jesus who invites us into his way of being in the world. It’s our sincere hope that this sermon series on our community’s values can cast an elevated vision for the kind of life that we desire to embody, no matter what we face in life.

From Perfectionism to Transformation

If the Bible isn’t a rule book or a clear-cut moral guide for every decision that we need to make, how do we go about discerning what is good? This is a question that our pastoral staff spent a few months discussing, which resulted in an ethical framework for discerning good in an array of circumstances. This framework considers collective and personal stories, principles, as well as several questions that can be asked in order to inch closer toward goodness.

Perhaps you’re in the midst of making a big decision, or perhaps you wrestle with knowing how to discern what’s best when making decisions, or perhaps, as you’ve come to realize that the Bible doesn’t definitively direct particular judgments that you need to make about life and godliness, you’re looking for a thoughtful way to make wise decisions. If any of these statements speak to where you’re at, then we’re hopeful that this sermon series—which will draw from our ethical framework—will inform, support, and encouragement your flourishing, especially now, when discerning goodness is increasingly important.

Valuing Transformation and Renewal

As many of us return to more consistent pace and pattern, after summer, it can be helpful to remember and reflect upon why we do what we do. This sermon series therefore intends to remind us of the rhythms that we are intentionally cultivating together and it celebrates our values, which define the fundamental elements of our essence and character.