The Fine Flowers of Unholiness | The Prophets Week 11
Toward the end of his collection of Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis suggests that “the fine flowers of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy (for) nowhere are we more tempted as on the very steps of the altar itself.” Perhaps this is why the most devout are sometimes the most dishonest, or perverse, and thus the hardest to save. So Malachi preaches a message of integrity in our worship that reaches far from the sanctuary, to the most remote places in our lives.
The Awful Mercy of God | Prophets Week 9
Despite all that is wrong with the world, and despite how often we’ve been told avoid it, perhaps God is raising up a movement inside the nation but outside the Church. How might we cooperate (instead of compete) with that?
Waiting in the Dark | The Prophets Week 7
There is a strangeness in God’s ways that makes even the most devout wonder, and sometimes stumble, yet the just are called to live by faith. What is God up to? Why is this happening? How long before He answers? And how do we manage the hurt and insult of unanswered prayer? What are we to do in the meantime? That’s the message of Habakkuk.
The Downside of Being Chosen | The Prophets Week 2
One of the least desirable benefits of being chosen is that God disciplines those he loves. How well do you accept the discipline of God?
And They Shall Prophesy | The Prophets Week 1
Throughout Israel’s history, God has used the prophet to protect the nation’s identity and to guide her moral and ethical practices. Strange as it may seem to some, the same people are called for today, in our society, because we’re confronted with the same moral and ethical challenges. But who are these prophets? And what is their message? What is the core of a prophetic community? How does our community, at CWC, become part of a larger movement bearing witness to the gospel in our day?
Behold the King | Easter Week 6
The Ascension gets little attention in today’s Church but to the early Christians it was the climax of the gospel. In the Ascension, Jesus is not only savior but King. What does that mean for the way we work, and witness, and worship?
Raised with Christ | Easter Week 5
There is no place where the resurrection of Jesus is more gospel than in the death of someone we love, or in our own death. Yet there is confusion over what, exactly, the resurrection means for those who have died. Many even Christians are victims of the wrong story. So what is the right one? What are the implications of Jesus’ resurrection for our resurrection?
The Presence of the Future | Easter Week 3
The Church is the core element of God’s plan to redeem the world. She must rediscover her calling or risk becoming non-essential to society. At the center of that calling is what we, her members, strive for and become.
But Some Doubted | Easter Week 2
Some of Jesus closest friends are those who doubt even as they worship. How does Christ, risen among us, show himself again through the Body to those who doubt? How do we overcome our doubts with something more powerful than proof?
The First Day | Easter Week 1
People of the resurrection (or Easter People) are people of the first day. But what does that mean? And how are their lives better – noticeably different – because of it?
The Last Exodus | Easter Sunday
The First Easter is the Last Exodus. Let the march begin!
Deliverance from Despair | Lent Week 5
The social and political climate of our day gives us plenty of reason to despair, to expect the worst, to be overly critical, to find a culprit and blame them. There is a pathology to despair that follows us long after we’ve left Egypt. The good news of the exodus is that we can be delivered from this. But deliverance involves choosing what to believe and practice.
Catching our Breath | Lent Week 4
On the seventh day, the Lord rested but He never told you to… until the Exodus… so there’s more to the Sabbath than a day off .. a lot more.
The Test | Lent Week 1
Throughout the exodus story, God is “testing” the people (15:25), and the people are “testing” God (17:2, 7). But what does that mean? How are we tested today?
The Ghosts of Pharaoh | Epiphany Week 6
Once ought of Egypt, the people of God struggle with the “ghosts of Pharaoh,” the remnants of their past life that weigh them down. True freedom comes in the form of obedience.
Deliver Us | Epiphany Week 5
What does it really mean to “believe” when everything is on the line?
Deliverance | Epiphany Week 4
For all who are in bondage, God promises deliverance, but that usually involves more than we think.
Drawing Out | Epiphany Week 3
The work of Jesus is to form a New Community devoted to another way of life and through that community to offer an exodus (a way out) from the anxiety and exploitation of bondage.
Beginning with Moses | Epiphany Week 2
When Christians talk about Jesus, we start with Christmas, but when Jesus talks about himself, he starts with Moses (Lk. 24:27) because, apparently, it is impossible to understand or appreciate who Jesus is apart from Moses’ life. Beginning with Moses, what is the meaning of Jesus’ life? And how does that change the way we live out Jesus’ life in the world today?
The Gospel of Peace | 2022 Christmas Week 1
In the days of Caesar, there was already ‘peace on earth,’ yet the angel that appeared to the shepherds was announcing something new. What are the qualities of the peace of Christ? And why is it so important today?