Beside the Sea
Today’s bible reading, Matthew 13, begins in a way that *kind of* reminds me of what we do at the gazebo on Sunday mornings in the summer: 1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. I put “kind of” in asterisks because, a) I’m most definitely NOT Jesus, b) we had a good crowd
Authority & Allegiance
By Rebecca DeLucia, Next Generation Pastor Today’s Bible reading, Matthew 8, reads more like a comic book than a passage of Scripture. Miracle after miraculous miracle unfolds before us, each one building to one epic conclusion: the authority of Jesus. His authority extends to and supersedes disease, distance, downpour, and demons
Pray For…
This Sunday is our final Sunday before we venture outside for the summer gazebo services (it’s also our Mid-Year Business Meeting!). I’ll be doing a sort of one-off sermon on our role as the church in the world, to prep us and hopefully inspire us for our gazebo services. I love our time at the gazebo, because it gives us a chance to take the church outside, and into the world. It gives us a chance to be more of a
With My Own Two Eyes
My family and I just had the absolute gift of travelling to Italy for 9 days to attend a wedding, and while we were there, we saw as much of the magnificent country as we could. It was an unbelievable trip. We had never been across the Atlantic, so on many levels, it was simply amazing. I am so grateful for the trip. We saw a lot when we were there (Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Cinque Terre), but the thing that kept
Boats, Booths, Banquets
A guest blog by Next Gen Pastor, Rebecca DeLucia This past Sunday we looked together at Luke 5:1-11 in which Jesus calls Simon Peter alongside James and John; his co-workers who also left behind that miraculous catch to follow Jesus. Last Wednesday evening during our first Central Youth Bible Discussion of the summer we looked just a few verses later at Luke 5:27-32 in which Jesus calls Levi. At first glance, the two stories feel very different. Peter, James, and John are