How does Jesus’ baptism inform our own baptism? Do we hear God saying to us as God said to Jesus, “You are my child. My beloved. In you I take pleasure?”

Anna and Simeon expected the Messiah to show up even though they did not know when or how. Are we expecting Christ to show up in our lives? In our world?

You can also see this Sunday’s bulletin here.

In what areas of your life are you expecting Christ to appear in 2012?

On the first Sunday of Advent we reflect on longing and waiting. There is nothing wrong with desire, especially when those desires are brought to God who can use them to transform us and the world. After all, all of our desires are, at least in part, a desire for God, God’s self.

Jesus’ parable of the talents invites us to look at something differently. What have you been given? How will you use it?

We each are living a story, individually and societally. Are you satisfied with the story you are living? God invites us to live God’s story. It can be scary to change stories, but we are assured it is worth the risk.

Here’s the bulletin from this Sunday.

What do we learn about the nature of God from the story of the people of Israel and the golden calf? What does it teach us about how we can relate to a God we cannot see?

The Ten Commandments loom large in our psyche and culture. How are they useful today?

You can see a bulletin from this Sunday here.