50 Days of Beauty
Beauty will save the world!
Above, With, and In
June 4, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Romans 5:1–5, John 16:12–15
It's Trinity Sunday! St Augustine wrote in the 4th century, "Anyone who denies the Trinity is in danger of losing their salvation, and anyone who tries to understand it is in danger of losing their mind!" This Sunday, we'll take a deeper look at the Doctrine of the Trinity and see that it is less an explanation of God and more a mystery that keeps us from saying too much about God's nature. Join us as we celebrate the God who is Above all things, who With us in every circumstance, and who is In us -- empowering us to love and follow God!
In our own Language
May 28, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Acts 2:14–21, Acts 2:1–13
Imagine living in a country where your 1st language was outlawed. Imagine being oppressed and forced to use your oppressors’ language in order to live and exist. Imagine society attempting to erase your history and culture. Now, imagine the Spirit of the Creator of the Universe declaring your power and freedom in your own language. It's this pivotal moment that begins the church community to which we belong still today! Let’s celebrate and remember this powerful origin story of the church!
It's Beautiful That Jesus Goes Away
May 21, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Ephesians 1:15–23, Acts 1:1–11
Ascension is one of the five highest holy days in Christianity (along with Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost), but let’s be honest. Ascension is the blacksheep of the holidays—we don’t really know what to do with this one! It almost feels like an anticlimactic ending of Jesus’s earthly ministry, so why should we celebrate it? Even more mysteriously, Jesus tells us it’s a good thing that he goes away! Join us this Sunday as we take a closer look at this neglected event and see what Jesus’s ascension means to us and why it’s such a good thing. He is ascended! He’s ascended indeed!
The Sweetness of Community
May 14, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Luke 16:1–9, Romans 12:1–17
In one of Jesus's strangest parables, we find a man, faced with losing his job, taking the extraordinary measure to build a community by cutting short his soon-to-be ex-employer's profits. AND the employer praises him for it! Join us as we dive into this parable and really see why God thinks it's so important for us to make community.
The Paradox of Generosity
May 7, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Proverbs 11:23–30, 2 Corinthians 9:1–11
Every ancient culture and holy book teaches a counterintuitive reality: those who give gain more. Happiness, prosperity, and fulfillment aren’t the results of greed and hoarding. Instead, those who live with gratitude and generosity find that they have all they need and more. Have you known this to be true? Let’s explore the paradox of generosity together!
The Mystery in the Ordinary
April 30, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Luke 24:13–35, Acts 2:42–47
First day back from the dead, what does Jesus do? He walks 7 miles with 2 people and has dinner at their house. In the conversation, and in the breaking of bread, the hosts feel their hearts on fire with love and grace. In these ordinary things and ordinary ways, the power of God shows up.
The Immensity of Love
April 23, 2023 • Rev. Ric Shewell • Romans 5:17–21, John 21:1–17
Peter messed up, and everybody knows it. The one with a big mouth and big promises, turned his back on Jesus 3 times when the chips were down. Does he have a place in Jesus’s movement anymore, or should he go back to fishing? On the beach, Jesus meets Peter, and all his failures are dissipated in Jesus’s love, like a drop of vinegar in an ocean of grace.
