“Advent Waiting” on Matthew 24: 36-44 by Joe Ellis – Nov. 27, First Sunday in Advent 2022
Here we are in Advent. Advent marks a time, a season where we remind ourselves that we are waiting. That’s what the song “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” is all about. The song reminds us that we are in a season of waiting. The song places us alongside the ancient people of Israel waiting. Together, we wait with all God’s people, who have waited, yearned, and longed for the Messiah to appear and set all things to right. Our ancestors waited for His first appearance, we w
“Our Telos” on Matthew 5:43-48 by Joe Ellis — November 20, 2022
How did you take Jesus saying, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” in Matthew 5:48? It can make a person nervous. You might think, “Really? Be perfect like God? Uh, sure, no problem.” The Greek word here is telos. That’s one of those ancient Greek words that occasionally finds its way into everyday English, if you’re talking to a nerd. Imagine you’re talking to somebody at a party, and they start throwing into the conversation some of the Greek words they k
“Breaking the Pattern” on Matt. 5:38-42 by Michelle Ellis – Nov. 13, 2022
When Jesus says at the beginning of today’s passage, “You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” he is referring to law we can find in the Old Testament and in some other ancient near eastern law codes which people refer to as a ‘law according to kind.’ Though it sounds harsh to our ears, this law was actually meant to prevent severe punishment or people taking the law into their own hands. It’s meant to curb the escalating nature of pay-back that i
“My Joy and Crown” on Philippians 3:15 – 4:9 by Rev. Sean Baker – November 6, 2022
We’re looking at the book of Philippians this morning. And one of the things you need to know to appreciate this book is that this book is actually a letter, and the author of this letter—Paul—is writing from prison. Now this is important: he’s in prison because of his faith. He’s been proclaiming that Christ is King…but he lives in an empire (the Roman Empire) that already has a king – which means Paul’s claims about Christ are not just annoying, they are a crime: they ar
