Christmas lights are one of our most beautiful symbols of the season. But as the prophet Micah points out, light reveals and purifies. In our preparation for Christmas, God wants to purify us, get us ready for Jesus’ coming. Will we respond? Or will we hide?
Continue readingAt the beginning of the Advent season, we ask what hope looks like. In a world that craves peace on earth and goodwill for all people, a world that is far from those dreams, how do we hope? Jeremiah invites us into his model faithful presence in a hurting world – one that invites us to look for God right where we’re hurting. That’s hope.
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Churches serving or doing missions work often feels paternalistic. How do we serve those outside the church, how do we love those outside the church, in ways that respect them as equally God’s image-bearers? The model of the ancient pilgrimage can help us imagine a better way to meet others – as students who can help one another know God better!
Continue readingToo often, faith is reduced to an intellectual exercise. But Jesus pressed for transformation, change so dramatic it was described as ‘resurrection’ or ‘rebirth’. What does it look like for us to pursue this sort of new life here at Catalyst in the coming year?
Continue readingDiversity – it’s a buzzword, a trend these days. Every church claims to value diversity. So why do churches so often fail to reflect even the diversity of our communities? And how do we pursue an authentic diversity that moves beyond tokenism and trends to get to the heart of Jesus’ good news for our world?
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Love comes easy to some of us. But for a lot of us, being more loving is really hard. It’s scary to be more vulnerable. To risk reaching out. But the thing about love is that it is inevitable. If we just keep going, we’ll find it. So how do we find the strength to love?
Continue readingWhat does love look like in public? As Dr. Cornel West says, it’s justice. How can we love well, in public? What does it mean to say that love changes the world?
Continue readingParty of what’s so challenging about seeking out love is that we’ve been told God is love, but have so many unloving images of God. Jesus helps us to see who God is and how God loves us. And as we connect to Jesus, his love transforms how we engage the people we encounter.
Continue readingWhat keeps us from being more loving? Proverbs has a list of seven things God hates – and God hates them because they’re barriers to having more love in our lives. How do we spot these barriers? And what do we do to root them out?
Continue readingWe’ve all heard love is the most powerful force in the world, but it can be hard to believe it’s really true. What is the nature of Love’s power? And how do we find it in our life?
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