Nehemiah was a Jewish exile – but for an exile, he had a great job.  He was not out digging ditches or threshing grain in the hot sun.  Instead, he worked within the cool [...]

No doubt you’ve taken at least one gift assessment during your life. Those tests suggest you might find optimum career placement, reasonable financial returns and a sense of fulfillment if you pursue the results.  [...]

For the past few weeks we have introduced the song “Good Plans” by Red Rocks Worship. This song is based in the heart of Psalm 23. Read the passage below: Psalm 23 A psalm [...]

Scripture teaches that God gives us good and perfect gifts (James 1:17), yet loss and grief are inevitably part of the human experience. How do we live in this world?  I once attended a [...]

Recently I re-read a portion of my Aunt Josephine’s life story. She was the middle sibling of five, with my dad being the oldest. The children lost a younger brother early on. Then, when [...]

 Facing Grief My first experiences of intense grief were borrowed:  I watched as others grieved, children and mothers gone too soon; grieved cruelty born from racism; and grieved loss from upheaval and displacement. [...]

It was a muggy night, and we sat on old couches from the 1970s in a concrete building. We had landed in Ivory Coast, West Africa, less than 48 hours before, and we were [...]

Sermon Conversations with Alex and Aaron There’s only so much we can cover in a Sunday morning gathering! Each week, you’re invited to tune into our LIVE podcast at 11 am on Thursdays – [...]

House of Cards I was going to be famous. Beloved. That was my plan. Bullies beware – Kris (Duncan) was going to “be somebody.” I packed my bags and moved to Los [...]

From 1972 through 1973 I worked in a small, artsy shop dedicated to fabricating lightweight convention displays. The shop owner was a somewhat eccentric architect named Donal McLaughlin. Given his laid back approach to [...]