As a culture, we too often skip over lament. We like to ‘roll up our sleeves’ and get to work fixing whatever is broken. While there is good in doing that, we miss the opportunity for growth and transformation if we skip the step of lament. It is modeled for us in the Bible over […]
The wilderness is a place to wrestle with our identity. It’s a place where we must face and respond to our temptations. And it’s also a place where we experience God’s provision.
We know the wilderness to be a place that is harsh yet stunning, barren yet beautiful. It is an in-between place, to be sure. And when we willingly enter its vastness, there are things we discover about ourselves, our world and our God. Perhaps that’s why the wilderness shows up time and time again in […]
This week, Yakuv Gurung joined us to tell us more about the people of the Nepali Speaking Community Church (NSCC). We share a building, but we don’t often see each other, so this was a great chance to hear stories of NSCC. Yakuv also shared with us an exciting opportunity to plant churches in Nepal.
“The wilderness of the Bible is a liminal space – an in-between place where ordinary life is suspended, identity shifts and the new possibilities emerge. Through the experiences of the Israelites in exile, we learn that while the biblical wilderness is a place of danger, temptation and chaos, it is also a place for solitude, […]
We were thrilled to have Earl James with us this past Sunday. Earl is the Reformed Church in America’s (RCA) Coordinator of Cultural Agility and Advocacy. This is what the Lord Almighty says, “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in […]
What does the Church look like? Not just this church and not just the one down the street, but the whole, capital “C” world-wide Church? We are inviting other voices to our pulpit for three weeks to hopefully gain a broader perspective on what is happening in the Church. Join us on this journey as […]
This week, we begin a 3 week series about The Church: Many Parts, One Body. One of the joys of sharing a building with 2 other churches is the relationships that form. Some happen naturally, but others require intentionality. This week, Nate led a conversation with our friend Rodrigo Cano, who told us more about […]
We wrap up our series on Micah 6:8 this week, looking at how we are to humbly walk with God. How can we have the same attitude as Jesus Christ? Collectively, as a church, we are committed to saying these things: 1. I don’t have it all figured out. 2. I need you, even if […]
This week we learned about the Hebrew word for love (hesed) in Micah 6:8. Love: Hesed is compassionate and loyal love. Listen here to learn more about how we can show hesed (love) in our own lives.
We are committed to being a church that practices unity in essentials, liberty in disputed matters and charity in all things. This framework provides a way for us to be in community as we encounter those “disputed matters” of faith (Romans 14) in which we might have differing viewpoints and interpretations. In Essentials: Unity We […]
On this first Sunday of 2018, we begin a new sermon series based on Micah 6:8: He has shown you, o mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. But what does it mean to ‘act justly’? And […]
What does the Lord require of you? It’s an intentionally provocative question the prophet Micah asked the people of Israel; a question many of the Israelites would have been confident answering. But then Micah throws a curve ball. The answer, it seems, makes perfect sense, and yet is completely unexpected. What does the Lord require […]
On this last Sunday of 2017, we revisited the word sankofa. We took some time to look back so that we can move forward, remembering God’s loyal love. If you haven’t already done so, we invite you to read Psalm 107 to be reminded of God’s loyal love, both to the Israelites so many years ago […]
Listen here for the brief Christmas Eve sermon, concluding our “God With Us” series.
Christmas Eve is one of our most anticipated gatherings and we’d love for you and your loved ones to join us. The Branch is a place where everyone is welcome. Our time together on the 24th will include the singing of carols, a performance by our choir (and drum circle!), a dramatic reading of Christ’s […]
We continue our Advent series this week with Joseph’s story. What was it like to be in Joseph’s shoes? What do we learn about God and about ourselves through this story. We invite you to explore these questions and more while listening to this podcast. There are times of silence in the podcast to allow […]
