Common Ground

On the road to Damascus, Paul encountered Jesus. He was not expecting that encounter, and he was definitely not expecting the trip on THAT road to put him eventually on a road towards sharing the gospel with Gentiles. This week, we’ll be uncovering how the grace of God does not fit into the established boundaries of our understanding. We’re excited to continue to explore Paul’s letter to the Galatians and how we can be taught by a community’s struggles 2000 years ago.

We all want freedom. We talk about freedom in certain ways and we talk about freedom in Christ in certain ways. Paul's letter to the Galatians is in response to the bondage that some Christians were putting on Gentiles to observe the Torah law and go so far as to get circumcised before following Jesus. Paul understands that the family of God is a multi-ethnic, liberation from the laws of culture that in fact bind us to sin and death. If we want real freedom, we become slaves to Christ. That paradox is what we will explore this summer as we begin a new series in Galatians. This letter is full of truth and wisdom as we at Common Ground navigate life in the Spirit and as we long for the true freedom that comes as a New Creation! Join us this summer and read through the book several times over the next month as we dive deep into the Grit and the Grace from Paul's letter to the Galatians. 

We have the chance this Sunday to participate in something very special. Micah Street Church has said yes to our invitation to come and join Common Ground for a joint worship service at the Silk Mill. We can’t wait to host our neighbors and friends as we work through the passage in Ephesians on love and unity. Pastor Chelsea will tell more of the Micah Street Church story, and we will hear from some of their members on Sunday as we come together as one worshipping body this Sunday around the table. Be ready to welcome them and make our guests feel right at home. They have been in the yard at The Meeting House for the past 8 months and have felt our hospitality there and we are excited to be in the same space.  

Acts 12 confronts us with the execution of James while Peter is miraculously rescued from prison by an angel. We cheer for Peter’s release but we feel saddened for the suffering James had to endure. Why didn’t God save both? Why does James die and Peter get to live? This seems unfair. How did the early church respond when their leaders faced execution? King Herod used power and violence to demonstrate who was in charge. Does the church submit or align with those in power or is there another way? What is our understanding of the power of prayer when we’re faced with challenges? God watches over us and will neither slumber nor sleep. Acts 12 explores where we’ve put our hope and security. Join us on Sunday at the Silk Mill as we worship our Lord and Deliverer. 

Have you ever been in Peter’s shoes? You see God do something amazing and no sooner do you get home to tell your crew and they ask, “how dare you include those people up in this party?” The insiders were so in. The outsiders were so out. When God does his joining, the insiders are so sure of their purity code that nobody else could possibly receive God’s spirit unless it went through them first. When we follow the Holy Spirit we soon find that he does what he wants and he does it how he wants. Our paradigms of cultural expectations crumble when it comes to who God will go after. Peter has to explain himself to the super religious folks that God truly is after the nations and not just those who fly their flag. God created it all and God through the Holy Spirit wants it all back! Join us on Sunday at the Silk Mill as we worship in the joy of this great Holy Spirit! 

This fourth and final message in our Faith Out of Africa series is about mother’s, leaders, their sons, and their husbands. Moses is on his way to lead his people out of slavary when he himself is bound to the chains of disobedience to God. The woman at his side, Zipporah from the African country of Midian responds in faith when Moses doesn’t. Who knows what the story of The Exodus would even be if it weren’t for the quick thinking and actions of faith by Zipporah! This is one of the weirdest accounts in the Bible and there is much that we cannot fully understand about the cultural practices of the Egyptians and early Hebrews. However, there is enough here to grow in our obedience to Christ and to know that he means it when he calls us to his covenant. I can’t wait for you to hear the testimony this week and be together to worship!  Join us on Sunday as we hear testimony, sing songs of hope, and grow in love and obedience to God. Share the zoom link with a friend and join us online at 10 am.

This third message in our Faith Out of Africa series is all about carrying the cross, literally. When our Lord, weakened by being flogged could carry his cross no longer, the Roman Soldiers found Simon from Africa in the crowd along the road to Calvary and forced him to carry the cross for Jesus the rest of the way. Long before Paul would say, “I am crucified with Christ” the very first person to carry the cross was an African who has a story to tell. His two sons became followers of Jesus and Paul talks about Simon’s wife in another passage which can only get me excited for heaven when I think about how the Gospel spread like wildfire because the soldiers picked this man to help Jesus. How about you? What does it mean to voluntarily carry the cross of Jesus? While Simon was forced and compelled by the sword, we have agency in the voluntary surrender of our lives to this convicted Messiah. In this first Sunday of Lent we will look to the cross, we will look to Simon, and we will look at the brutality of the R

This second message in our Faith Out of Africa series is all about wisdom.  We are familiar with the wisdom of Solomon but we are less familiar with the brilliance, regality, and resilience of the Queen of Sheba. She had caught word of Solmon’s wisdom and set out on the road to find truth. How much of your week is spent in the pursuit of wisdom? Who have you given permission to as the source of that wisdom? Do they have an agenda? Do they have the truth? This is another beautiful story in the Bible of how a foreign person came seeking after Israel’s God. Clearly, Yahweh had blessed Solmon and the Queen reveals her own wisdom in the seeking. We all need wisdom right now and I can’t wait to share this message with you! Join us on Sunday as we hear testimony, sing songs of hope, and grow in love and obedience to God. Share the zoom link with a friend and join us online at 10 am.

As we begin our Faith Out of Africa series, the first thing we observe is a God who runs. Jesus told us he would. Jesus told us this is what God is like. He said, “The father, noticing his son a long way off, began to run down the road…” What Jesus told us about, we actually see as Philip runs to the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He was letting him know in the most profound way, “even though you are on the margins, even though you are on a migrant journey, you will never walk alone.” The African American struggle in this country has been one long road. When the church refused to see the image of Christ in the bodies of black people, thank God we have a Father who runs! Who runs past the elder brother to get to the one who’s on the road. This encounter in Acts 8 was the beginning of a robust church in Africa and we look forward to being together as the people of God this week. Join us on Sunday as we hear testimony, sing songs of hope, and grow in love and obedience to God. Share the zoom link with a friend

By the order of King Herod all the male babies, two and under, where to be put to death. This is a part of the Christmas story that often gets passed over. However, in a year of so much reflection on our own mortality and on humanities capacity for evil and death, we would do well as a church to reflect on the Dark Side of Christmas. As Jesus was teaching and preaching he said to his disciples, “let the little children come unto me, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.” There is an innocence about a child that the Lord longs for all of us to never outgrow. There is stark difference between being childish and childlike. Herod, with his executive order, caused a weeping to be heard in Bethlehem like never before and ever since. We all have experienced loss, but the loss of a child is a very unique kind of suffering. Would you join us on Sunday over Zoom as we worship, sing, and pray for those who have lost and give hope to one another as we march into this New Year.

This will be a Christmas like none other in your lifetime. The country and the world has shut down and families will gather in limited capacity due to Covid-19. We have already endured 9 months of life changing events, and as the darkness of winter is upon us, a young lady is about to have a baby. In the midst of another pandemic, the pandemic of exile, sin, and death, the light of God came to save us! Christmas is the season of darkness that is exposed by the light, and there is no doubt that we are in the darkness. As the body of Christ, we are committed to grieving with a world that has seen so much suffering and death this year. Would you commit to joining us each week over the next couple months as we look at Advent in Exile: Stories of Christ in the Winter of Covid. Believe Church! The light is coming! The light is winning!

Refugees. Conquered nations. Banished criminals. That is who deserves to be in exile. Yet, John’s account of the birth of Jesus begins with something totally unique in our universe. He claims that the God of creation in the beginning is fully present in the humanity of the person of Jesus. Fully God and Fully Man. The light that was commanded in Genesis, “Let there be light” is the “light of mankind” and he is the one who also said, “I am the light of the world.” Why would God exile himself or for what reason would he abandon his riches in glory to come and be made in human likeness? He has no rival and no equal. Great is our God and greatly to be praised for his wisdom far outreaches our own and his love is deep enough to come and rescue us. Join us via Zoom this Sunday as we gather online, hear testimony, sing songs of Advent, and pray for one another. Be strong and courageous CG! You are loved and not alone!

As we light the candle of Joy this weekend we hear the angels singing “Glory to God in the Highest” right above our heads. As the Shepherds were watching their flocks by night, God interpreted their darkness. We are inviting this same God to interrupt our darkness this winter as well. As we put this pandemic in perspective, we have to acknowledge the pain, loss, and frustrations that so many of us have felt. Yet, it is in our very suffering and bondage that a child was born into the earth. Born to rescue and save us! Shepherds were considered some of the lowest people on the social ladder and God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to a class of people who were considered thieves and uncredible. Why? Join us on Sunday as we gather outside to raise our voices our lift our prayers for one another as we worship the newborn king!

We will light the candle of peace this Sunday as we move to Zoom for this week’s worship gathering. We have a testimony lined up and we are excited to hear what God has for us in this second week of Advent. Mary and Joseph were on their way to Bethlehem when the time came for Christ to be born and they found that even in Joseph’s hometown there was no place to call home. Christ was born in a stable. Have you ever felt exiled even at home? Have you gone back to your hometown and things were just different? What can we learn in the winter of Covid from the fact that there was “no room in the inn”?  We have all felt so many emotions this past week and it will be good to see your beautiful faces church as we anchor into the waiting of Advent. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

We will light the candle of hope this Sunday and we can’t wait to worship with you near the River! We begin our Advent season looking at the person of Simeon. What an amazing story of long anticipated hope in the Lord’s Messiah. He lived in occupied Jerusalem and he was filled with the Holy Spirit, long before Acts chapter 2! What was so special about this man? What was so special about Anna who was a prophetess in the temple? Come sing some familiar songs as we long for the same hope of God’s final restoration!

As we begin our Advent series we will begin by looking at how to be faithful in the fire of exile. We have all felt the struggle to remain faithful to God in the past 2020. Many of you carry shame and guilt, while others of us feel entitled and proud. Yet the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego reminds us that it is always God who is with us, rescuing us, and delivering us IN the fires of our suffering and lament. In the redemptive story of God we find Israel being held caprice in Babylon because of their own idolatry and service to other Gods. We begin this Advent season in looking at how the people of God can be faithful even in the midst of displacement. Join us at the River this Sunday at 10 am and bring a friend.

Romans 8 is one of the most beautiful chapters in the middle of one of the most reconciling of letters. We have come to the end of the matter and we are going to finish our study in Romans with this text in mind. There is an attitude that comes from the Spirit of Christ that allows us to live at peace in the midst of empire and chaos. This same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead has given life to our human bodies and this life is now lived together as siblings not strangers. The promises from Romans 8 moves us to a new Torah and that is the Law of Christ that removes all selfishness and lives in the freedom and love that God is for us and not condemning us. Join us on Sunday (most likely on Zoom due to flooding and rain) as we sing, worship, and grow in Christ.

We sure could use a rescue right now! A rescue from the pandemic, from politics, from the daily grind, and from the spiritual burden we often carry in our bodies to do the right thing. We know the good we ought to do but why is it so hard to get done? We know the evil that lurks around every corner, but why are do our vices have such a death grip on us? Paul in Romans 7 lays one of the most compelling arguments to the House Church in Rome that it is through the Spirit of Christ alone that we are rescued from the collective weight of Adam’s curse, from sin and from death. I hope you will join us at the River on Sunday and bring a friend who could use a good rescue as well! I’m so looking forward to preaching Christ and to proclaim the hope that is found in no other name! 

There are a lot of weapons flying around right now! Some verbal, some emotional, and many physical. What Paul wants the church at Rome to emulate is that we would use the weapons of Christ for a holy life. Paul likens the weapons of the world to what sin does to each of us and to our community. Sin has a cumulative effect but the good news  is that so does righteousness. However, for this holy life to begin we have to follow Christ into his death. Join us at the River on Sunday as we look at the famous passages from Romans 6 and encourage one another as we worship Christ as King!

Romans 5 begins a new section of Paul’s letter to the Roman House Churches. He is talking about the cycle of sin that leads to death and the gift of righteousness that leads to eternal life. We often think of sin as something that we do but Paul makes it clear that sin is something that is doing us! Christ has done what Adam could not do and therefore either by faith we accept the gift of Christ or by unbelief we settle for the gift of Adam. If you are struggling and need to be reminded of just how great God’s grace is, would you join us at the River this Sunday? Grab a friend, a neighbor, or just yourself and sing with us as we call on Christ our only peace in the midst of chaos.