Congratulations to Our Winter Graduates

We will take time during our Wednesday Chapel service to recognize and bless our Winter graduates. If you are a Winter Graduate and are not able to be on campus, please watch the livestream on YouTube so that you can receive the blessing in real time.

Dr. Malcolm Brings the Fire

We welcome Dr. Lois Malcolm to preach in chapel on Wednesday. She will be focusing on baptism in the Spirit’s fire. It is sure to be an inspiring sermon (since inspire means to be filled with the Spirit 😉 ).

Joy in the Wilderness

The texts for this week talk about joy and rejoicing, even when things seem dire. The Gospel reading, however, doesn’t seem to speak of joy at first glance. It is the story of John the Baptist’s preaching in the wilderness. He calls the religious leaders “a brood of vipers” and tells the people to repent of their sin and start treating people well before the axe falls on the root of the tree.

Where is the joy in those words? I think we find them hidden in John’s response to the people. They ask him, “What then should we do?” John replies by telling them how to treat their neighbors with love and respect. This is the way of God’s realm and it stands in contrast to the way of Caesar. The people were suffering under the cruelty of a tyrant, but they could still find the joy of the Lord in following God’s ways.

The people think John is their Messiah. He tells them that one is coming who will baptize them with water and with fire. John gives them hope that the joy of God’s salvation is coming through Jesus. Let us take joy in the fact that Jesus has come. We do not need to live according to the selfish and corrupt ways of our society. We have been set free to love God and love our neighbor and walk in the way of God’s realm today.

Light the third candle this week and pray for joy, even in the midst of the wilderness.