​

Hello Reader!

Hello beloved one. So very glad to be back with you today.

***

Announcements:

*Office hours are happening at Wolverine Farm on Thursday from 10 to 12. Please come.

*Hey! Listen up! We are taking a whole church rest for Labor Day weekend. This means we will not have meet in person on September 1st. Please stay home and eat a big breakfast...maybe invite over a friend. Or, go camping. Or, walk a meandering path. Or, sit and watch a bird. Or, snuggle with someone you love. We’ll provide an at-home liturgy closer to the date.

​

The Last Two Sundays

This week's email is a mashup of the last two Sunday gatherings. If you recall, we were blessed to have Austin Ballard speak with us on the 4th and Darren spoke on the 11th. Meander through these words and images...may they encourage you today.

We usually follow the Revised Common Lectionary. Click on the link if you want to see what we'll be exploring in the weeks to come.

​

INVOCATION

Holy God,

ever present and moving among your people,

draw us near to you,

that in place of hostility there may be peace;

in place of loneliness, compassion;

in place of aimlessness, direction;

and in place of brokenness, wholeness;

through Christ Jesus, in whom you draw near to us.

Amen.

​

SONGS

Spirit Move! (Keep On Moving... The Porter's Gate, Paul Zach... PREVIEW   ​

Future / Past John Mark McMillan PREVIEW   ​

Love Song Jason Morant PREVIEW   ​

All Who Are Thirsty Brenton Brown PREVIEW   ​

Vapor Gungor PREVIEW   ​

Revelation Song Kari Jobe PREVIEW   ​

​

SCRIPTURES & READINGS

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15: 1-2 & 8-10

***

"For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

John 6:33-35

​

TAKEAWAYS & COMMUNITY QUESTIONS (Austin's message)

• What do you do when you find something you had lost?
• Sometimes losing something and finding it again increases the experiential value of that which was lost. We celebrate!
• Sometimes when “lost” people are found — ie, encounter love and grace — instead of celebration, there can be expectation as in “Now change! And quickly please!”
• The good news is this: God’s looking and loving goes beyond our perception of value.
• “Do you believe God loves you beyond fidelity or infidelity, worthiness or unworthiness, as you are, not as you ‘should’ be, that (God) would rather die than be without you…?” — the late Brennan Manning
• Grace, welcome, celebration, being found...What does it look like for you to live like this? To extend grace to those around you? To stop grumbling about what someone needs to change to “belong to God?” To instead welcome and celebrate when someone encounters love, hope, is “found”?

​

TAKEAWAYS & COMMUNITY QUESTIONS (Darren's message)

• Jesus made a promise: Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
• So we come to faith in Christ. We believe as best we can. We do the stuff. And we still feel “hungry” and “thirsty” and we wonder what is wrong with us? Or our faith? Is following Jesus worth the bang for the buck?
• Let’s be honest. Biologically speaking, the human condition is this: we came downloaded with all kinds of desire and appetite baked into us so we could survive!
• Give yourself a break.
• Jesus teaches us how to hack the rigged system of relentless desire and not-enough-ness.
• Hacking our own systems:
  ​
  Stop condemning yourself for being human. Being human is hard. You’re not weak in faith because you’re experiencing baked in desires.
  ​
  Identify what it is right now that you want that you think will make you happy.
  ​
  Stay with it for a bit. Be curious about it with love. Where does this take me? Will that bring peace and joy?
  ​
  Surrender. Moment by moment. Let go. Let go again (I know! We always say this! Sorry)
  ​
  Discover the superpower of learning to be satisfied with not being satisfied. Learn to die before you die. There is actually real peace and real joy in there.

​

ARTWORK

​

​

BENEDICTION

You are God’s Child

Gifted with dreams and visions.

Upon you rests the grace of God like flames of fire.

Love and serve the Lord in the wildness of your being.

Practice Resurrection.

And may the deep peace of Christ be with you,

The strong arms of God sustain you,

And the glory of the Holy Spirit shine upon your face.

Amen.

​

​

Resource: Fort Collins Rescue Mission Blog Austin mentioned that he works for the Fort Collins Rescue Mission and Harvest Farm. This organization works hard everyday to care for the unhoused population right here in town. They have some important things to teach us. Here's a little snippet from one blog post that I (Katrina) think is particularly poignant and challenging: At the Mission, Christ has always been at the center of our work, and as we have progressed with our three-year strategic plan, one of our initiatives was to clarify how we have been and will continue to show up in this ministry. We settled on four key points: engage mercifully, work holistically, speak truthfully, and believe in miracles. Click here to read the blog post ​

Practice: Disarmament from Your Inner Critic Here is a meditation I (Darren) found helpful. Sometimes the promises of Jesus make me feel confused or disappointed about Jesus — where’s the power and life he promised. More often, I feel disappointed in myself. We are our own worst critics. May this be helpful to you too. ​ Click here to listen to the meditation

​

BONUS BACK TO SCHOOL PRAYER:

God of wonder and curiosity, open my mind to the amazing world around me today. When I am confused or curious, guide me to wise people who can help me understand new things. And no matter how long it takes for me to learn, I know you are always my patient teacher.

Amen

(from Illustrated Ministry)

*consider praying this with your student in the coming days. Or, for yourself-- it's applicable for all of us--may we all be lifelong learners

Grace and Peace,

Katrina and Darren

​