There are moments in our personal lives – and in our congregational lives – that make us stop and examine our identity and our deepest motivations. These are the moments when we stop and ask ourselves about what really matters, about what God is calling us to do and to be, and about what we would give our lives for. These are the watershed moments, the defining moments, the historic moments that we look back on and mark our lives by. Today is one of those moments in the life of our congregation. At our congregational meeting this morning we’ll be taking a vote about whether or not to become a multisite congregation by launching a second site on North Avenue. In our worship this morning we’ll prepare ourselves for that vote by reviewing the nature of the church as we find it in the book of Acts. We’ll look at what the first disciples gave their lives for, and ask ourselves the same question, “What would we give our life for?”

Today James Pessin from our Lay Preaching Team helps us look at the story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples “on the beach” and remember, teach, proclaim and sing the glorious good news of Easter that “Christ is Risen!”

This morning we continue to celebrate the very heart of the Christian faith and experience – that the life, work, death, and resurrection of Jesus is an expression of God’s amazing, sacrificial, redemptive and victorious love. As we look at the sign of the empty tomb and Jesus’ appearance to his disciples “on the road,” we’ll explore the power of Christ’s resurrection and what it means for all of us who live so many miles away and so many years later.

We’ve examined both the bigger idols (romantic and family love, money, success, and political power), as well as the many little hidden idols that work in combination (fear of failure, callousness, irresponsibility, individualism) to nudge God out of the center space in our life. This morning we’ll look at some practical ways we might now go about “weeding out” our idols and “planting” Christ in our everyday life.

Today we turn to another important gift from God that we tend to have an inordinate attachment to – money. As we’ll see, when it becomes an idol in our lives, “Money Changes Everything.”

Today we turn to one of the greatest gifts of life – romantic and family love – to examine how easily we can make an idol of human life. As important and wonderful as it is, God’s Word reminds us that “Love is NOT all you need.”

Today we begin a new 7-week message series to launch our all-congregation book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters. This morning we’ll begin by reminding ourselves of a teaching of Jesus that points to the very heart of life itself – loving God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. We’ll then begin the process of identifying our idols – those counterfeit gods that our hearts manufacture – in order to confront and remove them so that we can live the life of love that Jesus calls us to.

A little over a year ago, in the middle of a worship service, we gave two fifty dollar bills to each kid in our youth group .We entrusted our youth with two “talents,” (two fifty-dollar bills) and we challenged them to be productive “two-talent Christians,” glorifying God and helping others. Today we check back in with them to see how it actually went. We’ll hear their stories of being two-talent Christians in their own words.

This morning we’ll be trying to heed Jesus’ frightening warning about how our half-hearted efforts to “clean ourselves up” can only make matters worse.

Today we begin a new message series we’re calling Jesus Said What?!  The turth is, many of us have a well-honed tendency to edit and censor Jesus, by only listening to the stories and teachings that make us feel comfortable. But there’s another, uncensored, often uncomfortable side to the teachings of Jesus. And so, for the next five weeks we’re going to listen, wrestle with, and hopefully open ourselves to his words – trusting that his word will bring us face to face with a truth we need to hear. This morning we’ll be squirming in our seats a bit as we hear Jesus talking about rich people and the Kingdom of God. Aneel Trivedi of our Lay Preaching Team brings today's message.

Joseph’s brothers screwed up pretty badly. How do you come back from selling your brother into slavery? Today our worship leader, Peter Schwich helps us reflect on the famous Bible story and about what we do after we mess up.

This morning we’ll be looking at a couple of unlikely and unexpected heroes and screw-ups as we look first at King Cyrus and then at priest Eli and his sons.

Today we’re launching a new 4-week message series on the Psalms We’re calling it “Soundtrack for Life,” because the Psalms present a playlist of 150 songs that cover the whole range of human experience and emotion. From the depths of lament or anger to the heights of joyful and exuberant celebration (and most everything in between), the Psalms give voice to our lives and allow us to sing them to God. This morning we’ll begin by taking a look at Psalm 107, and sing about the turnaround God who meets us where we are and faithfully gathers us to himself.

As we move toward our annual meeting on June 6, we have been engaged in congregation-wide conversation about our proposed strategy statement for the next five years. This morning’s message steps back to look at the deep connection between our community life together, the missionary’s mindset and strategic thinking, and openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The church of Jesus Christ is given vision and strategy so that we can go out into the world with the love and message of Jesus Christ.

We’re concluding our four-week message series about how to share our faith in Christ naturally and effectively. Today we take up the “HOW?” question. How do we take practical and effective steps to reach out and speak up?

Today we celebrate the very heart of the Christian fith and experience -- that the life, work, death, and resurrection of Jesus is an expression of God's amazing, redemptive and victorious love.

Tonight’s worship follows on from our Maundy Thursday worship, with it’s theme of “Love Tested.” Like last night, tonight’s worship has several parts, each with its own distinct emphasis, yet each building on the other. We’ll be moving through the 23^rd chapter of Luke’s Gospel, as we see the unfolding drama of God’s love tried, judged, crucified, eclipsed, and buried in the Passion of Jesus of Nazareth.

We conclude our 7-week message series based on our all-congregation book, 40 Days Living the Jesus Creed. Today our focus will be on remembering to give recognition to the people in our life who have been an inspiration to us in the way they have modeled loving God, loving their neighbors, or loving themselves.

Today we’ll be exploring a picture, a parable, and a project that show the intimate connection between gift and responsibility. We’re both God’s children who receive spiritual gifts as well as God’s servants who have sacred trusts. It’s a big deal when God comes to us with the keys to his creation and says, “Okay, it’s your turn.”

Today we’ll look at making a connection between our individual giftedness and our communal calling by seeing how our gifts can fit in and be coordinated with the gifts of others to accomplish God’s mighty and marvelous mission of reaching the lost and bringing them home. We do that by using a memorable movie clip from Apollo 13 as a modern parable of God’s gifts and God’s mission.

The problem is: many of are aren’t sure that we have much of worth to offer God.  We’re not sure what gifts we have or where to put them to use.  So, for the next three weeks we’ll be exploring what it is to be “Gifted By God”.  Today, after rejecting four popular myths about gifts, we begin the process of discovering our gifts – especially the gifts of our personality and passion.