The Power of Truth  February 2004, Second Corinthians 3:12-4:2 Woodland Hills CA

The power of truth is seductive—our own truths can be seductive too; but I would rather have a world that welcomes variations on a theme, even the theme of Jesus’ death and its meaning for our lives than live in a world where someone else’s truth seeks to conquer mine.

Closer Than the Eye Can See Matthew 17:1-9; 2 Peter 1:16-21 February 6, 2005, Pasadena CA

In life, as in our relationship with Spirit, there are things closer than the eye can see.

Life is full of contradictions, particularly in the spaces that are closer to us than the eye can see, but see that as a gift not a burden.  Each of us has the capacity to be an eyewitness to majesty, but none of us can corral that majesty for our own purposes.

Fear Not! Learn to live in those spaces that are closer than the eye can see. Then you  will know the power of belovedness as surely as Jesus did.

If you are looking for a place to start, to put flesh on your God and purpose in your step than look no further than this Communion table, for there is more to this experience than the eye can see.  Trust me, have no fear, come a little closer.  It’s never too late to be surprised by God!

In Praise of an Unknown God Acts 17: 22-29 May 1, 2005 Simi Valley, CA

Grace, the extravagant and extraordinary gift of God’s amazing love, seeks to greaten us into the fullness of the divinity in our humanity.  I believe in my bones that God and humanity are one and that God calls us to live out, what Roger Hazelton once called, “a more than human humanness”; to let the “beyond within us,” as the Quakers would say, become visible in our daily discourse and endeavors.

To be a person of faith is to be a person of focus.  When we keep our focus on the life of God that lives in all of us compassion thrives, difference is honored, and tolerance is practiced to the benefit of all creation.

Jesus said ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open—he called us to an active faith, a searching faith, a feeling after faith, and a faith willing to admit that God is still speaking.

  One God, One Life Genesis 1:1-2:3-May 22, 2005 Simi Valley, CA

God calls each of us through the person of Jesus to re-flect on the consequences of our thinking, as persons and as church.  If you believe there is one God and one life you will never be alone, because you will know the goodness of God is at the heart of who you are. Praise God for that!

Wisdom As Foundation Matthew 7:21-29 May 29, 2005 Simi Valley, CA

There is a difference between judgment and punishment.  God judges us daily not to harm us but to guide us into well-being. To let us know there are consequences to our acts. Whether we pay attention to the wisdom of God within our embodied selves is another matter—it’s called freedom of choice.  Punishment as a form of God’s love is never God’s first or last act. Punishment is not a mark of God’s tough love it’s a distortion of God’s true compassion. God’s first and only act is love!

The Healing Table Matthew 9:9-13   June 5, 2005 Simi Valley, CA

Jesus gathered people around a table, not a cross, into an atmosphere of welcome not condemnation, and into a force field of acceptance, love, and joy.

God’s love is for the world, not for the church.  Any church that forgets this is missing the point.