In honoring Christ or King and his good Kingdom we consider what Jesus is looking for in his followers.

He is looking for people like you and me who may not have it all figured out, but who recognize that their source of hope in this world comes from the love and mercy of Jesus who met us in our darkest of hours and saw us through the long watches of the night.

May we live out the questions that we carry, not feeling less worthy for their existence, but emboldened that modeling the life of Jesus, even with questions in hand, is the best way to honor the rule and reign of Christ Jesus in our world.

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Join us as we celebrate the mystery of faith and unity of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through a series of readings and reflections.

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As we continue to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we consider the mystery, that God has brought us redemption from our brokenness, and has adopted us into His Kingdom through His Son. Jesus changes us, heals us, makes us better, and enables us to help others to do the same. Join the mystery of God with us and Christ in us!

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As we celebrate the birth of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, we consider how, “God With Us,” effects our hearts, minds, and lives. 

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Bethlehem is place that holds much mystery in our imaginations. The truth is, the ancient city also has modern history, and like so many of our lives, there is both darkness and light to the story.

Just as Bethlehem is broken and beautiful, so are our lives. We could look at the mess and turmoil of Bethlehem, the sorrow of Ephrathah and say, “That’s me!” We could look at the beauty of Bethlehem as it is represented in nativity sets and say, “My life has moments like that as well.” Just as Bethlehem was place of infinite beauty and real world struggle, so too, are you and I. When we believe in Christ, Jesus is born in us. We become a kind of Bethlehem!

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Advent is about learning how to live well while we wait for the fullness of God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. We live with hope; anticipating what will be while living with what is. We live with peace; aligning our lives with the peaceful witness and teaching of Christ. And we learn to have joy, rooted in Christ, while we wait. Joy in the midst of waiting comes from the confidence that this beautiful mess called life will be brought to a good and just end in Christ.

Advent joy is summed up well in the writing of Julian of Norwich, a Christian woman from the 14th century. She writes this in her book Revelations of Divine Love: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” May the joy of Christ fill our hearts this Advent season. 

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Peace comes from the Hebrew word “Shalom” which means wholeness or harmony. We can experience this peace in our personal lives through connection with God, ourselves, and others. But we can also think about peace on a broader scale and ask questions like,  “How peace is experienced in the world?” 

Shalom in the world points us to things like the end of war, violence, hatred, and division. The prophet Isaiah, in thinking about the coming Messiah, described this person as the “Prince of Peace.” Christ is the one who would be capable of bringing personal peace to our lives, as well as peace to the world at large. 

As a sign of God’s rule in our lives we strive to be at peace with one another. We also strive to work for peace in the world.

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As the people of God, we mark time to tell the story of Christ. The liturgical calendar tells the story of salvation in Christ. Keeping these rhythms helps form our identity as the people of God.

Advent is about waiting. It is about longing. During this season we enter into solidarity with our ancient brothers and sisters who waited for the coming of the Messiah. Now that the Messiah has come in the person of Jesus, we await the return of Christ and the renewal of all things. So, this season is about being honest about our own longing. 

Our role as the Body of Christ in the world is to anticipate this kingdom by living according the reign of Christ now. We don’t know how long, but the prophetic word for us this Advent is to live in accordance with the kingdom of Christ as we await its full arrival.

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Today is Christ the King Sunday! It marks the final week of the liturgical year before beginning a new year with the start of Advent. It is a time to remind ourselves of our allegiance and to remember again whose we are, we are children of the Creator God, the Living Christ who rules over all the nations.

Those who give their allegiance to Christ are rescued from a life of vengeance, selfishness, crudeness (and the like) and transformed into a “Lamb-King community.”

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November 29th, 2015 marked the first Sunday in Advent. We are one of many churches in Fort Collins, but probably one of few churches that intentionally observed the beginning of Advent. This begs the question, why do we observe the Christian calendar? And what is the Christian calendar?

Time is something that never stands still. It is always moving. The past is always moving further behind us and the future is always, very quickly, becoming the present. The constant passing of time can feel like chaos, unless you organize time. And so, for centuries, humanity has organized time according story. A story gives time meaning. In fact, how you mark time can tell you what story (or stories) you live by.

For example, the American story is told through the American calendar that celebrates holidays like July Fourth, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Memorial Day.

Likewise, the Roman calendar told the Roman story. The Jewish calendar tells the Jewish story. And the Christian calendar tells the Christian story.

As the people of God, if is our desire to make sure we are telling and living the Christian story. So, we follow the Christian calendar.

Advent: A season of anticipating the coming Messiah

Christmas: A season of celebrating the birth of Jesus

Lent: A solemn season recognizing our need for the Savior

Easter: A season of joy celebrating new life in Christ through resurrection

Pentecost: A season that marks the pouring out of God’s Spirit and the birth of the Church

Ordinary Time: A season of mission that leads us back to Advent

Each season in the Christian calendar has a unique theological theme and is marked with it’s own mood. These varied expressions of faith help give us a full-bodied language for walking with Christ through all the seasons of our life. It also helps us walk through the life of Christ – and tell the story of Christ – as a community through the year. This means we don’t emphasize Mother’s Day more than Lent or July Fourth Sunday more than Pentecost. The story we want to be living and telling the is the life-changing story of Jesus Christ. The Christian calendar helps us do that.

If you are looking for a church in Fort Collins, we would love for you to join us was we walk together through the seasons of the Christian calendar.

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