A quote that Brenna Rubio shared in the message on Sunday popped up a few times on City Church people’s Instagram stories, a sure sign that it struck home.

Jesus had strong words for religious people who didn’t live out what they said they believed.

Today we sit with the words of a poet, allowing the Spirit to open our heart.

On Sunday we looked at how passages about the ‘vindication of Jerusalem’ (Isaiah 6:21) can be interpreted to justify violence against anyone seen to be a geopolitical enemy of the modern day country of Israel.

He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire. - Psalm 46:9

There was a gathering of over 100 Long Beach pastors in mid-December where Beth Balmer, one of the pastors at Grace LB, prayed this over us all. As you read it, see if you can make this prayer for Long Beach (or your city… or our world) for the New Year.

Job’s only wise friend, Elihu, shares these words with him about how God does indeed speak to His people. Elihu emphasizes three things. First, that God speaks. Second, that He speaks in various ways. Third, that we often do not hear Him.

if you listen to the prophecy about John the Baptist’s birth, it seems like he’s going to be a pretty religious guy. But when you look at how he played it out, it looks different. Listen in to the forecast of who John would be:

The Christmas story ends in the temple in Jerusalem with a prophet coming up to Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus.

As you bask in the goodness (and/or sadness) of Christmas yesterday, take a few moments to join with one of the saints of old to reflect on the real work of Christmas.

Good news. All people. Great joy. Savior. It just doesn’t get much better than this.

Heading into Christmas weekend, take a few breaths. Read some poetry. Ask Jesus to meet you and to change you and to change the world.

Today we look at the beginning of the Christmas story. Note how it starts with the geopolitical situation of the day. Embedded in these few lines is inherent commentary on governance, power, taxation, oppression, economics, ethnic issues., and more.

When the leaders of the early church gathered to decide questions about inclusion, they had a particular lens through which they viewed scripture.

Scripture doesn’t explicitly say it, but it suggests that she did not want to spend time with her biological family, or even with Joseph.

As Ed Oxford pointed out in the sermon yesterday, there’s always a tension in translating languages. Whenever you go from one language to another, you miss some of the nuance, some of the meaning.

All week we’ve been thinking and praying about what it means to have a dream - even when it costs.

The psalmist is demoralized, tired of suffering, tired of pain, tired of tears. And for good reason. Things have gone wrong, there’s been betrayal, the losses have piled up. And yet…

Shannon Fernando, in her message on Sunday, pointed out how it’s really hard work to press through our sadnesses.

Sometimes we loose things, important things. Maybe it was our sunglasses or our wallet. Maybe it was our friend or our innocence. And maybe it was our faith or our purpose or our belief that everything will work out.