Our Advent traditions have become numerous: we cut down our tree at the Beck family farm in the shadow of Mt. Hood; we make cinnamon rolls for our neighbors; we go ice skating at the mall; I take…
On these last days of Advent, we turn our gaze to the love embodied in the crib. The incarnation carries into our world not just hope, peace, and joy, but Christ brings with Him a love of…
One of my favorite Christmas memories came five years ago when Mirela told me she was pregnant with our second child. I was overjoyed, amazed, and humbled. When that daughter was born we named her “Maitê,” which means…
We find ourselves between two arrivals - the first in Jesus in Bethlehem and the second as He comes again. We stand between resurrection and restoration. That’s precisely why this season is so important; it locates our hope,…
I haven’t found a suburban light show, a boat parade light show, or the lights in a fancy mall in Los Angeles to compare the Christmas lights of Lisbon, Portugal. My home city truly rises to the occasion…
Christmas is one of those strange times you sing a lot. It’s also a time when you oddly sing words in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and all sorts of languages. A favorite, I think, is the song “O Come,…
A guy who has hung around on the outskirts of our missional community sent a message asking for gas money this week. He said he missed us, but he has been going to another local church. My gut reaction…
Good Times Have Come, So Go Tell it On the Mountain
We tell the stories that matter most to us and our world. The stories you tell at parties, over dinner, and even in small talk have two overlapping qualities: you like them and you think the people around…
I’ll never forget where I was when I first heard the news: LeBron James was coming to Los Angeles to play for our Lakers. King James was going to come! After years of trying to read between…
This Advent season has been a delight for me as we’ve walked through hope and peace. Now we turn our gaze toward joy. Our modern dictionaries define joy as a feeling of great happiness. It’s essentially pleasure plus,…
This past week, each reflection has focused on the theme of Peace and the Kingdom Jesus’ birth brings. It all seems so wonderful. The birth of the saving king, so glorious. The highest glory has come to us! When…
My favorite Christmas movie is Joyeux Noel. It tells the true story of a Christmas Day Truce in the trenches of World War I between the Germans, French, and British. The cost of World War I was a…
At heart, I’m a nostalgic sentimentalist. Growing up, It’s a Wonderful Life was not only my favorite Christmas movie but my favorite movie in general. Seriously. Almost any holiday song by Nat King Cole or Bing Crosby still fills…
We all have a complicated relationship with the Church. It’s a ruckus communion of saints. It’s for many a place of quarreling, a place of scheming, a place of power, and even for those same people, a place…
Growing up, my family spent each night of the holidays sitting beneath the glow of the Christmas tree and watching Christmas movies. We watched the original Miracle on 34th Street and the “new” Miracle on 34th Street (which…
As we at Saturate seek to commission disciple-makers of students (or anyone for that matter), we are confronted with circumstances and beliefs that seems to be stopping many from starting a new work or shifting their current ministry functions. There…
How does the king come? We know He comes to change the world. We know He was born into our world. But how does Jesus come? What is the manner, the posture, the practice of Jesus’ incarnation? Returning to…
Wherever he reigns, His thriving and flourishing will be there, too! His law is peace. On May 19, 2018, Prince Harry of England married Meghan Markle in Windsor, England. The event was marked by the usual fanfare of such…
At the center of the angel’s announcement on the first Christmas night is this phrase found in Luke 2:14; it’s what Linus quotes at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas: “Glory to God in the Highest, and peace…
Christmas can be a time of lights, trees, parties, and decadent food, but it is definitely a season of grief and sadness. For some, it’s the grief of a lost childhood; the holidays remind us of all the…
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Therefore Israel…
Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold,…
As I mentioned previously, our family always cuts down a Christmas tree. Each year, we leave a stump in the ground—something that was once growing is now dead. Stumps in Oregon are a part of life. In fact Portland…
During our family meal last week, my five-year-old son Caleb perched attentively on the arm of the padded chair in which I sat––my Bible sprawled open on the coffee table in front of us. “What does it mean for…
“Jesus came into Galilee” is offered as hope, the first hope. After centuries of silence, of struggle, and continued sin, the resignation of the people was, “No one is coming.” And yet, Jesus came into Galilee. “No-one-is-coming” is…
On a December morning in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, children and teachers were likely gearing up for a day filled with gluing cotton balls onto Santa beards when a 20-year-old man came into the school shooting and killing…
Christmas is a magical time for kids as they see the glow of lights, trees in the home, and packages accumulate. It’s also the season when we get to regularly articulate the meaning and nature of God coming…
Christmas Tree Hunting In the early days of Advent, we drive out to the Beck family farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Our only rule is it must be shorter than “Mom” so it will fit in…
Expectations for being in a DNA Group Deep discipleship and transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. Rather, deep growth occurs in the soil of trusting relationships, where we can be known and loved, challenged and encouraged. This is the purpose…
This is an excerpt from the Adult Leader's Preparation for the first lesson of Gospel Basics for Kids. Each week of Gospel Basics has reflections and readings to help the teacher prepare to engage kids on the same topic.…
Why should we teach the basics of the gospel to our kids? For no other reason than we are in a battle: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against…
Sometimes I think she understands, and I always wonder how amazed she will be when she fully comprehends the depth of the justice and righteousness Jesus brings to our lives, both here and in eternity. We are on the…
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, states: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body…
This is part two of this two-part series on deconstructed Christianity. If you haven’t read the first piece on the roots and ramifications of deconstruction, go back and do that first. The True Story Could it be that the…
Our hope is that through embracing the Bible as the True Story, followers of Jesus are given three new identities that reconstruct a flourishing faith. In the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed pipe bombs sent to prominent…
Hospitality is a practice to be cultivated for God’s glory, our good and the flourishing of others. It’s an invitation to worship the One who invites us in, feeds us, listens to us, knows us, and provides for our…
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
3rd Party Cookies
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!