#advent 2b

Photo by Jim Wilson on Unsplash John the Baptist is challenging to us because we need to change. Love and the coming of ChristAdvent 2A  |  Matthew 3:1-12 drewdowns · Becoming Prophetic (Advent 2A) This story probably sounds strange. John’s appearing in the wilderness, shouting, dressed weird, eating weird stuff. He doesn’t sound normal. But this is what first Century prophets look and act…

Repentance: the radical heart of an unconventional faith

In preaching repentance, John reveals the surprising truth about the mission of Jesus. That we are first called to admit that we were wrong.

Advent 2B  |  Mark 1:1-8

Reading the opening verses of Mark, we’re often struck by what’s not there.

There’s no Mary and Joseph. No trip to Bethlehem, to David’s city.

We hear no angels and see no shepherds. We spy no expectant parents and their flight into…

Duke graduate, Enuma Okoro, says, “Openness to God demands our growing acceptance that we cannot create blueprints for our own lives.”

Blueprints shape our self-story; a story we mistake as eternal, one to which we cling for security and meaning, one we craft to suit us. As 1st century Jewish identity was grounded in the Temple, often, our identity story is grounded in “us.”

Sunday Advent 1 tells…