Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulty or the ability of a substance to spring back into shape. It can also mean toughness. This was a trait of the Greatest Generation who lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Great Depression, and the Second World War. This week, we looked at what the Bible says about resilience and how we can cultivate that in our lives today.   You can watch this sermon through the YouTube livestream button

In light of recent events in our nation’s capitol, it’s interesting to contrast King Herod’s ways of fueling fear, causing division, inciting coercion, and spewing deceit with God’s ways of casting out fear, promoting unity, truth telling, and calling us to love our enemies. There is a better way folks...it’s been right before us all along. The way of Jesus!   You can watch this sermon through the

It’s amazing sometimes how Christian folklore can take on a mind of its own.  Take the Three Kings from our traditional manger scenes for example.  Well, they were not kings at all, but Magi or royal Babylonian astrologers who were also schooled in the Hebrew scriptures.  A strange occurrence in the sky had indicated to them that a new king had been born which matched what they knew through the Hebrew Prophets.  So, they persi

I am so done with 2020!  What began with so much promise and hope, brought us so much loss and despair.  None of us could have ever imagined this time last year that our world would have endured what we have.  2021 can only get better.  Right? But as I look back over 2020, there are several silver linings that I will cherish.  The hard work of our worship and technology teams who lovingly prepared weekly online

One of my favorite events at Cascades is our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.  There is truly no greater joy than to be with our church family, celebrating the birth of Jesus our Savior, and prayerfully singing Silent Night by candlelight. It’s magical!  But this year because of COVID, things will be a little bit different.  Each of us will need to take necessary precautions to keep ourselves safe by wearing masks, maintainin

As a young woman, 13 or 14 years old, being pregnant and unmarried was a less than ideal situation for Mary.  And yet that is exactly the scenario into which Jesus, the Messiah, was born.  Her older cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant, is downright giddy upon Mary’s arrival at her house.  So, Mary in turn chooses joy in facing the future.    You can now watch last week's entire live streamed service by

Advent is a time when we are called to face the truth that often we as God’s people don’t live the fullness of life that Jesus offers us. We are called to repent, turn 180 degrees, and begin walking in a whole new direction. This Sunday we explore the idea that those who dream prepare the way for us to walk in the light of God’s love and peace.  You can now watch last week's entire service by clicking on 

The Black Lives Matter movement introduced us to the idea of being WOKE referring to the perceived awareness of social and racial justice.  Being WOKE requires us to keep our eyes open to the reality around us and to pay attention when disparities exist between how one race is treated differently than another.   During Advent as Christians, we too are called to be WOKE…to be aware when our dreams don’t match up

Imagine how much different our country would be today if we operated out of a spirit of love instead of a spirit of fear.  1 John 4:16,18 tells us that "God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them…There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear.” Jesus calls us to be a people who not only believe this but live it as well. Whether we are talking about the corona

The process of watching a caterpillar transform into a butterfly isn’t pretty but it’s still miraculous. It takes one small step at a time, weaving a cocoon around itself until it looks nothing like it did before...And then voila...one day out pops a beautiful new creation. I wonder if our nation is going through the birth pains of a similar transformation. Our hope is that God who began a good work in us is still at work and will complete it...in Hi