City Of Light Anglican Churchaurora, Illinois

Jesus is with us in our darkest times. As Psalm 77 describe the disorienting reality of depression in all of its forms. It also orients us to the reality of who God is. Though we experience the crushing waters of destruction, God promises to bring us through Jesus into the cleansing waters of baptism.

In the Psalms we find our words. We find a voice to bring the true experiences and sufferings we are living to the true and living God. And in the Psalms we find ourselves in God's word. We don't hide ourselves from God; we hide ourselves in him. We don't fit him into our experiences and pain; we fit ourselves in him. We find in the Psalms a pathway of Prayer because in Jesus, he has once again made the prayers of people the prayers of God. As Jesus hangs on the cross, he prays the Psalms and finds in the Psalms words for his own suffering— Why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22). And in the Psalms he finds himself safe in God—Into your hands I commend my spirit (Psalm 31).

At the heart of our lives and of the universe is this truth—God is love. Love requires a subject and an object, and God in his relationship with Godself is both the lover and the beloved. He invites us into the fullness of his love, to both be loved and to love.

As we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrate God pouring out his never ending love for us, pouring out his presence in the Holy Spirit, and pouring out his church for the world. God has poured himself into us so that we can pour ourselves out for others.

Jesus ascends to heaven as king so that we can be with him in heaven and he can be with us on earth until the kingdom of heaven fully comes and heals the kingdom of earth. Because Jesus is king, we have a kingdom family, a kingdom inheritance, and a kingdom mission.

We were made to find a home in God but so often choose to wander away from that home. In John 15, Jesus invites us to make our home in him and remain in his love by being branches connected to the vine, by being obedient to God's Word and his leading, and by bearing fruit.

Jesus says "I am the way," not as an exclusive claim, but as an inclusive invitation into a relationship with his Father. God wants to bring all of his kids into his house, so he sends his first-born Son to make a way. There Is a Place for Us with the Father. Jesus Provides for Us the Way to the Father Jesus Empowers Us to Do the Works of the Father What would it look like if we were so filled with the love of the Father that we were a church who did the works of the Father? John 14:1-14

We all have experiences of being unshepherded — when the person who is supposed to be responsible for guiding and protecting us doesn't show up emotionally, spiritually, or physically. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” He wants to teach us that life in him is a shepherded life, that submitting to him doesn't mean we give up freedom, but that we gain it, that it is good to be shepherded by a good shepherd. He teaches us to listen to the shepherd's voice, be defended and disciplined by the shepherd's staff, led in the shepherd's way to the gate, and a part of the shepherd's flock.

We don't have to live a life of disappointment because we live a life with with Jesus, where he draws near to us through his Word and Table. When we gather on Sundays, we encounter Christ himself and learn to live out a liturgy of knowing Jesus during the week.

The life of faith is believing that we can share in the life of Jesus. God became human to reunite us to God so that we can have our life in him and he in us. The life of faith is not about how well we perform or what we think or experience; the life of faith is about our lives being shaped by God's life.

In the midst of the hard moments marked by death, Jesus brings us life. Because he is alive, we can have life. Because he gave his life for us, so that we can give our lives to him. He can live his life in us and we can live our lives in him.

On the cross, Jesus is victorious in the battle with sin, death, and the devil and he shares his victory with all who have been united in his death. We are no longer slaves to sin. We no longer have to fear death. We no longer are held captive by the devil. There is nothing more powerful in this world or the world to come than the cross of Jesus.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus announces that he is the king. He challenges the authority of Rome and of the Jewish religious leaders and he challenges us. We need saved from our sins and he comes to cleanse and heal us through his cross.

Here on the threshold of Holy Week, the church gives us the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead to remind us that we need to be raised from the dead, but especially to see Jesus and a preview of his passion. As Jesus is moved and weeps with his friends and calls Lazarus out of death, we see that Jesus loves us, hates what hurts us, and will fight for us.

God's power is for those who are powerless and know it. The story of Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings 17 teaches us to ask where in our lives we are a widow and how the Word of God sustains us. God moves us to places of powerlessness, where we experience his power while in his presence.

In Lent, we are reminded that we are a thirsty people that need the grace of Jesus. Jesus shows grace to the Samaritan woman at the well by challenging our mindsets and breaking boundaries, satisfying our deepest longings for living water, and propelling us into a life of mission. Jesus became thirsty so that we can become satisfied.

Jesus invites us to receive the kingdom of heaven by being born from above—by being born of water and the Spirit.

In the wilderness, we trust the Lord to provide for our physical and spiritual hunger. Jesus becomes both the Word of the Lord that we live by and the Bread of heaven that we eat. He sets a feast before us in the midst of the wilderness.

On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of our need of Jesus and that God's grace is stronger than all our sin. Through confession to the Lord, confession as a people, and confession one to another, we receive the forgiveness and love of the Lord. In vulnerability, we are known and loved by God.

As we transition from the season of Epiphany to Lent, the Church gives us the story of Jesus' transfiguration to invite us to take up our cross and follow him. We aren't ready to see Jesus and need to turn our eyes toward him by turning away from disobedience and distractions.