Missio Dei: Phoenix

For Easter Sunday 2024 we gathered together with two other congregations to share in the joy and celebration of the newness of life, only because of the resurrection of Jesus. The tomb is empty. He is risen. He is risen indeed.

What is your life built upon? What is at the foundation of all you do and how you view the world? Can it withstand the storms and waves that life will inevitably throw at it?Jesus offers an invitation to come and build your life on a solid foundation that can weather any storm.

You've got something in your eye.Pointing the finger at another's fault or shortcoming comes naturally to us. It was the first response of the first man and woman when God approached them in the garden after their rebellion. 'It was the woman'. 'No, it was the serpent'. Jesus has some wisdom for us when it comes to pointing fingers.

You’ve heard the phrase “Love your neighbor”, but was Jesus really serious when he said we are to love our enemies? This countercultural and counterintuitive way of Jesus is not only exemplified in his life and death, but it is also an expectation on those who would call themselves his followers. But how can we do this?

Each week over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.Read. Listen. Reflect.This week we focus on Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful…”Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes

Ever broken a promise? Ever had someone break a promise to you? Jesus seemed to think this was a pretty big deal. But why did it matter enough to put up there alongside murder, sex, and the tearing apart of households? Could it really be that any time we are not true to our word that is ‘from the evil one’? How can we even have hope of being more honest, reliable, and faithful with our words?

Each week over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.Read. Listen. Reflect.This week we focus on Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes

Murder. Sex. Adultery. Divorce. Jesus wasn’t afraid to talk about the heavy stuff.But where the religious leaders thought they had these things all figured out, Jesus seemingly takes it a step further and makes it even harder to be right with the Law. When it came to obeying the Law, Jesus seemed to agree with what they all should’ve already seen through the Old Testament Scriptures, God looks at the heart.

Each week over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.Read. Listen. Reflect.This week we focus on Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the humble…”Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes

Jesus said he had come not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill it. But what exactly does that mean? Has he fulfilled it? And if so, how? And what exactly would his listeners have interpreted as 'the Law and the Prophets' to mean?

Each week over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.Read. Listen. Reflect.This week we focus on Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn…”Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes

What does it mean for Jesus to call us the salt of the earth and light of the world? How do we reconcile this with Jesus also claiming that he is the Light of the world?

Jesus began his sermon on the mount with the words, “Blessed are…”He went on to make several outrageous claims as to who is blessed. What does it mean to be blessed and how can we make the list of people who are? Is this a checklist to attain? We explore the beginning of the famous Sermon on the Mount by examining the good life Jesus came to offer those in need.

Each Wednesday over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.Read. Listen. Reflect.This first week we focus on Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes

Jesus said those who become like children get to enter the Kingdom of God. Why are children so important? What does it mean to become like them? What can we learn from the nature of children, but perhaps more importantly, the social status of children in Jesus’ time?

Jesus’ first message was that of John, the baptizer: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What did Jesus mean by this? Who was this message for? How was Jesus bringing the kingdom into the broken world?

Jesus, the fullness of the God of the universe, fully immersed himself into the identity and life of humanity — so that humans could have the possibility of being fully immersed into the identity of being children of God. It is his immersion into our world and his invitation for us to be immersed into his identity that we find true life, fulfillment, fullness, and restoration of who we were meant to be.

John was a voice in the wilderness crying out and calling people out of the kingdom of the world and into a new kingdom. He was sent to prepare people to turn away from one way of living and turn toward the ways of Jesus and his kingdom. That invitation is still being called out today.

When Jesus arrives, the God of the universe become human, he is met with poverty, wandering, oppression, violence, rejection, and suffering. This Christmas season we recognize that not all is as it should be, yet we have much to celebrate because we have a God who has come to be in it with us. And this baby Jesus, grew into a man who loved, served, and healed — and ultimately gave his life over to death so that he could conquer it with resurrection. This is the greatest gift we have been given.

What made a group of magi travel far from the east to come and pay respect to a newborn king of the Jews? How were they able to find him? And once they got there and found the current king wanted him dead, what led them to believe this baby born to a poor family in a little town was actually who they thought he was?The story of the wise men is full of mystery... and may make you rethink how you set up your nativity figures on the fireplace mantle.