Jesus and the man blind from birth

We're spending some time thinking about the material, embodied nature of Christianity. It isn't a set of ideas, it isn't even exactly an inner attitude or a philosophy of life - important as those things are. But what is it? We'll see if looking at the story of Jesus healing the man born blind can help us dive more deeply into faith - what it is, and how to do it.

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Wells, Springs, Eternal Life

What does it mean to have a wellspring of eternal life welling up inside you? Is that how you feel? We're going to be thinking about the time Jesus shocked everyone by hanging out with a Samaritan lady at the well. Read it here
Union Club Hotel, 10/3/20 at 6:45pm

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God said Go so Abram Went

God said to Abram, go. And Abram went. Where do we find that sort of trust? Where is God sending us? And, will we have to get new names, like Abram becoming Abraham?
Tuesday 2/3/2020 at 6:45 at the Union Club Hotel

Read the text here

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The Power of the Dark Side?

Anger. Lust. Divorce. Swearing oaths. A weekend gone horribly wrong? Or was Vader right?

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Why Does God Send People To Hell If They Don't Believe

This is the next in our series of sessions inspired by Marty Sampson's excellent questions. You can find the series home page here. This session was led by Andrew, an elder at Cafechurch.

The Hell Question

Hell.

It can have a devastating impact on how people think about the character of God. People rightfully walk away from Christianity because of it. Though they don't always have to—I hope Marty doesn't.

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The Bible Is Full Of Contradictions

This is the next in our series of sessions inspired by Marty Sampson's excellent questions. You can find the series home page here. This session was led by Matt, an who is a UCA Candidate for Minister of the Word and Sacrament.

For many people who have moved out of formative experiences in conservative Christian traditions a relationship with the bible can very quickly become … complicated. Many conservative Christian traditions hold very strong views on what the bible is, and how the bible should be interpreted.

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When Christian Leaders Go Wrong

“Every human community will disappoint us, regardless of how well-intentioned or inclusive.” Nadia Bolz-Weber, Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint

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The Gospel and the Anxiety of Choice

What is the Good News in our context? There's a theory, originating from Paul Tillich, that the basic problem for Christians of the Classical Age was the anxiety of death and fate, to which the answer was Christus Victor, leading captivity captive. For medieval and early modern people it was the anxiety of guilt and judgement, powerfully expressed by Luther in his quest for a gracious God. But what is the specific issue of our time and place? Is it meaninglessness? Or is it anxiety?

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The Resurrection and the Meaningless Universe

What is the fundamental problem – the underlying anxiety – facing humanity in contemporary culture? That’s the question the church needs to ask, in order to see how the Resurrection of Jesus speaks deeply to us. Following J D Hall (especially in The Cross in Our Context), in this session argues that the fundamental problem confronting our culture is not the anxiety of guilt and shame so powerfully addressed by salvation theories that revolve around substitution. He argues that the real issue in our world is:

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