We are in our third week of stewardship!

The third core value discerned by COA leadership is that of trusting each other to value the COA community. What that means is that two people in church could have completely different music preferences, completely different ways of getting jobs done, completely different priorities for what matters in church life and still BOTH could deeply love the church and be giving their all to make it better. Sometimes we think that what matters most to us should matter most to everyone, but what is truly essential to agree upon in a congregation? And what might need to sometimes be put aside for the sake of building up the whole body of Christ? Where are we called to self-giving love that “looks to the advantage of others”? This value is one which can help all of us grow spiritually. It is not just for the benefit of COA. None of us lives this out perfectly. It is not something we have achieved, but rather something to which we aspire, with God’s help.

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This week in our stewardship sermon series, we come to our second core value discerned by our church Session; another fundamental piece of who we are as a church and that really matters to us. We treasure: building a church culture together.

That means that everyone makes a difference to how we function and how we approach our faith, our mission, and our connection to our larger community. Even when we receive new church members (which we will on October 22nd!!), we ask the congregation to make a promise regarding new folks among us: “will you embrace their gifts, their needs and their dreams? Will you recognize that their presence and participation will change the shape of this body and help it grow in new ways?“. We always answer that “yes we will”, but that is easier said than done. When people bring different ideas about what is sacred to them and what helps make God real to them, we can feel threatened or offended. But church is not meant to be a static, unchanging institution! It is meant to be a living, changing thing that constantly evolves: Reformed and always reforming!

When each of us wholeheartedly and prayerfully engages in community together, God’s Spirit is powerfully at work! We hope that by considering this value, you will be inspired to give more of what matters to this church culture and help us build it stronger together!

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This week, we begin a special sermon series for our Stewardship Season (October 1-October 22) called “Where Our Treasure Is”:

Jesus said “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. What matters most to us: in our lives and in a community of others following Jesus? How do we use our resources of money, time, and energy in service of those things that matter most? This series will focus on what COA’s Session leaders have discerned are its core values in these times. Each week, we will think about what matters most to us and how we live out what makes us who we are as a church. We hope you will be a part of it! 

This week, we think together about one of our values: WE TREASURE….GATHERING AS AN ECLECTIC, IMPERFECT PEOPLE. Christ Our Anchor heard over and over again that part of what makes us a strong community is the space we make for differences. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are enriched by multiple ages, multiple backgrounds and multiple points of view. Sometimes that means community is messy and imperfect, but it is worth it. We will consider how we might continue to live up to this value, and how it might translate into other areas of our lives.

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In this final week of this short series called “No Offense”, we consider what we do when Jesus is the one who offends us. Are there times when the Gospel shocks us or challenges us in such a way that we feel angry or defensive? Where we want to push Jesus away rather than draw closer? The Good News of God’s Grace is one which offended many people throughout the Biblical story. Sadly, more people today seem to be offended by Christians than by Christ. They are offended at the judgment and exclusivism they witness in our faith, when really, what offended people most about Jesus was how expansive and inclusive His Good News really was.

Let’s consider together where maybe we have been offended by the Gospel, but where it may invite us to more open, generous and grace-filled lives.

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This week in this brief Fall sermon series, we will turn our attention to when other people bother, annoy or offend us. Last week, we considered how to hold each other accountable when something that is done is genuinely wrong. But now we consider those people who we just plain struggle with: they are difficult for us. They get on our nerves. They push all our buttons. They bring out the worst in us. What do we do with that? Those people are always going to exist, and somehow, through it all, we are called to unity. (Excluding situations of abuse or harm), Christians especially are called to show love, even to those people who are difficult for us. How can our faith help us with this? What about when we just don’t get it right? Is there grace for us? How does God put up with all of us, and what clues does that give us as to how we can bear with each other? Let’s keep the conversation going…

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