Denver Community Church

October 20, 2019: What Does it Matter Anyway – Amanda Lum

“Test the spirits,” says John. And how do we do that? By observing whether they acknowledge Jesus actually came in the flesh. There is a near constant insistence from the writers of the Christian Scriptures and the Early Church that Jesus was the divine in real skin and bone as evidenced in all the early creeds. Which raises the question, “Why did (and does) Jesus being real flesh matter so much?

What’s fascinating is there are multiple answers to that question. Ultimately, it points toward the union promised us as humans, a union God longs to have with this physical world. Athanasius summed it up saying, "God has become man, so that man might become God." It points toward the reality of the deep love God has for this good, physical world. In the incarnation, God said this world is still good.

October 13, 2019: One Life – Michael Hidalgo

There really only is one life. One source that gives life and breath and everything else to everyone. But we live like this is not the case. We cut some people off, we exclude, we gather with “our” people. But the vision of Jesus was to join the life of the Divine. It’s possible, we can do this to the extent that when people join the life of DCC, they join the one life that flows in and through all people.

October 6, 2019: Hold it Like This – Michael Hidalgo

Generosity. If there is anything that seems to cause tension to rise in the minds and hearts of the faithful it is talk of giving. We can admit that giving and living generously is a good thing to do and even see it displayed in the life of Jesus. So why do we trend toward holding tightly to that we’ve been given? What if we held things loosely? Perhaps we’d discover great freedom in doing so.

September 29, 2019: As It Should Be – Michael Hidalgo

Justice is a central theme throughout the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. But what is it? In it’s simplest meaning it means that everything is as it should be. The high places are made low, and the low places made high. Everyone has one they need, and because of that there is no more war; shalom now has her way. While we long for this in our world, this is something we can pursue in our life together here and now.

September 22, 2019: It's A Matter of the Heart – Amanda Lum

There are moments in life when we feel like we have gone too far, really messed things up and maybe even moments when we are beyond forgiveness. These are the times when our “hearts condemn us …” Of course, the opposite is true too, because there are times when our “hearts do not condemn us …” Whatever we feel or think or believe in those moments there is one thing that is always true: God is bigger than our hearts.

 

This ought to fill us with confidence before God. He is not to be feared, but embraced even as he already embraces us. Armed with this confidence and held in his loving embrace, we then are free to reveal what our hearts tell us, and we can know this because of the Spirit given us.

September 15, 2019: More Than Words – Michael Hidalgo

John gets right to it: if we are to know love, then we need to live love. Words will not do. This is the most simple of all things and central to nearly all healthy religious teaching. Nearly everyone has figured out how to talk a good game – the right thing to say at the right time to the right person. However, no matter what we say, our lives and actions reveal what’s really there.

This is why John instructs his community to not to stop at just feeling something (like pity) or saying something (just words) but to move to action that puts love on display. And why does he say this? Because we witnessed love on display in Jesus, the Word, who is not found written or spoken, but in his wild love revealed in his action for us on the cross.

September 8, 2019: Fruit, Meat, and Murder – Michael Hidalgo

Cain and Abel. One a shepherd and the other a farmer. This story loomed large in the Jewish consciousness, and not just about the brothers, mind you, but about what Cain represented. His name was synonymous with murder, violence, hatred and enmity, and while we may not like to admit it, there is a little Cain in all of us. From words we speak, to thoughts we harbor, to forgiveness withheld – we are capable of hate.

While this may be true, this is not who we are, we are lovers not fighters. Because of this we may be objects of hate from others. But here is the thing, the hate directed toward us is not to be reciprocated, rather we are to love. Because the assumption throughout the text is enmity is not something the people of God participate in – our example is Jesus – who died for us when we were still against him. And it is this kind of love that reveals everything.

September 1, 2019: The One About Nature and Grace and the Divine - Michael Hidalgo

We are the Children of God, which is to say, Jesus is our brother. Not only that, but when all is revealed we will be like Jesus – children of the Divine. Is it possible we sell ourselves short by not fully embracing this identity? While this idea may make some uneasy, John insists that we fully embrace who we are as God’s kids and Jesus’ siblings.

What he is getting at is we can be by grace what God is by nature. This is same idea Peter speaks toward when he wrote about our participation in the divine nature. It’s not just that we know about God or that we know God intimately, but that we are like Christ and fully experience a union with the Divine. This is why Scripture speaks so adamantly about us being perfect, and being co-heirs with Jesus and children of God and like Christ. The presumption of the authors is we can (and will) become like Jesus.

August 25, 2019: Only One Thing is Essential? – Scott Oppliger

This verse from I John speaks of the return of Jesus, and John invites us to be ready and prepared for when Jesus comes again. What if our preparation included living each day in light of the reality that Jesus is already here, that he is already with us, that God is around us all the time?  But how do we live this way in the midst of the demands and pressures of life? And what does it mean to experience God’s presence anyway? The story of Mary and Martha’s interaction with Jesus and with each other from Luke 10 provides some fascinating perspectives on being present with the God who is already present with us. 

August 18, 2019: Get Ready - Amanda Lum

Much ink has been spilled about the return of Jesus. But here is the thing: every single bit of what’s been said is total conjecture and speculation. All of it. According to Jesus, we are not to worry about it at all, nor is it something we need to know. So why does John mention it? Because it’s not that it’s not important, but that we have focused on the wrong thing. 

John speaks of the return of Jesus as a time of “revealing” or a time when he will be “made manifest”. This revealing and manifestation speaks toward all things – who we are, what’s in our hearts, what kind of life we have chosen to live – it’s a revelation of it all. This is the insistence of John, not the times, dates, hours or order of events.