Denver Community Church

January 5, 2014: Scattered About – Scott Oppliger

January 5, 2014: Bearing Witness – Michael Hidalgo

Has is ever occurred to you to ask the question why God has chosen, since the dawn of time, to reveal himself to this world through people like you and me? Has it ever occurred to you to consider that God’s greatest revelation was through the person of Jesus – one who was flesh and blood? If it has occurred to you, have you ever stopped to wonder, why?

Perhaps it’s because God has wanted all people to know from the earliest times that he is one who is not an unmoved mover who stands at a distance. But one who is close. One who is here. We just finished Christmas – celebrating the time of God being here. Immanuel. This is what God has always wanted us to know. He has chosen to use a us, his body, to show the world that he is near.

December 29, 2013: Life In the In Between – Landon Lynch

December 22, 2013: Advent Week Four: Love – Michael Hidalgo

The 13^th Century mystic Marguerite Porete once wrote, “’I am God,’ says Love.” For God is love. And this is exactly what we see displayed in the person and birth of Jesus. A God who is love. How do we know? Because of what this God has done, is doing and will do for us. Which means that love is not just a noun. It is a verb. Love is something that we do as much as it is the essence of a loving God.

The love spoken of in the Scriptures is a practice, a way of living toward others, that one chooses. We see this when we understand that we are commanded to “love their neighbor” and it is always in the context of vengeance, grudges, and division. Not a very romantic setting in which to speak of love. But it does bear the reality of it. We choose to love. And love is not a disposition as much as it is a practice, a way one chooses to live toward another.

December 15, 2013: Advent Week Three: Joy – Michael Hidalgo

In the songs of Zechariah, Mary and the angels there words like “glorify” and “praise” and “glory” are all used to express the sheer joy at seeing the coming of Jesus.  They expressed joy (which is the Greek word chairo) because they had joy (which is the Greek word chara) because God showed them grace (which is the Greek word charis) in sending his son Jesus to be with us. 

And this is the basis of joy – grace. All from the same root. Grace, it is said, “is that which delights” or “that which causes joy” … grace herself is a “joyous being.” And so we come, to a baby in a manger, the Savior of the world. A symbol of grace, which brings us joy.

December 8, 2013: Advent Week Two: Peace – Dave Neuhausel

Peace is far more than the absence of conflict. It speaks to being whole. It speaks toward things being put together the way they were always supposed to be. This is the essence of peace, of shalom. But is this even possible? How many of us feel frayed, worn out, broken? 

Christmas is a time when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. The one who would come to not only eradicate conflict, but to bring the wholeness back to this earth and to the hearts of those on whom his favor rests.

December 1, 2013: Advent Week One: Hope – Michael Hidalgo

Hope may be an elusive thing, and can often give way to the opposite of it, which is despair. This is why we need to be reminded: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper and I will not be afraid.’” This is the place hope grows from; God as source.

 

But sometimes, even those words don’t work. We can say them, but we still find it difficult to, at times to believe them. But hope doesn’t just come from these words – it can also come through people, because sometimes, the best we can do is to borrow hope from someone else. This is the foundational story of Christmas. Those who were there were longing for redemption, restoration and salvation. But the future was bleak. So what did God do? He came as a person. As one who could lend hope to others.

November 24, 2013: Walking Dead – Nick Elio

One of the most mysterious – and even bizarre – stories in the book of Acts is the one in which Ananias and Sapphira are both struck down dead for holding back some money. The story rings with familiarity however. In Joshua 7, we are told that “the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things …” The word for “unfaithful” in the Greek translation of the OT (which would have been the translation Luke understood) is a rare word – enosphisanto. From the root, nosphizō which means “to embezzle.”

This is what Ananias and Sapphira did, and then proceeded to lie about the whole thing. This prompted Peter remind them they lied to the Spirit – for it was the Spirit that gave life to the church. With this they then died. One piece in this is crucial. Satan had filled the heart of Ananias. With all of the talk about the Spirit – who gives life – filling people it’s no wonder that when one is filled by the power of darkness, their death would be imminent. 

November 17, 2013: It Could Change Everything – Scott Oppliger

One of the central aspects that we see in the church is giving. Last week we dwelled on supporting each other – but what does it mean to “give to the church.” What does it look like to be those who give generously, from a cheerful heart? If sharing, possessing and giving were part of the early church, then how should it continue to define us?

Are their rules for giving? How much? How often? All of these questions are easily answered. The greater struggle for us is to recognize that giving is a central part in the life of a Jesus follower. Perhaps it’s best to think together about what may cause us not to give at all.

November 10, 2013: Little Raccoon Learns to Share – Michael Hidalgo

The way Luke describes this is a subtle reference to Deuteronomy 15. He writes, “there were no needy persons among them …” This was the vision that God had for his people when he told them, “there need be no poor people among you …” This came from an ethic of people giving as their was need. For those who could not feed themselves, food was provided.

This is the picture of the first church. It changed the way they lived, thought, and spent their hard earned cash. In fact, of all the ways Luke could describe their life, he chose to point to the aspect of giving, sharing and generosity. Which raises the question: how should we care for each other financially today?