Denver Community Church

February 3, 2013: Out of Control – Dave Meserve

God will do what God will do … which raises the question, does it matter what I do?

January 27, 2013: This Is Killing Me – Michael Hidalgo

There is one thing that most people do not like to speak about. It will happen to everyone and there is no way we can know when. More than this – no one really knows what happens when we die. We can speculate, but we can never, ever really know for sure until … we die. There is a looming hopelessness with this; so we ignore it. For those who dwell on it they are thought to be macabre and dark. So how should we as the people of God consider death? Sure we know that God has defeated sin and death, but it is still here and still persistent … all the time.

January 13, 2013: There's Only One Place to Go at the Top - Down – Michael Hidalgo

We strive, we toil, we achieve and we can end up on top. Which is not always good, because there is only one place to go from there … down. No matter how much we see this and experience this it is always the same, but we never stop the pursuit of success. We somehow believe we are the exception to the rule. 

Perhaps the best thing we can understand is why we are so driven to succeed. Who are we trying to impress? Who are we trying to win over? Why do we care so much about what people think? What if we did not have to succeed, but could spend our time pursuing an understanding of the fact that we are loved?

January 6, 2013: Together Apart – Michael Hidalgo

Relationships in general have fallen on hard time … more people than ever live splintered and disconnected. However, the desire for connection has remained the same since the dawn of time. The greatest desire of every person who has ever lived is to be desired. This is what we want, but too often it seems impossible to get there. 

So the question becomes, can we find this again? The good news is yes. The bad new is it means that it starts with you. What are you willing to do so that you can reach out to others? If two are better than one, then is it possible our greatest weakness is that we are alone?

December 30, 2012: The Adventure of You – Scott Oppliger

December 23, 2012: What Can We Know About the Future – Michael Hidalgo

There was a moment in time when things started. A moment when everything that was not suddenly was. The writer of Genesis explains this time as “the beginning.” Even scientists agree that there was a time when everything was like this. They can’t explain why, but there was a time when everything was in order. 

Then everything fell apart and it keeps falling apart. It is called Entropy. Things are spiraling out of control, and in a mysterious way this unraveling is pulling time forward with it. Order is giving way to chaos. Then, once again, there was a moment. John called it “the beginning.” Even though that time happened then – it is still happening now. We call it the incarnation. The moment when God became one of us. This is what we celebrate – all the time.

December 16, 2012: Hurry Up and Wait – Dave Neuhausel

When it comes to most Christmas songs there is a sense in which they speak in sentimental fashion about Jesus, the baby, the shepherds, the angels and of course the manger. That has its place … but what was Christmas really about?

Perhaps we can hear it in the song of Mary. Her longing for liberation. She understood the present state of Israel and the need for liberation. Her heart longed for God to save his people. When the birth of Jesus was announced that future hope became a present reality. This is where we are now. Still waiting. Advent reminds us of where we are and where we are going. This is why it’s all about hope. 

December 9, 2012: The Past Informs the Present – Michael Hidalgo

When we think about little baby Jesus there is a temptation to think of a cute little baby, and sing about him in a way that is about all the cuddly, swaddling clothes he was wrapped in. This is reflected in nearly all Christmas hymns. They are sentimental and vanilla enough to evoke the spirit of Christmas – but not the underpinnings of Advent. 

Advent is a time of longing, hope and desperation. This is why Advent hymns reflect on the prophets and the story of Israel. They reflect a deep thirst to see God’s justice and rule and reign be a present reality in our world today. Unless we look back from the manger we will never see what Christmas meant on that day Jesus was born. Too often we are caught standing in our world and looking back at the manger. 

December 2, 2012: The Rhythm of the Season – Michael Hidalgo

When the people of Israel were learning to live as free men and women. God told them to set aside times for festivals. Why? Because if we just go about our days – day after day after day after day – and our weeks – week after week after week – and our years – you get it. But what happens when there are times that cause us to stop. Times that break up the constant flow of time and give us rhythm. 

The answer? Those times remind us that we are human. Woven into the very fabric of our biological existence is a rhythm. A heartbeat. A breath. It’s there. This is why we connect to rhythm naturally. Rhythm is human. Advent reminds us of the time when God became human. He came and made our rhythm make sense.

November 25, 2012: The Power of Powerlessness – Jon Gettings