Denver Community Church

September 20, 2009: Ancient, Present, Future – Michael Hidalgo

Catholic, Protestant, First, Second, Third Baptist, Emergent, Reformed, Neo-Reformed, and the list could go on. All of these tags are ways we find ourselves describing the church. 

Some churches however want to be known by what they are not. We have our list of things that make us distinctive. Our lists draw boundaries separating local congregations from others. Over the last five hundred years, the Church has chosen to embrace these divisions rather than celebrating who we are both in our past and in our present.

We have bought into rugged individualism. As individuals, we believe our experience within the church is private, and does not need to include others. The attitude of the individual is indicative of the attitude of the whole. We remain separate from one another and live out an individual faith that is particular to each person. Living this way makes it difficult to believe that all Christians share the same heritage.

For a Baptist to hear that a Catholic has the same historical roots would be like meeting a guy you have never seen who tells you that he is your brother. That would complicate the world we have come to know and presently live in. We could only make sense of a new brother by learning where he is from and telling him where we are from. The role of tradition is to tell us where we are from.

September 13, 2009: All of You and All of Me – Michael Hidalgo

The good news of Jesus announces redemption for all parts of life. We experience redemption in our relationships with God, self, one another, and the earth. We understand that our mind, body and soul are intertwined. We will live out the continual transformation and wholeness that we have been given by the free gift of Jesus.

Jesus heals people spiritually and physically. Which is interesting. Because if our “problem” as human beings is only about our spiritual condition then why does Jesus take time to heal those who are lame, blind, and raise people from the dead? It seems that Jesus was about bringing all parts of us back to the way things should be. 

It is not just about our own salvation and getting out of here. This is what the Gnostics taught. It is about reclaiming all of creation – the spiritual and the physical. 

September 6, 2009: A Living Eucharist – Michael Hidalgo

We speak about the church a lot. But what is the church? So often we speak of things that have meaning, but we cannot really articulate exactly what it is. For the next four weeks we will explore who the Church is … because the church is not a what it is a who … for the Church are God’s people who live in the world as a part of his movement. 

And that is what the Church is. It is a movement of men, women, and children throughout the world who are living out the mission of Jesus in their context. It is a group of people storming the gates of hell and reversing the curse from Eden. 

August 30, 2009: Deeper Desire – Michael Hidalgo

The grass is always greener … Whether it is a car, a boat, a body type, a group of friends. We can always think of something that if “we just had that” we would be happier. When we build our lives on temporary things we deny the eternal beings that we are.

We must be people who pursue the eternal things, for only the eternal can fulfill our needs for we are people who are eternal. Let’s move away from materialism, and move toward true spirituality. This is the life to which God is calling us.

August 16, 2009: You Shall Not Give False Testimony – Michael Hidalgo

The idea of being people who represent the Truth is carried through dramatically in this command. Jesus says of himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life … When we speak or act in way that do not represent the truth, then we cease being like Jesus. 

What does it look like for us to be people who continually speak the truth?  What does it look like for us to be people who live out truth in our everyday lives? When Jesus said, I am the truth, he was speaking about much more than a series of facts, he was speaking about a way of living. 

August 9, 2009: Giving What is Not Yours – Michael Hidalgo

So often stealing is simply “taking what is not yours.” However, Malachi tells us that it is more than that. Malachi says … Will you rob God? The people are stealing by not giving. Stealing is also not giving what is God’s. If the essence of stealing is getting things, then we need to live opposite … that is we need to give. 

James tells us that all good things come from God. If this is the case, then whenever we take something that is not ours, whenever we steal, we are actually attempting to undo what God is His good favor has chosen to give. Stealing is the most overt way we tell God that we do not like what he has provided for us.

August 2, 2009: You Shall Not Commit Adultery – Michael Hidalgo

The first God ordained institution is marriage. Marriage is a picture of the eternal, and is the vehicle to the mystical union of which Paul speaks. The bond of marriage is one that is so powerful that God chooses to use this as a metaphor for his relationship with his people. This picture occurs at Sinai, at the Last Supper, and ultimately is the consummation of the coming Kingdom. When men and women distort this picture we are altering the picture that God himself has given to us to describe who he is.

July 26, 2009: It Is All the Same – Michael Hidalgo

The sixth word deals with how we ought to view all human life. Once we recognize the starting point of all human relationships, we can grasp the beauty and value of life itself. This command heightens the value of human life. We are reminded of Jesus’ words in his teaching in Matthew when he equates anger with one’s brother with murder. The implications of the sanctity of all life are amazing and implicit in this command.

July 19, 2009: Those Before and Those After – Michael Hidalgo

The fifth word transitions from the relationship of men and women to God toward the relationship we should have with our fellow human. It begins with the basis of all such relationships … the parent / child relationship. This relationship is the first relationship that a person experiences upon birth. This parent / child relationship is directly connected to the life and health of the larger community. This is the foundation from which we build into our relationships with other men and women. 

July 12, 2009: Take It Easy – Brian Gray

The Sabbath was not original with Israel. Many civilizations observed a day of rest in their weekly calendar. God however commanded that His people do this because he created rest on the seventh day of creation. God created rest for men and women so that we could reflect, remember, and stop. Today we are moving toward that rest. What does it mean for us to be people who take a breath? Who can “relax” and recognize where the blessings in our lives come from?