May 15

It Is Not About the Power

Philippians 2:1–13

Ascension Sunday often gets misunderstood as the moment Jesus “takes power” in some triumphant, king‑of‑the‑mountain way. But Philippians 2 tells a very different story. Christ is exalted not because he grasped for greatness, but because he let it go. His glory rises from humility, not dominance.

Paul reminds us that Jesus “did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped” but instead “emptied himself” and took “the form of a servant”.  In a world where power is usually something to seize, protect, or defend, Jesus shows us a different way. He bends low. He listens. He serves. He loves without self‑protection. And therefore—because of this humility—God lifts him up.

Ascension, then, is not about Jesus escaping the world or claiming a throne of domination. It is God revealing that self‑giving love is the true shape of divine power. The One who kneels to wash feet is the One God exalts above every name. The One who refuses to coerce becomes the One before whom every knee bends—not out of fear, but recognition.

This matters for us. Paul begins the passage by urging the church to be “of the same mind,” to look to the interests of others, to live with the same humility that shaped Christ’s life. Ascension is not just a doctrine to believe; it is a pattern to embody. We follow a Lord who reigns through compassion, not control.

In a culture obsessed with winning, Jesus invites us into a different kind of strength—the strength that lifts others up. The strength that trusts God to do the exalting. The strength that knows the deepest power is always love.

It is not about the power.
It is about the One who uses power to heal.

Pastor Greg

May 06

Finding the God Who Is Not Far from Any of Us

Acts 17:27

In Acts 17, Paul stands in the middle of Athens—a city buzzing with ideas, arguments, idols, and endless searching. It’s a world that looks a lot like ours: noisy, distracted, always chasing the next new thing.

But Paul doesn’t shame the Athenians for their restlessness. He sees their longing. He notices their altar “to an unknown god,” and he names it for what it is: a sign of people reaching for something real.

Then he offers this beautiful promise:
“God is not far from each one of us.”

That’s good news for anyone who feels overwhelmed, spiritually scattered, or unsure where God fits into daily life. It means God meets us right where we are — in our questions, our searching, even in our scrolling.

You don’t have to climb a mountain or get your life perfectly together to find God.
You just have to pause long enough to notice the One who has already drawn near.

This week, may you discover again that the God who shaped the heavens is also close to your heart, your breath, your everyday life.

You are not far from God — and God is not far from you.

Pastor Greg

Apr 23

Resurrection Leads Us Into the Prisons of This World

Easter is not just a season of lilies and alleluias. It is a vocation—a way of living that follows the Risen Christ into the places where people are still bound. Acts 16 reminds us that resurrection hope does not float above the world’s pain; it walks straight into it.

Paul and Silas do not set out looking for trouble. They simply follow the Spirit. And the Spirit leads them to a young enslaved girl whose life has been reduced to profit for others. Her liberation costs them their freedom. Their faithfulness lands them in a prison cell, feet in chains, backs still bleeding. Yet even there, they sing. Their praise shakes the foundations.

Resurrection does that. It unsettles what is unjust. It exposes the chains we have learned to ignore. It calls us to stand with those who are exploited, silenced, or afraid—even when it is costly, even when it leads us into the world’s locked rooms.

And then something holy happens. The jailer—the very one tasked with keeping them confined—discovers his own freedom. The prisoners stay. Compassion rises. Wounds are washed. A household awakens to joy.

This is the vocation of resurrection:
to enter the prisons of suffering with courage,
to sing hope in the dark,
to stand with the bound until all are free,
and to trust that God is still shaking foundations.

Christ is risen—and so we rise, too, into the work of liberation.

Let us listen to the voice of the Resurrected Christ!

Pastor Greg

Apr 07

Two Conversions for an Open and Affirming Church

Acts 9 tells the dramatic story of Saul’s conversion, but tucked inside it is a second, quieter transformation—one just as essential for an Open and Affirming church.

Saul’s conversion is obvious. He is stopped in his tracks, confronted by the Christ he has been persecuting, and led into a new way of seeing. His blindness becomes a doorway into humility, vulnerability, and change. Saul reminds us that God can upend even our most certain convictions and lead us toward a wider, more generous truth.

But Ananias undergoes a conversion too. When God sends him to welcome Saul, he resists—naming the harm Saul has done. Still, he goes. He lays hands on the man he fears and calls him “Brother.” Ananias models the courage every ONA church needs: the willingness to trust that God is already at work in those we misunderstand, fear, or have been taught to exclude.

An Open and Affirming church lives at the intersection of these two conversions—Saul’s openness to being changed, and Ananias’s openness to welcoming the one who is changing. Together they form the heart of our calling: to be transformed, and to be transforming, in love.

Pastor Greg