Overview
God wants us to live our lives from the center . . . to be centered . . . rooted . . . whole.
Think about a circle. All circles have centers and circumferences. The center is the deepest place from within the circle and the same distance to everything else. The circumference is the shallower and showier edge.
Our lives are like circles, and God desires for us to live out of our center. This is the place we feel welcomed, loved, and whole. It is the place we feel forgiven. But it’s also the place where we’re most honest and most vulnerable about ourselves.
The circumference is easier. This is a much showier and shallower life that receives tremendous praise and blame from others. We don’t have to be honest about ourselves out here. We just have to be free to receive what the world brings. Our tendency is to live on the circumference, but this is a spiritual trap.
We are all circumference people. We substitute spiritual for superficial. We want quick and easy before we get challenging and thought-provoking.
And I think deep down you know what I am talking about when I say living a life on the circumference. It’s the furthest point from the center while still being in the circle. It is calling yourself a Christian and changing nothing about your ordinary life.
But this can change if we learn to turn from the circumference and start moving toward our center. This turning is an inward journey to our soul or repentance where we feel more unified with God because low and behold that is where God resides, at the center.
But a word of caution: You don’t choose your center. All you can do is repent – turn from your circumference and start heading towards the center. The Spirit of God will let you know when you have arrived. Your soul will know it, but it finally feels whole.
Join us for worship this Lenten season as we center ourselves into the love and presence of God.
March 6 | Luke 4:1-13 | Centering from Sin
Jesus is tempted in the wilderness by Satan. How he confronts his temptations is a Masterclass in centering ourselves. We have a lot to learn from Jesus here.
March 13 | Luke 15:1-3,11b-32 | Centering Case Study
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is the Best Case Study in the Bible for comparing living from the center vs. the circumference and then returning from the circumference to live in the center. So much about life and feeling the depth and pain of the human struggle is on full display in this parable. It is no wonder it stands as perhaps the most significant parable in all the Bible. It still has so much to teach us.
March 27 | Luke 13:31-35 | Centering from Others
Others are looking to trap and kill Jesus. But Jesus rightly demonstrates how we can live out of the center of our lives and not be swayed by what others say or think of us. It may be easy for Jesus, but it’s not for us. We have a lot to learn in centering ourselves from others.
April 3 | John 12:1-8 | Mary’s Centering Prayer
Mary anoints Jesus’ feet. She declares in this act that his death will have purpose and meaning. The whole story is like a centering prayer for us to reflect on the power and majesty of Christ’s death. There is so much in this story that still matters today.
April 10 | Luke 19:29-40 | Centering as Preparation
The story of Jesus processing into Jerusalem is one that we know well and hear every year on Palm Sunday. But did you know there was another processing in Jerusalem arriving at the same time? As we begin Holy Week, we take a look at how these two processions are different and ask “which procession do you find yourself in?”.
April 17 | John 20: 1-19 | Centered on Resurrection
In the midst of her grief, Mary goes to the tomb searching for Jesus. It isn’t until Jesus says her name that she realizes the person she thinks is the gardener is Jesus. Suddenly her grief is turned into celebration as she is empowered to be the first person to share the news of the resurrection. In this final sermon of our “Centered” series, we discover how we can center ourselves on the resurrection and be carriers of the Good News that Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed.”