epiphany

Today is Epiphany, a day celebrated by the ancient Church to mark the manifestation of who Christ is and what He came to do. It is historically observed on the 12th day after Christmas.

Even though we are a new church that desires to experiment with innovative and creative expressions of our faith, we will always root the future in our past. We are a small part of something Bigger. We want to orient ourselves in this larger Story and remember who we are and who we have been.

So with this in mind, we are exploring a series that flows out this season of Epiphany. Our creative, catchy title will blow you away. It's called... wait for it... wait for it... Epiphany. Crazy, I know.

Here are a few scattered thoughts from the messages so far:
Luke 2:21-40 (Jesus dedicated in the Temple)
-Epiphany means "sudden realization or manifestation of meaning."
-It is not about digging up deeply buried treasures, but about recognizing treasures that are hiding in plain sight.
-It is not about opening up new and far off frontiers, but about opening up our eyes to the truth right at our feet.
-The truth, beauty and goodness of God are begging to be discovered. Look with the wonder and awe and freshness of a child and you will experience Epiphany. Your heart will say, like Simeon in the Temple, "My eyes have seen your salvation, prepared in the sight of your people, a light for revelation..."

Matthew 2:1-18 (The visit of the wise men)
-The only thing worse than the person who has all the answers to every question is the person who will accept no answer to any question.
-Our hearts are ships at sea, sojourner souls on a quest for meaning. We encourage the journey because we have experienced a small glimpse of the destination. We honor the quest because we worship the King that waits at the end of it. We celebrate The Searching because we believe in The Finding. Epiphany is possible.