Advent Archives - Common Thread Church

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An Advent lesson. The post Where the Hell Are We Going? (1) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Last week we spoke about how we forgive ourselves. Turns out, if we figure out how to do that, it really helps us forgive others. The post Forgiving Others appeared first on Common Thread Church.

That’s the most frequent question that has come in on menti.com during this lesson. The post How Do We Forgive Ourselves? appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Revenge is hard-wired in our brains to protect us from future harm. But it’s really bad at the job! It’s a cure that’s even worse than the disease. There are other tools that are really effective. They’re just counter intuitive. The post Turn the Other Cheek? C’mon! Seriously? appeared first on Common Thread Church.

In hyper-polarized times it is difficult to access our best selves. How do we find forgiveness for those who bother us, who hurt us? Well, counter-intuitively, revenge serves an important function. The post Revenge Matters (For Forgiveness) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

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Step out in nature, and we gain a perspective that brings peace. Here’s a self-care practice to carry us through this Advent season.   The post Finding Peace … Through Nature’s Nurture appeared first on Common Thread Church.

When bad things happen, the story we tell ourselves will determine whether hope is stirred or stymied. Hope lives when we see setbacks as temporary and one time events. Our tradition gives us tools to hold on to hope, particularly in the darkest of times.   The post Universally Permanent Ways to Kill Hope (what NOT to do) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

The Industrial Revolution and subsequent urbanization and mechanization of society increased the scale within which we all live, work, and play. As our world has gotten bigger, our sense of agency has shrunk. When we tell ourselves the story that we can’t make a difference, we don’t. Jesus told a different story. He told us to be like yeast, like salt.   The post Don’t Lose Hope . . . to Scope appeared first on Common Thread Church.

  The post Telling Ourselves Our Story of Hope appeared first on Common Thread Church.

When we find ourselves in dark seasons, our ancient wisdom extends a promise. That in the end, Truth wins. love wins, light triumphs. Not at the end of history, but with recurring regularity throughout history. It happens again and again and again. And this dark time our nation finds itself in… Probably not an exception.   The post Promises, Promises… appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Many are struggling with despair these days. Our ancients knew something about human nature, and they designed a calendar to remind us to stir hope in the darkest and coldest of times. It was a call to dissolve despair like salt in warm broth. The feast of Christmas points us to the greatest truths: that light overcomes darkness, courage overcomes fear, restoration overcomes destruction. This is our hope. This our resistance to despair.   The post Tools of the Resistance: Hope appeared first on Common Thread Church.

It’s our Christian mandate to change the world . . . and Lord knows it needs changing these days. But how do we do good – but do it better? How do we make change – that matters? Paul points us to some tools that help. Even in the quantum era, we Christians still rely on the ancient tools — meditation, examen, spiritual friendships, and the enneagram — to ground us in the Spirit. Only from that grounded place, can we be effective in generating restorative change in a broken world.   The post Making Correct Change: Cashiers and Christians appeared first on Common Thread Church.

In this lesson we are reminded of the story of hope the Baby Jesus represents. When we are despairing, Baby Jesus reminds us the light is bigger than darkness, life is bigger than death, love wins over fear. And it is only from a position of hope that we garner the strength to step into our mission as repairers of the Earth.   The post A Shout Out to Sweet Baby Jesus appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Our embattled world needs repair. Developing a oneness orientation will be key to unlocking our entrenchments and releasing us to deep transformation. In this lesson we continue discussing our community’s intention to be a heterogeneous church. We believe the radical act of staying in community with those who are different, will move us down the spiritual path. Doing the messy work of hammering out our lives together is the perfect training ground for developing a oneness orientation — from which we can move faith into restorative action.   The post You Can’t Make the Journey to Oneness Alone appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Advent 2016 – Week 1 During this season of Advent, we focus on waiting in the darkness (and especially so, in this present time of darkness) with hope. With gratitude being the fountainhead of hope, our tradition points us to intentionally stirring gratitude to overcome darkness and despair. It’s one of our best tools. Let’s use it!   The post Family Recipe for Tense Times – Stir in a Pinch of Gratitude appeared first on Common Thread Church.

  The post Advent 3: The Art of Encouragement (Mary and Elizabeth) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Robin Camu   The post Advent 2 – Robin Camu appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Today we tell a story of the history of Haiti – how it got into the horrible state it is in. Love, our theme this Advent, extends beyond those who are nearby. It extends to faraway people. Our community has started a relationship with the village of Ferrier in central Haiti. Today we learn the history that so informs their need. Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2014: Loving the Faraway People 4 (Haiti) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Along with many spiritual communities around the earth, each year at NRCC, we cycle through the themes of Advent – Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love. This year’s theme is “Love.” We spoke last week of loving the tough people in our lives. This week we speak of loving the faraway people. Why is it more difficult to love faraway people than those nearby? Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2014: Loving Faraway People (2) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Along with many spiritual communities around the earth, each year at NRCC, we cycle through a triad of themes for Advent – Faith, Hope, and Love. This year’s theme is “Love.” And we begin this first week, thinking about loving the tough people in our lives. What has to happen in us, for deep love to flow through us? Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2014: Loving the Tough People (1) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

We conclude this year’s Advent message–on Advent. We’ve been looking at the ancient wisdom around celebration, and today finish off with an informed understanding of why the holidays so often exhaust, instead of energize us. Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2013 (3) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

We continue looking at why we do Advent, expanding our discussion into some of the “how’s.”  Advent is a two-step dance, both feasting and the preparation that makes the feasting meaningful. Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2013 (2) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

It’s been a while since we’ve spoken about why we do Advent. A few folks in the community asked me that recently, so for the next few Sundays, we’ll look at the history and practice of Advent. Turns out, if anxiety is a big deal for you, you ought to have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2013 (1) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

The Psalms tell us to lift up our eyes… to see with an elevated vision. This is exactly what Advent invites us to do. In this lesson, I’ll recognize that it’s tough in our culture, to make December a month of vision-elevating. But, I’ll suggest some ways to be thinking now, that will help us in January. Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2012 – Week 4 appeared first on Common Thread Church.

On Friday, 20 children were murdered in their school and 6 adults who tried to protect them. Can we celebrate this season’s focus on “hope” when something like that happens? We’ll see.  I have a few remarks to make, but most of this morning’s lesson will be discussion. Doug   The post Advent 2012 – Week 3 appeared first on Common Thread Church.

So sure, hope is a great thing. Sure, prophets speak and angels sing… “Comfort…  comfort my people.” That’s all well and good. But brass-tacks reality insists we at least mention the high price exacted of those who bring hope into the earth. Look at how our carriers of hope have been dismissed, ridiculed, persecuted, and crucified. What do we do about that? Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2012 – Week 2 appeared first on Common Thread Church.

When we think of “prophesy” we think of predicting the future. That’s not what the ancients thought. They thought of prophets as “seers,” seeing what the rest of us miss – and in particular, seeing the things of the Divine. Today, we read one of our ancient prophets as he “sees” hope. Have a listen, Doug   The post Advent 2012 – week 1 appeared first on Common Thread Church.

At Christmas time, being home is a value for many.  But what is “home?”  We long for it, but it’s a moving target.  The people and things we associate with “home” are always changing, so “home” never stays the same. We long for something that is always evaporating away. So how do we live? Have a listen. Doug   The post Advent 2010: Home for Christmas appeared first on Common Thread Church.

I teach my kids all the time that they cannot not fail in life.  I tell them they will embarrass themselves.  They will shame themselves.  They will fall into something they can’t believe they’ve fallen into. The measure of your soul isn’t how well you avoid failure and sin. It’s what you do next. Have a listen. Doug     The post Advent 2010: Failure? There Is No Stinking Failure! appeared first on Common Thread Church.

One of the most moving stories I’ve read comes from a memoir of a minister who lived about the time I was born.  It involves a rooster and his great shame. It also involves a call to us for readiness and redemption. Have a listen. Doug   The post Advent 2010: On Roosters and Readiness appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack This year, we’ve been more inattentive to the meaningful season of Advent than usual. Here, this last week of Advent, in a hurried attempt to make up for lost time, we talk about why the season matters. It’s a very old practice, setting aside these weeks leading up to the Feast of Christmas. What is Advent? Why should we include it in the Christmas season? What does it do for our souls?   The post Advent 2008: A Late and Hurried Advent Message (with apologies) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack   The post Advent 2007: On Hope and Selective Seeing (part 2) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack   The post Advent 2007: On Hope and Selective Seeing (part 1) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack   The post Advent 2005: Week 4 – Home for Christmas appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack   The post Advent 2005: Week 3 – Lesser Truths, Lesser Saviors (part 2) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack   The post Advent 2005: Week 2 – Lesser Truths, Lesser Saviors (part 1) appeared first on Common Thread Church.

by Doug Hammack   The post Advent 2005: Week 1 – the Rooster Crows appeared first on Common Thread Church.