Pastor Tara Beth Leach | James 4:1-10 NIV | “At the core of all of us is a desire to live a good, flourishing, and productive life. But who defines good? We are surrounded by endless clamor and noise, each voice declaring the way to the good life. Some will tell you that the way to the good life is through endless consumption – bigger, better, shinier. Others will tell you that the way to the good life and flourishing is through a life of humanitarian efforts.
Whatever our vision of the good life, we live toward that vision, and we live for the very things we desire, crave, long for, yearn for, and want. Furthermore, James K.A. Smith takes it a step further and says that we not only live towards the things we want and love, but we become the things we want and love – “We are what we love…. It is our desires that orient and direct us toward some ultimate telos we take to be the good life, the version of the kingdom we live toward. To be human is to be a lover and to love something ultimate.”
During this series we will unpack the kingdom vision rooted in scripture that gives God’s heartbeat for the good life. Together, we will discover how we can order and orient our lives to know it, experience it, and live it.”
a
In an era of devastating news tickers, chaos, war, and pain; and in a season of never-ending to-do lists, weariness is inevitable. Advent reminds us to turn our eyes to the light of the world with expectation, anticipation, and hope, knowing that soon the world will one day be made right.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download