Just how long have you been living with that 'bend' in your life... that hurt, or anger, or bitterness? That misunderstanding, estrangement, or rift? All sorts of things get out of whack in our spirits over time, and the longer they go on, the harder they are to work out. Even if we wanted to straighten them, the crooked parts of us are so deeply kinked and bent that we don't have the power to smooth them. A woman who met Jesus in the synagogue one day had suffered a physical condition for eighteen years that had her "bent over." With his words and touch she was healed - her crooked spine was made straight! In all the ways of our crookedness, Jesus calls us to wholeness. Will you let him make your crooked places straight? Worship Link: https://fb.watch/fNAS6tuF7s/

Every group or community of people have words and rituals that are common to their life together. Scouts have pledges that proclaim their high ideals. Countries have national songs and pledges that unite them. Sororities and fraternities have rituals that all members must participate in to join. When Jesus was with his closest followers (the disciples), he gave them a prayer to pray that would help unite their hearts in love and point them all in the direction of kingdom living after he left them. Christian churches and communities of faith of every stripe and tradition have used this prayer in some fashion across the centuries. Commonly known as The Lord's Prayer, this prayer is learned by children in Sunday school and often prayed out loud, together, in Christian worship settings. As we examine "The Deeper Life | A Life of Prayer," we take a fresh look at this set prayer that has been close to the heart of Jesus followers for centuries. Words matter, and in The Deeper Life, words have the power to shape and guide our lives for God and for good. "So, when you pray, say" this... (Luke 11:2) Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSAe8XlOPmw

Sometimes mere words aren’t enough. Sometimes what we’re facing escapes the bounds of language and human description. Sometimes what we face defies our ability to make any sense. It’s in moments like this that our hearts are broken, our faith is challenged, and we’re so crushed that to even pray seems impossible. Jesus, upon the death of His friend Lazarus, and seeing Mary weep, “He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.” (John 11:33) For the man, Christ Jesus, mere words could not describe the grief He was experiencing in that moment of loss. Let the irony, transparency, and humanity of that moment sink in; the ONE whom John said was THE WORD (John 1:14), had no words. He wept. He groaned. He was troubled. Why is Jesus so qualified to come to your aid? He doesn’t sit idly by and witness your pain and suffering, He too groans in earnest empathetic pain, and He’s ready to do something about it. The life and ministry of Jesus calls us to a place of living a life of love and not fear. We are a people of prayer. We are a people of hope. We are a people who can allow the love of Christ to shine through us in our everyday mission of loving people through acts of kindness, even in the midst of grief and despair. Before God’s Spirit would eventually intercede with unutterable “groanings” that were too great, too intense, too overwhelming, and too painful for words, Jesus groaned and wept with humanity, committing to never leave us nor forsake us. Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wunZtEDG6Y0

The Christmas season is a time of wonder and anticipation and joy... and stress and angst and being overscheduled and underfunded. Especially if you are an adult responsible for so many of the details of the season! Oh, that we could return to the innocence of a child at Christmas and experience the holiday without all the trappings we adults find ourselves wrapped up in. While we can't go back in time, we can let the children around us remind our hearts and spirits of the sweet anticipation and genuine excitement the season holds. This week in worship we are invited to rediscover the significance of Christmas by connecting with the Child of Christmas - and the child-like spirit in all of us. Worship link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPSDiP1v6AM

It has been said that "music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends." Indeed music has the power to transcend words, whether spoken or written. Most of us have songs deeply embedded in our spirits that connect us to special times and poignant moments. These are the songs that make up the playlist of our lives. And for many of us, it wouldn't be Christmas without the music of the season. As we celebrate this first Christmas together in two years, we look to the familiar songs of the season to rediscover the story of Christmas... the story of love of grace for each of us and the world. Worship link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgQfb5KQDds

Easter Sunday It’s been a long year... In addition to a global pandemic that has spanned the entirety of the last 12 months +, we’ve struggled through a long season of social unrest and we’ve endured an especially contentious election cycle. Add to that the personal challenges, which for some of us, have been many - job loss, financial hardship, illness, death, moves, loneliness and isolation, profound uncertainty, and more. We find ourselves at yet another Easter, wanting to celebrate and believe what we say today, but is new life really possible? Does Easter really matter? Can it really make a difference... and make a difference for me? Everything changed on that first Easter morning. Everything changed for the women who discovered the empty tomb, for Jesus’ followers, for the world - - and for you. Can you see it? Will you see it? The women returned to the tomb to continue grieving and to anoint the dead body of Jesus. They found the stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb and they searched inside for the body. But instead of the dead remains of the previous days, they received encouragement to look elsewhere. They would not find what they needed - and what this day promised - among the dead, in the past. Neither will we find what we need by sifting through yesterday’s remains. It’s a new day, and it’s time for us to seek a new life among the living. Today we choose to look towards a new tomorrow - today we choose the Living Jesus. Happy Easter! Worship link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU8j2WyIN2A&t=1s

The opening lines to William Chatterton Dix's famous Christmas carol ask a poignant question, "What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?" Dix goes on to answer this question in part during the last line of the repeated chorus. This child is "the babe, the son of Mary." The One that the angel said would be conceived by the Holy Spirit is also the son of a very ordinary, very human, young woman. Jesus is not just the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, and the Wonderful Counselor that we sing about and worship at Christmas. Jesus is also the One who walked the same dusty roads that humans walk. He knows real physical pain, real emotional angst, real spiritual need. He has felt the same hunger, knows that same thirst, that we have. God came to earth in Jesus not just to bring a cosmic realignment of all of creation. God came to bring real human comfort and care, to feed our hungry spirits, and to quench our deepest longings. If your Christmas list this year includes wishes for things that can't be wrapped and put under the tree... healing, hope, comfort, community, acceptance... know that the child we worship brings all that and more. What child is this? This is the One who knows you like no other because he has been where you are. Worship Link: https://youtu.be/IphC5qM0xDc

It's common to see on a mom's social media feed, a photo of their child with the caption, "My heart." Shorthand for expressing how deeply she loves her child; how committed she is to that child; how very much her mind, her life, her work, her efforts, are invested in her children. Sweethearts sign their notes to each other with a heart - it's a symbol of their love and affection. One source claims that the red heart emoji ❤️ is the second most used emoji the world over (second only to the joy smiley face emoji, represented by a teary-eyed laughing face [ ] ). For much of human history, the heart has been considered the seat of human emotion, and the place where those things most dear to us reside. In a worship series titled "Matters of the Heart" that Pastor Elizabeth Gilbert will launch on July 12, she will share some of the things most dear to her in her life with Jesus and in her ministry. In "Matters of the Heart" Pastor Elizabeth will reveal the heart Christ has given her for the stranger, for worship, for the unique gifts Jesus has given each of us, and for our life together in community. Union Chapel Worship will continue online at least through the Sundays of July. You'll find worship each week posted on Union Chapel's YouTube Channel (search YouTube for Union Chapel Indy), as well as linked to the church's Facebook page, facebook.com/UnionChapelIndy. Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ01vmnBuLk

Our faithfulness is not measured in what we don’t, but in what we do.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor,    for yours is the kingdom of God.  ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,    for you will be filled.