When asked how we are, it seems a point of pride to be able to answer that we are sooo busy. Many of us were raised thinking that to be idle, was to be lazy and wasteful. Productivity and efficiency are the name of the game! It's almost shameful to be unproductive. But maybe moving slowly, resting, and nurturing the tired parts of ourselves is more helpful than we think. The gardener knows that letting a plot lay fallow, and giving manure time to work, and waiting patiently for the seeds to sprout are all their own kind of productivity. Maybe we can discover that it's productive enough to do the same for our own souls. Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs0pL61h89o

We find ourselves hungry for many things that we believe will bring us satisfaction. We are quick to jump at any chance for glory, fame, fortune, and instant gratification. What are the temptations that catch your ear, singing out promises that your life should be more special than it is? What if ordinary life is already holy – as is? Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCJw9l_Qeb8

Message Synopsis We find ourselves hungry for many things that we believe will bring us satisfaction. We are quick to jump at any chance for glory, fame, fortune, and instant gratification. What are the temptations that catch your ear, singing out promises that your life should be more special than it is? What if ordinary life is already holy – as is? Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWMRd6cKAUs

If your smart phone is new enough, you have a photo feature titled "portrait." When you use this feature, the item in the foreground comes into focus while everything else becomes a bit blurry. This highlights the selected item and shows it in a new way. In this season when we return to the familiar story of Jesus' birth, we are invited to see the story - and the world around us - with a different lens... one that helps us see everything in a new way. This season we are invited to use a lens that highlights the holy all around us. This year we are invited to see that all of life is pregnant with Christ... not just Mary in a story from long ago. This year may we discover that everyone and everything is capable of bursting forth with goodness and grace, that everything reflects the sacred. Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgP2m5z-IQQ

In these last days of the Christmas season, many of us rush to get all of the special "experiences"... experienced. We want to drive and see the Christmas lights. We want to get in one more special Christmas concert. How about the visit to Santa? And of course, the many visits 'home' - whether that be grandparents', parents', or some other special persons' homes. And all of this hustle and bustle is filled with the hope that in these particular places, we might experience some of the magic of the holidays. But what if the 'magic' of this season is not to be found in a geographic location, but in the less glitzy spaces of our hearts where we've carved out some room for sacred? Maybe the magic of the holidays isn't to be found in a particular place, but in the spaces where we make room for the Christ child. Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muhvS92zzNc

Students know the power of a pop quiz to both terrify and challenge them. Even the possibility of such a test keeps a student in the books and challenges them to internalize new information and insights. Questions from teachers - and others - invite us to dig deep and pull out bits of information to apply in this current moment. Deep in the Jewish tradition (and thus Jesus' religious tradition) is the power of questions to drive spiritual growth and deepen one's understanding of the Divine. Jesus asks lots of questions in the stories we find in the Bible. But he never asks them because he needs to know the answer. Jesus used questions to draw his listeners into deeper thought, more significant reflection, a new way of seeing things, and meaningful action. Got questions? Jesus sure did! Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IxWcLezuRc

To encourage learning, dialogue, and new discoveries, many of us were taught that "there is no such thing as a dumb question." Though, few children need to be taught to ask questions. They are naturally curious and full of wonderment. But somewhere along the line many of us become uncomfortable with not knowing and go to great lengths to appear as though we know everything. By one source, in the biblical Gospels, Jesus is asked 187 questions. He answers (maybe) 8 of them. He himself asks 307. Maybe faith isn’t about certainty, but learning to ask—and sit in the complexity of—good questions. Got questions? Great! Jesus loves a good question (and doesn't think any of them are dumb!) Union Chapel Indy 2720 E. 86th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240 unionchapelindy.org #unionchapelindy #questions #questioning Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgNFnCj_Rn4

Home means many things to many people. It's where we go at the end of the work day. It's where we visit parents and family. Many of us trust that "home is where the heart is." What about your spiritual home? Is there a place where your spirit is most at peace? Is there a place where you reconnect with God and connect with others in your spiritual tribe? Jesus talks about such a place and even offers to show us the way. In fact, Jesus says, "I Am the Way." Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOt4wui_5l8

Wherever you journey this night, this week, this next year... - to the streets and neighborhoods - across your office to a co-worker - down the street to the new family that just moved in... ...go with God to be light and love to a world in need of all that God gives... - Hope - Love - Joy and - Peace.... - Share generously the light and love of Christmas... Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw4Xf3ZeWpI

There are so many beautiful Christmas Carols to enjoy this time of year. And near the top of every list of favorites is "Silent Night." Maybe it is beloved for its beautiful, lilting melody - or maybe for its poetic words that paint such beautiful images in our mind. Or maybe it is so loved because it calls us to be still in the middle of a hectic season and in that quiet, lift our hearts to the One who is born Savior on the most holy of nights. And while we may know that any night on which is baby is born is not really a silent night, we can be assured that as we draw near the Babe of Bethlehem, we will find peace and rest. Worship Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udOOtwVk1F4