Ericka Graham invites us to continue in our journey through the Gospel of John. We are shown, time and again, the signs of God’s redeeming love accepting us as sinners while calling us toward the “sainthood” of living fully into that love.  

Pastors Chris Seay and Wayne Brown continue our series on signs in the Book of John by leading us through the story of the healing at Bethesda. Jesus has great compassion for us as we navigate the pain in our lives. We learn that feeling pain is what gives us the ability to walk, and our willingness to share our pain with others allows us to walk in hope with others.

Gideon uses Isaiah 42 to invite us to see the presence of God as we walk through Order, Disorder, and Reorder in the journey of our lives. The Order are the containers and structure in which our beauty is called to flourish; Disorder is the pain and darkness through which we necessarily walk in this broken world; and Reorder is the invitation to resurrection, healing, salvation, and transformation.

Pastor Sean shares the sign of the fish and loaves from the Gospel of John. He challenges us to be aware of the signs we are being shown instead of waiting for the signs we expect.

Pastor Sean invites us to hear Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well with new ears. This is an invitation to examine our stories of shame and allow Jesus’ kind presence to bring hope and healing into places of isolation and despair.

Pastor Chris leads us into the new year with Jesus‘ first miracle in the Gospel of John. Through the lens of this story, Chris takes a look at the problem of codependency and invites us into a better, more healthy way of viewing ourselves and others. 

Our brother Gideon Tsang guide us into the practice of contemplation, a practice that invites us to notice your life deeply.

Gideon serves as a member of the pastoral team of Vox Veniae in Austin.

In this season of expectation, Pastor Sean reminds us that a baby changes everything and calls us to worship fully. Jesus’ birth changes and challenges the kingdoms of our life and calls us into transformation. Also, Campus Pastor, Ramon Huertas gives an update on two important projects in the life of our church. We are joined by musical guests the African’s Children Choir, our friends and water partners in Uganda. To support water projects with the African’s Children Choir visit ecclesiahouston.org/advent.

Pastor Chris Seay takes us through the years of our work with clean water and the impact we’ve been able to make with your generosity. We also hear from our brother Marcelo Robles, a pastor in Argentina, about our latest water project. After the video, Mike Mantel, CEO of Living Water International, explains more about how the gift of clean water transcends and blesses generations of people.

Pastor Sean Palmer considers Jesus’ genealogy, and our call (especially during this Advent season) to familiarize ourselves with the whole of our savior’s story. This is a lineage which invariably ushers us into the uncomfortable and unforeseen.

Pastor Chris Seay leads us into the beginning of our Advent journey, drawing from scripture and the wisdom of the inimitable Fred Rogers. By committing to authentic presence and intentional pace, embracing the power of forgiveness and vulnerability, and taking on our shared responsibility to care for countless of God’s beloved in need, this sacred season has the potential to transform our relationship with our coming Savior.

Sarah Seabrook continued in a recent series considering the lives and callings of important figures in Christian history, leading us through the journey of British politician and abolitionist William Wilberforce. Slavery and injustice remain a heartbreaking reality in our world, and until that is no longer the case, we cannot tire of our part in God’s movement against them.

Pastor Chris Seay offers an important update on our partnership with Iglesia Cristiana para la Frontera along the Venezuelan and Colombian border in helping to meet many needs related to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and our continued call to our family in the region. Please watch the video if you missed it, and hear Chris’ follow-up at 26:05 of the audio. To access the most up-to-date impact report of our involvement, click here.

Pastor Sean Palmer continues our series exploring the lives and wisdom of important figures in Christian history, sharing what he has learned from the example of Henri Nouwen as he examines our relationship to power. Power sought or abused will never satisfy. It is in giving up our love of power, and taking on the power of love, that we become people that humbly give and receive rather than those who tirelessly grasp.

Pastor Chris shares wisdom and insight from missiologist, theologian, and pastor Leslie Newbigin which changed his understanding of the church and have been invaluable in shaping the ethos of Ecclesia. The Gospel is good news for everyone, calling us into the culture to share it; not to cling to the supposed “safety” of our own religious circles. God’s mission is everywhere, and you are called to be a part of it.

Pastor Chris Seay asks us all to consider both our shared calling, and the beautiful and unique forms through which that calling is expressed. Your vocation is sacred, and is a part of God’s mission. We hope that the message Chris shared will be of comfort and encouragement to you this week.

Pastor Sean offers up the redemptive works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and shares insight into the power of our own stories. When we know and share our stories with others, it changes the way we engage with those around us. 

Ericka Graham shares insights from from the Book of Jonah. The tiny book in the Hebrew Scriptures has the potential to change the way we engage the world around us, giving us the capacity to see God in everything and everyone we encounter.

Pastor Sean Palmer shares a critical word from the Book of Acts and the teachings of Jean Vanier. Community is messy, and it is vital. We need one another.

Our beloved brother Scott Erickson invited us to consider prayer, images, and identity. What will seed, grow, and flourish in the fertile space of that imagination? How will we participate in “the way” rather than submitting to what lies “in the way” of our continued call to be the enduring presence of Jesus?