By the order of King Herod all the male babies, two and under, where to be put to death. This is a part of the Christmas story that often gets passed over. However, in a year of so much reflection on our own mortality and on humanities capacity for evil and death, we would do well as a church to reflect on the Dark Side of Christmas. As Jesus was teaching and preaching he said to his disciples, “let the little children come unto me, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.” There is an innocence about a child that the Lord longs for all of us to never outgrow. There is stark difference between being childish and childlike. Herod, with his executive order, caused a weeping to be heard in Bethlehem like never before and ever since. We all have experienced loss, but the loss of a child is a very unique kind of suffering. Would you join us on Sunday over Zoom as we worship, sing, and pray for those who have lost and give hope to one another as we march into this New Year.

Common Ground

The Exile of Innocence

This will be a Christmas like none other in your lifetime. The country and the world has shut down and families will gather in limited capacity due to Covid-19. We have already endured 9 months of life changing events, and as the darkness of winter is upon us, a young lady is about to have a baby. In the midst of another pandemic, the pandemic of exile, sin, and death, the light of God came to save us! Christmas is the season of darkness that is exposed by the light, and there is no doubt that we are in the darkness. As the body of Christ, we are committed to grieving with a world that has seen so much suffering and death this year. Would you commit to joining us each week over the next couple months as we look at Advent in Exile: Stories of Christ in the Winter of Covid. Believe Church! The light is coming! The light is winning!

The Exile of the Wise Men

Refugees. Conquered nations. Banished criminals. That is who deserves to be in exile. Yet, John’s account of the birth of Jesus begins with something totally unique in our universe. He claims that the God of creation in the beginning is fully present in the humanity of the person of Jesus. Fully God and Fully Man. The light that was commanded in Genesis, “Let there be light” is the “light of mankind” and he is the one who also said, “I am the light of the world.” Why would God exile himself or for what reason would he abandon his riches in glory to come and be made in human likeness? He has no rival and no equal. Great is our God and greatly to be praised for his wisdom far outreaches our own and his love is deep enough to come and rescue us. Join us via Zoom this Sunday as we gather online, hear testimony, sing songs of Advent, and pray for one another. Be strong and courageous CG! You are loved and not alone!

The Exile of God

As we light the candle of Joy this weekend we hear the angels singing “Glory to God in the Highest” right above our heads. As the Shepherds were watching their flocks by night, God interpreted their darkness. We are inviting this same God to interrupt our darkness this winter as well. As we put this pandemic in perspective, we have to acknowledge the pain, loss, and frustrations that so many of us have felt. Yet, it is in our very suffering and bondage that a child was born into the earth. Born to rescue and save us! Shepherds were considered some of the lowest people on the social ladder and God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to a class of people who were considered thieves and uncredible. Why? Join us on Sunday as we gather outside to raise our voices our lift our prayers for one another as we worship the newborn king!

The Exile of Bethlehem’s Shepherd’s

We will light the candle of peace this Sunday as we move to Zoom for this week’s worship gathering. We have a testimony lined up and we are excited to hear what God has for us in this second week of Advent. Mary and Joseph were on their way to Bethlehem when the time came for Christ to be born and they found that even in Joseph’s hometown there was no place to call home. Christ was born in a stable. Have you ever felt exiled even at home? Have you gone back to your hometown and things were just different? What can we learn in the winter of Covid from the fact that there was “no room in the inn”?  We have all felt so many emotions this past week and it will be good to see your beautiful faces church as we anchor into the waiting of Advent. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

The Exile of Mary and Joseph

We will light the candle of hope this Sunday and we can’t wait to worship with you near the River! We begin our Advent season looking at the person of Simeon. What an amazing story of long anticipated hope in the Lord’s Messiah. He lived in occupied Jerusalem and he was filled with the Holy Spirit, long before Acts chapter 2! What was so special about this man? What was so special about Anna who was a prophetess in the temple? Come sing some familiar songs as we long for the same hope of God’s final restoration!

The Exile of Simeon and Anna’s Thanksgiving Sermon

As we begin our Advent series we will begin by looking at how to be faithful in the fire of exile. We have all felt the struggle to remain faithful to God in the past 2020. Many of you carry shame and guilt, while others of us feel entitled and proud. Yet the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego reminds us that it is always God who is with us, rescuing us, and delivering us IN the fires of our suffering and lament. In the redemptive story of God we find Israel being held caprice in Babylon because of their own idolatry and service to other Gods. We begin this Advent season in looking at how the people of God can be faithful even in the midst of displacement. Join us at the River this Sunday at 10 am and bring a friend.

Into the Fire of Exile and Hope

Romans 8 is one of the most beautiful chapters in the middle of one of the most reconciling of letters. We have come to the end of the matter and we are going to finish our study in Romans with this text in mind. There is an attitude that comes from the Spirit of Christ that allows us to live at peace in the midst of empire and chaos. This same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead has given life to our human bodies and this life is now lived together as siblings not strangers. The promises from Romans 8 moves us to a new Torah and that is the Law of Christ that removes all selfishness and lives in the freedom and love that God is for us and not condemning us. Join us on Sunday (most likely on Zoom due to flooding and rain) as we sing, worship, and grow in Christ.

No Matter What Happens: He is for you and with you!

We sure could use a rescue right now! A rescue from the pandemic, from politics, from the daily grind, and from the spiritual burden we often carry in our bodies to do the right thing. We know the good we ought to do but why is it so hard to get done? We know the evil that lurks around every corner, but why are do our vices have such a death grip on us? Paul in Romans 7 lays one of the most compelling arguments to the House Church in Rome that it is through the Spirit of Christ alone that we are rescued from the collective weight of Adam’s curse, from sin and from death. I hope you will join us at the River on Sunday and bring a friend who could use a good rescue as well! I’m so looking forward to preaching Christ and to proclaim the hope that is found in no other name! 

Who Can Rescue Me From This Body of Death?

There are a lot of weapons flying around right now! Some verbal, some emotional, and many physical. What Paul wants the church at Rome to emulate is that we would use the weapons of Christ for a holy life. Paul likens the weapons of the world to what sin does to each of us and to our community. Sin has a cumulative effect but the good news  is that so does righteousness. However, for this holy life to begin we have to follow Christ into his death. Join us at the River on Sunday as we look at the famous passages from Romans 6 and encourage one another as we worship Christ as King!

Raised with Him and Wholehearted Obedience

Romans 5 begins a new section of Paul’s letter to the Roman House Churches. He is talking about the cycle of sin that leads to death and the gift of righteousness that leads to eternal life. We often think of sin as something that we do but Paul makes it clear that sin is something that is doing us! Christ has done what Adam could not do and therefore either by faith we accept the gift of Christ or by unbelief we settle for the gift of Adam. If you are struggling and need to be reminded of just how great God’s grace is, would you join us at the River this Sunday? Grab a friend, a neighbor, or just yourself and sing with us as we call on Christ our only peace in the midst of chaos.

The New and Better Adam

As we continue reading Romans backwards and make our way through chapters 4 and 5, we are re-introduced to some of our forefathers, such as Abraham. Paul reminds us of the simple gospel truths that we have been declared righteous by God through faith, brought to life through Christ, and that through his righteousness grace will reign! Read over Romans 4 & 5 a couple times before Sunday and join us at 10am by the river.

Righteousness That Comes By Faith

We began at the end of Romans to look at the pastoral theology of Paul’s love for these five Roman House Churches. Now with this in mind of the Weak and the Strong, we enter the beginning of Paul’s letter that would have been read and questions answered by Phoebe. God shows no partiality. Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Paul is preaching and longs to see the believers in Rome to give them a spiritual gift and he longs for the unity of the church in the midst of Roman Empire! This Gospel of Jesus subverts Jewish Religion and Roman Privilege and that has something to say to us today in America. Grab your friends, your masks, your umbrellas for the sun or the rain, and meet us down behind the Silk Mill.  Come and join us in God’s beautiful creation by the river this Sunday as we look at what it means to love sacrificially or join our Zoom Church on Sunday at 10am.

God’s Impartial Judgment and Faith Working Itself Out in Love

We have always heard that God is a mysterious God but what do we mean by that? Usually we are talking about our own life and how our circumstances didn’t go according to plan. But what do we do when God opens up the door and begins to reveal to us that he loves more than just one particular group of people? Has your world been blown apart by just how big God is, or have you ever found that you’ve put God in a box as to who is in and who is out? Paul continues to call out the Weak in the Roman House Churches to show just how God’s plan all along was to include those who they believed were “out”! Grab your friends, your masks, your umbrellas for the sun or the rain, and meet us down behind the Silk Mill.  Come and join us in God’s beautiful creation by the river this Sunday as we look at what it means to love sacrificially or join our Zoom Church on Sunday at 10am.

God’s Ways are God’s Ways and His Way is Love

What covid sacrifices have you made lately? Has the pandemic limited your interactions with family and friends? Some of you only do curbside grocery pick up. Parents are sending their kids to virtual classrooms while they work remotely in new office spaces at home. Zoom and emails have replaced our personal interactions. In the meantime we’re trying to make sense of the division and pain in our country. Disunity and social conflicts have become the norm. In light of these changes how do we offer our bodies as living sacrifices in meaningful and practical ways that serve our families and friends in need? Why is Paul cultivating communities of peace and unity when house churches are surrounded by a culture of power and privilege? Come and join us in God’s beautiful creation by the river this Sunday as we look at what it means to love sacrificially or join our Zoom Church on Sunday at 10am.

Conforming to Christ as a Living Sacrifice

Welcome to Common Ground. We exist to love God, love others, and turn the world upside down. We are participating in the Resurrection every day and joining with God in the restoration of all things. Spend some time taking a look into our community so you can join in from Virginia or anywhere in the world.

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Common Ground

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