May 2025 – Receiving the Spirit’s flame: Spiritual gifts in the life of the church, by Cara Strickland
As we begin to dig into Scripture and talk about our spiritual gifts, it’s important to remind ourselves that these gifts are given to us by Someone who knows us intimately. A spiritual gift is nothing we can ever earn, and usually not something we’d think to ask for,...
Winter/Spring 2025: “Faithfulness” by Denise Rector
(January) Session One: Faith where you are: Ruth and Naomi Ruth chooses to remain part of Naomi’s family, even after Naomi has lost everything – including her husband and sons. This intergenerational story of faithfulness during emptiness and sorrow helps us learn how...
Summer 2025: “Where two or more are gathered: Flourishing in relationships” by the Rev. Dr. Brooke Petersen
(June) Session One: Relationships that form us: All in the family Some of our most beloved Bible stories involve siblings and the trials and tribulations of relationships within families. We’ll examine the stories of Jacob and Esau, as well as Mary and Martha, while...
December 2024 “In God’s garden: What fig trees teach us about Advent” by Hannah Hawkinson
View the video supplement. This Advent, we'll learn from some surprising teachers: fig trees. Astonishingly vibrant, fig trees have a zest for life. Their roots have even been known to bust through plumbing and climb walls like ivy! Yet fig trees also have a dormant...
Fall 2024 “Receiving grace: A study of Ephesians” by the Rev. Heidi Haverkamp
Session one: Is grace real? We often focus on how we fall short and deserve God's judgment. What if, instead, we remember God's continual gift of grace? God invites us to lead lives of love and wholeness. What is grace, exactly? Grace does not take away the sin and...
Summer 2024 “After certainty: A biblical guide” by the Rev. Dr. Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
A global pandemic, political upheaval, a changing climate… these days, the future is more uncertain than it has ever been. Or is it? For the people of the Bible, life was often shaped by deep uncertainty. Encounters with God sparked awe, confusion or courage, but...
May 2024 Devotional on Mental Health and Wellness by Elise Seyfried
As long as humans have existed, there has been mental illness. By some estimates, as many as 20% of all adults live with a mental health issue. In biblical times, mental illness was often misunderstood and thought to be caused by demonic possession. In modern times,...
Winter/Spring 2024: “Scripture and nature: Teachers of faith” by the Rev. Sara Olson-Smith
Jesus regularly invokes nature in his teaching, drawing us into deeper relationship with the created world. But it’s not just Jesus inviting us to see creation as teacher and kin. The scriptures themselves help us see the important role of the created world in God’s...
December 2023 Advent devotional: “Topsy-turvy” by the Rev. Hannah Hawkinson
In her song, Mary, the mother of Jesus, praises God for turning the world upside down--or perhaps, turning the world right-side-up! Gather's annual Advent devotional focuses on the Magnificat song of Mary (see Luke 1:46b-55), as well as parallel topsy-turvy stories of...
Fall 2023: “Holy places,” a three-session Bible study by the Rev. Dr. Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
Physical places often shape our identities, relationships and faith. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it,” Paul writes. Part of what this means is that faith doesn’t just reside in our thoughts or emotions. Faith resides in our whole bodies,...