Dane Lewis – River's Edge Community Church

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So far Dane Lewis has created 641 blog entries.

The Story That Is a Question

The Story That Is a Question

Everyone calls it the Christmas story. You probably call it the Christmas story. But the point of the Christmas story is that it is not a story at all. It is a question. And, to add insult to injury, if you don’t see the question, you’ll never get the story right. And it is not a brand-new question that no one had ever thought of before. It’s been around since the very beginning, but we still fail to ask it. Sadly, we are not alone in this, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s begin at the beginning. Genesis 1 starts off with a remarkable claim. Eleven times in a chapter of thirty-one verses, we read that God spoke. It is an astounding claim. There are many who believe that God, if he even exists, is silent. But Genesis proves otherwise. Far from being silent, distant and unknowable, God comes

A Little Christmas

A Little Christmas

This sermon begins our Advent series and is based on Luke 1:46-55. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: I bet you know the song, “We Need a Little Christmas.” I know it, but I don’t particularly like it. And yet, I do like the idea. We absolutely need a little Christmas. See, Christmas isn’t for the big and important or the rich and powerful. It is for the little people. It’s for ordinary people, people like us, people who know we don’t measure up and can’t measure up—people who know they need grace. See, Christmas is for us because no matter how you read it, there are no “big” people on that first Christmas, but there are great little people! And that is why we all need a “little” Christmas.

Giving Thanks, God’s Will and the Gift of Great Perspective

Giving Thanks, God’s Will and the Gift of Great Perspective

Carl Sandburg, the great American writer, tells a story of when he was in university. His roommate was unable to go home for the holidays, and so Sandberg invited him to come to his house. As Sandberg introduced his roommate to his hard-of-hearing aunt, he announced, "Auntie, I want you to meet my roommate, Al Specknoodle!" The aunt cupped her ear and shook her head. Carl tried again, "I want you to meet my roommate, Al Specknoodle!" The aunt frowned and shook her head again. Carl sputtered and shouted, "Al Specknoodle, my roommate!" Finally the aunt turned away and said, "It's no use, Carl. No matter how many times you say it, it still sounds like Al Specknoodle!" No matter how many times I have read Paul’s command to give thanks in all circumstances, it still sounds strange. I don’t think I am hard-hearted, but giving thanks in all circumstances

Yes, . . . But Love and Do Not Harm

Yes, . . . But Love and Do Not Harm

This sermon is based on Romans 13:8-10. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Quiz time. There are two questions. Which one of the following axioms is worded correctly? Love the sin; hate the sinner. Love the sin; love the sinner. Hate the sin; hate the sinner. Tell everyone we hate the sin, but privately enjoy the sin. Hate the sin when others do it; love the sin when you do it. Condemn everyone for sinning, while feeling superior because you don’t. Hate the sin; love the sinner. Which of those seven axioms are we best at doing? (Unfortunately, this is a “choose all that apply” question)? We desperately need help here. Maybe this series can provide some guidance: “Yes, . . . But Love”

Seven-In-One-No

Seven-In-One-No

BLOG SERIES: The RE REsearch REview “Seven-In-One-No” One of my favorite stories as a kid was “Seven-In-One-Blow.” You may know it as “The Brave Little Tailor,” but a rose by any other name is still a great story. I’m sure you could tell it yourself (and if you can't, please don’t tell me because it would break my heart), but let me give a quick overview. An ordinary tailor finds his lunch of bread and jam rudely interrupted by a swarm of flies. Infuriated by this pesky horde of flying pestilence, he slammed his hand down to annihilate them; and to his surprise, he kills seven-in-one-blow. It was such an amazing feat that he felt he ought to commemorate it by making a belt proclaiming the accomplishment, “seven-in-one-blow.” Buttressed by this achievement, he set off into the world to seek his fortune. Of course, everyone who meets him thinks he killed seven

Yes, . . . But Gently

Yes, . . . But Gently

This sermon is based on Galatians 6:1-2. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Quiz time. There are two questions. Which one of the following axioms is worded correctly? Love the sin; hate the sinner. Love the sin; love the sinner. Hate the sin; hate the sinner. Tell everyone we hate the sin, but privately enjoy the sin. Hate the sin when others do it; love the sin when you do it. Condemn everyone for sinning, while feeling superior because you don’t. Hate the sin; love the sinner. Which of those seven axioms are we best at doing? (Unfortunately, this is a “choose all that apply” question)? We desperately need help here. Maybe this series can provide some guidance: “Yes, . . . But Love”

Riverlocks and the Three Denominations

Riverlocks and the Three Denominations

BLOG SERIES: The RE REsearch REview Riverlocks and the Three Denominations: A Fairytale That Is Saturated with Bears, Meaning, and Truth and That Ends Really Well Once upon a time, Riverlocks decided she needed a new denomination. Her old denomination was good, but Riverlocks had started to feel like she had outgrown it. And so, she went to the denomination store to see what she could find. The first denomination she encountered was “E.” Now, “E” came highly recommended. In fact, before Riverlocks went to the store, she was pretty sure this would be the denomination for her. And “E” seemed very familiar. It had the same theology, the same structure and, generally speaking, the same polity as her old denomination. It was nice being in the know. “E” even invited Riverlocks to share a quick snack with him, but while the snack looked like it should be appetizing, Riverlocks was surprised

Yes, . . . But We Go First

Yes, . . . But We Go First

This sermon is based on Ephesians 6:10-17. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Quiz time. There are two questions. Which one of the following axioms is worded correctly? Love the sin; hate the sinner. Love the sin; love the sinner. Hate the sin; hate the sinner. Tell everyone we hate the sin, but privately enjoy the sin. Hate the sin when others do it; love the sin when you do it. Condemn everyone for sinning, while feeling superior because you don’t. Hate the sin; love the sinner. Which of those seven axioms are we best at doing? (Unfortunately, this is a “choose all that apply” question)? We desperately need help here. Maybe this series can provide some guidance: “Yes, . . . But Love”

Ten ECO Benefits

Ten ECO Benefits

BLOG SERIES: The RE REsearch REview If you want to buy a particular house, you create a pros/cons sheet and list them all out. If you want to join a denomination, you do the same thing; but instead of calling them pros and cons, we call them benefits and shortcomings. So, what about ECO? We know a lot about their theology and their methodology, their mission and vision, their strategy and hopes. It’s all pretty cool. But what about the benefits for us? To answer that, here’s a script with three readers. Enjoy. It’s truly beneficial. Ten ECO Benefits Reader 1: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine --- ten! The ten ECO Benefits. Reader 2: The ten ECO Benefits. Reader 1: Number one: It’s egalitarian Reader 2: A former member said: “Being in a congregation where I knew I could never serve as an elder made me feel like

Yes, . . . But Talk About It

Yes, . . . But Talk About It

This sermon is based on 1 Corinthians 8:1-9. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Quiz time. There are two questions. Which one of the following axioms is worded correctly? Love the sin; hate the sinner. Love the sin; love the sinner. Hate the sin; hate the sinner. Tell everyone we hate the sin, but privately enjoy the sin. Hate the sin when others do it; love the sin when you do it. Condemn everyone for sinning, while feeling superior because you don’t. Hate the sin; love the sinner. Which of those seven axioms are we best at doing? (Unfortunately, this is a “choose all that apply” question)? We desperately need help here. Maybe this series can provide some guidance: “Yes, . . . But Love”

Yes, . . . But Truth

Yes, . . . But Truth

This sermon is based on Matthew 11:16-24. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Quiz time. There are two questions. Which one of the following axioms is worded correctly? Love the sin; hate the sinner. Love the sin; love the sinner. Hate the sin; hate the sinner. Tell everyone we hate the sin, but privately enjoy the sin. Hate the sin when others do it; love the sin when you do it. Condemn everyone for sinning, while feeling superior because you don’t. Hate the sin; love the sinner. Which of those seven axioms are we best at doing? (Unfortunately, this is a “choose all that apply” question)? We desperately need help here. Maybe this series can provide some guidance: “Yes, . . . But Love”

A Yes, . . . But Love

A Yes, . . . But Love

This sermon introduces our new series and is based on Matthew 9:9-13. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Quiz time. There are two questions. Which one of the following axioms is worded correctly? Love the sin; hate the sinner. Love the sin; love the sinner. Hate the sin; hate the sinner. Tell everyone we hate the sin, but privately enjoy the sin. Hate the sin when others do it; love the sin when you do it. Condemn everyone for sinning, while feeling superior because you don’t. Hate the sin; love the sinner. Which of those seven axioms are we best at doing? (Unfortunately, this is a “choose all that apply” question)? We desperately need help here. Maybe this series can provide some guidance: “Yes, . . . But Love”

The Surprising Story of the Skeptical Sadducees, Part 2

The Surprising Story of the Skeptical Sadducees, Part 2

I grew up surrounded by puns. Why did the old man fall down the well? He couldn’t see that well! What’s blue and not very heavy? Light blue. What do you call a can opener that doesn’t work? A can’t opener. And then there was this one: “Why did they call themselves the Sadducees?” Because they didn’t believe in the resurrection and that made them sad, you see. Yes, I know that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, but I’m pretty sure that did not make them sad. In fact, several things suggest that they may have been quite happy with their lives. They were rich and aristocratic. They controlled the temple, and all the high priests were Sadducees. Outside of the religious sphere, they were successful merchants and found that the best way to get ahead is to go along with the Romans. They believed strongly in

A Oneness Culture

A Oneness Culture

This sermon is based on Eph. 4:1-6, 14-16. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The old campground rule says it this way: “Please leave things better than you found them.” I like that. I even want to do that. Even if it is impossible and we can’t leave things “better,” we can at least try really hard not to leave them any worse. But for better or worse, for richer or poorer, before you can make things better, you need to be sure what you are doing won’t make them worse. And the only way you can do that is to know what its “best version” would look like. For instance, take the church. If we want to make our church better, we first need to know what a healthy church looks like. And then, with that as our target, we can

The Surprising Story of the Skeptical Sadducees

The Surprising Story of the Skeptical Sadducees

Francois de La Rochefoucauld once said: “The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us.” The fun thing about the gap years is that they reintroduce surprise into reading the New Testament. Take Mark 12, for instance. In this chapter, we find Jesus engaging in conversations with various Jewish leaders. That’s not so surprising, but it is telling. Jesus tells a parable that gets the chief priests and the elders very angry. He gets into it with the Pharisees and the Herodians about the imperial tax. He engages with a teacher of the law about the greatest commandment. And surprisingly, he has a discussion with the Sadducees. Why is that surprising? Because while the Sadducees are frequently mentioned in the Synoptic gospels (nine times!), this is the only time Jesus has a conversation with any of their members. Even more surprising

A Servant Culture

A Servant Culture

This sermon is based on Mark 10:41-45. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The old campground rule says it this way: “Please leave things better than you found them.” I like that. I even want to do that. Even if it is impossible and we can’t leave things “better,” we can at least try really hard not to leave them any worse. But for better or worse, for richer or poorer, before you can make things better, you need to be sure what you are doing won’t make them worse. And the only way you can do that is to know what its “best version” would look like. For instance, take the church. If we want to make our church better, we first need to know what a healthy church looks like. And then, with that as our target, we can strive

Books in the Gap

Books in the Gap

Let’s start off with a quiz. There are five questions. Name five books that were written in the 19th century. (This one is easy. There are a ton of great books from the 1800’s. Do you have your five in mind?) Here a handful that you could have chosen: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and, last, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo All those books from the 19th century! How about naming five great books from the 18th century? This is a little more difficult, but still very doable. You could have listed. . . . Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Tom Jones by Henry Fielding Candide by Voltaire The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The

A People-First Culture

A People-First Culture

This sermon is based on Philemon 1:8-16. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The old campground rule says it this way: “Please leave things better than you found them.” I like that. I even want to do that. Even if it is impossible and we can’t leave things “better,” we can at least try really hard not to leave them any worse. But for better or worse, for richer or poorer, before you can make things better, you need to be sure what you are doing won’t make them worse. And the only way you can do that is to know what its “best version” would look like. For instance, take the church. If we want to make our church better, we first need to know what a healthy church looks like. And then, with that as our target, we can strive

History in the Gap

History in the Gap

Everyone needs a little history. And if the history you need is a bit wacky, then may I suggest you read any of Leland Gregory’s books on “Stupid History.” My favorite story that he includes in his first volume is the story of the famous Greek playwright, Aeschylus. Aeschylus lived a great life until he didn’t, but to understand his demise you have to understand the hunting practices of eagles. Apparently, eagles found tortoise meat a real delicacy. However, there was an obvious problem: that meat was covered by a hard shell. But eagles are incredibly smart. They figured out that if they dropped a tortoise on a rock from a sufficient enough height, it would crack open and provide a great feast for the working eagle. Now, eagles have great eyesight, but on one tragic day, an eagle mistook Aeschylus’ bald head for a shiny rock and dropped a

A Culture Committed to Doing Good

A Culture Committed to Doing Good

This sermon is based on Acts 10:34-38. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: The old campground rule says it this way: “Please leave things better than you found them.” I like that. I even want to do that. Even if it is impossible and we can’t leave things “better,” we can at least try really hard not to leave them any worse. But for better or worse, for richer or poorer, before you can make things better, you need to be sure what you are doing won’t make them worse. And the only way you can do that is to know what its “best version” would look like. For instance, take the church. If we want to make our church better, we first need to know what a healthy church looks like. And then, with that as our target, we can strive