We live as if following our passions will bring us joy. But in reality, this way of life brings us not joy, but happiness- a temporary feeling of pleasure as our desires are met, leaving us with a renewed longing for satisfaction when the glow recedes. What if the safety, comfort, and hope we long for is found, not in following our passions, but by making (and keeping) promises to one another? What if the church is a community of people bound together, not by their common passions, but by their common promises: from one another to one another, from one another to God, and most importantly, the promise of God to them?