Mar 24, 2019 |
We Are (Only) Human
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinWe Are (Only) Human
"We are all human. We are one human family. We all are vulnerable and we all seek safety. We do the best we can in the midst of the unexpected accident, the violence, the loss, disasters that are created by man and disasters that are just coming about – that we have no idea about. We use are gifts and our skills to the best of our abilities, and we have to know we still have our limits. We cannot know everything. We cannot anticipate everything. We cannot wrap the one’s we love in bubble wrap. There will be difficulties. There will be challenges. We are human…"
Luke 13:1-9
Luke 13:1-9
Mar 24, 2019 |
Don't Change the Subject
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulDon't Change the Subject
"Jesus is getting down in the manure, in the muck, with us, and for us, and about us. He’s showing us, even in this parable, what it looks like to live lives of love. Not to skip the dirty parts, the dark parts, the hard parts, but to roll our sleeves up and get down in it. Not to allow the things that are difficult in our lives to distract us from why we exist, not to allow the great tragedies and injustices we see to dishearten us in such a way that we forget God’s presence, not to allow our own failings, and our own mistakes, and our own things that we do wrong, to get in the way of the recognition of why we exist. We exist as a people who spread the love of God in this world.”
Exodus 3:1-15
Luke 13:1-9
Exodus 3:1-15
Luke 13:1-9
Mar 17, 2019 |
Bold Enough to Break the Rules
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneBold Enough to Break the Rules
“Sometimes we have to break the rules, even break the law, in order to obey God’s law of love. Think of people like Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and take notice that all of these people are either women or people of color. […] I think sometimes we assume that breaking the rule or breaking the law will be detrimental to us, but sometimes we have to be bold. […] Sometimes breaking the rules shows us the way of love."
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18
Luke 13:31-35
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18
Luke 13:31-35
Mar 17, 2019 |
Make Jerusalem Great Again
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulMake Jerusalem Great Again
"Jesus is real love, and real love embraces us as we are, come what may. Real love embraces this world, puts to death our petty – our shallow – idea of what love is and raises us up into new lives of reconciliation, of love and redemption, lived out in our every day life here. Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him, and we do not follow Jesus into the imagined past. We follow Jesus into the death of our idea of the way the world works so that we can live in the resurrected present.”
Luke 13:31-35
Luke 13:31-35
Mar 10, 2019 |
Not Today, Satan!
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneNot Today, Satan!
"This passage makes us consider how we might be given the world, and then forced to figure out how to carry it all on our own. […] But more importantly, it urges us to consider the alternative to evil – the path of grace and obedience, discipline and faith, that Jesus chooses when confronted by evil himself."
Luke 4:1-13
Luke 4:1-13
Mar 10, 2019 |
Romans and Racial Reconciliation
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulRomans and Racial Reconciliation
"Understand that real relationship, with people who are different than you, in Christ’s kingdom requires all of us to give something up of ourselves, and requires all of us to recognize God’s presence in other people who look, think, act, believe, and speak differently than us. It requires it. Drawing people into Christian community isn’t about making more people like us… it’s about expanding our understanding of what ‘us' is."
Romans 10:8b-13
Romans 10:8b-13
Mar 03, 2019 |
Jesus: The Intimacy of God
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulJesus: The Intimacy of God
“[…] if you want to understand intimate relationship with God, look no further than the person in the mirror. Look no further than the person right in front of you. It is our deep yearning as a people of faith in this church to know Jesus and to grow in love – to develop and to engage in and to draw nearer to God – to develop and engage in deeper connection… holy connection and communion relationship with God."
Mar 03, 2019 |
Moments of the Journey
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinMoments of the Journey
"I invite you this Lent to notice the moments in your lives. Notice the moments that stand out – the moments where something shifts. Notice God’s presence in those moments."
Exodus 34:29-35
Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]
Exodus 34:29-35
Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]
Feb 24, 2019 |
Be a Door, Not a Doormat
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneBe a Door, Not a Doormat
"Non-violent response to injustice is not about compliance, it is about resistance. An act of non-violent resistance is not about being a doormat, it’s about being a door – a gateway to a greater truth… a higher power. Non-violent resistance is, in fact, one of the most powerful symbols of Christian love modeled most profoundly by our savior as he hung on the cross and said ‘Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.’ Today’s Gospel lesson is not about being a pushover. It’s about urging people toward love – love modeled for the oppressor as a better way."
Luke 6:27-38
Luke 6:27-38
Feb 24, 2019 |
The Aspiration Fallacy
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Aspiration Fallacy
"This isn’t about you becoming a better person. This is about recognizing who you were made to be, which is different. This isn’t about you aspiring to become better, more, or greater. This is about you understanding who you are right now. You are a person made to love your enemies.”
Luke 6:27-38
Luke 6:27-38
Feb 17, 2019 |
For Better or Worse
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiFor Better or Worse
"You’re not struggling now because God is mad at you, and you’re not comfortable and wealthy now because God is oh so pleased with you. God loves the rich and the poor. Good loves the joyful and the sorrowful. God loves those who are loved by others, and he loves those who are hated by those around them. And to everything there is a season, but for God’s love there is no season."
Feb 17, 2019 |
Keeping Perspective
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinKeeping Perspective
"Let us be mindful that we can do nothing good without God, and that we need the help always of God’s grace. If we’re able to keep things in that perspective – if we’re able to keep our relationship with God front and center – that relationship is the blessing. And, whether the outside world is falling apart, or a constant party, that relationship is the blessing. With God at the center, we are blessed.”
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Luke 6:17-26
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Luke 6:17-26
Feb 10, 2019 |
A Vision for Redeemer
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulA Vision for Redeemer
“Jesus is here, now, present in this church. And, he is calling us to move forward, and this vision that we have is simply a way for us to see what moving forward looks like. It’s a way for us not just to do new work, but to re-approach the work that we are doing: the way that we are caring for each other, the way we are participating in the redemption of the world – to look at it again and anew with a sense that in doing this work we are accomplishing something.”
Luke 5:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Feb 03, 2019 |
The One Thing I Learned in College
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe One Thing I Learned in College
"To me [love] sounds so big that I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to grasp it, trying to hold onto it, trying to get closer to that being my understanding of the world. I don’t ever want to grow out of that. I want to grow in to that reality. I want this to be the center piece of our lives because its not just something we can move pass or go beyond."
Feb 03, 2019 |
Conversion of Life
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiConversion of Life
"You need to be willing to convert your life every day. To listen for a God who is calling you out of the old patterns that you think you know, to listen to a God who is going to teach you something new even if you have been doing this for decades and decades.”
Luke 4:21-30
Luke 4:21-30
Jan 27, 2019 |
On a Mission from God
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneOn a Mission from God
"Our mission as Christians has always been, and will always be, to know Christ and to make Christ known. And, in this community we are gathering together to say, 'no one is dispensable, everyone matters, and if one suffers we all suffer, and if one rejoices we all rejoice.' Our mission and our vision for this community is that we are a symbol of God’s love in this town, in this city, and in this nation."
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
Jan 27, 2019 |
Who Should We Get Rid Of?
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulWho Should We Get Rid Of?
“God is not interested in us becoming good, better, or best, God is interested in us becoming whole. God is not interested in us figuring out who to get rid of so that we can be the right kind of people. God is interested in us recognizing our fundamental interconnectedness, that we belong utterly and completely to one another. That we are one.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Jan 20, 2019 |
60-78% Transformed
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane60-78% Transformed
"Just like a fine wine, the complexity and balance and unique gifts that we each have to share often get better with time. Participating in the miracle of transformation is a process… a process in these steps, a process of fermentation that requires an interruption of our current composition, a new ordering of the elements, an embrace of effervescence, and the giving and sharing of warmth."
John 2:1-11
John 2:1-11
Jan 13, 2019 |
The Ordinary Way of God
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiThe Ordinary Way of God
“The temptation for a lot of us is to look for God in the world and expect choirs of angels, and shepherds, and rulers from far off lands to come and point to God. And, what often happens is God is there in the crowd, and there’s no fanfare, and there’s no heavenly host. It’s just God in the crowd, doing ordinary things."
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Jan 13, 2019 |
Recognizing God
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulRecognizing God
“When we love and show mercy and forgiveness, when we look at each other and care for one another, when we care for this world and go out of our comfort zone and risk something of ourselves to make this world more like his kingdom come and his will be done – when we do that, we’re not just doing it so that we can get the right number of marks or so that God will pay attention to us. We are participating with God in the work that God is already doing.”
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22