Sep 09, 2018 |
Brought Together by Brokenness
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinBrought Together by Brokenness
"Its when we hit those hard places – when we know we don’t have the magic answer; we don’t have control of the circumstances; we don’t have the skills to get through them. It’s in those moments that we are most ready to reach out to each other and to reach out to God."
Mark 7:24-37
Mark 7:24-37
Sep 09, 2018 |
When Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulWhen Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
"There is no part of your life that is too dark or confusing that God is not willing to be present. There is no low to which you can sink where God will not go and meet you there. There is no part of your life – even in your own pettiness, your own blindness or naivety – that God will not be willing to shake you out of your doldrums and help you recognize God’s holy presence and the holy presence of God in every person you meet."
Mark 7:24-37
Mark 7:24-37
Sep 02, 2018 |
God is Bigger Than Beliefs
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiGod is Bigger Than Beliefs
"It’s easy to follow a God who only comforts me, and only calls me to do things that I want to do, and loves the same people I love, and hates the same people I hate. That’s an easy God to follow. The God of the New Testament loves all the people I hate and calls me to love them. The God of the New Testament – the God of the Bible – wants to comfort but also to challenge me. The God of the bible wants to love me and transform me."
James 1:17-27
James 1:17-27
Sep 02, 2018 |
What Matters is Within Us
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinWhat Matters is Within Us
"What we say matters. What we do matters. And the simplest measure of this is God’s commandment to love – to love. Love is the litmus test. Are our actions loving of God, our neighbor, ourselves… are our words loving of God, our neighbor, ourselves?"
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Aug 26, 2018 |
The War is Over
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiThe War is Over
"You don’t need to go win the war. The war is done. All these powers that try to thwart the good work of good people have already lost. So, our job is to stand firm knowing that faith, and righteousness, and peace, and truth, and all of these armaments that we can put on ourselves – that's enough to protect us."
Ephesians 6:10-20
Ephesians 6:10-20
Aug 19, 2018 |
Weirdos in the Park
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulWeirdos in the Park
“We are church. Church is’t a place we go. Church is a thing we are, and it is a thing we bring into this world with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds. And so it is fitting for us to be big, and ridiculous, and beautiful out here in this weather and in this place."
Aug 12, 2018 |
Play God
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulPlay God
"You’re going to play God now let’s talk about what it looks like to play God. It looks like you forgiving each other because you are forgiven. It looks like you being kind to one another because God is kind to you. It looks like you breaking down the walls in this community that tear us apart."
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Aug 05, 2018 |
From THEM to US
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiFrom THEM to US
“God wants you to come join the ‘Us' – be part of the ‘Us'. And, those of us who are here with the ‘Us' need to welcome ‘Them'as part of ‘Us'. And doing that will leave us changed."
Ephesians 4:1-16
Ephesians 4:1-16
Aug 05, 2018 |
Claim Your Sainthood
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulClaim Your Sainthood
"If we are going to experience what it means to love and be loved in this world part of it needs to be to claim who we are – honestly. Even if it scares us and even if we’re insecure about it, we are saints. We have been chosen and set apart by God to move through this world in love, and to bring love where it’s needed, and to tear down walls, and to speak truth in love.”
Ephesians 4:1-16
Ephesians 4:1-16
Jul 29, 2018 |
Lean Into the Spirit
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinLean Into the Spirit
"We may catch glimpses of Paul’s prayer being answered in people around us. We may catch glimpses of it in our own lives in those moments when we can surrender our control and lean in and be awake and be open and just receive the spirit and share that spirit with others. Notice those moments. Savor those moments."
Ephesians 3:14-21
Ephesians 3:14-21
Jul 29, 2018 |
God's Last Name
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulGod's Last Name
"We are a family and we are defined by the magnificent, enormous, extravagant, and absurdly beautiful, powerful love of God that is in Jesus Christ. That is who we are.”
Ephesians 3:14-21
Ephesians 3:14-21
Jul 22, 2018 |
Whoa with the We's and They's
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiWhoa with the We's and They's
"There’s a certain comfort in knowing who WE are and who THEY are. We know who to be angry at and who to disagree with when we know who THEY are. Whoever THEY is, our call in Christ is to reject that thinking. To reject any of the behaviors that come out of that thinking. To reject the hatred and the venom that we spew at each other over differences of opinion."
Ephesians 2:11-22
Ephesians 2:11-22
Jul 22, 2018 |
Now What?
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulNow What?
"God’s work in Jesus tears down the walls that separate us… tears down hatred… tears down animosity, and builds up a body of people who are given to each other. But, if we’re going to live into that we have to recognize the gift of the people all around us and how they are gifts to us.”
Ephesians 2:11-22
Ephesians 2:11-22
Jul 08, 2018 |
Walking Together
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinWalking Together
"We’re walking together in this leg of the journey. We’re walking together and bearing witness to christ walking with us. We’re walking together with our full heart and attention to walking in Christ’s love."
Mark 6:1-13
Mark 6:1-13
Jul 08, 2018 |
Show Me the Power!
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiShow Me the Power!
"A lot of us though, we come here looking for Jesus forgetting that we brought Jesus with us. And, we look for deeds of power and we forget about the ways we’ve been transformed. We forget about the ways our families and communities have been transformed by Jesus."
Mark 6:1-13
Mark 6:1-13
Jul 01, 2018 |
Bobcats, Tigers, and the Power of Jesus
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiBobcats, Tigers, and the Power of Jesus
And so it will be forgiven of me and you if we don’t really get it. We’ll continue to go through this life and we’ll be afraid of all sorts of things – bobcats, and teenagers, and sickness, and death – and Jesus will say to us ‘Don’t fear, just believe.’"
Mark 5:21-43
Mark 5:21-43
Jul 01, 2018 |
Never Alone
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinNever Alone
"Sometimes when people are in their most weakened state they are most in tuned with Jesus’s presence – they are most reliant on Jesus – not for the healing of their physical form, but of the longing to grow ever closer to Jesus. They absolutely believe in the promise of eternal life. It's that peace that passes all understanding. We don’t want to be in that position, and yet the people that I’ve witnessed in that position have been living testimonies to God’s presence.”
Mark 5:21-43
Mark 5:21-43
Jun 24, 2018 |
Making Sense of God's Power
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiMaking Sense of God's Power
"Maybe if I read the bible and it says God did something, and I’m really uncomfortable with what God did, maybe the problem isn’t with what God did but with the things that I’m comfortable with. Maybe if I read something that God did, and it doesn’t make sense to me, maybe the problem isn’t with God not making sense, maybe the problem is with what I allow to be sensible."
Mark 4:35-41
Mark 4:35-41
Jun 24, 2018 |
The Birthplace of Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Birthplace of Love
"The birthplace of love is the recognition of Christ in another person. A recognition of God, the creator of all things and the maker of love itself, present in the people we see. And the next part of that is recognizing Christ alive and working in us. And, if Christ is in me, and Christ is in you, we’re going to have to find a way to care about each other. Even when we disagree."
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
Jun 17, 2018 |
One Gardener’s Goodbye - Nancy’s Farewell to Redeemer
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneOne Gardener’s Goodbye - Nancy’s Farewell to Redeemer
"And for Redeemer as a congregation – I can’t wait, I’ll be on the sidelines to watch and see what happens next – but same thing here. And, let’s not focus too much on being a tall, stately cedar. But instead, a boundary breaking invasive contagious weed like the mustard bush. Allow God to work in new ways. Sometimes setting aside the old way of doing things to make way for the new. I’m excited to hear about the next chapter in this congregation’s story, and i know that it will happen as you sow seeds, cultivate them, nurture them, water them, and watch while they grow."
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Mark 4:26-34
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Mark 4:26-34