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
Jun 17, 2018 |
Growing the Kingdom
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiGrowing the Kingdom
"We need to be reminded to do our job – to plant seeds. And, to not be afraid that the seeds that we have to plant are too small. And then to trust God to do the growing. Trust God to grow that seed in peoples’ hearts. And be there when it’s time for the harvest."
Mark 4:26-34
Mark 4:26-34
Jun 10, 2018 |
An Unbound People
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneAn Unbound People
"What does it look like for us to be unbound? And not only to be unbound in our personal lives, more free to be who we are and what God calls us to be, but to move out to free others. To free others who are bound by poverty, by injustice. To be both unbound ourselves, and unbind the wounds of others in our world."
Mark 3:20-35
Mark 3:20-35
Jun 10, 2018 |
Brothers and Sisters in Christ
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinBrothers and Sisters in Christ
[…] whatever brings us here, what we find in our common ground, our common life together, is Jesus. And, we find that message of love – our call to love God, our call to love each other, our call to love ourselves. That’s the abiding message here. That’s what ties us together. That’s what makes us brothers and sisters in Christ.
Mark 3:20-35
Mark 3:20-35
Jun 03, 2018 |
Reaching Out
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinReaching Out
"We in institutions and we as individuals can fall prey to the same dilemma. We can get caught up in our structures. We can get caught up in our legalistic thinking. And, we can fail to see the message of love – the miracle in front of us, the opportunity right in front of us – to reach out and touch someone with love... to lighten someone’s load with love."
Mark 2:23-3:6
Mark 2:23-3:6
Jun 03, 2018 |
The Gospel According to James Brown
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Gospel According to James Brown
"Jesus is an artist in this world who is creating a new genre of living – a new way of being in the world. That’s what Jesus is. He is creating a new way of living and loving in the world. He’s not starting from scratch, and he’s not scrapping everything. He understands the rules of his people, but more importantly he knows what they’re for. He knows that the rules are there to help people to be in tune with how God speaks – to help them listen for God’s voice... for God’s song."
Mark 2:23-3:6
Mark 2:23-3:6
May 27, 2018 |
Love Isn't Fair
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiLove Isn't Fair
"But here’s the big secret about God’s love – and it shames me to say that this is any kind of a secret, but somehow for centuries the church has kept this secret from people – God’s love isn’t fair. It couldn’t be less concerned with being fair. It’s concerned about being love. Loving the world so much to send a son into the world, and sending that son not to condemn the world, but for love. This shouldn’t be a secret."
John 3:1-17
John 3:1-17
May 27, 2018 |
The Way of Love
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinThe Way of Love
"God so loved the world. He didn’t love just a political party, just a faith tradition, just people of a certain continent. The message is God so loved the world. So often the focus is on this scripture in a way that divides us, but the opening could not be clearer – God so loved the world."
John 3:1-17
John 3:1-17
May 20, 2018 |
That's the Holy Spirit
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiThat's the Holy Spirit
Love wins over sin and death and even… this is what the Holy Spirit is. It’s that feeling in your heart when your heart breaks at the brokenness of the world – that’s the Holy Spirit. When you see people out there making a difference in this broken world and you’re inspired to go and help – that’s the Holy Spirit. And, when you do the best you can and you lay down at night assured that love will win over sin and death and evil – that’s the Holy Spirit.
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15