Mar 30, 2018 |
Days Like Today – Good Friday
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulDays Like Today – Good Friday
"We need days like today. Every other day in the life of the Christian faith we celebrate, or are meant to celebrate, the resurrection – the victory of the God of love... the victory of the God of all thinks... a love so powerful it conquers death and reconciles all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth. All things are reconciled by the power of the love of God that is in Jesus Christ, and we celebrate that because that means us too. Because, if everything is reconciled and everything belongs to God then you belong to God, and you belong to God and I belong to God, and thanks be to God. But, we need days like today where we acknowledge that we don’t know what to do with our own redemption."
John 18:1-19:42
John 18:1-19:42
Mar 29, 2018 |
Parting Gifts - Thursday in Holy Week
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneParting Gifts - Thursday in Holy Week
"Today can you hear Jesus say to you: "Thank you for all the ways that you serve. Thank you for all the ways that you are living out my love…" Jesus’s love in the world. This is a day when we encounter the radical grace and love in God."
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Mar 28, 2018 |
Alone Together - Wednesday in Holy Week
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulAlone Together - Wednesday in Holy Week
"I won’t try to take away your loneliness. It’s your right to be lonely. And, it would be a futile thing anyway. We’re all going to have it. We’re all going to live in that from time to time. My prayer for us tonight, this week, throughout our lives, is not that loneliness disappears. My prayer is that, even in our solitude, and even in our times of disconnection and our loneliness, we know somewhere inside of us that we are not ever alone."
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32
Mar 27, 2018 |
A Living Purpose - Tuesday in Holy Week
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiA Living Purpose - Tuesday in Holy Week
"We are created by love to love and to be loved. And this love will tear us open. It will bare our souls to the world. The world will not treat us well when that happens, and we’re called to love anyway."
John 12:20-36
John 12:20-36
Mar 26, 2018 |
Beautiful Moments - Monday in Holy Week
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinBeautiful Moments - Monday in Holy Week
"When I think of anointing, when I think of this scene, I also think of the many ways we can be present to each other. Maybe and hopefully our walk is not as dramatic as Jesus’s walk. Hopefully its gentler […], but there are ways we can be present to each other as we walk on our journeys."
John 12:1-11
John 12:1-11
Mar 25, 2018 |
I Am
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneI Am
"We call this Holy Week. We call Friday good. But what is holy and good is still shrouded in mystery. But what we have is a God who comes to us exactly where we are. We encounter Jesus today and God whispers to each one of us, 'I AM.'"
Mark 15:1-39, [40-47]
Mark 15:1-39, [40-47]
Mar 18, 2018 |
The Best Part of a Funeral...
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Best Part of a Funeral...
"This is the power, not of Jesus’s resurrection, but the power of Jesus death... is that when Jesus dies it tells us that there is nowhere you can go that God will not be with you. There is nothing you can do that God is not present in your life. There is no fear you can have that God is not with you in that fear."
John 12:20-33
John 12:20-33
Mar 11, 2018 |
Judged by Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulJudged by Love
"The judgement of the world that Jesus is talking about is that love comes into the world, and so many of us are scared of what real love looks like that we run away, or rationalize, or pretend that fake love is real love."
John 3:14-21
John 3:14-21
Mar 11, 2018 |
Making Choices
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinMaking Choices
"We have a chance to reflect on our lives, to reflect on our purpose, to reflect on our values, to reflect on the choices we’re making day in and day out... and the bigger choices. We have a chance to reflect on whether these are things – the behaviors we’re doing, the choices we’re making – whether they’re bringing us closer to God, closer to love; or whether they’re keeping us distant... whether they’re keeping us away."
Numbers 21:4-9
John 3:14-21
Numbers 21:4-9
John 3:14-21
Mar 04, 2018 |
Our Christian Scandal
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiOur Christian Scandal
“If you look around our world today you’d know that power is
overcome by greater power – strength is overcome by greater strength – might
makes right we’re told. And, some of us at our best will say, ‘well that’s not
really the ideal.’ Very few of us are comfortable saying, ‘no, a crucifixion
conquers power, death actually conquers life.’”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Mar 04, 2018 |
The Unthinkable Cross
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneThe Unthinkable Cross
“Our need, our desire to be in total control, to be powerful…
eternal youth and health as the supreme values in life… our need to be
successful, our fear of failure… our desire for superficial happiness, and our
belief that we go it alone – the cross turns all of it upside down. And, what
are we left with? We’re left with a dying savior on a cross.”
John 2:13-22
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Feb 25, 2018 |
Guidelines for Relationship
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinGuidelines for Relationship
“And I think if we just look at that model of Peter and
Jesus – that model of truth telling, that model of accepting, forgiving, and that
model of allowing space, even in difficult times. Even if we find ourselves
going different ways, allowing that space for love, as Christ has taught us,
love to prevail.”
Mark 8:31-38
Mark 8:31-38
Feb 25, 2018 |
Behind Jesus
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulBehind Jesus
“We, if we’re going to follow Jesus, we need to get behind
him and see where he’s going, and that matters for us. Because we keep thinking
we have to make it and earn it and do it right here. The right kind of world
and the right kind of life on our terms, and then the clouds will split, and
God will come down with a big old thumbs up and say “That’s what I was talking
about…”
Mark 8:31-38
Mark 8:31-38
Feb 18, 2018 |
Facing the Wild Beasts
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneFacing the Wild Beasts
“What would it be like to watch the ‘other’ news and to tell
oneself – it might need to be a mantra over and over again – ‘This person is
created in the image of God. This person is created in the image of God.’ To
engage, to wrestle with the forces… the forces that make us angry, that make us
judge. To rumble with the wild beasts.”
Mark 1:9-15
Mark 1:9-15
Feb 18, 2018 |
Practice Remembering
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulPractice Remembering
“Lent, this season we’re beginning, it’s a time when we’re
taking stock of our relationships. That’s what it’s about. It’s about taking
stock of where we fall short. It’s about taking stock of how we’d like to live
more fully into this relationship with God, into this relationship with our
community – with our loved ones, into the truth of who we are, and part of that
work is the work of remembering.”
Genesis 9:8-17
Genesis 9:8-17
Feb 14, 2018 |
God's Beloved Children
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiGod's Beloved Children
"If we can remember that Lent is a time to see ourselves the way God sees us, in all of the honesty and truth that God sees us, we won't walk out of here today thinking, 'Oh, wow, we're all such horrible sinners,' or 'Oh man, whew. That was a rough one.' If we can remember the psalmist's words we will walk out of here today, and everyday in Lent, and say, 'God loves me. God loves me in my sinfulness and my brokenness. I don't have to hide afraid or ashamed. God loves me as a child.'"
Psalm 51
Psalm 51
Feb 11, 2018 |
Know God, Grow in Love – Annual Meeting Address 2018
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulKnow God, Grow in Love – Annual Meeting Address 2018
"Change is inevitable. But, if like Jesus, we are attentive
to our past and stay connected to those essentials of our shared life and
identity every change we make will help us know God and grow in love."
Mark 9:2-9
Mark 9:2-9
Feb 04, 2018 |
Saved to Serve
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiSaved to Serve
"Jesus has come to save us from the power of sin that leaves
our world broken and hurting, and he takes us by the hand and he lifts us up
from that. I, for one, want to serve the one who saved me from death. Not because God has twisted my arm and forced me into service like a slave. I want to serve
this God who has saved me from death like a deacon… like one who willingly
gives of himself out of appreciation for all God has done."
Mark 1:29-39
Mark 1:29-39
Feb 04, 2018 |
Serve to Connect
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinServe to Connect
“The barriers for us in connecting are not usually language,
although it can be […]. Sometimes they’re more political thoughts. Sometimes
they’re more education, life circumstances. Sometimes they’re faith issues.
There are so many ways we can kind of create division between us and someone
else. There are ways we can say ‘Oh, that’s too full… too broad. I can’t cover
that. Let them talk to someone else.’ And yet, following Jesus’s model,
following Paul’s model, that’s exactly what we’re encouraged to do. To connect
with, to serve, to fully get to know and love the people who are sent our way.”
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39