Jan 28, 2018 |
Information Transformation
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneInformation Transformation
"There is so much information out there, and much of it is so
good, and can be so good for us. But, sometimes even Christianity, in its years
of being institutionalized and part of the culture, can be too much information.
We can find ourselves caught in cute stories – some of them are transformative
– but other ones simply have us gathering more and more information."
Mark 1:21-28
Mark 1:21-28
Jan 28, 2018 |
Holy Humanity
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulHoly Humanity
“Sometimes we hear people say ‘Oh, they’re just human. They’re
only human. We’re only human.’ Jesus shuns that thinking. For Jesus humanity is
not something that we need to rise above or get rid of. For Jesus our humanity
is a gift. It is our humanity that connects us with one another – that connects
us to the God that made us. It is our humanity that Jesus gives back to us. It
is our humanity that we are being begged to recognize in one another.”
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
Jan 21, 2018 |
God's Greatest Work
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiGod's Greatest Work
“TV wants you to believe that we’re getting more and more
divided, and bitter, and angry. And, social media seems really content to
facilitate that. But, God is doing a bigger, greater work. God is turning our
hearts toward the people we disagree with… toward the people that we think hate
us… the people who, if we’re being honest, we kind of hate. God is turning
hearts to each other, so we can see each other in love and mercy, instead of in
battle, and fighting and bickering, and issues.”
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Jan 21, 2018 |
The Dance of Discipleship
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneThe Dance of Discipleship
"There probably are times when we simply don’t hear the call.
And, it could be that sometimes we are so busy with other things, and that’s
where we need a silent time, not just on Sunday mornings but throughout our
lives and our days and our weeks. The moment of taking a deep breath, reminding
ourselves of God’s presence so that we will choose right action… so that we
will hear the urgency of the gospel, but listen for exactly how God wants us to
fill our days. It is a dance."
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20
Jan 14, 2018 |
Fully Known, Fully Loved
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulFully Known, Fully Loved
“Before you think about how youre supposed to treat other
people stop for a moment and recognize that you are fearfully and wonderfully
made by the God of all creation. You! You, sitting here right now, as you are,
God knows you… knows you! And looks at you with love and acceptance for where
you are and who you are.”
John 1:43-51
John 1:43-51
Jan 07, 2018 |
Moments of the Spirit
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinMoments of the Spirit
“There are also the subtler moments… the nudge, a dream
begging attention, an awareness, an experience of feeling called to do
something different in our lives, something new, or to deepen our involvement in
something old. The challenge for us is to notice these moments. To savor them.
To allow them to guide us in new ways to new beginnings in our own lives.”
*Please note: due to technical difficulties the readings mentioned in the recorded sermon are not included with this podcast.
Genesis 1:1-5
Mark 1:4-11
*Please note: due to technical difficulties the readings mentioned in the recorded sermon are not included with this podcast.
Genesis 1:1-5
Mark 1:4-11
Jan 07, 2018 |
Loved for What
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulLoved for What
“You are loved. What are you gonna do with that love? That’s
the question for today. The question for today is what happens to that love
that belongs to you? Will you hoard it? Will you hide it? Will you sit and let
it just stew? If you’re going to accept the love of God that is in Jesus Christ
will you accept that that love is meant to send you out into this world to spread
it… to spread love and peace… to be a blesser, to be a healer, and a teacher,
and a lover in this world.”
Mark 1:4-11
Mark 1:4-11
Dec 31, 2017 |
More Than Words
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneMore Than Words
“But we need to remember that it’s about more. It’s about more than a birth way back then, but
a birth… a stirring… an enfleshment of a word… an active word: the word of
creation, the word of order, of love and relationship between people and
between people and their God. And that word is alive and active in this world.”
John 1:1-18
John 1:1-18
Dec 25, 2017 |
Miracles Still Happen
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinMiracles Still Happen
“Whatever our circumstance let us keep our eyes open to God
in our midst… to the miracles that are still open to us. Let us keep alert to
miracles whether we find them in gatherings, in strangers’ voices, at a zoo celebrating
a hippo, in a recovery center of young moms and children, in a manger in swaths
of cloth.”
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Dec 24, 2017 |
O Little Town of Everywhere
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulO Little Town of Everywhere
“God is born into this world to a bunch of nobodies in a
nobody place in a manger. God is born in this world right now to you, to me, to
us. If in Bethlehem, there, then, here, now God is. There is just as much need
now, as ever there was, for love to be born into this world and to redeem it
and to change it and to bring us closer to who we are meant to be. To bring us
closer to one another. To bring us closer to the God of Love. There is more
need now than ever for us to recognize love’s presence in this world. There is
more need now than ever for us to recognize God working, being born everywhere
we look.”
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Dec 24, 2017 |
A Prophet Like Mary
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulA Prophet Like Mary
“The thing about prophets is not that God speaks to them, it’s
that they recognize God’s voice when God speaks. The thing about prophets is
not that they make God show up, it’s that when God shows up they recognize it.
The thing about prophets is not that they make more love happen, it’s that they
know love when they see it. God does not place these prophets… Mary, Jeremiah, Isaiah…
into our lives so that we can say, “Look at them, they sure know a lot.” God
places prophets in our lives so that we can see how God speaks to and through
us as well.”
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1:26-38
Dec 17, 2017 |
Transformative Joy
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneTransformative Joy
“Joy is about transformation, and it is about what God does,
not about what we do for ourselves. It is something that comes as a gift like
that peace that passes all human understanding… so joy breaks in.”
John 1:6-8,19-28
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
John 1:6-8,19-28
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Dec 17, 2017 |
The Thing About Star Wars...
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Thing About Star Wars...
“We allow ourselves to be influenced by people that we trust
and care about, and that’s good. We foster relationships of connection and
interdependence, which is something that we’ve got to continue to develop in
our lives. We’ve got to stop talking about independence and start thinking
about interdependence and connection. And, the way we build that is we allow
someone into our hearts and we allow them to change the way we see the world.”
John 1:6-8,19-28
John 1:6-8,19-28
Dec 10, 2017 |
Shared Stories
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinShared Stories
"Each of us has our stories, and only we can tell them. And,
it means so much when we are able to share them with someone else, because it
deepens that other person’s awareness of Christ’s movement… awareness of who
the other person is. It’s a beautiful thing to share. Each of us is unique. Only
we can tell our stories. And, we know when we do, we are telling the story of
another child of God."
Mark 1:1-8
Mark 1:1-8
Dec 10, 2017 |
Tough Mudder
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulTough Mudder
"This is not ‘repent or God won’t love you anymore.’ This is ‘Jesus
is coming with love, to care for you, to save you, to liberate you from your
sins so that you can live into a life of love…’ Period. We are all going to
finish this race together. That is the good news of Jesus Christ. We, this world,
dark as it seems, scary and painful as it is, we are going to finish this
together, with God. The knowledge of that makes it possible for us to repent."
Mark 1:1-8
Mark 1:1-8
Dec 03, 2017 |
Keeping Watch
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneKeeping Watch
"But, we too need to know that somehow all shall be well in
the end. And in the meantime, we’re keeping watch. Jesus says we’ll never know
the hour. But, we do know that Christ came. Christ keeps coming into our lives,
and we keep watch for those little glimpses of grace, and glimpses of glory"
Mark 13:24-37
Mark 13:24-37
Dec 03, 2017 |
I Miss You Already
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulI Miss You Already
“You’ve got to be open to falling in love with Jesus.
Really. Not as an idea. Not as a concept. Not as some sort of broad, bland,
saying ‘I believe in goodness and justice and love.’ I believe in goodness and
justice and love, that’s great. You can’t fall in love with a concept… not
really. You can idealize it. You can hold it up. You can say ‘look at this. This
is what it’s supposed to be.’ But, you fall in love with people. We’ve
got to be open to the possibility that Jesus is real, and that you can have a
relationship with Jesus. That Jesus is someone you can fall in love with.”
Mark 13:24-37
Mark 13:24-37
Nov 26, 2017 |
Our Counter-Cultural King
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneOur Counter-Cultural King
“We often talk about how we want people to come here and we
will welcome them, and that’s so true, we’re so good. But, how about seeking
out, gathering, leading, feeding, out in the world. This is certainly an
invitation for all of us, and it is one more step toward the kingdom of Christ’s
reign.”
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Matthew 25:31-46
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Matthew 25:31-46
Nov 26, 2017 |
Bad Babies
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulBad Babies
“This isn’t what it means to be a good person. This is what it means for us to be the Church. This isn’t about us getting to heaven when we die because we did the right things. This is about us recognizing heaven present right here. That’s what justice looks like. That’s what love is… recognizing God, beauty, and the blessing in the people right in front of you. Not for who you’d like them to be. Not for who they might could be one day… but for who they are right now. When you do that, you are the body of Christ.”
Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew 25:31-46
Nov 19, 2017 |
Our Stories
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinOur Stories
“We may repeat our cycles of forgetting who God is. We may
repeat our cycles of falling into sin. We may repeat our cycles of needing to
step back and remember… remember who God is… remember that everything we have,
however it compares to anything else, that everything is gift from God. We may
feel stuck at times. We may fail to see what’s right in front of us. And yet
through it all, God is with us. We need only remember that. That God is with
us.”
Matthew 25:14-30
Matthew 25:14-30