Scripture: Luke 21:5-19. The Serenity Prayer teaches us, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." Yet, as Jesus teaches us, in the shadow of his cross: when all the courage in the world cannot change matters, how can we either accept or resist them?
Sunday, November 6 - "Witnesses to Resurrection" - Rev. Chuck Booker
Scripture: Luke 20:27-38. When Jesus defends resurrection to the Sadducees, he does not play out how eternal life awaits us or our loved ones. Instead, Jesus cites the presence of his spiritual ancestors as proof. How can we today draw from our ancestors' wells and serve as witnesses to their resurrection - providing hope for the present struggles of history?
Sunday, October 30 - "The Power of Vulnerability, Part 2: Making Amends" - Rev. Chuck Booker
For church people, the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus teaches us the power of vulnerability in making amends in two ways: (1) seeing Jesus in our midst from a new vantage point, and (2) hearing his cry for hospitality on his own terms.
Sunday, October 23 - "The Power of Vulnerability - Shared" - Rev. Chuck Booker
Sunday, October 16 - "Nevertheless, She Persisted"
Rev. Chuck Booker Long before this feminist movement theme, the widow in Jesus' parable (Luke 18:1-5) confronts entrenched male power with fierce persistence. In Rev. Chuck's message, he calls us to celebrate her perseverant action based neither on dreaminess or resentment.
Sunday, October 9 - Let Us Give Thanks - Because, We Remember (Luke 17:11-19) - Rev. Chuck Booker
It is so easy to forget the moments of healing in our lives when, like the lepers in this narrative, "as we went, we are made clean". Can pausing to give thanks for these forgotten moments transform our lives?
World Communion Sunday, October 2 - "Justa: Precursor of the Church Universal" - Dr. Ruben Arjona
Justa - a traditional name for the unnamed Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7 - transforms Jesus: not the other way around. How does this transformation form and inform our present understanding of the Church universal?
Sunday, September 25 - "Seeing the Stranger at the Gate" - Rev. Chuck Booker
How can we be poor in spirit enough to see that we rich - because, others are poor? And, how are we to respond to that stranger at our gate?
Sunday, September 18 - "The Shrewdness of Forgiveness" - Rev. Chuck Booker
In our unjust world - if we wish to discover God’s mercy in our lives - the time and energy we invest on life’s rickety porch with humbled friends beats any time we spend in life’s plush resorts with privileged strangers.
Sunday, September 11 - "What's Good for the Lost Is Good for the Whole" - Rev. Chuck Booker
Sunday, September 4 - "The Cost of Discipleship" - Jan Moody, M.Div.
August 28 - "Why the Humble Become Heroes" - Rev. Nancy Clark
August 21 - "A Promise You Can Count On" - Rev. Pat Jackson
What are the promises that undergird our faith? What's the ONE promise that we particularly can count on?
