Jesus's parting words to his disciples (John 14:15-21) references our church's mission: Love In Action. Or could they be referencing our church's Commission: outlining how our Love Is Action?
May 3 Where Do You Want Your God to Be?
John 14:1-14 We want God to draw near us. Certainly - we do. Where can that presence best be made known among us? Hint: watch the last 7 minutes!
"The Lord is My Shepherd - and I Lack Nothing?"
Psalm 23. It's easy to claim the first part - yet, the second? In Caesar's world of "There's not enough!" and the resultant aggression of "Let's get more!": lacking nothing is, indeed, possible!
April 19 - From Welcome to Belongings
The Road to Emmaus story. Rev. Chuck offers three church stories in real time on welcoming and being welcomed by Jesus - and how these events led to a deeper sense of belonging for all involved.
"A People in the Desert, a Country on the Cross"
Rev. Robert Gamble and Olya Balaban of This Child Here share the redemptive power of the longsuffering of the besieged people of Ukraine. Scripture: 1 Cor. 1:18-25.
Easter: "Fear and Joy" - with Rev. Chuck's original Children's Message, "Spring Has Sprung!"
"They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy" (Matthew 28:8). Can we name and claim the empty tomb of our fears and the joy of expectancy at the same time?
March 29 - Palm Sunday: The Joy of Traveling Light
Matthew 21:1-11. In living out - like Jesus here - our No Kings protest: hear these stories of how we can divest of what ensnares us, all around - to become more receptive of Good News, lying ahead.
March 15: From Words & Content to Worlds & Context
How can we formally educated North Americans who have lost ourselves in our carefully-crafted words and content embrace new worlds and contexts all around us? John 9:1-17, 35-41
March 8 - Communion: Our Watering Hole
John 4:5-15, 39-42: A Galilean Jew (Jesus) and a Samaritan woman commune at a village well. In our uncivil world, how powerful it is to commune likewise: in a small church, where everybody knows your name - or wants to!
March 1 - What Do You Want Your God to Be?
Letting go what you think God may want from you: What do you want your God to be? John 3:1-10
February 22 - Eve, Adam, and Our Two Temptations
What are these temptations? And how do we let them go?
February 15 - Thanks to Our Enemies, We Learn How to Love
Matthew 5:38-46. Faithful discipleship means standing with the marginalized - and like it or not, that attracts enemies. How do we resist their injustice with love?
February 8 - We Are the Salt? We Are the Light?
When justice and peace seem so far away, Jesus' central message that God's kingdom is at-hand seems a fantasy. Unless we buy into his words, "You are the light of the world ... You are the salt of the earth." Otherwise: Why bother?
February 1 - The Myth of Redemptive Violence
Recent violent ICE actions in Minneapolis have been condemned. And rightly so. Stepping back a bit: don't we all - in some way - buy into the imperial myth that violence can somehow redeem us? And can Jesus' teachings about the kingdom offer us an alternative?
January 25 - Authenticity, Vulnerability, Intimacy: Jesus Shows the Way
Matthew 4:12-23. Caesar's empire reigns violent over our land. What can Christ's proclamation that "the kingdom of heaven near, at-hand" teach us about our alternative?
January 11 - Remember Your Baptism
Many of us were baptized as infants - and so we cannot remember the event. Rev. Chuck tells a personal prison story of the importance, in our hardest times, of remembering our baptisms not literally, but seriously.
January 4: Our Three Gifts
Authenticity (gold). Vulnerability (myrrh). Intimacy (frankincense). The magi bring these gifts to Jesus. So can we. Matthew 2:1-12.
Who Knew?
Who knew that the narrative of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus seeking refuge in Egypt to escape Herod would continue to resonate two millennia on? Matthew 2:13-23
Our New Humanity The Birth of God-With-Us
Jesus' birth name is profoundly relational: Emmanuel, or God-With-Us (Matthew 1:18-25). Let us celebrate the new humanity this unbreakable relationship offers us!
December 7 - Here's to the Eccentrics!
John the Baptist was one: yes! This Advent: what can we learn from him about being the church? Matthew 3:1-12.
