Crumbs Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman is rich and confusing text! Why is Jesus being insulting to her? What’s the big deal about healing someone’s child just because she’s not Jewish? And what in the world could this story – set so firmly in the social, political, and religious understanding of the ancient world – have to say to…
Dangerous Waters, Dangerous People This will be pretty explicitly a Reconciling Ministries sermon. Joseph is rejected by his brothers because he is different. And different is scary. So his brothers sell him into slavery. The Disciples on the boat are fearful of the waters surrounding them, but Jesus walks fearlessly amid the storm and waves. We are not called to…
More Than Enough A central theme of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom: abundance. If our lives (and our society) is structured in such a way that some go hungry while others feast, we can be sure that it is not God’s vision for how we should live. But the good news is that there is enough and more than enough…
Trees and Yeast, Pearls and Fish Jesus teaches his followers about the Kingdom of God, but he always does so in story and parable. Why? Why doesn’t Jesus give us a nice step-by-step method of participating in God’s Kingdom? What is about the Kingdom that eludes easy explanation? Join us Sunday, July 26 at 10:00 live or watch the video…
Adopted by Love What do Jacob’s peculiar dream (the one about the ladder extending to heaven) and adoption have in common? And what does it even mean to have what Paul calls “a spirit of adoption?” Can’t we just be fans of Jesus rather than adopted siblings? Join us Sunday, July 19 at 10:00 live or watch the video any…
Servants of Righteousness: Reflections on the SLAM Trip Join us as we hear from our youth members about their experience with SLAM (Students Learning About Mission) at the Yakama Nation. The youth and adults who went will share a bit about how they experienced God moving in their midst and what we can all do to continue building a connection…
Set Free What does it mean to be free for followers of Jesus? Is it about individual privileges and freedoms? Is it about a release from any kinds of restraint? Or is it something altogether different? Paul and the earliest followers of Jesus understood that their freedom in Christ was a qualitatively distinct kind of freedom – one that led…
Practicing Hospitality, Meeting Christ Jesus says this strange sort of thing about welcoming and receiving rewards. It all boils down to this: to live open to the goodness and holiness of others is the way in which we embody Christian hospitality and, by opening ourselves to others, we open ourselves to Christ. Join us Sunday, June 28 at 10:00 live…
“Laughing at or Laughing with” Laughter can be a connection between people. It can lower our defenses and build relationships. Laughter can signify delight and wonder and joy. But laughter can also be defensive. It can be derisive and it can be a weapon. It can bring distance rather than closeness. The Genesis story of Sarai’s laughter when God promises…
Holy Interruptions “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” And what if faith is how we respond to those surprises that life throws our way? Can we live with such openness of heart that we encounter God in the unexpected and disrupting experiences of our lives? We’ll be celebrating and blessing our graduates this week as they get…
Always and Everywhere Finding God – Trinity Sunday The Sunday following Pentecost is Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the Triune nature of God. We will definitely not fully understand Trinitarian theology by the end of worship! But we might open ourselves up to the presence of a God who is both more magnificent and more intimate than we usually believe.…
Breath and Life The day of Pentecost comes with lots of holy hullaballoo: the sound of a rushing wind, tongues of flame, a cacophony of languages. And in our Pentecost worship we also bring a lot of flash – songs written for the day and bright colors. But, really, the noise of Pentecost is secondary – the real promise and…
