Dirty Words The Pharisees and Scribes confront Jesus about the disciples not properly washing their hands. Jesus turns the tables on them (of course) and challenges their understanding of sin and holiness. Jesus teaches that it is our own hearts that are the source of sin, not something outside of us that defiles us. Humans love to focus on the…
Disarmed Paul encourages the Ephesians to put on the whole armor of God – but he’s using language subversively here. The armor Paul suggests is not armor at all. Instead, it is righteousness, peace, truth, faith… Paul is perhaps suggesting that to be a follower of the Prince of Peace requires us to live differently. We may not wear armor these…
Properly Drunk In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus, he encourages them to live a life of wisdom, guided by the Gospel and the Holy Spirit. He encourages them to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the way that they might have once been filled with wine. For Paul and the early Christians, there was exuberance and joy…
“How Will We Talk to One Another” With the Olympics and the ceaseless commentary, the Presidential Debates, the Political Parties’ Conventions, and the coming Presidential Election people are talking but how are they talking and what are they trying to do with their talking? How Does Paul say we should talk with and to one another? In this polarized time…
Worthy of the Calling: Sharing from the Youth Mission Trip Join us in worship as we welcome back our Youth Mission Team, hear stories from their week, and celebrate all that God does in and through us. Pauls’ letter to the Church in Ephesus reminds them to employ their God-given gifts for the sake of building community, in the Church and…
More Than Leftovers The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is a well-known story, and one of our favorites. We love a good feast! What does this miracle story have to teach us about how we serve alongside our neighbors? What does it teach us about God’s design for how our societies should work? Join us live at…
Bring Healing We know that Jesus was a healer of many – showing God’s love in making lives whole. If we are the Body of Christ, called and empowered to continue Christ’s ministry, how should we continue Jesus’ healing work? Is there such a thing as divine healing? Are we supposed to be like those icky televangelists in the 1980s?…
Out of Plumb When things seems so off kilter – when lies are proclaimed as truth, when violence is seen as the way of peace, when professed followers of Jesus act like Caesar – how do we begin to set things right? How do we even know what right is? Amos’ vision of the plumb line – showing Israel how…
When Nothing Works If Jesus himself sometimes has only limited success in ministry, what does that mean for us? If Paul finds himself struggling with a spiritual thorn in his flesh, what does that mean for us? This week’s readings challenge our notions of success and failure, and invite us to consider more deeply what it means to be faithful to…
Two Daughters In this week’s Gospel reading, Mark interposes two healing stories to highlight the breadth of God’s healing work. How does God heal today? What is the connection between being ‘healed’ and being ‘saved?’ And how does Jesus move in our midst to bring healing and wholeness to our world? Join us live at 10:00 on June 30…
Little Things What good can we do, as small as we are in the face of the world’s problems? What can God possibly do with us? We might be tempted to think our work for justice means very little, and so is not worth what it costs us. But God is the One who loves to take small things and…
We Are Family? Jesus has a strange and troubling encounter with his family who are afraid he’s lost his mind. Jesus rebuffs their concern and declares that whoever does the will of God is his family. Is the metaphor of ‘family’ a helpful one for a faith community? How are we family to one another? Join us live at…
