Finding Life-Giving Water through Conversation with a Thirsty Messiah & a Courageous Woman
Matt’s message is rooted in the encounter of an unnamed Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well in John 4. An unnamed foreign woman from a different religious tradition & cultural identity is the first one to whom Jesus reveals his true identity in the Gospel of John. How might this story challenge and invite us to claim Jesus as Messiah in our everyday lives? Our scripture reading of John 4 is woven with Conversations by Sara Groves.
Rethink John 3:16
Linda’s message challenges us to rethink John 3.16 in context; Nicodemus coming to Jesus in the night (John 3.1-17).
Saying No, Saying Yes
Matt’s message is rooted in the story of Jesus encountering temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4.1-11). As we reflect on what it means to claim Jesus as the Christ and to be claimed by God through the love of Christ, the message invites us to consider what we might need to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to experiencing Jesus as Christ.
Ash Wednesday
Our morning Ash Wednesday gathering at The Table weaves readings from Isaiah 58, 2 Corinthians, & Matthew with Dust We Are and Shall Return by The Brilliance. Matt’s message starts around 11:00 minutes into the recording and invites reflection on the the ashes of Ash Wednesday. Elias Lucero is on guitar & Omari Tau on vocals. Readings by Donald Smith, Megan Pritchett, & Brenda Dabney.
Compassion
Matt’s message is rooted in Isaiah 49.8-16. Isaiah writes, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” God loves us even more deeply than any mother could love her nursing child. This means God needs us. God needs you. Not just abstractly, but intimately.
Holy
Linda’s message is rooted in Leviticus 19: 1-18. To be Holy is to seek God in all things that we do. May we seek to love others just as God loves us each and every day.
Life
Matt’s message is rooted in Deuteronomy 30: 15-20. Moses believes that living life means to walk in the ways of God. To follow the Law, love our God and love our neighbors, and it will lead you to Life. We must find our way, wherever we are, and choose life.
Fix it
The prophet Isaiah challenges the people of God in his day to move beyond empty religious rituals by integrating their spiritual disciplines with God’s call to justice-making. Isaiah concludes this section, “you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” Linda’s message invites reflection on how God might be calling us to be repairers of the breach, restorers of the streets in our day.
Controversy
Matt’s message is rooted in Micah 6: 1-8. In this chapter, God brings from the shadows into the light a great controversy with the people. What does the Lord require? We look back at the prophet Micah to discern how God might call us today to doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.
Light
Matt’s message is rooted in Isaiah 9.1-4. The people of God in Isaiah’s time found themselves in a “land of deep darkness.” Matt draws upon the prophetic witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Valarie Kaur to invite us to see parallels in our day. Valarie asks, “what if the darkness isn’t the darkness of a tomb, but the darkness of a womb?”
Attention
Linda’s message is rooted in Isaiah 49: 1-7. The idea of rescue in one’s life can often become individualistic. In order to live life together as a whole, we must seek to be the rescuers of each other and see the servant as both the faithful individual AND the obedient community.
Justice
Linda’s message is rooted in the call to justice found in Isaiah 42: 1-9. The name for our worship series, Life Together, is taken from a book by this name by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a prophetic Lutheran pastor who led a resistance movement during the rise of Hitler in Germany. Linda’s message sketches Bonhoeffer’s life and weaves his writings with those of the ancient prophet Isaiah. We hope this worship series on Life Together will embolden and challenge us to follow in the…