Sermons on rooted in grace (Page 2)
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Sermons on rooted in grace (Page 2)

Revealed Through Nonviolence

Lent was originally a season for new converts to learn and prepare for their baptism on Easter. During that time, they would study what was central to Christianity. As we enter this new series, we study what is central to Jesus’ life and ministry: radical welcome, love for neighbor, care for the vulnerable, nourishment for the hungry, nonviolence in the face of injustice. At the heart of Jesus’ teachings, we find liberation, love, mercy, and grace—all of which are meant…

Inspiring Us To Act

This Sunday we will observe Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus’ life, a span of time that Christian tradition has come to refer to as Holy Week. While the week culminates in the events of Good Friday and Easter, the movement through the entire week tells us of significant interactions with followers as well as definitive confrontations with adversaries, each of which brings greater clarity about how Jesus understood his mission, to incarnate…

Rooted In Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness

While Jesus is teaching in the Temple, some scribes and Pharisees interrupt Jesus to put both him and a woman caught in adultery on trial. Their questioning intensifies as they cite Mosaic Law and put the woman’s fate in Jesus’ hands. Instead of focusing on punishment, Jesus flips the script and invites each person to consider their own sin; Jesus defuses the spectacle by condemning no one. Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Protection and Care for the Vulnerable

Jesus was a first-century Jew, and our scripture reading this week comes from the Hebrew scriptures that would have shaped Jesus’ own theology and ethics. Our friends at “A Sanctified Art”, who developed our theme for this season, say: “Throughout his ministry, Jesus emphasized the last, the least, and the lost, building upon the mandates of the Hebrew Scriptures to care for the immigrant, widow, and orphan among you.” Retired religious studies professor Heather Anne Thiessen has pulled together some…

Together, The Impossible is Possible

As Jesus and his disciples head to a deserted place, perhaps seeking peace and quiet, many from the surrounding towns follow them. Instead of turning them away, Jesus expresses compassion and begins an impromptu teaching session. As the day goes on, the disciples have logistics in mind and urge Jesus to send the people back into the villages so they can feed themselves. Instead, Jesus presents them with an impossible task: “You give them something to eat.” Dumbfounded, the disciples…

Great Love for God & Neighbor

John’s Gospel doesn’t begin with a temptation story but instead opens Jesus’ ministry with a wedding miracle, a miracle Jesus enacted seemingly for the sole purpose of expanding joy by keeping the good vibes flowing (literally). It may feel a bit lavish to start the season of Lent with a wedding banquet, but the good news begins with joy. This week we focus on the subversive and playful nature of the good news. The kin-dom of heaven is so good…

So Good, It Catches Us By Surprise

John’s Gospel doesn’t begin with a temptation story but instead opens Jesus’ ministry with a wedding miracle, a miracle Jesus enacted seemingly for the sole purpose of expanding joy by keeping the good vibes flowing (literally). It may feel a bit lavish to start the season of Lent with a wedding banquet, but the good news begins with joy. This week we focus on the subversive and playful nature of the good news. The kin-dom of heaven is so good…

WHO IS WITH JESUS?

Focus this week is on who is with Jesus, referring to forefathers of Jesus, Moses and Elijah, and the contemporaries of Jesus: Peter, James and John (Jesus’ present), and who “walks alongside” us – from the past and present. Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

JESUS SHAPES A VISIBLE FAITH

This week Pastor Penny’s message will be rooted in Matthew 5:13-20. Together we will wonder about how we are called to be “the salt of the earth and the light of the world”. Karoline Lewis writes: “It is not enough to know about God. As disciples, we have to be the activity of God in the world. We are called to live out our identity as salt and light.” Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

JESUS NAMES HIS VALUES

This week we continue to ponder the question “Who is this?” as we encounter Jesus through the stories of some of his earliest ministry experiences in Matthew’s Gospel. As both Pastor Kelly and Pastor Jorge have already alluded to, this is a question that echoes around Jesus throughout his ministry and also directly impacts who we understand ourselves to be as a people who seek to follow in his way with passion and purpose today. Our scripture reading for this…

JESUS BEGINS HIS MINISTRY

As we celebrate his fight for racial equality and justice through nonviolent protest, honoring his commitment to freedom, service, and building a “Beloved Community” for all people, we continue the journey through the season that describes Christ’s revelation to the world, asking “Who is this?” This question anticipates the questions that follow Jesus throughout his life and ministry – questions from both followers and adversaries. It’s also a defining question of our own faith journeys: Who is this Jesus, and…