When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.” The house of Israel called it manna…
The gospel and God.
“The gospel” and “God” are not identical, of course, but the gospel discloses who God is by expressing what God’s intentions look like; we see these intentions when people experience healing, inclusion, forgiveness, and hope. Acts depicts the gospel as not only a message but also something embodied in Jesus’s followers, as individuals and mostly as the communities they form.” ~from “Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel, Encountering the Divine in the Book of Acts” by Matthew L. Skinner p. xvi How…
Toward Sunday
We begin a new worship series this week on the New Testament Book of Acts. The Acts of the Apostles is a colorful book of the New Testament which shows the Gospel expressing itself through the lives, speech, struggles & adventures of some of Jesus’s earliest followers. We encourage everyone to spend time reading the entire Book of Acts over the next few weeks and experience it for yourself. Outline: The Book of Acts November 8: Acts 4:32-37 Community November…
Toward Sunday
We are so grateful for the power and beauty of our Baptism celebration yesterday. If one of the persons baptized is in your Kitchen Table, please invite them to reflect on the experience as your group gathers this week. We draw our worship series, Christian? It’s Complicated, to a close this Sunday by offering our Deep Commitments. Please prayerfully consider how you would like to deepen your commitment to God and our community of faith in the coming year. Outline for Christian? It’s…
Toward Sunday
This week we continue our worship series with a celebration of Baptism. Outline for Christian? It’s Complicated. October 4: rooted in Grace. it’s complicated. Mark 1:9-11 October 11: growing in faith. It’s complicated. Mark 10:17-31 October 18: reaching in love. It’s complicated. Mark 10:35-45 October 25: Baptism. Mark 10:46-52/Galatians 3:27-29 November 1: Deep Commitments Mark 12:28-34 Read Mark 10:46-52. Jesus said to [Bartimaeus], ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the…
Toward Sunday
This week we continue our worship series called Christian? It’s Complicated with focus on reaching in love. We will make Deep Commitments to God and our community of faith in worship on Sunday, November 1. Outline for Christian? It’s Complicated. October 4: rooted in Grace. it’s complicated. Mark 1:9-11 October 11: growing in faith. It’s complicated. Mark 10:17-31 October 18: reaching in love. It’s complicated. Mark 10:35-45 October 25: Baptism. Mark 10:46-52/Galatians 3:27-29 November 1: Deep Commitments Mark 12:28-34 We long…
Relaxing into God
What does faith feel like to you? How might you grow in your faithfulness in the coming days and months? Listen to Nadia Bolz-Webber as she answers the question “What is faith? How can we get more of it?”
Toward Sunday
This week we continue our worship series called Christian? It’s Complicated. The cultural connotations of being Christian can make it a struggle to claim our faith in public. Some of us become secretive about our church and faith. This five-week worship series will invite reflection on the complexities of claiming Christian faith in our day. Outline for Christian? It’s Complicated. October 4: rooted in Grace. it’s complicated. Mark 1:9-11 October 11: growing in faith. It’s complicated. Mark 10:17-31 October 18: reaching in love. It’s complicated. Mark 10:35-45…
Toward Sunday
This week we move into a new worship series… “Christian? It’s complicated.” The cultural connotations of being Christian can make it a struggle to claim our faith in public. Some of us become secretive about our church and faith. This five-week worship series will invite reflection on the complexities of claiming Christian faith in our day. rooted in Grace. It’s complicated. Mark 1:9-11 growing in faith. It’s complicated. Mark 10:17-31 reaching in love. It’s complicated. Mark 10:35-45 Baptism. Mark 10:46-52/Galatians 3:27-29…
Toward Sunday
We are excited to continue our celebration of The Table Turns 5! We hope folks are reaching in love with the gift of $5 that they received in worship yesterday. This week we turn our attention to mapping the future of our church. Outline for Our Vintage Church ▪September 13: Looking Back (Mark 8.27-38) ▪September 20: Celebrating 5 years of worship & Kitchen Tables (Mark 9.30-37) ▪September 27: Mapping our Future (Mark 9:38-50) Take time to reflect on worship last week…
Toward Sunday
We’re excited to celebrate The Table Turns 5 this Sunday! Yesterday Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto helped us to reflect on our vintage church’s past. This Sunday we’ll celebrate 5 years of life together as The Table at Central UMC. We have something very special planned for this Sunday. You won’t want to miss! Outline for Our Vintage Church ▪September 13: Looking Back (Mark 8.27-38) ▪September 20: Celebrating 5 years of worship & Kitchen Tables (Mark 9.30-37) ▪September 27: Mapping…
Toward Sunday
This week we begin a new worship series called Our Vintage Church. We will spend 3 weeks hearing the story of our beginning, celebrating 5 years of worship and Kitchen Tables and hearing a vision for our future. Outline for Our Vintage Church ▪September 13: Looking Back (Mark 8.27-38) ▪September 20: Celebrating 5 years of worship & Kitchen Tables (Mark 9.30-37) ▪September 27: Mapping our Future (Mark 9:38-50) Karen Oliveto, pastor of Glide UMC in San Francisco will preach this Sunday.…
How might we practice an Earth-honoring faith today?
Fr. John Chryssavgis defines asceticism as as an Earth-honoring way of faith which calls us to… travel light—we can always manage with less than we imagine; let go—we are to learn to relinquish our desire to control; open up—we are called to create bonds, to reunite, to reconcile; soften up—how can we make our communities less savage, more inhabitable? tread light—we must not hurt, we must stop wounding our environment; live simply—not complicating our relationship with each other and with our…