We're exploring the complex relationship between God and the Israelites during the time of the judges. The story of Samuel's unexpected rise to priesthood despite not being a Levite highlights God's willingness to bend the rules when necessary to move the story forward. We see that God is open to dialogue and consistently imagines a reality unbounded by our limited expectations. Ultimately, we are reminded that God is not interested in ruthless aggression or war, even from his chosen people. God would rather lose and appear foolish than support our endless pursuits of violence.

This sermon explores the stories of two unique judges, Shamgar and Deborah, in the Book of Judges. It highlights how their stories expand the narrative of salvation and leadership, challenging the Israelites' preconceived notions. The sermon suggests that even in the midst of the conquest of Canaan, there are hints that salvation and leadership can come from unexpected sources, such as a Canaanite warrior (Shamgar) and a woman (Deborah). The story of Jael, a foreign woman who defeats Sisera, further emphasizes this point. While the violence in these stories is not celebrated, the sermon points out that they may be part of a larger journey towards peace and a more inclusive understanding of God's plan.

Listen in as we grapple with the challenging depictions of divine violence in the Hebrew scriptures, contrasted with Jesus' message of grace and love. We delve into how these ancient texts can be reinterpreted through the compassionate lens of Jesus' life, steering clear of projecting our biases onto the divine. With insights from Robert Allen Warrior's analysis on the implications of conquest narratives for indigenous peoples, this conversation urges a thoughtful examination of our spiritual evolution and the consequences of our interpretations.

Join in as we wrap up our journey through the multifaceted landscapes of joy. In this touching conclusion, we traverse the delicate balance between the warmth of friendship and the cold touch of loss. Listen in as I recount the poignant tale of my dog Cedar's passing and the innocent, yet profound comfort offered by my young daughter. Through her eyes, we glimpse the intricate tapestry of emotions that joy weaves into our lives. Together, we'll explore the rich linguistic ties between joy, grace, and gifts within biblical texts, and how these elements intertwine to support us even through the darkest of times.

Through the shadows of the Babylonian exile toward discovering unexpected moments of joy with the enigmatic prophet Ezekiel. We peel back the layers of history to understand how these dark times were pivotal for Jewish literature and self-reflection, fostering a rich soil from which the Hebrew scriptures grew. Listen in as we unravel Ezekiel's apocalyptic visions, and consider how catastrophic events can unexpectedly renew our sense of joy in body and soul.

In our series kickoff, we recount the story of Abraham, where a casual lunch on his porch becomes a divine encounter, reminding us that profound experiences often hide in plain sight. Reflect with us on the intimacy of this moment and the human elements that make such stories relatable. We discuss how Abraham's hospitality and Sarah's laughter exemplify faith and humanity's response to divine promises.

Today we look at how on the road to Jerusalem Jesus predicts his death twice more, and twice more his closest friends will miss the point. And hopefully spending time in that story will help us see what we often miss about the way of peace.

This week, we talk about Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ predictions of his own death, and how Jesus corrects the disciples’ misconceptions about the Messiah and encourages us to let go of our ideas and ideologies that prevent us from following his way.

This week we dive deeper into the Messianic secret to uncover that Jesus didn’t want to just tell his disciples who he was and what to believe, he wanted them to go through a slow process of coming to understand.

Today we talk about the miracle of Jesus walking on water as a continuation of the miracle of feeding the 5,000. The main point is that Mark wants to open our eyes to see the Divine presence with us not only in the miraculous but also in the mundane.

We’re diving back into Mark this Lent. In this first sermon of Mark Part 2, we looked at the feeding of the five thousand and reflected on what it means to participate in the kingdom of God with what we’ve got to share right now.

We are picking up the conversation we started last year in 1st Corinthians. This year we look at the second half of the letter, which considers Christian community through the metaphor of a body. Read all of 1 Cor 12 for context.

We’re kicking off the new year with a short string on Picking up and Letting Go. This week, we’re reflecting on letting go in order to make room for things we need to pick up in the new year.

We wrapped up the series by looking how the stories of healing in Mark encourage us to seek and offer grace to those far and near in our lives.

This week we look at four more stories in Mark, to see how Mark uses a package of confrontations to bring differences to the surface and show us how Jesus steadily works on expanding our imagination of the kingdom of God and what the good news is all about.

This week we looked at Mark 1 and 2 and a sequence of four healing stories. Mark uses the narrative itself as a tool to give us a picture of what the kingdom of God is like when we grasp its communal aspect and see how God is at work to heal everything that separates us.

Let's delve into the transformative power of grace, using the parable of the Prodigal Son as our guide. Join us as we unpack this profound story, exploring themes of unconditional love, redemption, and divine acceptance.