Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are The Change”
“Diversity Is Not The Enemy”
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
John 6:24-35
There is a saying among the Ngambaye people of Chad: “one day of hunger can make a wife leave her husband’s house.”[1] We, like this wife and the people of God in the Exodus 16 reading, want what we want when we want it. We want God to solve “stuff” for us. In the Exodus text, Moses is the advocate on the people’s behalf for ...
Continue Reading →Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are a Participant in the Dream”
“The Journey of One Race and One Blood Isn’t Easy”
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
Mark 5:21-43
Next week we celebrate our 248th anniversary of independence as a country. 1776 was an important year. And then eleven years later, in 1787, our government’s system of democracy was established. As a country, we value the idealism of the Declaration of Independence and the pragmatism of the Constitution.
Democracy is a modern idea that is transformative. A democratic ...
Continue Reading →Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are a Participant in the Dream”
“This Is The Time for Measured Patience”
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Mark 6:14-29
We belong to each other and that is God’s intention. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Ephesians 1:3-14, a lectionary text not read this morning, describes how God has brought each one of us into a new definition of community. God saves, rescues, liberates, and prepares us to bear witness to the good news of redemption and transformation ...
Continue Reading →Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are a Participant in the Dream”
“You Cannot Produce What You’re Not”
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
Psalm 48
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Jesus is the real deal when it comes to freedom. On Thursday of last week, we celebrated our 248th anniversary of independence as a country. 1776 was an important year. And then eleven years later, in 1787, our government’s system of democracy was established. A democratic form of government is freeing and challenging…distributive and collective.[1]
Our country is ...
Continue Reading →Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are a Participant in the Dream”
“Just Say Yes to Multiethnic Faith Communities”
1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16
Mark 4:35-41
Jesus consistently challenged the disciples to put their beliefs into practice. In Mark 4:40, Jesus responds to the disciples’ plea for help in the storm. Jesus replied, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” Martin Luther King, Jr, in his April 16, 1963, Letter from a Brimingham Jail, writes,
Injustice anywhere is a threat. We are caught in an inescapable network ...
Continue Reading →