Rev. Jack Soper brings us the message “Thoughts and Prayers”
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Here’s the thing. I simply don’t know if I can sustain an attitude of love towards my enemies. And I would have a hard time telling little Magdalena to love those who took her parents away from her. And so I am grateful for the words of Martin Luther King who declares that “love is so much more than emotional bosh.” If it were all about our emotions, I would despair of ever claiming to love my enemies.
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There are occasions in life when the experience we have with another human being or with God is so extravagant, so bold, so precious that we have to use exaggerated language to talk about it truly. The Bible is full of stories that are too good to be true, almost-but-not-quite-believable stories of miraculous, mysterious events. Rachel Held Evans calls these “fish stories.”
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In the Kingdom of God goodness shows up, grace shows up. And grace changes us. Weeds may always be weeds but people can be transformed. So, we are called to let go of our judgment and refrain from plucking out the possibility of transformation. If we leave anyone out or if any one of us feels unwelcome then we miss the opportunity to cooperate with the grace of God to influence positive change.
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We will not be immobilized by the constant barrage of negativity and division. Like Isaiah we will look upon the destruction caused by such hatred and be reminded of God’s promise to create a new heaven and a new earth.
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The wisdom of Job tells us that God struggles with them. Their chaos is God’s chaos. Job learned that God created a complex world. In the order of creation there is chaos that God struggles with alongside us, never giving up the struggle, always committed to life.
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The antidote to hostile texts of the Bible is more Bible. As Christians we read all stories through the lens of the cross. As Rachel Held Evans describes it: If God became flesh and blood in the person of Jesus, the cross proves that “God would rather die by violence than commit it.” Jesus bore the brunt of human cruelty and remained faithful to the God of love.
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One of our primary tasks as the church today is to be witnesses to God’s “yes.” When small children are held in cages or when they lose their lives trying to make it across the river; when there is a tragedy that cannot be explained; when there is suffering that seems to be endless, we each do our part to announce God’s “yes” to the world.
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Part of our maturation, spiritually and psychologically, is the process of embracing some origin stories while rejecting others. Our work is one of selective remembrance.
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Rev. Mike House is our guest preacher this week preaching from Acts and shares some of Peter’s story.
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The church is a community that gathers “altogether in one place.” The church is a community that opens itself up and allows the Holy Spirit to enter. The church is filled with all kinds of people who get caught up in the power of the Spirit so that they begin dreaming dreams, big dreams, God dreams. The church is a place where God’s dreams and visions are proclaimed.
In the time of Jesus there was no one but this small band of committed disciples, including women like Jesus’ mother and including his brothers. In the time of Luke, there was no one but his community, which is believed by scholars to have been the poorest of the poor. These were not people gifted with power and wealth, but they were inspired by the Spirit of God. If these common people had not chosen to be witnesses, we would not be here today.
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Rev. Marti Soper asks us to look at the story of the man by the pool and at our own lives to recognize how our encounters with Grace can change us.
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Rev. Jack Soper preaches on what it means to be “Clothed In Christ.”
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Rev. Marti Soper shares stories and reflections on the abundance of a faithful God. In weddings, funerals, the best, the worst, dark or light - God’s abundance is always present.
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Guest speaker Rev. Elizabeth Moseley invites us to pay attention to who we are listening to.
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On this Easter Sunday we wrap up our sermon series “The Way” as we revisit Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ
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If we use an ancient story to see to view an encounter of God's love we must understand the symbols. The symbols of this story reveal profound resistance.
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At the table we encounter God as the host and as the meal itself. This holy meal invites us to allow God to dwell inside of us. This is a meal that we share with the risen Christ who is the host at this table where we are all welcome and who is the grace that transforms all of us into the presence of Christ in the world - the body of Christ.
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SMU’s Perkins School Of Theology Professor Dr. Wesley Allen preaches on Jesus’ encounter with Bartimaeus in Mark 10.
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