a Church Podcast: Recent Episodes
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
We don't often notice our visual blind spot because our brain fills in what is missing. This is amazing and wonderful, but it can also be dangerous (especially when driving on the freeway). In the same way, we don't often notice how our mind is constantly filling in missing information in the rest of life. Again, this is an amazing, wonderful, and dangerous part of what it means to be human.
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Is God crazy? Is Abraham crazy for following God's command? How much therapy will Isaac need after his father tries to sacrifice him? And are we crazy for trying to find meaning in this story?
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What does the shape of bread (or pizza) dough teach us about the movement of God in the world?
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Stories have shapes according to author, Kurt Vonnegut. What then is the shape of our faith story?
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Is clapping after a worship song or hymn appropriate in worship? Yes, clapping can be a meaningful part of our worship response. But NOT clapping can also be a genuine expression of worship and gratitude.
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God is _______________. Fill in the blank. What images or experiences of God (in the words of James Baldwin) make us larger, freer, and more loving?
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The book of Revelation is Ironic. Jesus wages non-violent war. Jesus is a servant king. The double irony, is that Christians often read this book unironically, which makes Jesus violent and Christianity controlling.
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Are you confused by Christians who support war and violence? Well look no further than this tattooed image of Jesus in Revelation 19 for their biblical justification. But is this violent warrior Jesus real? Or is this image subverting the violent way of empires by symbolically showing us Jesus' way of self-giving love?
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Like the four gospels, the opening books of the Bible include four traditions that are placed side-by-side. These similar, yet different voices are intentionally preserved because diversity of perspective and insight is more important than having one right narrative.
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Welcome Rev. Suzanne Swartz (Parish Associate) preaching on the risen Jesus appearing to the disciples.
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We're not supposed to talk about this, but there are conflicting details in the resurrection stories of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These differences, however, are actually a part of the good news. Happy Easter!
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From the creation stories to the flood stories in Genesis, God is creating space for life in the midst of the chaos. In a similar way, our worship liturgy includes room for us to experience peace in the midst of the flood.
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In the familiar story of Noah's Ark, God tries to kill everyone and everything! How did this become the story we like to tell our children in Sunday School?
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Welcome Rev. Elizabeth Gibbs Zehnder as our guest preacher, talking about being formed by God.
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How are we formed by our praying? From a global prayer, to a prayer we don't do, how are we being shaped by our worship liturgy?
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If music is good for us, can it ever be unhealthy? The answer may not be in the music, but in how it's used and how each of us hear it and experience it.
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We are all being formed by relationships and repeated actions over time. If that is the case, how is our worship liturgy shaping us? As we begin the season of Lent we will start by looking at the Prelude.
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Welcome Rev. Dr. Grace Park speaking about how to listen to the voice of God.
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The kings of the earth demand no limitations on their power or what they can make other people do. And yet in the end, the kings are seen bringing the glory of their nations into God's new creation. So if the kings are there in the end, then what about the great prostitute in Revelation 17?
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Stress is a normal part of life. Sometimes it can be good, motivating energy and sometimes it's just too much. And sometimes we keep exposing ourselves to the "too much" because we think that this is what we're supposed to do. But what if "too much" is really too much?
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Is there a difference between the way of empire and the way of Jesus? On the surface the book of Revelation seems to justify violence. But if we look deeper we'll discover that a new way of living and being in the world as we follow Jesus' way of love and light.
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Following the dragon and the first beast, we get the second beast. This monster comes from the earth
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Merry Christmas! Did you know that the Christmas story includes a dragon? Welcome to the weird and wild book of Revelation!
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Parody and satire in the book of Revelation bring us a monster from the sea. This beast is both a severe warning and comedy aimed at revealing the truth about abusive power.
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Welcome Rev. Suzanne Swartz as she reflects on the meaning of several beloved Christmas Carols.
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Today is the shortest day and the longest night. It's the winter solstice, which is a day that can help us find meaning in the dark nights of pain and loss. It's also a day that offers us hope that light and life will return.
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John eats a scroll that is sweet to taste but bitter in his stomach. This symbolic act tells us that God's message is bitter because it reveals the pain and suffering caused by empires. But it's also sweet because God is shining a light onto an unjust and unfair world that needs healing.
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Absolute certainty is a claim made by empires. Jesus' way of love, however, requires humility and an awareness of our own limitations.
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The 7 trumpets reveal a series of environmental catastrophes. But who's causing all this chaos, death, and destruction? Is it God? The answer, in Revelation 8 and 9, is in the images of falling stars.
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Two people are experiencing the same event at the same time and yet what they experience is different. There are always multiple perspectives, because each of us will see things from different angles and through the lens of our own lived experiences. The same is true in the book of Revelation where the author is showing us multiple perspectives.
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In the book of Revelation there is a contrast between what is heard and what is seen. This contrast reveals both the reality of suffering in our world and the stunning beauty of Jesus' healing way of love.
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In his life, death, and resurrection Jesus was loving, inclusive, and non-violent. How then did we come to believe that when Jesus returns he'll be coming back looking for revenge?
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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! Conquest, Division, Economic Injustice, and Death, followed by hell on earth. Where is the good news?
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When something incredible needs to happen, what kind of character comes to mind? What do our heroes look like? In Revelation 5, a hero is needed and what happens next will be the most important part of this entire book.
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Faith, in part, involves remembering and retelling our stories. As a community we tell stories from the Bible, from history, and from our own lives. We do this because we believe that in each telling there is always more to experience and discover. Today, we remember and celebrate 150 years of faith, hope, and love at First Pres.
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What happens when an introvert is told that being a Christian requires extraverted expressions of faith?
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Jesus is walking among 7 lampstands and holding 7 stars. What does that mean?
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What images come to mind when you hear the word, APOCALYPSE? Fire, war, pandemics, nuclear bombs, and natural disasters? How about zombies? The book of Revelation begins with the word, Apocalypse, but it does NOT mean "the end of the world." If not the end of the world, then what is the book of Revelation about?
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How many pipes do you think make up our organ? It's an incredible instrument, whose history and design can hold meaning for us beyond the music.
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The table is the piece of furniture that sits front and center in many churches, including our church. But why? What is the meaning? What is so important about the table?
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The next piece of church furniture we're looking at is the baptismal font. The font is a symbol of God's over flowing love and grace, but it means even more.
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What is the meaning of elevated pulpit in churches and why do we use a music stand on level ground instead?
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I hate interruptions! But perhaps what we need right now is a pause, an intentional interruptions from the chaos and bad news of the day, to take a deep breath. Selah.
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The healing stories of Jesus are NOT just about Jesus or the individual. The community always plays a big part in either the harm or the healing. Along with immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities are also targets of societies blame and exclusion.
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Continuing in our series, For God So Loved the Scapegoat, we look at one of the first Queer icons of the Bible. In a time when the LGBTQ+ community is increasingly targeted, we must daily choose to follow Jesus' way of inclusive love.
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As we celebrate Pentecost please welcome Rev. Jodi Fondell who has co-served international congregations in Sweden, England, Luxembourg, and France along with her husband, also a pastor.
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According to a recent commercial and the Bible, "when something goes wrong, you find someone to blame. It's what we do." Yes, scapegoating, is often what we do, but in story after story, God loves those to are blamed. Hagar and Ishmael, for example, reveal to us the who God sees, hears, and loves the excluded.
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The image of the scapegoat runs throughout the Bible with God's love seeking to interrupting this cycle of blame. What can we learn from those who scapegoat and from those who are often blamed and excluded?
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On Resurrection Sunday we celebrate that the scapegoating of Jesus by the Roman Empire didn't win. On Easter we are challenged to see the ways we scapegoat others and to see the hope that comes from welcoming those who are excluded.
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Jesus enters Jerusalem as a sacrifice. But what does that mean? Is Jesus' death needed to appease a blood-thirsty God? Or is there a better way to understand the cross?
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Why would the altar, the priestly robes, and the tabernacle, need to be purified? Did the tabernacle sin or was it the people? Built into the rituals in Leviticus were both reminders of God's forgiving nature and the values the people were intended to live out with one another.
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How do you explain to a new driver how to drive? I don't know how to explain it, I just do it. Like anything that has become instinctual, it’s easy to stop noticing what we're doing or why we're doing it. In the same way, when it comes to our faith, we can sometimes lose the meaning or the meaning can get distorted when things become too familiar.
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Welcome Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins speaking about the stories we tell and the importance of listening to the stories that others tell.
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Why animal sacrifice? What is the point of these ancient and seemingly barbaric practices? You might be surprised by the idea that these rituals set us on the trajectory of experiencing God's justice and rest.
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Welcome our guest preacher Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus. Laurie serves the national office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as Director of Humanitarian and Global Ecumenical Engagement in the ministries of Compassion, Justice, and Peace.
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Why do we do what we do? Rituals are not a way of earning love or belonging, but a way of remembering what is already true. We are already loved. We already belong.
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What special dates and events help you remember your story? Leviticus 23 gave the people annual festivals and sacred gatherings as a way of reminding them of their history. This remembering was intended to help the people live in the present according to the rhythm of God's justice and rest.
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A year of Jubilee includes letting the land rest. This rest is considered holy for the land and for those who work the land. In this Jubilee year celebration, what experiences do you find rejuvenating and restful for you?
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2025 is our 150th Anniversary and a Jubilee year, which in the Bible is celebrated every 50 years. Part of this celebration is a return home or a return to the land, which raises the question, "What does it mean for us to return home?"
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2025 has not started off well. But our we condemned to suffering through what the internet tells us is a WTF year? How can we grieve our different experiences of loss, while also looking forward with hope?
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This week thousands of people lost their homes here in Los Angeles. We all know people who have experienced this devastation. A lot of people here were evacuated and for the rest of us we have likely had the thought, "what if it had happened to us?" Our physical homes and our physical stuff are important. They matter not just to us, but also to God.
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In the midst of these tragic LA wildfires we are not here to tell you what to feel. Instead, as a faith community we are here to help carry the weight of what each of us are experiencing.
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The birth of Jesus is NOT about Christians winning this season. Instead the light of Christ gathers people together by bringing more love, justice, and equality into the world.
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Making meaning out of what we've been given is part of what makes us human. The goal of Christmas then is not to remove all of our add on traditions, but to ask, "what kind of meaning are we making out of the traditions that we are passing on, changing, or even rejecting?"
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Isaiah 40 begins with “Comfort, O Comfort my people…” because we all need comfort in difficult times. As we wait together through the season of advent, the hope of God-with-us comes as the gift of comfort.
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Thanksgiving, ideally, is the gratitude that comes from experiencing the fullness of life. But what about ALL the fullness of life, including both the blessings and the challenges? How do we follow Jesus' way of love when life is complicated?
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Curses and counter-curses were a normal part of life in the ancient world. This meant that those who were poor, hungry, and hurting were often considered by others to be cursed. And if you have been cursed then perhaps there is an enemy that you need to curse in return. In this superstitious world, Jesus blesses those who feel cursed, setting us free from the cycle of fighting hate with hate.
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What do we do when things don't go the way we want them to go? The multitudes in the gospels are the people who have lost or are losing when it comes to life, politics, and even religion. They are the hurting and ignored and yet it's among them that Jesus will center his kingdom movement of compassion and love.
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Sukkot is the Jewish celebration of harvest that includes spending time in a sukkah or tent as a reminder of the 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The tent is a physical experience of the Biblical story, which creates space for all of our human experiences.
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Welcome Rev. Mack Mossett III and Calvary Baptist Church of Santa Monica to our combined worship service and Harvest Festival.
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We belong to God and we are loved because of the faithfulness of Christ. Our faith in Christ isn't required! If that's true what is the point of having a faith of our own?
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This is the most important sermon I've ever given. Honestly, THE. MOST. IMPORTANT! It's about a fight at a basketball game. It's about prepositions. And it's about being loved and accepted by God.
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A long time ago Jewish mystics wondered, "If God is everyone then how is there enough room for us and the rest of creation?" The answer they proposed was that God somehow became smaller.
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Welcome Rev. Elizabeth Gibbs Zehnder who reminds us of God's love for all of us.
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The problem with reading the letters of Paul is that they include a lot of information, but not a lot of stories. As a result, Paul often comes across as a robot disconnected from what it feels like to be human. But if we read between the lines of his letter to the Philippians we might discover Paul's humanity and the very interesting story of the church to whom he's writing.
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Welcome our guest preacher, Rev. Suzanne Swartz, giving a Labor Day reflection on James 1:17-27 and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.
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What is the book of Daniel all about? Let's look back and see what we've discovered along the way.
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It's funny, not funny! The dark reality behind Daniel's retelling of history is meant to reveal how our human violence is ridiculously (almost comically) foolish. Why do we continue to believe that violence is the answer to violence? There has to be a better way.
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Daniel is depressed when an angel shows up with a message. This message, however, has been delayed by a cosmic battle or spiritual struggle. But can't God just show up when God wants to show up? Can't God speak when God wants to speak? Can God really get delayed?
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Was that a drag queen performance of the last supper? Was that Jesus at the table as the DJ leading the party? Oh those French! But was this really anymore scandalous than all the meals that Jesus ate with those who were hated and rejected by society? Wasn't Jesus' wide and inclusive love also considered offensive, blasphemous, and even satanic?
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What does greatness look like? Daniel's vision of a Ram and a Goat is an evaluation of historical greatness from the perspective of heaven. This vision then invites us to ask similar questions about what great leadership looks like and how we can stay healthy amidst the chaos and uncertainty of life.
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What does the familiar story of the Good Samaritan have to teach us about racial solidarity? Our guest preacher is Dr. Phil Allen Jr. who is a theologian, ethicist, pastor, poet, documentary film producer and founder/president of Racial Solidarity Project.
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In Daniel's dream four monsters emerge from the sea to cause chaos and destruction. While we might be tempted to fight their violence with violence, the evil ways of empires will only be overcome by God's way of love.
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King Darius the Organizer was a good and intelligent king, so why was he so easily tricked into making an unjust law that could never be change? Daniel was known for his exceptional wisdom, so why did he pray with his windows open when he knew it could get him thrown into the lion's den? All of this drama could have so easily been avoided. But that isn't how the story went and this isn't how most of our stories play out either. Instead God shows up in the drama and in the mess, which is why we're still reading this story today.
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Rev. Mack Mossett III and Rev. Tim Vance speaking together in celebration of Juneteenth at Calvary Baptist Church in Santa Monica.
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What does the writing on the wall mean in Daniel 5? Mysterious writing on walls is never a good thing. But what is the disembodied hand writing? And what does it mean for King Belshazzar? What does it mean for us?
0:00 - Introduction
1:30 - Conditioned by Modern Technology
3:04 - King Belshazzar throws a party for the gods of wealth and power
5:00 - Do we need to disprove other faith traditions?
7:00 - Writing on the wall
8:25 - The Queen
12:24 - What was written?
13:58 - What historical event inspired this story?
15:30 - Conclusion
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Sometimes the Bible doesn't make sense. Sometimes we're supposed to be confused because when we are certain we stop asking questions, we stop wondering, and we stop paying attention. And in our certainty we become like the King, in Daniel 4, who is oblivious to the pains and experiences of others.
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King Nebuchadnezzar sees and hears only what he wants to see and hear. But at Pentecost we are invited to see things not just from our own perspective, but from the perspective of different people, cultures, and languages.
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Have you ever woken up from a dream and the emotions you had in the dream stay with you? King Nebuchadnezzar wakes up from a dream and even though he can't remember it he's still very much in his emotions. He feels threatened by the dream so he reacts by threatening others. We can't control our dreams, like we can control many things in life, but what's important is how we make meaning out of these experiences and then how we treat ourselves and others as a result.
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When we find ourselves in a new place or situation, we gain this forced awareness because we can't rely on our normal to be normal. The book of Daniel is all about life in a new place (exile) where the Jewish community is wrestling with what values and traditions they can hold onto. As we read through Daniel we are asked the same questions, "What, from our normal, is worth keeping and what should we leave behind?"
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When we just want what we want and we’re too invested in the outcome, it’s hard to listen or see things from another perspective. This is why we might need to learn how to take some observational distance from our own thoughts, desires and fears. In the Bible the role of the prophet was to help the kings take a step back, before their own desire for power and power led to catastrophe. How might their stories help us to gain some of that life-giving perspective?
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Why does the story end with fear and wonder? Shouldn't we be left with wonder and courage? Why doesn't the Gospel of Mark have a perfectly wrapped-up happy ending?
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This podcast is a recording from our interfaith lunch with our Jewish friends from Beth Shir Shalom. Our special guest is Tasneem Noor who taught about some of the foundational aspects of her Muslim faith.
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Tasneem Noor is an award-winning author of “The Faith Connection: Your Journey Starts with Knowing Yourself.” She received her Masters in Education in Student Affairs from UCLA and is the Program Director for NewGround: A Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change. She specializes in communication across differences especially on difficult and charged topics. For Tasneem, authenticity and courage are her most cherished values in building stronger relationships and sustainable communities.
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Happy Easter! Christ is risen! The final resurrection photo in the gospel of Mark is beautiful. But, of course, the pictures we hang on the wall rarely tell the whole story. The same is true for the young man at the tomb who is fully dress and sharing a message of courage and resurrection.
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According to Psalm 1 it matters where we walk, stand, and sit. In the gospel of Mark where Jesus walks, stands, and sits matters. Jesus location and movement is a part of the message. Where we've been and are also matters. Some of us need to hear the message of service, while others need to hear the message of rest. Some us need to hear the message of give, while others need to receive.
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Good news in a story about pigs and demons? Our guest, Jeff Chu, takes on a story that most preachers and pastors avoid. The story is, no doubt, weird, but the message, as Jeff articulates it, is indeed good news.
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Jesus heals a blind man, but not entirely at first. He goes from blind to blurry and then from blurry to full clarity. Why didn't Jesus get it right the first time?
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Eating together is complicated, divisive and healing. In three separate scenes in the gospel of Mark we see how eating at the table is all of these things.
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Internal love and justice creates greater capacity within us for external love and justice.
Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins is a long time friend of First Pres. She is a member of the Presbytery of the Pacific and also serves as consulting minister to Unitarian Universalist congregations. When she is not at church, she works as a consultant to non-profit organizations like Heal the Bay and First Five LA, helping them to close the gap between values and practice. She is the author of many articles and several books, including Cultural Proficiency and Fish Out of Water. www.KikanzaNuriRobins.com
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It was a dark and stormy night... AGAIN. Jesus will come walking on water, but this storm and the disciples fear isn't the same as before. The storm is less catastrophic and the fear of the unknown is gradually giving way to the light.
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"It was a dark and stormy night..." As long as humans have been telling stories rainstorms set the stage for whatever is wrong or will go wrong. The Bible is no different.
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Our seemingly healthy tree just fell over! Apparently under the surface, the roots were not healthy. This had me thinking what it might look like for our relationships, work, faith, and society to be planted in healthy, life-giving soil? More personally, is my life deeply rooted in the things that really matter?
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Jesus is out of his mind because politically, religiously and even in his own family he isn't conforming to expectations. But conforming to one way of believing or belonging leaves too many people behind, which is why Jesus' redefines belonging to a family about something other than biology. The Kingdom of God then for Dr. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz becomes the Kin-dom of God, or the family of God, or maybe we should say, the non-traditional family of God. In this family, all are welcome.
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When it feels like there’s a threat to us, our views or our way of life it’s not uncommon for us to lean into the worst parts of our humanity. It's one thing to notice the hypocrisy and danger in a strange cult, it's another thing to notice it within our own faith or even within ourselves.
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What happens if our religious words, images and ideas become too precious? Do we ever stop to wonder how others might experience or understand our faith? Do we even know what our favorite words mean? Jesus talked about the kingdom of God coming near, but 2000 years later what images come to mind when we think of a kingdom? Perhaps this is why Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would often pair talking about the "kingdom of God" which his vision for "the beloved community."
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It's 2024 and we are now living in an election year! Too soon? Whether we like it or not, it's here and it's worth reflecting on how our faith might guide us and sustain us through the opportunities and challenges that this year will bring.
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Have you ever noticed that the birth stories of Jesus don't actually mention many of the animals that are often included in our Nativity scenes? So, what happened to all the animals?
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Santa is a rather strange character if you're not familiar with Christmas traditions about a jolly old elf dressed all in red breaking into homes once a year to leave gifts. Similarly, John the Baptist, is a strange character, in part, because we're not always familiar with the stories and traditions that help us make sense of his costume and weird behavior.
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What happens when the voice of the male religious leader is put on mute? What happens when Christmas comes to turn our world upside down? What voices will we hear? This is a replay from a 2022 Advent sermon.
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Why do Christians have this bizarre ritual where we talk about bread and wine as the body and blood of Jesus? And why does the meal focus on the death of Jesus instead of the resurrection of Jesus? Perhaps like the young church in Corinth, we need to rediscover what this meal means for us and for our world.
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We've come to the end of 1 Samuel, which is really just a point of intermission. It's an interruption in the story that gives us a moment to look back at where we've been and what we've learned.
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David is successful in this story because he notices and values those who are left behind. While some want to exclude those who are exhausted and unproductive, David insists that God's generosity is for everyone.
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We're fortunate to have Rev. Dr. Grace Park as our guest preacher today talking about Jesus walking on water.
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Halloween is here, which means costumes, candy and scary stories. Even in the Bible we have a ghost story that reflects a truly horrifying reality. Thankfully even our most scary stories can have an after-life, if you will, that transforms the lesson from evil to good.
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The future of the world is in great peril. To whom should be rely on to save the day? Our likely candidates are those who have the qualities that our society values. What our world actually needs, however, are unlikely heroes who offer us something more than power and money.
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Learning a new language is not easy. Cross-cultural experiences, however, are valuable because there is so much to learn and experience when we step outside of our normal. This is especially true for religious communities who have been taught to speak in the language of "I'm right and everyone else is wrong." We need different people, perspectives and faith expressions to help teach us the divine languages of equality, mercy and love.
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Jesus recalls this story from 1 Samuel 21 to illustrate that people are more important than our religious symbols and signs. But sometimes faith communities just gather at the sign, to talk about the sign and keep people from getting too close to the sign, because the sign is the thing. But the sign is not the thing. People are what matter.
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Mr. Bean, Weird Al, James Bond, Buster Bluth, Homer Simpson and Ferris Bueller all used this trick found in the Bible. David's wife, Michal, used it to save her husband's life.
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There are so many things that divide us, including music. But how can music in church become a practice that teaches us how to better coexist in this divided world?
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What if the Bible included the different stories and the contradiction and the errors on purpose? What if the Biblical writers and communities said, “we actually prefer the contradictions, because one perspective isn’t enough, and one story isn’t enough to capture the human experience or our understanding of faith."
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Sometimes we think that our strengths are always strengths, and our weaknesses are always weaknesses. But sometimes we lean so heavily on our strengths that we fail to develop other skills or ways of being in the world. And sometimes our failures and weaknesses become strengths because we learn how to adapt, change or embrace our limitations. We learn how to treat others with more grace and compassion, which can be difficult if we’ve only known success.
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Why is music such an important part of our experience and expression of faith?
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Things are not always as they appear. Most of life is lived under the surface and our faith is intended to take us to those deeper places where we might discover something new.
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Welcome our guest speaker Anjlo Ajmal. Anjlo is originally from Pakistan, has been a pastor of a Punjabi church in France and is now a student at Claremont School of Theology.
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I asked Artificial Intelligence to write my sermon this week. I think I still have some time before I get replaced by an AI pastor.
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Like all of us, King Saul, is a complicated person. In chapter 11 he is faced with his first great challenge. How will he lead his people? How will we live and lead?
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Have you ever had a bizarre experience that caused you to wonder, "does this mean something?" Perhaps it's easy to dismiss these moments as "just coincidences," but why not let even these strange experiences take us deeper.
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The first time we meet Saul, the would-be-king, he is wandering aimlessly looking for his donkeys. The story is done telling us that a king is a bad idea and now it's simply showing us. And yet, God is still there.
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You don't have to agree with someone in order to listen. Out of fear the people want a king, which according to Samuel and God, is a terrible idea that will cause much suffering. But God still wants Samuel to listen.
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What does it mean when God loses and gets captured in battle? Well, it depends on who you are and what you bring to the story or experience.
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Humans are incredible in all of the ways that we can create, invent or utilize good things for good. But Humans are also incredible because inevitably we think, "how can we use this as a weapon?"
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Happy Mothering Day! We are glad to have our friend Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins with us today as our guest preacher.
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Faith shouldn't be so hard. That's what I said last week. No let's consider how faith shouldn't always be so easy.
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If you go into a Starbucks anywhere in the world you will find the same thing. The same environment, the same service, and the same coffee. This one-size-fits-all philosophy has been pretty successful, so why not apply it to faith? Pray and worship and serve in this one right way and you'll feel connected with God! Sounds good, except there's one important problem. You are not a franchise.
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As followers of Jesus, are we allowed to us "religious freedom" as an excuse to harm or exclude others? Quite simply, "No!" Wherever there is injustice and inequality, especially within Christianity, Jesus' way of love will call for change and transformation.
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There once was a man who had two sons... This is a familiar story about a prodigal son that surprisingly reveals God's wild and irresponsible love for all of creation.
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Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! The lesson of the story of Jonah is that exclusion will swallow us alive. Love and compassion, however, are experiences and expression of resurrection life.
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Jonah went too far west and then too far east because he was angry about God being good. This is the upside-down nature of a Christianity that loves it when God is kind toward us, but angry when God is kind toward "those people."
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Will this great empire turn from its violent ways? More than that will God repent and turn from God's violent ways? This week in Jonah chapter 3, both Nineveh and God shows us that change is possible.
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Shakespeare said in King Lear that “Jesters do oft prove to be prophets.” If we can see the humor in the story of JONAH getting swallowed by a fish, we are closer to seeing the truth. This isn't true in the sense of historical accuracy, but true in the deeper sense of revealing what is hidden below the surface.
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The season of LENT is about 6 weeks where we are intentionally invited to lean into the more difficult and complex parts of life. We lean into the limits of our humanity on Ash Wednesday. We move toward the darkness in hopes of finding the light. And the story of JONAH invites us to go beyond the surface to what is more substantial and real.
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It seems obvious that this is a story about greed. But what if in fixating on behavior, we miss the abundance of God? Join us to hear from our guest preacher, Zac Luben, Director of Graduate Student Ministry at Pepperdine University.
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Once you see the arrow in the Fedex logo you can't unsee it. And in the Bible, once you see judgement or punishment it's hard to unsee it. But today we're going to do our best to unsee what we have projected onto Jesus.
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When Jesus talks about God's house having many rooms, was he really talking about a McMansion in the sky?
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Sometimes things break and there’s nothing good about that experience. Sometimes the breaking gives way to grace. And to make things more complicated, sometimes things break that need to break. As Jesus washes his disciples feet, things are breaking in more than one way.
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Mary pours out an entire bottle of perfume and breaks all the rules. But Jesus' reminds us that God doesn't require right belief or action in exchange for love and acceptance. Instead Mary reminds us to look beyond the price of things to the greater meaning and the greater cost.
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Shepherds (in the Bible) are people in positions of power who are supposed to reflect God's caring presence by guiding, feeding and protecting the people. But that doesn't always work out well, because people in positions of power tend to prioritize their own comfort and control. This is why God essentially says, "Fine, I'll do it. I'll be the good shepherd."
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Seeing and not seeing can be a meaningful spiritual metaphor. But anytime we assume that "those people" cannot see, we find ourselves in greater darkness. Anytime we assume that we are the only ones who can see, the world is cast into greater darkness. Jesus, however, shines a light into the darkness so that we might see with the clarity of God's wide and inclusive love.
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"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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Our most meaningful spiritual metaphors are often influences by our environment. So light shining into the darkness makes a lot of sense in the middle of cold dark winters. And water means a lot on those summer days that are hot and dry. So during a celebration that remembers God's people wandering through the desert, Jesus says, "let anyone who is thirsty come to me."
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The wise travelers bring three gifts for Jesus. This Christmas their story invites us to consider what gifts we might bring to help reflect Jesus' way of love in the world.
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The little town of Bethlehem is like the ironic comic book character who loves the hero but misses the hero in disguise. The people have been waiting for God to come to make things right, but miss Jesus because there's no room in the inn. That's how we tell the story at least, but what if we're wrong? What if the people of Bethlehem actually show us what really matters at Christmas?
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What does it mean that Jesus will be born into a world that is being counted by the empire? And what does it mean for us, in this Christmas season, to discover what counts or what matters?
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What happens when the voice of the male religious leader is put on mute? What happens when Christmas comes to turn our world upside down? What voices will we hear?
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Mary's favorite song inspired her to sing of a Christmas world turned upside down. The might are brought down and those on the bottom are lifted up.
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The disciples said to Jesus, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Seriously Jesus, this metaphor is really gross! What are we supposed to do with this who body and blood of Jesus thing?
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It's entirely my fault that our kids are picky eaters. And while being picky can be irritating, perhaps what Christianity needs most these days are picky readers of the Bible.
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In a world that feels unjust and upside down, God is inviting us to be honest. There is freedom and healing to be found when we speak out loud our lament, our complaint, and our truth. Jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1 and 1 Timothy 2:1-7.
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The Gospel of John echoes the larger origin stories of the Bible to initiate a moment of change. Within these stories of creation and re-creation there is an invitation for us to come together to make something new and good.
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When I was your age I had to walk to school in the snow. In other words, "when I was your age kids were tougher because life was difficult." In other words, "why can't you be better?" But maybe there's no going back to some version of "the good old days." And maybe we don't really understand what others are going through.
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Just like that, everything can be gained and everything can be lost. It's all smoke. No wonder Ecclesiastes resonated so deeply with Peter Seeger and the United States in the 1960's. Turn, turn, turn! Everything is changing! In all of this volatility, what is the role of faith?
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"Smoke, nothing but smoke... there’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke." So Ecclesiastes begins and we might wonder, "how did this get into the Bible?" Or after the fall of Roe v Wade we might be thinking, "How can women's rights so quickly go up in smoke?" Or maybe you have a different take about all of this, to which the Bible says, "welcome to the conversation. Welcome to the complicated tensions of life."
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Why do we want to know God's name? Looking back we know all too well that colonialism and slavery and all kinds of atrocities have been done in the name of God. God's name will instead be given only when it will be used in the service of healing and liberation. Thank you to Calvary Baptist for inviting us to worship together with you in celebration of Juneteenth.
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Proverbs or wise sayings, work because they are short and memorable. But because they are short they can at times miss the more nuanced complications of life. Proverbs are most helpful when we stop asking them to feed us information that is true for all people, at all times and in all places. Instead proverbs are meant to start us on the journey of wonder where we can learn to discover was is true and good for ourselves.
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Pentecost is a day each year when we celebrate God’s Spirit moving in and through the beauty and diversity of humanity. But in Genesis 11 we hear that there was only one language, which sounds rather boring. How will God's Spirit move us and our world forward with increasing beauty, creativity and love?
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What is the truth? Is it moral absolutes that are true in all situations, for all people, and at all times? Perhaps that would make life easier and less complicated. But what about those times times when the right answer is the wrong answer or the wrong answer is the right answer? What if the truth is there to be discovered in the mostly subjective moments of real life with real people?
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Jesus' inheritance to his disciples and to us is love. Love is a gift and a commandment so that God's love might be experienced and passed down through the ages.
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Is there room in God's character and love for all of our embodied human experiences? In proverbs 9, Lady Wisdom, invites us to widen our understanding of God and our embrace of one another.
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What do you do to get rid of hiccups? Does it work? Does anything work? Our home remedies can all feel so foolish. In 2 Kings 5 a brave warrior is looking for a cure, but the home remedy that he gets from a prophet seems so foolish. But it's the foolishness that reveals the deeper wound and our need for healing.
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The resurrection of Jesus affirms the value and goodness of our physical world, but our world is in danger. On this Earth Sunday, the Easter story invites us to open our eyes to the reality of the climate crisis and the hope that collectively we can make a difference.
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Happy Easter! We come to the last chapter of the book of Ruth wondering if redemption is possible.
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Like basically every season of any reality tv show, this next chapter is the craziest and most dramatic yet. Out of desperation, Naomi and Ruth set a wildly provocative scene. In a similar way, Jesus sets his own wildly provocative scene as he rides toward Jerusalem on a donkey.
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Ruth goes out into the dangerous fields looking for leftover grain and wondering if there is any room for her in this world of fear and exclusion. As it happens she comes to a field with a few people who have intentionally left room as a reflection of God's inclusive generosity.
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If we're not careful we will read the story of Ruth as if it were one of our common sense formulas. So when Ruth gets up to work, we might assume that this is a perfect illustration of hard work = success. But it's not that simple for Ruth who is a single woman in a male-dominated world. It's not that simple for Ruth who is an immigrant in a xenophobic world. Life is just not that simple for so many people.
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The story of Ruth is written as a response to the anti-immigrant prejudice of the day. In the time of Nehemiah, she is the illegal immigrant, who challenges the stereotypes placed upon her. She is the voice of the most vulnerable and she is the voice of God. How can the story of Ruth help us to see those who are different than us with more openness, more compassion and more kindness.
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What does it mean to belong? Ruth was an immigrant. Like many people, Ruth encountered judgment, prejudice, and exclusion because she was seen as a cultural and spiritual outsider. But without her, history and maybe even our own stories would look very different. Join us as we begin our new sermon series looking at the revolutionary story of exclusion and belonging in the book of Ruth.
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We welcome the return of The Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins to our pulpit. The Rev. Dr. Nuri-Robins works with people and organizations that are in transition — or ought to be. Today she invites us to consider the big stones in Numbers 20 and Mark 16.
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What does the simple / difficult practice of rest look like for us? As a way of slowing down and paying attention is rest or sabbath, a legalistic rule or is it a gift of grace? For a community of newly released slaves the sabbath was a profound sign and symbol of freedom. Tricia Hersey says that that even today rest is an act of resistance and liberation.
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How do we consume information? So far we've considered the spiritual practices of eating together (communion) and reflecting on highs and lows (the Examen). Today we look at reading (Lectio Divina / Sacred Reading) to help us slow down and pay attention.
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We can find a history of Christianity and racism at the geographic and ideological site of the plantation. But like Lucille Clifton's poem, Won't You Celebrate with Me, there is also a celebration mapped against the haunt. In honor of Black History Month, this is a conversation with Victor Andre Greene about our tangled history of a Christianity used to enslave, and a faith embraced and reshaped in the service of Black resilience, courage, and freedom.
Our guest speaker is VICTOR ANDRE GREENE (He/Him), a Spoken Word Poet + Creative and Editorial Assistant + UCC Licensed Minister + Founder of Room 305 + Community Developer located in Paris, France.
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There are all kinds of ways of being scattered. Globally, refugees have been physically scattered away from their homes. Relationally, we can feel scattered or distanced from family, friends or God. And even our inner world can feel scattered or fragmented. Is there are way for God to gather us back together and make us whole?
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For thousands of years humans have been sharing food and not just as a way of consuming enough calories so that we can survive. Eating together is one of the primary ways of being family, of being friends and of being a community. Eating together is a ritual or practice that has the power to form us, our relationships and our values in part because of how frequently it happens. As a result, HOW WE EAT TOGETHER, can reveal what’s important to us.
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Who has better vision? A wise, well-known, spiritual figure or... his donkey? Epiphany is the season after Christmas when we try to figure out what to do with what is revealed in the light. Will we become more aware, or will we choose to close our eyes?
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The season of Epiphany is a celebration of the light of God with us. In this strange story the light reveals the poison of oppression and the light offers a way toward healing both then and now.
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We are in another Epiphany moment where the light of God with us is inviting us to see more clearly and honestly. The darkness, however, will always fight back. Herod responded to the light with violence. Jim Crows laws followed the Emancipation Proclamation. White supremacy fought back against the the Civil Rights Movement and today the darkness of racism and injustice is alive and well. Dr. King famously proclaimed, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation onto the sun-lit path of racial justice." We have the light of God with us! Will we allow our eyes to adjust to the light? Or will we once again choose to close them?
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The Magi or the wisemen come as stereotypes into the Christmas story. Based on past stories we assume that we already know them. We know they are wrong, that they will be wrong and that we are right. But then the story takes a surprising turn that will invite us into a new and greater openness and humility.
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Rev. Sue Fisher specializes in interim pastoral work and now serves as a guest preacher and mentor. For 13 years she led the Presbytery’s Nicaragua Partnership Team and has traveled to Nicaragua 8 times. She is a member of Speakers-by-the-Sea Toastmasters club. She sings with the Women's Chorus of El Camino College and loves gardening and traveling.
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Even though school is out for winter break, the gospel of Matthew wants us to pay attention to some math and spelling. Through a spelling error we're supposed to notice that Christmas comes with rest and healing. Through multiplication we see that Jesus' birth invites us to enjoy and participate in "justice coming down like waters and equality like a never ending stream." This is what Christmas is all about!
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We’ve been talking about patterns and repeated stories all the way through advent. We begin with God’s generous and inclusive promise to BLESS ALL PEOPLE, but the stories soon fall into patterns of fear and greed that generation after generation bless only a few at the expense of everyone.
But then there are these courageous women who break those dysfunctional cycles in rather unorthodox ways. And so they pass on new patterns of courage, hope, and justice. They are the ones who pass on God’s blessings far and wide to all families, all nations and all people. Today we come to Mary, Joseph and Jesus. What can we expect of them?
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The first verse is like a trailer to a movie that tells us the whole story. Why keep reading or watching if we already know what's going to happen? Generation after generation we keep making the same mistakes, so why would Rahab, the second woman highlighted in Jesus' genealogy, be any different? Well, since we already here, why don't we give the story a few more minutes, just to see if it get's better. Who knows, Rahab might just surprise us.
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We are stuck in a time loop. Looking at Jesus’ family history as we prepare for Christmas is like getting caught in a story that keeps repeating, sort of like “if you give a pig a pancake” but this isn’t really a story that’s appropriate for kids. This is Jesus' awkward and dysfunctional family history. As we prepare for Christmas the gospel of Matthew wants us to notice a woman named Tamar and the hope of her new prophetic pattern.
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All of our families have their own awkward moments and stories. Jesus was no different! In fact his family history might more disfunctional than most. Matthew prepares us for the birth of Jesus with a long list of Jesus' ancestors. While boring to read on it's own, Jesus' geneology is full of wild family tales and secrets. On this first Sunday of Advent we'll look at Genesis 12 and the story of Sarah and Abraham.
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For Christ the King Sunday, Rev. Dr. Tina Blair looks at Hebrews 2:10-18 and invites us to ask, "What kind of King?"
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How are we to read the Bible? Are we searching for the one right eternal answer that will separate those who are right (us) from those who are wrong (them)? Or is there room for different perspectives? What if God’s Spirit could speak in a “choose your own adventure” way, with different paths all offering us something valuable?
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As things continue to unravel, God shows up angry and ready to curse the people. But then Moses, confronts and challenges God's violence and in turn our human violence. True power and strength, instead, are revealed in God's patience, love and grace. If our faith story allows Moses to speak truth to God in this way, then perhaps we can have the courage to challenge all the powers in our world to be better too.
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Rev. Dr. Sunny Kang speaking at the Installation of Rev. Tim Vance. The Scripture text is Isaiah 27.
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As we continue our journey through the wilderness things are beginning to unravel. But there’s still hope as a group of spies explore the promised land. Will the people keep moving forward into their new future or will their fear of the unknown pull them backwards?
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You're watching TV and in a suprising moment a commerical comes on and, for some reason, it's 50 decibels louder. You're startled and because you've been startled you get angry and because you feel angry you want someone to blame. "Who has the remote control and isn't paying attention?! Oh, I've got the remote control. Well... why are commercials so loud anyway!" The journey through the wilderness has been going well. But then as we turn the page from chapter 10 to 11, a startling interruption!
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The people are being guided by a liberating God, but in many ways, they’re still following a God they didn’t know that well. After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the people assume that God must also be violent just like the gods of Egypt. But if they’re going to discover God’s true character, it will be critical that we learn to welcome the outsider.
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We are invited once again to gather around the table for communion or the Lord’s Supper. It’s a place to be fed and refreshed. A place where we’re reminded that we’re not alone. It’s a place where we remember our stories and find them connected to Jesus’s way of love and grace. In a similar way, our journey in the book of Numbers this week will include a shared meal of remembrance. A meal of God's inclusive welcome.
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After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the people didn’t really know God all that well. So, like any of us, they carried their past experiences and ideas about the gods from their culture into their new relationship with God. This is perhaps why we will see God portrayed at times as dangerous, violent and oppressive. And yet, as God remains faithful and present, there are hints and glimpses that will have us saying, “Oh, maybe this God is different."
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It was a bit like a whirlwind romance. All that excitement and adrenaline followed by, "Wait, who are you again?" After 400 years of slavery, God's rescue was all kinds of exciting, followed by a Vegas-like elopment in the desert. But then they had to figure out how to live together and truth be told, the people didn't really know God all that well. This is one of the best and most challenging things about the Bible: The picture we get of God comes from people, like us, who are still trying to figure it all out. So they get it wrong and they get it right, but is this what we really want from our most sacred Scriptures?
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