Bearing Witness: Recent Episodes
Rev. Dr. Corey Johnsrud
On Bearing Witness, we will be focusing on story. Life and faith are journeys, and along the way we meet people, experience things and hopefully learn something. Each of us has a unique story that interacts with others’ stories and all of us are a part of God’s big story, whether we realize it or not. Hear brave, honest, challenging sermons from the Reverend Dr. Corey Johnsrud. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bearingwitness/support
Mark 1:1-8 Prepare the Way. We all come to Jesus the same way - through repentance. Not by where we were born, who our family is, what we belong to... So, what do we need to wake up to? Where is God trying to do a new thing? What is it we need in order to wake up and repent so the God can use us?
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Instead of being concerned with When the return of Christ is: Keep Watch - Be Alert (not in fear but in attention). Keep at your assigned task of Loving God & Loving Others. Be about Jesus' business.
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Luke 12:13-31 - Life does not consist of an abundance of possessions. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Greed & covetiousness are so pervasive in a culture/economy based on more, more, more, consume, consume, consume. We stock up and build bigger barns because we worry that there won't be enough. This is fear turned to greed. The antidote is gratitude & trust that there will always be enough, as God promises.
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Acts 9: Absurd Commands but God asks us to do it anyway. There are 3 shifts: Persecutor to Chosen Instrument, Only for Israel to For the Gentiles too, Prominence to Suffering. Obedient faith goes, even with the fear. The pattern: Pray, Answer, Go.
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If we seek to build a Christian Nation, we are not seeking to build the Kingdom of God - we're only building ourselves. If Jesus had wanted to build a Christian nation, He would have done it then. He would not have waited until now and left if up to us! While we're walking on the water, amidst the chaos, Jesus reaches out to save us.
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Moses has many excuses to not do what God is asking, yet he still goes - with the fears....
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Phil. 1:1-11: God came to give us life abundantly - here, now. Loving God and loving our neighbors brings that wholeness to us. Do we abound in the experience of the love of Christ? Love that transforms us so that we will discern how to love others well.
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Luke 10: "Love is the only door out of the dungeon of self." (George MacDonald).
Welcome & love of neighbor don't happen by accident, either does neglect or refusal of neighbor. We have to do the work of welcome & love of neighbor, and it takes intention, and it costs us something to be a neighbor.
Who is the least likely person/type of person you want to live, serve, befriend?
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Jeremiah 29:1-14 - Seek the Shalom of the City God brought you to. There is no other, there is only neighbor.
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The Church no longer has "home court advantage". Our mission field is right outside our door. God seeks and invites us to be a blessing to others. When we join Jesus in His mission, it's an adventure.
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Matthew 12:9-23 - David had more missteps, disasters & failures than he had bright, shiny outcomes, yet he is described as a "man after God's own heart". It's a story of a real, complicated life & a real faith. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." David's story is a prefiguring of Jesus, who became flesh.
Son of David was a political title, hoping that Jesus would become king. Jesus came to redeem real sinners with real lives. It is the very nature of God to dispense grace!
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Psalm 18 & 2 Samuel 22:17-28 - God reaches into the depths to rescue us. He delights in us because of who He is, not because of anything we have done.
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2 Samuel 21: Who has not sought God more in need than in abundance?
Saul was zealous for Israel & Judah - he was a patriot. It brought distraction on their nation & others. David takes responsibility and listens for actions that were not his own - to bring healing to Israel. He asks the Ammonites, whose who were wronged by Saul, what it takes to make amends.
Prefiguring Jesus, who takes responsibility for sin that is not His own & shows an example for us.
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2 Samuel 11-12: David had many opportunities to turn away from his poor choices. He had lost himself and was not following God any more. Uriah holds integrity and Nathan calls David out for what he did. They speak truth to power regardless of the consequences to themselves. David was forgiven when he repented, though the consequences continue for the remainder of his life.
There is nothing that can separate us from God's love & grace.
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1 Samuel 30 - "They didn't earn that!" "They don't deserve that!" That's how we see things, especially in America. David understands God's radical generosity. Everything belongs to God. All will share. God has a soft spot for the lowest, the least, those without a voice. All is gift. We are saved by grace lest anyone boast.
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1 Samuel 25 - David is not a role model for how to live but a story of a raw, human person who is open to returning to God when he has gone astray. Sometimes the wilderness will overtake us - but beauty interrupts! Abigail is of import & intelligence. She brings David back to his senses.
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1 Samuel 17 - Goliath... What is your frame? What are you focusing on? The Israelites were filled with fear. David was filled with the experience of the Living God. In our day, the Church has gone to war with culture because our frame has been filled with fear. We look a lot like the Israelites & the Pharisees but not much like Jesus! Do we see an opportunity for the Living God to work through us or will we be paralyzed by fear.
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We have a tendency in the modern church toward Gnosticism, the idea that body (flesh) is bad and spirit is good. We see this in the way church people talk about the sacred and the secular. But that would be foreign to the biblical writers, because the scriptures see life as holistic. When we talk about the gospel of Jesus, we talk about a gospel that took the form of flesh. Jesus embodied the gospel for us, and we in turn are called to embody the gospel for others.
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We live an embodied faith, not above the fray but real. "We want a king." "No you don't." "Yes, we do." "Fine." God is our King. When we ask for another king, we have stopped trusting in God as our leader, protector... We are called to Listen, Remember. Who are we listening to?
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Hebrews 10:19-25 - We have confidence through our relationship with Jesus. 3 invitations: Draw near, hold unswervingly, spur one another on.
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The day of Pentecost - The miracle of Pentecost was the removal of the curse of Babel. One main power of Empire is having a common language to build a culture of dominion. This was thwarted at Babel because God did not want the people building an empire for themselves. At Pentecost, since we are all one in Christ and there is no other, all the difference cultures and languages understood each other without erasing the beauty of their different cultures, races, nationalities. One in Christ while still a beautiful mosaic reaching toward the Kingdom of God.
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Colossians 3: What is the therefore, there for? There is no.... because of this/since there is NO distinction or categories - therefore - We are all one in Christ. So put on love - practice love. That means we bear with one another. We stay at the table. We do this best when we start from a grateful place.
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1 John 4:7-12: We are being called out to be brought back to loving as Christ loves. If the way we live, spend, vote etc... are based in fear, we are not living in the way of Jesus. God is love and Love casts out all fear. Do we live in the way of love or fear?
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John 15: #1 - Love One Another. For everything else.... see #1. Love is not just a mental ascent or a feeling. It must be acted out. Love is action chosen over and over through time.
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He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! May we feast on the goodness of God! The resurrected Jesus shows up in whatever darkness you may be in. Message today in partnership with Rev. Ruby Varghese
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Jesus was a liberating Jesus, right until the end. The brave woman is willing to cross barriers of tradition, patriarchy, and religious rules to anoint Jesus' feet. She does what she can. What is it that we can do?
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Apocalypse - Unlike popular understanding, it just means "to reveal". We are to watch & be aware, not in fear of coming destruction, but in being about Jesus' business of loving God & loving others.
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What is the greatest commandment? Love God. Love Others. The End.
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Jesus flips the story, as He does so often. He is interested in the internal, the heart, not the external, the behaviors/morals. Hard how it is to give up what we trust in that isn't God. If our focus is on the externals, we are constantly serving idols, not following Jesus.
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Prayer IS presence. Faith does not have to be perfect or pure, just present.
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Who do people say I am? Your view is too small when it's about your nation, your people. Jesus disciple needs to deny themselves - their preferences, comforts, power, privledge etc... He is our servant leader, not a leader of power, religious or political.
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Preparing for the work. Time spent in community with Jesus, learning, then going out to the world. That is what is needed. Bring nothing but what I have taught you, says Jesus. That might be the ultimate test of faith. Trusting that His formation is enough....
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Chains & Demons & Pigs - Oh My! Go home & tell.
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Mark 3: On this MLK Jr. weekend, we look at how Jesus was the example, coming up against the power structures that oppressed others. Holiness is catchy, not the other way around - Jesus brings wholeness to those who have been pushed out. He tells us that "whoever DOES my will" - so much more central to what we believe. What actions bring wholeness to God's people and the world?
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Join us for our second book of Mark, as we continue the Journey through the Gospel of Mark. What new thing does God have for us? (To hear from Mark 1: go to www.kentcov.org/sermons preached by Pastor Dan.)
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John 3:1-17: The Spirit blows where it will. It is not earned. It is not birthright. LOVE came down because of love and because we need more love & life here and now.
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Isaiah: Joy is more than happiness. That deep knowing, hope, faith, love... It's all connected and comes from Jesus.
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Isaiah - Liminal Space - the in-between. Out of the stump of Jesse will come hope. God brings justice & righteousness. This is not a judgement of punishment but one of deliverance, where restoration will happen.
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Wrap up to the Lord's Prayer Series. The Parable of The Friend at Midnight - maybe it doesn't say about prayer what you think it does... ?!?
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What are the temptations we face and how might we be formed by this prayer Jesus taught us? Both individually and communally, we face times of trial and need to resist falling into sin. Be clear though - God does not tempt us and He forgives us when we do fall.
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Matthew 6 & Luke 11 both have the Lord's Prayer yet quite different versions. Forgive us our Debts, our Sins.... Similar but different. In both ways, we are being shown that forgiveness is the only way to live with others - to be a part of the Kingdom of God. We are not individuals on this journey but a part of a body - a part of a whole.
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Isaiah 25:6-9: Prayer is subversive. In the Lord's Prayer, we are remided that God's holiness, God's Kingdom, comes first. This gives us a right perspective - not us first. Then we are ready to ask "Give us our daily bread....". In the giving of daily bread, we trust Jesus as provider and also are to be reminded that He provides a feast for us. All the good stuff happens around the table.
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The Lord's Prayer - Your Kingdom come, as in heaven. God's kingdom is not someday - it's at hand, near. Turn & access it (repent). Be a part of participating in God's will being done here and now. Love, Justice, Goodness...
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The beginning of the Lord's Prayer Series: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Prayer is central to Christianity, as well as Judaism. The "goal" is to see God as our Loving Father.
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John 4:27-30 & 39-42: Imagine that you receive such a welcome and are so seen that you can't help but tell everyone. Jesus is the one who welcomes and sees us like that!
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Matthew 20:17-28. Why do we serve?
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Matthew 9:9-13 - The Table is the place where radical hospitality, fellowship, community happen. It is an invitation for all and the only qualifier is that you accept grace - the grace that is Jesus. The Kingdom of God is most often described as a place of feasting at the table with all people. Welcome!
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Matthew 28:16-20 - Evangelism: What are we being asked to do in the Great Commission and how are we being asked to do it? Is there a better way? How can we start to relearn our practices?
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John 13:34 - A New command I give you". Love your neighbor - not just "as yourself" but as I (Jesus) have loved you. Jesus ups the game, as He so often does by asking us to love in a self-sacrificing way, after His example.
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Eph. 6:10-20 - The Armor of God was never meant as a battle cry. The ONLY thing we need to do is stand firm on the foundation of Christ Crucified and Risen!
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Ephesians 5: Perichoresis - The beautiful dance of the Trinity: Father, Son & Holy Spirit. A love & grace that flow in & out. In Ephesians 5, we are not being told that women need to be submissive to men but that the marital relationship is a metaphor for Christ & the Church.
Verse 1&2: Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved childrenand walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Verse 21:Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Verse 32: This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Be imitators, submitting to one another.
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Hebrews 10&11 - By Faith. Faith is not just an intellectual assent to an idea, but an action. It takes practice. Moving forward in faith, we press on with a foundation of God's love, knowing that He is FOR us.
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Ephesians 5 - Wake up... Follow God's example... Walk as children of light... Watch what Jesus does and then do it.... Walk in the way of love... It's a journey towards partnership with Jesus in expanding the Kingdom of God, more each day.
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Eph. 4: 25-32: Speaking the truth in love. What does that look like? What does it have to do with being spiritually mature?
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Eph. 3:14-21: How high and deep and long and wide is God's love!! Can you SEIZE it and really KNOW it! If so, think how that would change the world!?!
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Eph. 2:11-22: Christ destroyed the dividing wall. Why do we rebuild it? We are no longer foreigners but citizens. There is ONE new humanity through Christ's work. Let us make it so.
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It is by God’s gift (grace) we have been saved. This gift then transforms and equips us to share God’s love in tender action with the world.
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Us vs. You. We Jews need you Gentiles. We seem to need someone to "other". But the Cosmic Christ - the one that is in all and through all - not just the Jesus who died and rose, breaks the dividing wall. We may have differences but God makes us one new people. One God, one Church, One... One... One. There is no "we're in"/"you're out".
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A group reading of the letter to the Ephesians.
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We are salt & light. We live in the Now & Not Yet - 2 realities at once.... Our saltyness & lightyness are gifts given by grace of Jesus, not something we earn through behavior. Go be salt & light - bringing flavor & color.
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How do we build the king of community that Jesus was building?
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What happens when the Holy Spirit shows up and disrupts everything? At the Jerusalem council, the Pharisees KNEW that they were following God correctly because they knew the law and kept it but Jesus' disciples were teaching something new and different. The Pharisees followed Jesus plus law but the disciples said - Nope, just Jesus.... that was different, seemingly breaking rules. How will we respond as the Holy Spirit takes us forward into new territory to reach others in this day/age.
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Change! It's not an option. It's always happening. Saul KNEW (he "believed") that he was Right! Recognizing that he was wrong.... Revising his understanding was a blinding experience! God links Jesus and His Church when He asked, "Why are you persecuting ME?" Ananias was told to GO and he did. Does our certainty keep us from going? From following Jesus away from what we KNOW is "right"?
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The end of the journey is never really the end. We hit roadblocks. The question is... How are we going to get to the other side? A step of faith (aka: risk) is needed before we see God move.
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He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Jesus appears in a garden - a call back to the first garden. A renewing of all things. There is new creation! Look for it. Live like it!
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What happens when a people forget who God is and what He has done?
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What does the word "Torah" conjure for you? Not for the Israelites or Jewish people. For them it means order, community, structure, guidance on how to worship and serve Yahweh. The law was a step forward for those who had just left captivity and slavery in Egypt, who needed to know how to do this new life among all the other people groups around them.
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Scarcity mindset. What if we viewed the wilderness as, not a place of bareness, but a place of preparation for abundance. In the wilderness, God provides divine abundance. "Day by day and with each passion moment strength I find to meet my trials here ...."
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Exodus 14 - Our Deliverer. How quickly we forget, or choose to forget, that God has delivered us time and time again.
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The great reversal. While the Israelites were in pain and oppression, God was blessing them and preparing them for liberation. Keeping vigil. Pack your stuff and go. “I will build my life upon you lord you are firm foundation. I will put my trust in you alone and I will not be shaken.”
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Exodus 1 & 2 - God looked upon the Israelites and He took notice of them. He heard their groaning. Danger, Oppression, Exile - A common biblical narrative. Remember what God has done....
The Israelites have multiplied even while being in Egypt & in captivity as slaves. Egypt was afraid of them, not wanting to lose their free labor, yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.
In the midst of our pain, God hears us and draws near.
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John 1 - What does it mean to be a disciple? A disciple is a learner. It's not all about head knowledge, thinking the right things, knowing the right things. It's being present with Jesus so that you can then BE like Jesus so that you can Proclaim the Gospel - Live the Gospel.
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Psalm 139 - Search me and know me... We can and need to be honest with God because He already knows and He loves us. When we voice our anxiety and pain to God, we have the choice to ask God to search us and help us or to become the monster we hate. Chronic anxiety is so high these days - we must give it to God. Trying to deny or hide our real selves doesn't work. Only God can heal us.
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God likes you, He really likes you! Self-examination can sound scary, but it really depends on your view of God. Is He angry and full of wrath or does He love you, warts, sins and all? Well - He loves you, He really loves you. Psalm 139 can fill us with comfort as long as we see God as someone who loves us, not who is angry with us. We are sinners in the hands of a loving God. Good news!
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On Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, we look to what Jesus has to say about Reconciliation. This is not only personal but corporate. We are Ambassadors of Christ, called to bring reconciliation where there is division. Christ is reconciling ALL things to him and he invites us to participate. We now look, not AT reality but FROM reality as part of the New Creation in Christ Jesus. (taken from Richard Rohr) 2 Cor. 5:16-21
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We will be discipled. The question is "Who are we listening to?", "Who or What is forming us?". There are all kinds of influences that inform us/disciple us. Our job is to make sure that we are being discipled by Christ more than any other source.
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The message for us from Mary & Elizabeth is in their faith that God's favor was resting upon them. Joy is resting in the truth that God's favor and love are present in the Coming of Jesus.
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Joy in Judgement?!? Yes - Judgement is not about fleeing to safety, as so many have been wrongly taught, like we're evacuating a fire. It's about transformation. Jesus came to transform our lives, not help us escape. Repentance is changing your mind, your way of life, here, now... To this good news, in Luke 3:7-18, the people ask, "So, what should we do (here, now)?" and were invited into both personal and systemic repentance and action to bring God's kingdom to earth in their daily lives. Joy is not just a good feeling. It is a deep knowledge that all shall be well. Judgement is joyful because all will be made right! Judgement brings good justice and we can participate that here, now!
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12/5 - Peace can be so hard to find. Remember though, that every single story is a story of God seeking His people. Someday there will be peace on earth! Phil. 1:3-11
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Hope. Apocolypse. Those don't seem to go together but Apocalypse doesn't mean scary, doom to come as so many have taught. It means revealing to reveal. That's very different! Christ will reveal - show, the hope that is coming in Christ who was, who is and who is to come.
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A flourishing community of faith gives attention to 4 things. Acts 2:42-47
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What if our discipleship was more about who we are instead of what we do. Wasting time just might be the best use of our time.... James 4:13-17
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Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 - It's better to learn how to think, not what to think - how to be, not how to act... Everything we have and are comes from God and is gift. What is our relationship to money?
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The beginning of our journey - following Jesus into a new life....
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Shema Israel - The Lord your God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.... And in Leviticus - Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus repeats these to His listeners and to us. It's all summed up by Love God, Love Others. The End. The church's purpose is to follow this; to work for God's glory and neighbors good.
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Galatians 5:13-26 - You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. What could it look like if we lived like this?! Loving each other, letting the fruit of the Spirit shine through us, freely loving and serving as Jesus did....
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Gal. 5:1-2: You have been freed for freedoms sake. When we do not live fully into that freedom and instead, put the heavy yoke of law back on ourselves, we squander the gift of Jesus Christ. We have been given freedom to be a slave only to Christ, who commanded us to join Him in loving the last, the lost, the least.
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Depending on the Holy Spirit begins with simple obedience in the small things.
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Who is The Evangelical Covenant Church? What makes us who we are? What do we stand for? What is most important to us? You may be surprised and pleased to know.
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When the whole world seems upside down, when things are changing too fast, when we can't get our bearings, when the road map of life seems to have drastically been altered - do we live by fear or will we listen to Jesus reminding us "Peace Be with You"? We are equipped to live without fear when we live by the Spirit. We must adapt and live not by the systems of our world but Christ's system of the Kingdom of God.
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As part of the Evangelical Covenant Church, we believe in a few affirmations that hold us together. Scripture is our source for knowing Jesus and the story of God.
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The mission of Christ's Kingdom - Go & make disciples... Jesus is always moving toward Restoration, Reconciliation and Re-creation.
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From June 2020, this still speaks to us. We still have work to do. God's Kingdom is always moving forward, never back.
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Sometimes our lenses, the way we see things, determines whether or not we see the signs right in front of us....
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From the beginning God has been in the business of Blessing. Creation = Good, Humanity = Very Good, Abram = Blessed to be a blessing.
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In the beginning God created.... and it was good. This world and everything in it belongs to God. He made it and He charged us with its care. Psalm 24:1-2: The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. As part of the creation, it is our responsibility to tend God's creation but we too often have failed and instead treated it as if it were our to use up for our own consuming purposes. What are some practices we could take to tend and care for the earth in a better way?
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What does it mean to have a Holy Conversation? From Colossians, we can learn a better way to evangelize by seeing, listening and engaging WITH others, as opposed to convincing, debating and forcing our voices ON others.
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The power of story. We are the only creatures that have a story. Story grounds us and helps us find our place in this world. We have our own stories and are part of The Story.
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Learning to Listen - from late Spring of 2020. Did we listen in this past year? What did we listen to? What did we hear? What did we learn?Hopefully we've learned to listen to the still, small voice of God above all the noise.
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God made everything and it was Very Good! For too long we have separated the body & spirit with many harmful results. Genesis starts with God creating everything - including us and our bodies - and declaring them not just good, but very good. It's time we honored this by honoring and loving our selves, body and all. In order to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must first value the Imago Dei in ourselves and then in ALL others.
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From the beginning, we have been getting lost. Lost in the Garden, Abram, the Israelites, .... Instead of fearing Getting Lost as the worst thing, we have the opportunity to remember that it is a time to trust God's leading, trust his presence that is still with us even when we don't think he's there and see it as a time to surrender and learn and grow. Our lives' journey, which cycles over and over, is always: not yet begun, on the journey or arriving at the promise. Genesis 12
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Sabbath. It's not a punishment. It wasn't made to keep us from fun. God created and then - he rested. If God wanted or needed rest, then of course we do! It was His example as a gift for our best life - the one He created! We are so addicted to more, more, more that we say Yes when we would benefit from saying No. In that rest, you will begin to connect with God. You will begin to experience what it means to have life in the Kingdom. Life to the fullest! As you deepen in that experience, you will learn to let your yes be yes, your no be no, bless those who curse you, forgive your enemies, serve your neighbor, and love your family well. God will be honored, and your soul will be restored. Matthew 5:33-37
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You can be generous. Instead of having less when you give more, we actually gain so much when we are generous in what we give away. We can be generous with grace and forgiveness because we recognize that God has been generous with grace and forgiveness for us!
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Practice: rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks IN all things. Wow! Tall order....?!? When we remember that God is always with us in the good times and the bad, we can do these simple but not easy things. Joy is deeper than happiness, prayer is being aware of presence, and we don't give thanks FOR all things. Gratitude is the foundation that it is all built on. Practice gratitude and the others will flow from it.
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Spiritual Practices: what are they? Let's look at them in a new way. Are we awake to what is happening around us? Jacob saw things in his dream that woke him up to the fact that God is everywhere, that God was & is there, not that God all of a sudden showed up where he hadn't been before. Are we aware that God is always there, always here, always with us? Let's practice seeing God in all things. There is not the sacred OR the secular. All things are spiritual!
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To the ends of the earth. We must actively participate in the Kingdom of God, here and now. Phillip followed the Holy Spirit's leading to go from Samaria to "the ends of the earth" in that time. The Ethiopian man sought God against discrimination and found that Jesus was the Good News he was looking for as he heard from Isaiah. Will we follow the Spirit too?
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The story of Gideon, mighty warrior, from Judges holds some things that we miss when we jump to the end of the story. When God called Gideon, he was hiding and was first required to tear down the idols that his people had woven into their worship of Yahweh. We too, have woven certain things so deeply into our understanding of faith and what it means to follow God that we can't even see that it's idolatry. God, help us to see.
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In the Meantime: Jeremiah is a prophet that speaks truth, asks God why he has to be tasked with a job that gets him disliked, but can't keep silent either. Before we get to the feel good promise of Jeremiah 29:11 - what does the warning in 1-10 say has to come first? What hard work has to be done first?
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As we continue listening to the stories of every day people, we look at 2 Mother's - Mary & Elizabeth. Both in tough situations, both of whom could have dispared but instead had hope and trust that what God said he would do through them, he would. Unwed, pregnant teenager and old barren woman. But they responded: Lord, may it be so with your servant. God loves to use broken, humble people to share His good news!
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We are like Rahab, broken, hopeful, doers of small things with bravery. Those small acts can have big results. Rahab is, after all, Jesus's great....... grandma! Will we choose to be faithful to God above all else, even country, family, ideology ......?
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A story of 2 brave women doing what they do, nothing extraordinary, just doing what they knew to be right. From Exodus and the story of the Israelites living in oppression and injustice, we can take an example from them. One simple step that we can do to live into the heritage of these witnesses is to listen and learn stories of our brothers and sisters of color.
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From the Great Cloud of Witnesses we find in Scripture and from some more current witnesses, we will learn what it means to live by faith through their broken, hopeful, and very human examples. Faith goes hand in hand with action. Hebrews 11 starts us off.
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Wonder - There was lots of it on that first Easter morning. What if we had more wonder? More curiosity? What if? What new life would we find?What if the resurrected Jesus isn’t only interested in getting you into heaven but wants you to enter and live in the kingdom now?
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We know the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on the colt, palm branches waving, "Hosanna" being shouted.... Yeah, ok, we know what to expect, heard it before, we know what's coming next. But - what if we were to try to get past our confirmation bias? The Jewish people had their expectations, their lenses. We often miss so much because we are sure we know how things are. What if we try to be open to something new? What if we let go of our biases, take off our "I know how this goes" lenses and open ourselves up to see something new. Maybe we too are missing what Jesus is up to just like they did.
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Luke 18:31-43 - Jesus heals the Blind Beggar who cries out, regardless of those who try to quiet him. “If we are to be healed & reconciled with our brothers & sisters of color, we must allow God’s judgment & mercy to fall on us; that our eyes might be opened & we might be able to see what’s right in front of our face. And to hear the cries of our brothers & sisters for justice, for safety, & ultimately to be seen.”
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Jesus tells some crazy stories... In a chapter, Luke 16, all about money & our relationship to it, Jesus tells a story about a rich guy who is blind to his greed and the poor man, Lazarus (which means Whom God Has Helped) and the Reversal that happens after they die. One more Great Reversal story, one more chance to see our neighbor, one more opportunity to repent and receive God's grace!
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Wrapping up Galatians - Freedom is meaningless and destructive if it is not put into the service of neighbor. As we think about bearing each other's burdens, what does that mean today? Sometimes we need to carry our own junk, sometimes we need to ask for help. Why is it hard for us to know when to do which? We put on our individualism to the extreme when we should be asking for help yet sometimes dump on others' what we should be handling ourselves.
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Lost coins, lost sheep, lost sons. Jesus not only seeks after the lost but he chooses to spend time with them, regardless of what "the right people" think or say. We’re all lost and we’re all in need of that restoration that Jesus offers. That is, friends, the Good News. That is why Jesus invites us to the table. He invited us to the table and he says, Welcome to the feast.
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More of Galatians: Love Your Neighbor is a main theme of everything Jesus taught & that his followers continued to teach. We are all connected and live in an intertwining of community, so what we do effects everyone and everything. Our fruit isn't just about us. Are you bearing good fruit from your beliefs or do your beliefs need some pruning? What effects does your fruit have on how you live in the world?
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Seemingly random stories, Jesus?!? Slaughter of the Galileans? Tower of Siloam falling? A Fig Tree needing manure.... We're all gonna die and need repentance. They really do make sense! (This is not a burn or die repentance sermon! LOL)
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Paul changes his tone - Listen up.... What are you zealous about? A message about how God shows up for us in powerful ways - in our brokenness. Will we be authentic enough to be real?
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The NBA, the Tour de France, a guardian... The Law. Christ, the fulfillment, the completion... Grace. The Both/& of Law & Grace.
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As we start a series on Galatians, we will look at our origin stories - any Marvel fans out there? We all have a story, a first experience of Jesus and that becomes the beginning of our new reality.
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This sermon follows the killing of George Floyd. We discuss the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the importance of seeing the image of God in every person. To Jesus, there is no Other.
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This ends the 4 part series on living together in community and reflecting on what it means to serve our neighbors.
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Life in community takes intentionality and love.
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Jesus invites us to life with Him and into life in His Kingdom.
Passage: Matthew 11:27-30
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A sermon in response to the insurrection of January 6th.
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Sermon from 4th Sunday in Advent
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Sermon from the 3rd Sunday in Advent
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Sermon from Second Sunday in Advent
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David's life ultimately points to the life of Jesus - the Son of David.
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How do we hear hard truth? How do we speak it without fear?
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Generosity is at the heart of David's understanding of God and his life then reflects that generosity to others.
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Allowing Beauty to interrupt the mundane or disappointing circumstances of life is key to a life of vitality.
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What do we make up about what we see all around us?
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1st episode in a series on the life of King David. The life of King David is the most documented life in all of Scripture. And yet, we mostly only remember the Sunday School version of the story. This is an attempt to deal with David's real, raw life and to allow it to inform our own real lives.
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Welcome to "Bearing Witness"!
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