Posts from 2024 (Page 4)
Notes on “Setting the Plot in Motion”
Introduction We continue our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, journeying day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. This week we move to Wednesday, commonly called “Spy Wednesday” in the Christian liturgical calendar. On this day of Jesus’ final week, two of Jesus’ followers make important decisions that set the plot in motion for Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection. The writer of the Gospel of Mark contrasts…
Notes on “Challenging Authority”
Introduction We continue our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, journeying day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. This week we move to Tuesday and an expanse of texts from the middle of the 11th chapter all the way through the end of the 13th chapter. Roughly two-thirds of this section shows Jesus in conflict with the religious leaders in the temple, where Jesus is continually challenged…
Notes on “The Temple in Frame”
Introduction We continue our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, journeying day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. This week we move to Monday, the day that Jesus turns over the tables in the temple. Known as a “cleansing” of the temple, Jesus’ motives and intentions have been widely explored in countless sermons and papers. This story is framed by a narrative about a fig tree, something…
Notes on “Royal Entrance”
Introduction This is the first week of our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. This series will take us day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. As we open, we explore the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and compare this to the likely historical entry that Pontius Pilate would have made through the opposite side of the city. Where Jesus enters on a donkey, Pilate likely…
Annual Rummage Sale—8:30-2:30 Saturday, March 9
Here is the Rummage Donation Information you have requested! Annual Rummage Sale—8:30-2:30 Saturday, March 9Come join the camaraderie during this special community event! Wanted: volunteers to set up Mon. 3/4-Fri. 3/8; on Saturday 3/9 to cashier from 8:30-2:30 and to pack up from 2:30-5. Please contact Sandy: sreloc@juno.com Donations will be accepted starting 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, through noon Thursday, March 7. Donations needed starting Sunday, March 3 and throughout the week: Clothes, Linens, Plants, Housewares, Jewelry, Furniture,…
Notes on “Getting to Work”
Introduction This is the final week of our sermon series on why our Christian faith is essential. We have not addressed all the reasons and all the ways that Christianity is as important as ever, and I suggest that’s not possible. With that said, I suggest that this week we approach an essential element of the Christian faith: that this is a faith that requires action. The epistle of James strongly advocates this point in the 2nd chapter (set aside…
Book Talk Wednesday, February 7 at 2pm
Book Talk presents its next (and newest) speaker, Mark Drozda, on Wednesday, February 7, at 2pm, in the Fireside Library. Mark will be presenting the book Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. This book is a fascinating combination of seafaring adventure and California history. In Mark’s own words: “Even thought I’ve been sailing in Southern California for 40 years and once toured Dana’s replica ship The Pilgrim at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point (when the ship was still…
Women’s Bible Study
Our newest women’s Bible Study is about to begin! 7-week study for Lent called “When You Pray.” Prayer is simply talking with God. But oddly, many of us are not very good at it, or very comfortable doing it. We find it difficult to pray regularly, or we feel like our prayers lack passion and power. This special study looks at six prayers in the Bible, and teaches us how to use them as models in our prayers of petition,…
Notes on “Community”
Introduction As we continue our post-Christmas sermon series called “Why Be Christian?” we might remember what we’ve explored so far. We began in the baptismal waters alongside Jesus, who entered the waters to show us the way to God’s abundant life. We listened for the voice of God alongside Samuel, Philip, and Nathanael. With Jonah, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, we received the persistent and grace-filled invitation to participate with God in living out the fullness of God’s kingdom here…
Notes on “Call & Response”
Introduction This week we continue our post-Christmas sermon series called “Why Be Christian?” As we explore texts from the story of Jonah and the call of the disciples, we will consider the importance of our response: our response to God, to our faith, to the circumstances of the world. In doing so, we will ask ourselves whether these responses should be inward or outward… or perhaps both! Illustration Video A clip from the 1997 film Close Encounters of the Third…
Notes on “Listening”
Introduction This week we continue our post-Christmas sermon series called “Why Be Christian?” Liturgically, this is also the beginning of Ordinary Time (named for ordinal numbers), though we can also remember that being Christian is not necessarily ordinary. It is good, then, that we choose to focus this week on listening. I would suggest that choosing to prioritize listening is indeed extraordinary, given that our U.S. culture seems largely focused on isolated sound-bites, self-promotion, and greed. Perhaps taking more time…
Notes on “In The Beginning”
Introduction This week we begin a new post-Christmas sermon series called “Why Be Christian?” Over the course of the next five weeks, we will explore the meaning of our faith and spirituality, particularly as Christians. This first week we begin at the beginning: with the opening verses of the Genesis creation story, and with the baptism of Jesus. These are essential beginnings to the stories of Christianity, and they offer us the opportunity to explore the beginnings of our own…