Weekly teaching ministry of Epiclesis, an Ancient-Future Faith Community.
"Lord of the Rings, Politics, and What's a Christian to Do?" That's the theme for our annual Fall Retreat (October 17-18) with special guest teacher Rev. Steve Pearson. Back for a second conversation in the series, Steve joined Pastor Chris to talk about the first movie in the trilogy, "The Fellowship of the Ring." Steve summarized the characters and plot, then talked about themes in the movie through the lenses we named in the first of our conversations: power (the nature of); fellowship; and sovereignty and freedom. Food for thought: In his movies, Alfred Hitchcock used to talk about what he called a "MacGuffin," a thing that everyone was after that helped drive the story. He famously said that it didn't matter what the MacGuffin was-- that the thing itself was irrelevant to the plot. In Lord of the Rings, there is an object at the center of the story, but it's no empty, irrevelant object. Can you think of some reasons why? For more information about the retreat and Steve, please go here.
Fire and altars. Feeding pigs. Growing decent vegetables: Just what might those things have in common? Pastor Chris made some connections to the fiery story of Elijah and Elisha that included an intriguing passage from C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. Along the way we talked about what it means to build an altar and, also, the sometimes hard truth that the building of altars we do for God may not result in anything obvious to us. The image associated with this sermon/podcast is titled "Fire from Heaven" and is anonymous.
The biblical story of Ruth is a multi-faceted one, filled with deep meaning at every turn. We may know her best as being in the lineage of Jesus. But at the heart of her story are revelations of God's covenant faithfulness, both to and through Ruth and the characters who surround her. Join Pastor Ellen as she reflects on the challenges and opportunities for Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz as they chose to say “Yes” to God. What lessons and encouragement do they offer us as we seek to live out our lives, “on display” of God's love and manifold wisdom? And what might all this have to do with God's Big Story? The painting associated with this sermon is "Ruth Gleaning" by James Tissot, c. 1896.
What does the Bible have to say about life and death for God's saints? Pastor Chris took a couple of Sundays leading up to an All Saints emphasis at the end of October to talk about what Christians can expect.
How are we supposed to count something that's uncountable? Normally, we can't “know” our end, and normally we can't actually "number" our days, as the psalm say. Just what does it mean to number our days? One fascinating truth about Scripture is that very often, God calls us to count things that are NOT countable, and then He forbids us from counting things that ARE countable. What does that mean for Epiclesis church, and for you, as we go forward from here? Join Pastor Chris for a wonderful and timely teaching on numbering our days.
Does it really matter how we worship? Does it make any difference what happens in our chapel each Sunday? The early church believed it made a tremendous difference. Join guest speaker Dr. Carl Peters as he gives a delightful teaching on why the way we worship is critical to our faith.
The biblical kind of remembering is not like our usual idea of remembering where we recall an event or reflect on happier times. Biblical remembering involves bringing something from the past into the present in such a way that it does not lose any of its original meaning or power or import. It's an almost tangible way to connect past and present. So much about worship—so much about living a life of worship—is about remembering rightly. How do we remember rightly and biblically?
If you knew a storm was coming, what kind of a house would you build? Join us as we learn how to “un-frenemy” our relationship with God, and explore the radical way James views troubles and testing that are guaranteed to happen to us all. Find notes for this sermon here.
What should your goal be as a peacemaker? What is the #1 thing standing in your way of that goal? Join us as we explore the first half of James 3 and learn the S.A.F.E. way to manage conflict with the people around you. Find teaching notes for this sermon here.
Do you know where the line of the old hymn "Jesus doeth all things well" comes from? It's from a passage of Scripture we looked on this day from the Gospel of Mark. Pastor Chris began the teaching by asking what God has been up to since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. You could make a strong theological case for saying "re-creation." In Matthew 15, Jesus took His disciples to two far-flung regions. What might His ministry in those two places have to do with re-creation? Join us!
The Book of Ephesians was summed up by author Watchman Nee this way in his book by the same title: "Sit, Walk, Stand." On this final Sunday in our series on Ephesians, Pastor Chris used that phrase to recap Paul's letter. The teaching ended with a look at what Paul's admonition to "put on the armor of God" might ultimately mean.
Pastor Jay Dudley gave us a glimpse into the teaching content he shared at the Epiclesis-sponsored Trail Life troop's summer camp, June 2024. Jay serves as the troop's chaplain, and his sermon on this day explored three biblical stories of "garment gifts" that yielded insights into the meaning of salvation-- and a look at those gifts also set up a stunning backdrop for an intimate and little-known aspect of Christ's return. Join us for a masterful time of teaching.... The picture associated with this podcast post is of the actual scarf from the TrailLife camp week that Jay talked about in his sermon.
We're in part three of a four-part look at Paul's letter to the Ephesian church. This time, we're looking at chapter 5 where he says, "be careful how you walk." In fact, the construction in the original language is more like be "carefully careful." What's Paul warning us about, and what's he assuming, about the way we walk and live in the world? Along the way, we looked at two places in Scripture where Jesus Himself showed His disciples how to walk-- and how to do so even when the days are evil. Join us!
The Church needs to grow up. The Apostle Paul said so. But where did his authority come from, and just who gets to be an Apostle, anyway? In this second in the series on Ephesians, Pastor Chris took a look at those questions, plus talked about what it means for the Church to grow up.
Do you ever get a commercial jingle stuck in your head? They're catchy, and sometimes we quote or sing them without really knowing what the product is. Sometimes Bible verses can be that way-- even monumentally important Bible verses. We know the verses, but we're not sure about the original and intended context and meaning. In this first of a series of sermons on Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, Pastor Chris takes a look at several well-known Bible verses and Paul's intention for them. In this teaching we did an overview of the first three chapters and revealed God's big mystery for the world. Join us!
Dr. Carl Peters was the guest on this Sunday and he brought a message about division-- but not the mathematic kind. We live in a day when so many are divided and mired in disagreement. Where does the division come from, and how can we heal the great divide? Along the way we also talked about the work of the devil, "two races" of humankind, and a warning sign from antiquity found on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Join Pastor Carl as he shares some wonderfully encouraging news about the person and work of Jesus. Note: The photograph associated with this podcast is of the "Temple Warning Inscription" mentioned by Dr. Peters. The sign warning non-Jews from entering the Temple precincts was discovered in the late 19th century and is now on display in the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
It is when I run out of my strength that God shows up. In this sixth and final of the series on 2 Corinthians, Pastor Chris shares a beautiful treatment by the late theologian Marva Dawn on a pivotal passage in chapter 12. We took a close look at some of the Greek text, but the main focus was on another, refreshing possibility of a translation that puts even more emphasis on God's power showing up in our lives. And here's a hint: weakness is the very place that Jesus tabernacles. We also talked about weakness being the way forward for Christians especially in a time of contentious politics and potential societal unrest. Note: The artwork associated with this podcast recording is "The Good Shepherd is On the Way" by Kevin Carden.
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