From Foreside Community Church

Scripture: Acts 16:9-15We join Paul in meeting Lydia, a new and faithful friend who welcomes him into her home, and transforms the church for all the years to come. What small acts of welcome and hospitality may yet bring Christ even more clearly into our lives and the world? The post Welcomed appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Acts 11:1-18The Apostle Peter shares a vision that has led him to widen the welcome of the earliest church. Today, we are called to do the same: deepening our understanding of what is core to our faith while also welcoming difference and diversity as a testament to God's creative powers. The post Unhindered appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Acts 9:36-43We meet Tabitha, an early saint of the church who died surrounded by widows whose lives she touched. As Peter comes to restore her to life, he sees, and we see today, an invitation into an economy of grace and compassion that may yet call us into Christ's new life together. The post Woven appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 21:1-19The disciples, in the mystery and uncertainty of the days after the ressurection, find themselves drawn back to what they knew: their old lives of fishing. Yet Jesus appears to them, offers them a more filling meal than what has been, and calls them into what will be. For us as the church, ... Read more The post Fed and Feeding appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 20:19-31The disciple Thomas misses a resurrection appearance of Jesus, and can't quite believe the news. Is Thomas's yearning to touch and know Jesus a failure of faith? Or could he be a model of drawing near enough to others to touch the places that have been pained or wounded, and being willing to ... Read more The post Believing the Body appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 20:1-18 Easter's resurrection and new life are often told in flashes of light and blaring trumpets… but the Easter story begins in a garden when all is quiet, and waiting, or merely hoping for growth and life: seeds growing in darkness. Just as those seeds need time and care, God's resurrection promises and ... Read more The post Seeds and Gardeners appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 20:1-18 Our Confirmation class meets a moment of change alongside Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. Like Mary meeting Jesus by the tomb, they will be invited to look for the presence of the risen Christ with new eyes, and to remain open to the transformations of life, relationship, and calling that will lead ... Read more The post Confirmation: To See and to Hold appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 19:28-40, Philippians 2:5-11 Palm Sunday invites us to see the two parades: Jesus's triumphant entry and Pontius Pilate's military show of force. Through the Holy Week story, it may look like one of those parades was the victor and the other lost everything… Yet Easter will come, and with it a reversal of ... Read more The post Cross Words: Victory † Loss – Palm Sunday appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 12:1-8, Philippians 3:4b-14 In the Gospel of John, Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus with costly ointment, a ritual for death, and a gesture of love and care… one familiar to her, having recently buried her brother Lazarus. The two of them share this intimate scene as those touched by and close with death. ... Read more The post Cross Words: Death † Resurrection appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32We explore the parable of the prodigal son: a father's unconditional love and two sons' self-imposed limitations on that love. How can we break free from self-limiting stories and embrace God's grace and forgiveness? In part, the cross may be a place and symbol to which Christ takes our old stories to ... Read more The post Cross Words: Reconcile † Regret appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 13:1-9, Isaiah 55: 1-9 Jesus confronts that old tendency to blame victims of tragedy for their misfortune, and shows us that we are all equally vulnerable. On the cross, Jesus shows us the end of all this chain of scarcity, and calls to us repent from that “logic” of suffering to the wonder ... Read more The post Cross Words: Abundance † Hunger appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1Promises liberate us to collaborate and explore new frontiers. The covenant promise between God and Abram creates a bond that will carry blessing to a strange new land, and throughout generations. But promises also ask us for us to live into trust, and so the new covenant affirmed in Jesus's ... Read more The post Cross Words: Promise † Trust appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Romans 10:8b-13, Luke 4:1-13This Lent, we explore the many meanings and tensions of the cross. Tested in the wilderness, Jesus confronts not just the devil, but our own tendency to seek and wield power over… In freely giving these things away, we find the true power of God. The post Cross Words: Gifted † Tested appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10We begin the season of Lent with the reminder of all that is broken… in our world, in our lives. We know the fragility of human life, but trust that God can hold all the dust and debris we bring… and, in fact, can use that dust to create ... Read more The post Ash Wednesday: The Crack in Everything appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)On a special day for our congergation, we hear about a high holy day high on a mountaintop for Jesus and his disciples. Like the disciples, we may be tempted to linger in the glow, but Jesus calls us down the mountain and into the fullness of human life, and to bring ... Read more The post The Way: Down and Out appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scriptures: Genesis 45:3-11, 15, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50 Joseph and the Apostle Paul tell stories of grace and forgiveness, and how they may lead us into resurrection life. These stories are not simply important for us as individuals who may harm or be harmed by one another, but in telling God's greater cosmic story of ... Read more The post Coming Back to Life appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13The Rev. Cheryl Anderson joins us, and invites us to join with the church of Corinth in the important practices of attention and love which can draw us deeper into relationship with God, even with those with whom we disagree the most. The post Loving People We Don't Like appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13Paul's metaphor of the church as a body, emphasizing interdependence and mutuality, challenges the hierarchical structures of his time. This understanding of unity and diversity, grounded in love, may be what is necessary in this moment. The post A Place in the Choir appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 2:1-11The Rev. Joan Murray reads and responds to a sermon from Pastor Geoff… When Jesus starts his ministry with a miracle at a wedding, is it small or frivolous in comparison with the problems of the world? Maybe it's meaningful to see God's salvation start to work itself out in everyday celebrations and ... Read more The post The First Signs appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22Jesus's baptism seems to open him to acceptance of his identity and purpose, and invites us to do the same. Marked by God's declaration of love and the descent of the Holy Spirit, Jesus—and those who would follow him—discover our true selves; our beloved-ness which allows us to stand and work towards ... Read more The post The Beloved and the Bird appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12The Wise Ones of other lands who found their way to Jesus gave thanks for his light, but then returned to their homes by another road. How are we called as Christians to help shine light for those whose faith journey may not be our own? The post Light on Other Roads appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 1:39-55The story of the cousins Mary and Elizabeth and their wonder-filled meeting, both pregnant under unusual circumstances, unfolds in song. (Which will become Ave Maria and The Magnificat.) Their songs, filled with wonder and prophecy are anthems of hope and liberation. How can we learn from them, and learn that singing is a ... Read more The post Love Be Our Song appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Isaiah 12:2-6, Philippians 4:4-7Joy, maybe unlike happiness, is a practice of meaning-making and resilience. It is not a passive gift but an active verb that requires effort to cultivate, especially in challenging times. By drawing joy from “wells of salvation” and embracing that holy. work, can we become sources of hope, peace, love, and ... Read more The post Drawing Up Joy appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 1:68-79The priest Zechariah sings a song of praise at the birth of his son, who will become John the Baptist. Like many of us, he looks for good news for his people and his nation. But, since God arrives and moves in the lives of children in these stories of Jesus's Advent… perhaps ... Read more The post Desire of Nations appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Luke 21:25-36As we begin the season of Advent: in which we wait with our ancestors and look for Christ's coming into the world… we hear from Jesus himself. As an apocalyptic preacher, he shares with us news of a world ending… but we are to look for signs of a new world… not the ... Read more The post Waiting on the World appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Psalm 126The Psalm points us to a desert region in which water will yet flow again with God's help. When we experience grief and dry times, how do we create new topographies of grace in which even the smallest streams of life may flow? How can we use our own desert experiences to bring ... Read more The post The Ways of Water appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Psalm 46, Revelation 22:1-5Our own Rev. James Gertmenian shares with us news of the glad river of faith which flows beneath our feet and can sustain us on the way of justice. How can we keep from singing? The post The Glad River appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-16In a hungry and dry time, the prophet Elijah visits a widow who is sure she has only a crumb to sustain her. How are we invited to be transformed by the invitation to share what we have, when it is so tempting in trying times to turn inward? The post The Crumb appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-6The Holy City described by John of Patmos shows us a map of interconnectedness and belonging which will have no end… and contrasts against the symbols and structures of empire which threaten our common life. We give thanks for all the pathways between us created by the saints of our lives and the ... Read more The post Glory Forever appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Psalm 46We welcome new life and gifts to our community through baptism and affirmation of faith. As we do so, we are reminded that Jesus taught us to pray daily for God's care in “times of trial.” The Psalmist lets us know there may be raging waters, but the sure presence of God and ... Read more The post Times and Trials appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35As we consider forgiveness, we hear a difficult parable from Jesus. Can we indeed forgive as we have been forgiven? How does God invite us to choose which economy we live in: one of boundless grace, or of mounting debts and accountability? We are joined by special guest, artist Frederick Ndabaramiye, who gives ... Read more The post What We Owe Each Other appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-34As Jesus teaches to pray for daily bread, he connects his ancestors story of abundant care from God, but also the invitation to reflect on what we need, and the abundance of what may be shared. The post The Bread We Need appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-12Both Jesus and the prophet Isaiah imagine a world in which earth mirrors heaven. How do we balance this hope and promise with the harsh realities of the world as it is? The answer may lie in the possibility that heaven may be in the reaching for it. The post Reconciling Earth and Heaven appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Matthew 18:1-5, 10-14Jesus gathers children to him, and to the center of life. As he does so, he teaches a way of prayer in which all of creation is adopted into the family and lineage of God. When we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, how does the fact that we are all ... Read more The post Of Parents and Power appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-13As we begin our exploration of the prayer taught to us by Jesus, we pause to wonder what prayer is, and the gifts we carry that allow us to participate in it. The post Teach Us to Pray appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:4Guest preacher John Kipp helps us remember that God created and called the creation good. How are we called to shape our attention to similarly see the goodness of the creation of which we are a part? The post Attention and Appreciation appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: James 1:17-27The letter of James invites us to be “doers of the word.” This means that we will have to practice embodying our faith/ What should we practice in the year to come? The post What We Do: Practice appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20When there is so much that can tempt us to shield ourselves and those we love from pain, or change, or conflict… how do we instead follow God's path which invites us to radical connection, community, and even vulnerability? The post Armor and Chains appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 6:51-58, Proverbs 9:1-6Jesus tells followers to eat and drink from his body and blood. The disciples say, “This teaching is too dificult,” and we might agree. But is there in this strange meal an inviation to know Christ and one another more deeply? How have God—and others—fed us in ways that carry the ... Read more The post Making a Meal of Wisdom and Love appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33, Ephesians 4:25-5:2The end of the story between King David and his son, Absalom, is one of tragedy after a history of violence and retribution which was never faced. Can we learn what they could not: to face righteous anger, hurt, and injustice so that there might be healing, rather ... Read more The post The Long Walk: Healing After Rupture appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15, John 6:24-35Jesus offers living bread where God is cenetered in beloved community. How can we nurture this blessing and gift?. The post The Holiness of Today's Bread appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scriptures: Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:1-15There is a lot that we can hunger for in our lives: food, safety, control. Jesus feeds people with God's blessing and what he finds among them, yet they—and we—are convinced that the simplest answer is to make Jesus king. How do we instead understand his invitation to place God in ... Read more The post Power: Of Kings and Bread appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: John 12:20-33Jesus invites his followers to think of their lives as seeds… something that must crack open and die to grow into new life. We are all tempted to remain in one form, one place, one identity… How can we experience this invitation to growth as blessing and resurrection, not only for ourselves, but ... Read more The post Planted appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scriptures: Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-21 Jesus tells a retells a strange story from the book of Numbers to explain his idea of the cross. In this Lent, what does the cross mean to us… and how does that meaning shape our commitment to the one who came to “save the world, and not condemn it”? The post No More Crosses: To See What Saved Us appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17The Ten Commandments have a long and storied history in our culture and imagination… but we often miss the law that lands in the center of them, and might transform our relationship with God, and with one another. The post Rest: The Law Between the Lines appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16A new name broadens blessing and belonging for Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants… how might we be challenged to release our old “names” and ways of being so that we might be renamed as a more inclusive and blessing people? The post Renamed on the Way appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Genesis 9:8-17After the flood, God makes a promise (and a rainbow) of protection over all creation. Can we, as part of that creation take up that promise for each other, and for all the earth? The post Dust and Promises appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10Ash Wednesday invites us into Lent, not as a self-improvement plan, but as witness to how God draws near to us as we are… and how that grace still transforms us. We are dust, we say this night… but we are also God's. The post Ash Wednesday – What Is Not Crushed appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Mark 1:29-39Jesus brings healing home. Is this a troubling story in which God “cures” certain people, and not others? Or is this an invitation to think about the richness of healing, and how we can offer it to one another, and share it with the wider world? The post The Healing Given appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Mark 1:21-28As Jesus teaches in a holy gathering, he is met by an unholy spirit which has bound up a man. How often are we caught up in debates about what or who belongs where… when the deeper and more pressing question is, “What is the healing that is required?” For individuals? For the ... Read more The post The Authority in Healing appeared first on Foreside Community Church.

Scripture: Psalm 62:5-12The Psalmist tells us of God's promises heard twice: in words and in silence. How can we participate in God's call to be present and to care for others when they are in those wordless and silent places of grief and change? The post In Silence: Spoken Twice appeared first on Foreside Community Church.