The Gathering - Sermons

Today we are beginning a short series on the most familiar and famous prayer in the history of the church. We call it the Lord's Prayer.Here at The Gathering, we say these words every single week. Many of us grew up learning, repeating and reciting these words. But sometimes it is precisely the most familiar parts of our faith, that we don't spend time thinking about. And yet they are so powerful, shaping not only how we understand God, but how we understand prayer!So beginning today we are going to actually talk about these words that we so regularly speak, but do not always think about, beginning with "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name."

In the New Testament, before there was a name for ‘church', they just called it ekklesia — which is Greek for the gathering. A place for people to find one another, to build one another up, and to connect with Jesus.To stand in this church today, in this beautiful space, surrounded by this vibrant community, is to see that dream not just realized, but flourishing and multiplying in ways we could have only prayed for.But we are not just spectators. We are participants. We are the builders. We are the body. Each of us has a part to play. We get to invite, to serve, to give, and to celebrate all the good that is being done here, so that together, we might become a mature body, filled with the fullness of Christ.

We are one church united in our desire to follow Jesus and grow in our faith. But we are different from one another, most notably, we span 7 generations. We have an incredible opportunity to listen and learn about our faith FROM each other instead of talking PAST each other.In our final week of Boomers to Zoomers, we're focused on Boomers. A couple of weeks ago, several boomers from our church gathered together to share what they would want others at church to know about their generation. So what do Boomers have to teach the rest of us about faith or what it means to be the church?

We are one church united in our desire to follow Jesus and grow in our faith. But we are different from one another, most notably, we span 7 generations. We have an incredible opportunity to listen and learn about our faith FROM each other instead of talking PAST each other. Today is all about Millennials.We didn't forget you, Gen X! This week is all about you. Grunge. Latchkey. Gen-X's unique role as bridge-builders are not merely characteristics but profound gifts that enrich our collective faith journey. So, to all of us here today, let's embrace and learn from these strengths.

We are one church united in our desire to follow Jesus and grow in our faith. But we are different from one another, most notably, we span 7 generations. We have an incredible opportunity to listen and learn about our faith FROM each other instead of talking PAST each other. Today is all about Millennials.This past week, we sat down with some of the Millennials in our congregation to hear what they are going through and what they wish others in the church knew about their generation. If there is a through line to our conversations, the survey results, and the research, I would say the through line is Authenticity. Let's talk about it.

The church is a community of people following Jesus. We are united together in our common faith in Jesus and desire to grow closer to God. But while we are united in this, we are not uniform. We are not uniform in what we look like, what we are thinking, where we've come from and what we are going through. We are also multigenerational – having people from 7 generations. So we have different perspectives on life and faith. We could learn so much from each other, but it is also easy to talk past each other. We're starting off this series with our kids and teens. What can they teach us about mental health and it's relation to our faith? What can they show us about the church being a place of belonging? How do the relationships we have in our church impact us?

God is referred to as He, Father, King so much in scripture that many people just assume that is the proper way to talk about God. But people are often surprised that God is also consistently talked about in feminine ways in the Bible as well, especially as a Mother. All of us have images and metaphors for God that are comfortable to us. We need images and metaphors to understand God, but God is always greater than these images. To say God is Father or Mother is a way of getting at God's character. Like a parent God watches over, protects, disciplines, encourages, and loves us. But this language describes God's character, not God's essence. So no matter what words you use to describe God, don't ever think that those words capture all of who God is.

God is referred to as He, Father, King so much in scripture that many people just assume that is the proper way to talk about God. But people are often surprised that God is also consistently talked about in feminine ways in the Bible as well, especially as a Mother. All of us have images and metaphors for God that are comfortable to us. We need images and metaphors to understand God, but God is always greater than these images. To say God is Father or Mother is a way of getting at God's character. Like a parent God watches over, protects, disciplines, encourages, and loves us. But this language describes God's character, not God's essence. So no matter what words you use to describe God, don't ever think that those words capture all of who God is.

Does God have a plan. Is God in control? Yes. Do you get to make choices and shape your life? Yes. When you hold these both together, it offers a lot of hope. God is in control and scripture promises that God goes before us, walks with us, and has determined to save us. But in this journey, we have choices about how to live and move through life. And you don't have to be worried about “missing” God's plan for your life, because there are so many ways to be faithful to it.

We have four different stories of Jesus' life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.John's gospel is over here vibing, taking turns and stops we hadn't experienced in the other gospels. And John brings in the imagination, the mysticism, or that is to say where the veil is thin, where we encounter the divine, go beyond what makes sense, we enter into territory where we need a story to imagine it, to grasp it. the storytelling that is so crucial to survival and hope.

We have four different stories of Jesus' life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.In Luke we see Jesus as he cares for the whole person as he heals minds and bodies. Maybe it's because Luke is attributed as being a physician. Luke has connection to the book of Acts, which is the Holy Spirit book of the Bible. Acts is seen as part 2 of Luke when the people put into action through the spirit the Good News that Jesus preached.

We have four different stories of Jesus' life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.The Gospel of Mark is centered on the figure of Jesus who has an urgent message of good news: one that is available to the audience (and us!) right now! As the gospel for people in a hurry, we are met with a relentless pace for accomplishing good things based on love and grace and healing and hope for all people. While this does not offer us an opportunity to slow down, but it does provide us with opportunities to focus on the way of Christ and to reprioritze our own lives accordingly.

We have four different stories of Jesus' life contained in these four books to offer different, holy & sacred perspectives of that same story. We and yet we each need Jesus and strive to follow him. Throughout this series we will be encountering these stories in these four gospels by thinking through who this particular book was written to reach; what we might learn; and how we might be transformed into action by becoming more Jesus-like in our lives.In Matthew's narrative, Jesus is presented with undeniable authority as the promised Messiah—the Son of God—and the ultimate teacher and King. He is depicted as profoundly compassionate toward those who suffer, yet also fiercely challenging towards religious hypocrisy. Matthew's original audience consisted mostly of Jewish Christians. And we might label this part of Matthew's audience as ‘insiders'.

For three years Jesus teaches and asks us to follow, to live like he does. And not only that, but he gives us all sorts of help. Manure if you will – gifts, abilities, relationships, resources – he gives us so much that we could use for the sake of God's Kingdom. But it is up to us to do something with what we have been given, to bear fruit.

At some point your faith stops being an intellectual activity and starts to be something that you act out. Faith is not something you (just) believe but something you do. Reading, worshiping, studying, thinking will only take you so far. At some point, to grow you must go.

We are all here (literally and spiritually) because of others who came before us. They saw themselves less as consumers of faith and more as producers of faith. We too need to recover a sense that God calls us not to simply consume the faith given to us by others, but help produce that faith in new generations of people. Remembering our roots reminds us of our mission.

In a time where modern technology and social media promises to connect us and draw us closer and make us more friends, then why are we facing an epidemic of loneliness? People are lacking connectedness, closeness, and friendship more than ever. The disciples and their interactions with Jesus offer us some insight into how friends can show up, and how we sometimes show up as friends.

Singleness takes all forms. Some choose it, some don't. Some want to find someone else, others enjoy being single. Whether you are young and still single, widowed, gone through a divorce, or just haven't found a person you want to date – you are not less than or incomplete simply because you haven't found that person. For those of you who choose to be single, you are honored. To those of you looking and frustrated, you are not alone. And God is doing work in you even now, that will prepare you for whatever relationship lays ahead.

It is true really of all relationships, but especially with marriage, you don't just find the right person and live happily ever after. Strong marriages aren't found they are built.Like so many topics, there isn't one scripture or section that is about marriage. Instead, to arrive at these principles, let's look at the various passages of scripture that talk about marriage and jump into 5 biblical principles to build a healthy marriages.

Today we are beginning a new series called We Just Click: God's Design for Meaningful Relationships. This whole series could be summed up in a single verse, that comes at the beginning of the Bible. God says it at the end of creation “It's not good that the human is alone.” – God (Gen. 2.18). In other words, we need others, we need relationships. So let's start by understanding why relationships are so important - and what often gets in the way.

The resurrection is a declaration that hope is real and worth it. Jesus is doing something new in your life even, and especially, when you can't see it. Hope is working its way through your life, but on its own schedule. Let's look at what the resurrection story teaches us about the character of hope.

The peace and calm of Jesus didn't make sense. On a base level, human beings are self-preservationists; most creatures naturally are. We avoid suffering or pain, and we don't like feeling threatened. When our safety is threatened, our brains and bodies prepare to fight or run away, and nobody would have blamed Jesus, human as he was, for choosing either of those options. But, Jesus was also the Son of God, and after tears and fear in the garden, he chose to trust his father in a new way.

The gospel writers seem to wrestle with how to describe an emotional Jesus, especially in this story in the garden. It is told three different times by Matthew, Mark and Luke. When they describe how Jesus felt, they all use different words. They say he felt sorrowful, troubled, anxious, and anguish.This fear/anxiety is something that we all deal with, and so did Jesus. Learning to deal with this kind of anxious fear is important for our ability to try new things, take risks, and deal with the struggles that life throws our way.

Disappointment happens when our expectations and reality do not align. So what can Jesus teach us about dealing with, preventing, and moving forward in moments where we are disappointed?

Anger is often telling us about something going on beneath the surface. God gave us the emotion of anger for a reason. Anger is good, helpful, informative, and helps us to have deeper insight into what we're feeling about given situations.As imperfect people we will never express violence in a just and honorable manner. It's important we feel the anger as it comes, express the anger, and then work to move beyond the anger, all at your pace.

The Palm Sunday story marks the beginning of Jesus' last week. And while the week would be an emotionally hard one for him and the disciples, today's scripture is a story of joy! While we often focus on everything that was hard about this time in Jesus' life, it is worth noticing that in the middle of the darkest season, his followers were able to experience this moment of great joy.

The shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus Wept". As we begin our new series "Emotional Roller Coaster: The Ups and Downs of Jesus' Last Days" we will look at how human Jesus was and how he felt real emotions. What can we learn from these real-human emotions Jesus expressed?

Now that we have learned about what racism is, how it's a sin, and how we can unify, how do we pursue racial justice? Today we hear from Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker, as we continue our series The Beloved Community.

Implicit or unconscious bias is attitudes or perceptions we have about people without our conscious knowledge. It is when we make a snap judgment based on stereotypes, cultural attitudes, and assumptions. And because of racism, white people do this all the time when it comes to the ways that they view, treat, or talk to people of color.

Because racism is still active and growing in our society, we are not yet the Beloved Community that King and indeed God calls us to be. Racism threatens our faith in God. Why? Because racism is a sin. Sin gets in the way of our relationship with God. If we don't address it, sin keeps us from God.

There are a lot of voices competing for our attention, for the chance to tell us who we are. Rather than listening to the foolish, the critic, or the narcissist, tune in to the voice of God. They have a lot to say about who you are, and what you were made for.

The Narcissist navigates the world through a transactional, non-empathetic, and arrogant lens. Jesus reminds us that we're called to be the opposite. To seek love, humility and empathy in our relationships.

The Bible is constantly warning us against listening to foolish voices. These are people who either don't know, or don't care. Rather than listening to foolish voices, seek out wisdom from someone you look up to. That noise can help shape you into the person you hope to become.

The voices we listen to, day in and day out, shape us. If we're surrounded by critics, agitators and cynical thinkers, we'll begin to see the world through that lens. The antidote to criticism, agitation and cynicism is encouragement. Focus on the encouragers, and tune out the rest.

As we look toward a new year, we can still learn a thing or two from the Christmas story. Unpacking the knowledge of the Wise Men, we find four ways to make this year our best yet.

Now that we're on the other side of Christmas, the world is quick to move on to the next big thing. It's easy to live in the future, while missing the joy that exists in our present. Throughout the Christmas season, choose to live in the now. Choose Joy.

This Christmas, we look to Jesus, our Light in the Darkness. When life feels dim, or when we're unclear on our way forward, the light of Jesus can illuminate a path of hope, joy, and peace. When you're able, be the light for those around you. And when you need it, seek it out through others.

The Christmas Story starts with women. From Mary, to Elizabeth, to the Holy Spirit herself, it's through women and mothers that God kicks off the greatest story of all time.

Parties are all about the people. This Christmas, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, consider who you might invite. After all, what's a birthday party if no one shows up?

As we prepare for Christmas, many of us declutter our homes to prepare for fresh decorations, marking us as someone who celebrates the season. The same can be said of our spiritual lives. We're called to live in a manner that sets us apart during the Christmas season, and beyond.

During the Christmas season, we're invited to take inventory of our lives. What habits are serving us? What tendencies draw us far from God? God wants to do something new in your life. But, first, you've got to make room.