The Gathering - Sermons

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.

When bad things happen, what does God do? God limits suffering. God shows up, and is present with us until the suffering ends, offering hope in the midst of hardship.

Often we think of “negative emotions,” like anger, doubt, disappointment, or sadness, as a lack of faith, and think we cannot express them to God. We explore the role that these emotions can have in strengthening our faith, and try to answer the overriding question - Is it ok to be angry with (or annoyed with, or disappointed in, or to doubt…) God?

Is God fair or just? Many people think God's idea of justice is retributive - basically that if you do something bad, he will punish you by having bad things happen to you. But, there is another way to understand justice. Perhaps God does not act according to strict retributive justice, but instead promises us restorative justice, or setting right what sin has eroded. Perhaps God is less interested in punishing wrongdoers than moving them towards repentance, forgiveness, and transformation.

It's human nature to want to believe that “everything happens for a reason,” especially when we're suffering. We want to believe that suffering serves some greater purpose. We're taking a look at the role that suffering plays in our life, what God can offer us through it, and the limitations of trying to always give our suffering a greater meaning.

Every day, we're faced with everything from tragedy in the world to struggles in our everyday life, leaving us constantly wondering why? We're exploring this question by looking at the story of Job, learning how God shows up even in our darkest moments.

Political fear is something the disciples experienced, also.We're talking about how Jesus centers us in a climate where our fear is not only real but also exploited. Fear in fact was a major theme of Jesus' ministry, evidenced by how often he says, “fear not."

Politics can threaten our relationships.When we feel that divide unfolding, we can practice 3 simple rules of engagement:1. Do No Harm2. Do Good3. Stay in Love with GodThese three rules, coined by Methodist Founder John Wesley, offer us a framework for love that can often challenge us, but that models Jesus.

Jesus is the foundation of our faith, and that faith shapes how we engage in politics and how we respond to those we deeply disagree with. Many of us are asking the question, "How does my faith shape the way I respond to what's going on around me?"Luckily, we can look to Jesus' political engagement as an example for our own. But, we first must dispel two myths: Jesus wasn't political. Jesus was partisan.He was involved in politics, but he didn't align with any party or side. Let's unpack what that means for us today.

Faith is something we believe. But, on a deeper level, it's something we practice. As we step away from a conversation about our Shared Practices, Pastor Charity Goodwin reminds us why they're so important - and how we can practically begin implementing them in our lives.

Invitation doesn't have to be hard. Jesus gives us an example of how to invite: start with the people you know, listen for opportunities, risk an invitation, let go of the outcomes.People need good news, and we have the opportunity to be the ones that help them find it. It is powerful when someone is able to change their life in light of Jesus. And, often all of that starts with one, simple invitation. That makes Jesus worth sharing.

You don't have to be an expert in faith to extend an invitation. Your faith is worth sharing.For many of us, a simple invitation to church is the easiest and clearest way to offer someone else the chance to explore Jesus and faith. You don't need to be an expert, or have all the answers. And, you really don't have to try and get people to do anything. Instead, just do what's natural.Share your experience and extend the invitation for someone else to experience a community that changed your life.

Jesus WANTS Your Help. Your Faith is worth sharing.All around us, strong voices are projecting a version of church that is judgmental, partisan, angry and condemning. Too few people know that there is another kind of church. That Jesus came not to judge or condemn, but to invite us into lives of love, emotional freedom, and compassion.This Jesus is underrepresented. This kind of church needs a voice. Jesus needs your voice.

Gathering, meet Pastor Aaron Carter! As one of our associate pastors, Aaron will be joining us across all our sites and online as he considers starting a new church! We're very lucky to have him on our team.In this message, he reminds us that Jesus is for US. He's for you, for me, for all.Jesus' presence in our lives makes a difference.