Transfiguration, Freedom, and Valentinus 2 Cor 3:12-4:2, Lk 9:28-36 by Isaac Villegas Feb 10, 2013 On the mountain, as he is being transfigured by God’s glory, Jesus stands in the company of the great prophets of freedom — he stands with Moses, the one who led Israel out of Egyptian slavery; and he stands with […]
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Guest preacher
Guest Preacher Luke 4:21-30 Ben D. Feb 3, 2013 Holy Spirit, open our eyes that we may recognize Jesus in the words we hear. Direct our steps that we may approach Jesus as that solid rock which makes a true foundation, and not as the rock of scandal that would cause us to stumble. Amen. […]
Our wedding feast
Our Wedding Feast John 2:1-11 by Meghan Florian January 20, 2013 Three days ago Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan by John. Three days ago John saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove. This man Jesus is different, somehow. He walks by, and people say, “Look, here is the lamb of God!” […]
baptism of Jesus
Psalm 29, Isaiah 43, Luke 3 by Jordan Farrell January 13, 2013 Water is awesome. In fact, I struggle to think of anything that is more versatile and awe-inspiring than water. It can lead to some pretty wonderful things. For those of you who have ever listened to the music of a river, chewed on […]
The horrified God
The Horrified God Zeph 3:14-20; Isa 12:2-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:7-18 by Isaac Villegas Dec 16, 2012 “Be silent before the Lord God.” That’s the verse that stuck out to me as I read Zephaniah this week. It comes early in the book, at the beginning: chapter 1, verse 7. “Be silent before the Lord.” […]
Finding salvation in Advent
Finding salvation in Advent by Thomas Lehman December 9, 2012 Last Sunday, as the season of Advent began, Isaac spoke about life in prison, omens of an unbearable future, people fainting from terror, Jesus as a mashup artist (whatever that is), looming chaos, and catastrophe; all this when you might have come on the first […]
Apocalyptic climate
An Apocalyptic Climate Luke 21:25-36 by Isaac S. Villegas Dec 2, 2012 I’m reading a quirky book. It’s about a lot of things, but, for me, as I read, it feels like an invitation to pay attention to beauty, the graceful loveliness found in unexpected places. A man named Ken Lamberton wrote the book while […]
Hear
Hear Mk 12:28-34; Deut6: 4-9 by Catherine Lee November 4, 2012 “This utterance of Israel is not a dictator. It will not impose its will. It can only issue its summons and its invitation and await a decision that is always to be made yet again.” ~ Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament, 725 […]
Sacrifice
Sacrifice Heb 7:23-28, Mk 10:46-52 by Isaac S. Villegas Oct 28, 2012 They said he was a strange man. “Chris was something else; the weirdest one of all of us, Don shared at the microphone yesterday at the memorial service. Christopher Ross Henne, born in 1952, died last month, in his sleep. He just couldn’t […]
A hundredfold blessing
A hundredfold blessing Mark 10:17-31 by Isaac S. Villegas Oct 14, 2012 As long as you perform your deeds for the sake of the kingdom of heaven or God or your eternal salvation, in other words for an external reason, things are not truly well with you. ~ Meister Eckhart, 14th century[i] Is it worth […]
Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh
Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh Genesis 2:18-24 by Meghan Florian Oct 7, 2012 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” In Genesis 2 we find ourselves in the garden, surrounded by lush green growing things, […]
Spirits and struggles
Spirits and struggles Numbers 11:24-29, Mark 9:38-42 by Isaac Villegas Sept 30, 2012 Here’s how I like to tell my story of church wandering, of moving from one kind of church to another, of switching Christian traditions several times over the past 30 years. As a kid, our family moved from the Roman Catholic Church […]
Begging like dogs
Begging like dogs Mark 7:24-27 Isaac S. Villegas Sept 9, 2012 I don’t like borrowing tools. I don’t like asking for help. I don’t like bothering anyone. I’d rather figure out how to do it on my own. Well, two weeks ago, in the middle of the afternoon, while I was home alone, I found […]
Hunger
Hunger John 6:51-61 by Meghan Florian August 19, 2012 I hesitated to preach on the gospel text this week, since it is quite similar to last week’s text, but in the end it seems to me that there’s a good reason the lectionary keeps us here for awhile. So, we shall see what else we […]
Dylan, Jesus, and misunderstanding
“Bob Dylan, Jesus, and misunderstanding” John 6, Exodus 16 by Isaac S. Villegas Aug 5, 2012 Sometimes, when I’m reading the Gospel stories about Jesus, I feel like I’m in the strange world of one of Bob Dylan’s songs, like “Talkin’ World War III Blues from his 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, or stuck […]
prayers and burdens
“We thank our Lord that our burdens are staggered,” Kate Roberts prayed a few weeks ago, “so that we might have the strength to carry another’s weight.” The church is a people of staggered burdens, as Kate put it, a community where those who bear much pain do not have more than they can bear, […]
Prayer shawls and barley loaves
“Prayer Shawls and Barley Loaves” John 6 by Katie Johnson July 30, 2012 My fiancé told me a story of a 5 year old boy in his church whose uncle was dying from cancer. The boy’s family was going to do a walk for cancer research. He asked his grandma if he gave his birthday […]
The true shepherd is among us
“The True Shepherd is Among Us” Jeremiah 23.1-6 – Psalm 23 – Mark 6.30-34, 53-56 – Ephesians 2.11-22 by Nate Rauh July 22, 2012 Psalm 23 is an old prayer. It is prayed, for the most part, from the point-of-view [ewe? sorry] of an individual sheep as it journeys with the rest of its […]
Zombie Apocalypse and Vampire Economics
Vampire Economics, Zombie Apocalypse, and the Bible Amos 7:7-15, Mk 6:14-29, Ps 85 by Isaac S. Villegas July 15, 2012 “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; justice and peace will kiss” (Ps 85:10). This beautiful line describes the world of the Psalmist — a world where “God’s glory will dwell in our land” (v. 9), […]
The lonely prophet
The Lonely Prophet Ezekiel 2:1-8, Mark 6:1-13 by Kathy Roberts July 8, 2012 Prophet: A divinely inspired person; a divinely inspired interpreter, revealer, or teacher of the will or thought of God or a god; a person who speaks, or is regarded as speaking, for or in the name of God or a god. (OED) […]
Salvation
Salvation Mk 5:21-43, 2 Cor 8:7-15 by Isaac Villegas July 1, 2012 What is salvation all about? I got to thinking about salvation this week as I was reading the assigned bible passages, especially the one from Mark’s Gospel, about Jesus healing Jarius’ daughter and the woman with the issue of blood. Healing has everything […]
Towering trees, pesky weeds
Towering Trees, Pesky Weeds Ezekiel 17:22-24; Mark 4:26-34 by Ryan Koch June 17, 2012 “Love your enemies; do good to them,” (Lk. 6:35) Jesus famously stated. Tonight I want to talk about what might be humanity’s supreme nemesis – trees. Call me crazy, but I believe that somewhere within us, we are envious of trees’ […]
Hunter’s Neo-Anabaptists
Isaac S. Villegas MWR Book Review January 2011 A Neo-Anabaptist Vision? James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (Oxford University Press, 2010). In his analysis of Christian witness in North America, James Davison Hunter discusses a movement he names “Neo-Anabaptism.” The heart of […]
Why fire?
Why Fire? Acts 2:1-21 by Catherine Thiel Lee May 27, 2012 Joe asked me what I was preaching about this week. “Pentecost,” I told him. “Do you remember what happens at Pentecost?” His eyes got wide and he grinned and nodded. “There’s fire! And Jesus sends it on their heads.” If I may brag on […]