Title: Oh that, would that, if only… Text: 2 Kings 5:1-14 Date: July 4, 2010 Author: Catherine Thiel Lee Our story tonight comes from 2 Kings and it is about a man named Naaman. Naaman is a “great man.” Hebrew narrators are usually sparse, even terse with their descriptions. But here the narrator goes on […]
Life of the dead
Title: The life of the dead Date: June 27, 2010 Texts: Gen 49:29-50:24, Heb 11:32-12:1, Lk 23:50-24:3 Author: Isaac S. Villegas I think there’s a new theme developing in my sermons over the past year or so. I really think the gospel is about our whole bodies. The good news is about our material lives, […]
Iglesia Menonita Luz del Evangelio
Isaac wrote about his visit with a Hispanic Mennonite church in Dallas, TX. Here’s a few paragraphs from the article: The Bible study before the Sunday morning worship service of Iglesia Menonita Luz del Evangelio turns into a passionate sermon. A discussion of the story of Esther becomes a call to live as the pueblo de […]
Waiting for Elijah
Title: Waiting for Elijah Text: 1 Kgs 21 Date: 6.13.2010 Author: Chris Gooding The ministry of the prophet Elijah only takes up five and a half chapters of 1st and 2nd Kings. Six and a half in the entire Bible, if you include the nasty letter that he writes to king Jehoram in 2 Chronicles […]
What are we doing here
Title: What are we doing here? Text: Luke 8:26-39, 1 Kings 19:1-15 Date: June 20, 2010 Author: Thomas Lehman Eight years ago I took up a new hobby: I gamble. I have never purchased even one lottery ticket, and I don’t sneak off to Las Vegas or Atlantic City or the nearest Native American casino […]
Mary Raber, May 2010
Our congregation financially supports Mary Raber’s work in the Ukraine. She is there with Mennonite Mission Network. Below is her recent letter. Read it to learn about her work and find out how to support her with our prayers as well. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]
Pallbearers
Title: Pallbearers Text: Luke 7:11-17 Date: June 6, 2010 Author: Catherine Thiel Lee I have a friend who makes icons. Well…she doesn’t really make icons, but kind of. I’m not talking about the symbols on your computer that show a little picture of your file. I mean religious icons, pictures of Jesus or Mary or […]
This Wisdom uttered made the sky
Title: “This Wisdom uttered made the sky…” Date: May 30, 2010 Text: Proverbs 8 Author: Meghan Florian Absolute in flame beyond us Seed and source of Dark and Day Maker whom we beg to be Our mother father comrade mate… Be here Be now ~ James Taylor & Reynolds Price Does not wisdom call, and […]
The Pueblo of God
Title: The Pueblo of God Date: May 16, 2010 Texts: Exod 18:13-26, Ac 1:15-26 Author: Isaac S. Villegas It’s good to be back here at church with you. As most of you already know, these past two Sundays I was in Dallas, Texas, visiting a Mennonite congregation—Iglesia Menonita Luz del Evangelio, trans. Light of the […]
Road trip
This summer Isaac will be visiting Mennonite congregations throughout the USA. He will be writing a column for The Mennonite Weekly Review about his visits. In his most recent column, Isaac explains his trips: This column will be a series of scenes from God’s mission among rural and urban congregations, wealthy and poor, young and […]
Mary Raber, March 2010
Our congregation financially supports Mary Raber’s work in the Ukraine. She is there with Mennonite Mission Network. Below is her recent letter. Read it to learn about her work and find out how to support her with our prayers as well. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]
Burst upon us
Title: Burst upon us Text: Acts 6:36-43 Date: April 25, 2010 Author: Catherine Thiel Lee Well, I sort of laughed to myself last week at Isaac’s sermon. He preached about the story of Jesus eating breakfast after his resurrection with his disciples, on how ordinary it all was, and on what it means for us […]
153
Title: 153 Date: April 14, 2010 Texts: John 21:1-14, Acts 9:1-6 Author: Isaac S. Villegas I love this story about Jesus, this story in John’s Gospel about his appearance to the disciples. I love it for the details, the strange details; the care John shows in getting the story right. Usually, the Gospel of John […]
Easter in us
Title: Easter in us Date: April 4, 2010 Texts: Isa 65:17-25; Ps 118:1-2, 14-24; Acts 10:34-43 Author: Isaac S. Villegas “Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.” That’s one of the last lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Let Christ […]
Bodies Matter, part 2
Title: Bodies Matter, part 2 Date: April 1, 2010 (Holy Thursday) Texts: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Place: CHMF Author: Isaac Villegas This sermon is titled, “Bodies Matter, part 2,” because I preached “Bodies Matter, part 1” in Cary this morning. Some of us held a footwashing service at a detention center operated by the Immigration and […]
Bodies Matter, part 1
Title: Bodies Matter, part 1 Text: John 13:1-5 Date: April 1st, 2010 (Holy Thursday) Place: ICE Detention Center, Cary (NC) Author: Isaac Villegas (Note: this sermon was part of a footwashing worship service that was held at a hidden Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center; our footwashing protest received some media coverage: “Protesters hold demonstration” […]
In the world
Title: In the world Texts: Ps 118:1-2, 19-29; Phil 2:5-11 Date: March 28, 2010 Author: Isaac Villegas What does it mean to be Christians in the world? How are we supposed to live as witnesses to God’s love? Those are basic questions for us. But as a way to answer them, I thought I’d stir […]
Whispers of resurrection
Easter is an invitation to dwell in Christ’s resurrected life of love. Here is an except from an article Isaac wrote about this season of Easter: Resurrection is not a quick fix for our problems; tombs and crucifixions don’t end on Easter morning. The graveside account in John’s Gospel instead is a glimpse into the […]
An Anatomy of Sin
Title: An Anatomy of Sin Texts: Lk 15: 11-32 Date: March 14, 2010 Author: Isaac S. Villegas So far, during this season of Lent, we’ve talked a lot about repentance and forgiveness. Now I think it’s time we talked about sin. Why do we want to sin? We know it’s bad for us, or bad […]
The time is now
Title: The Time Is Now Date: March 7, 2010 (3rd Sunday of Lent) Texts: Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9 Author: Monica Schmucker The passages this week got me thinking, what is it that motivates people to change? What sparks repentance? It strikes me that Jesus issues a warning to repent and Isaiah an invitation to repent. […]
Fruit: dying into the future
Title: “Fruit” Text: John 15:1-5 Date: March 7, 2010 Event: Ervin Stutzman’s installation Author: Isaac S. Villegas A few years ago I started a vegetable garden in our front yard. I was thrilled to see the fruit growing from the long vines—grape tomato vines entangled with large slicing tomatoes, growing into one another, all mixed […]
Escape
Title: Escape Date: February 28, 2010 (Lent 2) Texts: Ps 27, Philip 3:17-4:1, Lk 13:31-35 Author: Isaac S. Villegas The Pharisees want what’s good for Jesus. They respect his ministry and want him to survive. These Pharisees may even consider Jesus a friend of their own ministry. So, according to Luke’s Gospel, “some Pharisees came […]
Lent as metaphor and reality
Title: Lent as metaphor and reality Texts: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Luke 4:1-13 Date: Feb 21, 2010 Author: Tom Lehman Lent began four days ago on Ash Wednesday, as it always does. Lent is the least cheerful of the seasons in the Christian year. It is sometimes understood as a time to suspend earthly pleasures. Some […]
Wurstessen (Ash Wed)
Title: Wurstessen Date: February 17, 2010 Texts: Gen 3:19, Isaiah 58:1-12 Author: Isaac S. Villegas March 9th, 1522. Zurich, Switzerland. It was the middle of Lent. About twelve people got together at the house of Christopher Froschauer and had a feast of sausage. Eating sausage during Lent was strictly forbidden by the church, and back […]