by Rev. Madison Shockley | Mar 5, 2017 | sermons
Matthew’s story of Jesus in the wilderness is sandwiched between his baptism and the official start of his ministry in the Bible. It is similar to a coming-of-age story. It humanizes Jesus and connects us to him. This story is a metaphor. This is a spiritual...
by Rev. Madison Shockley | Feb 19, 2017 | sermons
Continuing with the lessons of Jesus, we learn more from the Sermon on the Mount. Last week, we are instructed to love our neighbor. This week, we are instructed to love our enemies. It is hard to imagine a more difficult task given the current divide in America. In...
by Rev. Madison Shockley | Feb 12, 2017 | sermons
Our reading today is one of the most well known from the Hebrew text. It tells us of Moses’ words to the people as they were about to enter the promised land. The myth says that God told his people to go into Canaan and take it for themselves. As history has...
by Rev. Madison Shockley | Feb 5, 2017 | sermons
February is the beginning of Black History Month. Over the course of this month, we will explore the contributions of Blacks to our religious life. These contributions take many forms; breaching, biblical scholarship, liturgy, music, and social and spiritual...
by Rev. Madison Shockley | Jan 29, 2017 | sermons
Our reading today is typically known as “The Sermon on the Mount” or the “Beatitudes.” Scholars of the Jesus Seminar believe the true translation equivalent is not “blessed are…” but “congratulations.” These are...
