Given by Rev. Dr. Carl Crider July 19, 2020 During the month of July, we are looking at what has formed our assumptions, our language, and our thinking. Each of us are starting at different places on this journey. We are asking hard questions about race in our community of faith. Racism is built into [...]
Given by Rev. Madison Shockley June 21, 2020 We are all one. On June 15th, the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal. In 56 CE, the apostle Paul ruled that discrimination was not Christian. No longer does race, gender, or class matter in the sight of God. [...]
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 transformation (now known as social justice).
On the eve of our presidential inauguration, we consider the question of what would Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. say to the nation. Rev. Shockley uses King's own words from his 1968 sermon titled The Drum Major Incident. King used passages from Mark in his sermon. We can relate these to Trump.
The inspiration for today's sermon comes from two different readings, Amos 6 and Luke 16. One is from the prophet Amos and the other is a parable from Jesus. Both passages warns that those who find comfort in this life may find the next life more difficult. To those who are rich yet take no notice of the poor, this is a dire warning.
The reading today from John tries to imagine the calling of the first twelve disciples. It begins with Andrew and his brother, Simon-Peter, who are simple fisher-folk from Galilee. Next came Philip who then tries to persuade Nathanael.
