Given by Rev. Madison Shockley March 20, 2022 There are two creation stories in Genesis. The first story is a story of blessing. Humanity is created as a whole and is expansive. It is one of equality. The second is a story of shame. Humanity is created sequentially, male first, then female. This would eventually [...]
Given by Rev. Madison Shockley August 1, 2021 Our reading is the story of how the world became populated. It has been used to justify the enslavement of blacks since the seventeenth century. Noah cursed his son, Canaan, to be the lowest of slaves to his brothers. There is no further biblical reference to Canaan actually [...]
Given by Rev. Madison Shockley June 7, 2020 This week has been exhausting. Around the world, people have been protesting. Two of our youth organized the three Carlsbad protests this weekend. We are so proud. Being black in America is stressful. As our passage tells us breath is life. God breathed into a lump of [...]
Given by Rev. Madison Shockley, Sarah Henry and Jaime Romo May 31, 2020 Today, we are discussing the topic of the mistreatment of children based on religious beliefs. One example of this is conversion therapy. While this therapy has been discredited, there are still a few who still practice it. Its roots are from traditional religious [...]
Given by Rev. Madison Shockley March 8, 2020 Our reading today comes from the foundational texts of the Bible. It is one of the foundational texts of our culture. It is a story of a journey. The story of humankind is one of movement and change. Our story tells us of Abraham being told by [...]
Given By Rev. Madison Shockley March 3, 2019 Today's reading is one of the more fascinating stories of the Bible. Judah had three sons. His first son, Er, was evil so God struck him done. In ancient times, there was Levirate marriage. If a husband dies without bearing an heir, his brothers must marry his [...]
A Hairy Hand, Blackface, and a Stolen Blessing~ Genesis 27: 21-29 34-35 Sometimes events must be addressed in the moment. This week is one of those times. The reading tells the story of Jacob and his brother, Esau. Isaac was old and dying. He wanted to give his blessing to Esau but Jacob tricked Isaac into [...]
Given By Rev. Madison Shockley March 11 , 2018 Today's reading comes from the gospel of Thomas. It is one of the earlier Christian documents but was not discovered until 1945. We had only hints of its existence. Thomas traveled to the east and settled in the area of Edessa where he wrote a collection [...]
https://vimeo.com/237851887 Given By Rev. Madison Shockley October 1, 2017 Paul's letter to the Philippians offers us inspiration today. Today's reading is thought to be part of an early Christian hymn called Christ's hymn. Rev. Madison reminds us that the translation of Christ is anointed. When we say we are Christians, we are really saying, we [...]
https://vimeo.com/230881602 Given By Rev. Madison Shockley August 20, 2017 The events in Charlotteville and Trump's response inspires today's sermon. This began with the decision to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park. There are 731 Confederate monuments across America. The reading today speaks of Jacob using a stone as a pillow, dreaming [...]
https://vimeo.com/227214941 Given By Rev. Madison Shockley July 23, 2017 Today's inspiration comes from a show tune from Les Miserable. Our reading today is appropriate because our church has visitors from Hands of Peace. This passage and many others are part of the root of the Palestinian and Israeli Conflict. In today's reading, Jacob has [...]
https://vimeo.com/224382316 Given By Rev. Madison Shockley July 2, 2017 The saying "There is always a ram in the bush" is a piece of folklore. One has to be familiar with the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac, to understand the meaning of this saying. This story follows last week's passage where Abraham sends Hagar [...]
https://vimeo.com/223548305 Given By Rev. Madison Shockley on June 25, 2017 In our culture, there are men who have more than one family. Sometimes the first family is unaware of the existence of this other family. Most of the time, it is simply due to divorce. Fifty years ago, this would have been a source of [...]
https://vimeo.com/218740464 Given By Rev. Madison Shockley May 14, 2017 Today's reading from Genesis tells the story of Cain and Abel. From this passage comes the phrase, "my brother's keeper." This phrase has shaped our culture. It touches on what it means to be in human community, to live together. Unfortunately, some have used this passage's [...]
Today, we are looking at how Hagar's story relates to us. God sends Hagar back to Abram and Sarah after Hagar runs away. Sarah had wronged Hagar by...
