Month: October 2023

Scripture:  Revelation 21:1-8

Dear Church,

This Sunday will be a soulful and joyful celebration.

We will gather to remember and give thanks for the lives of our loved ones who have gone ahead of us into eternity.

And we will grieve as we remember. It isn’t only fresh losses that hurt.  The grief we’ve long carried still sears.  The separation from those we love is tender. Death was not part of God’s design for creation. We do not have to make our peace with it.  We remember and give thanks.  We remember and grieve.

But we do not grieve as a people without hope.

We have a savior who is a shepherd, a healer, and a friend. Jesus has defeated the powers of sin and death. 

And our scripture ends with a revelation of the end of history, a vision of how all things–all things–will come together in the power of Christ in a triumphant peace that is so wonder-filled–so good–that we can scarcely believe it.

We must learn to believe it, friends.  Because knowing the end of the story of our faith is how we find the courage to walk in the way of Christ.  It is what makes us salt and light for this world. 

I hope you will join me for worship. You’ll see how all of us are caught up and woven into the beautiful story of God’s saving love in Christ.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

Want to chat about what you have heard? Click here:
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Scripture:  Philippians 4:10-20

Dear Church,

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

While he was imprisoned, the apostle Paul wrote these words to his beloved church in Philippi and believers have found strength and encouragement in them ever since.

It has become one of the most familiar and heavily marketed verses in all of scripture.

Beloved, it doesn’t mean what we’ve heard it means, but it IS good news.

Very, very good news.

I hope you’ll join me as we learn and rejoice in the deeper, truer life-giving revelation of these familiar words.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

Want to chat about what you have heard? Click here:
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Scripture:  Exodus 20:7, Exodus 3:13-17

Dear Church,

Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

That’s how I learned it when I was a child and this is what they told me it meant:

Don’t swear.

Don’t say, ‘Oh God!’ when you are annoyed or angry. Don’t say the word God unless you are consciously talking to or about God.  Speak with reverence and care when you are speaking about God.

But what if there are many other ways we take God’s name in vain?

I’m still an advocate for using the word God with care.  But now I believe that the holy limit we receive here demands more than care about when and how we say God’s name.  Here the Holy One requires us to consider, not only all the ways we say God’s name, but also all the ways we use God’s name to justify and pseudo-sanctify our own sinful choices. 
 
The hard truth is, we can break this command without ever opening our mouths. 

I hope you can join us as we seek God for truth about what it means to take God’s name in vain–and also for a vision and grace to do the opposite and fulfill the prayer that Jesus gave us and hallow God’s name, not just in our speaking but in the fullness of our living.

Peace,
Pastor Kate

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Scripture:  Romans 12:14 – 13:10

Dear Church,

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.”

Paul writes these words in his letter to the church in Rome.  They are terrifyingly absolute.  But if you’ve read other parts of scripture you have to wonder…

Really, Paul?

So–the Hebrew midwives Shiprah & Puah should have followed the law and thrown baby boys in the Nile at  the moment of their birth? Moses should have told Pharaoh, God says Let my people Go! But when Pharaoh refused, he should have shrugged and walked away?  Shadrack, Meshach & Abednego should have obeyed King Nebuchadnezzer’s command and bowed before his idol three times a day? Nabaoth should have sold King Ahab his vineyard in Jezreel?  Jeremiah should have joined the ranks of the court prophets and told Kings what they wanted to hear instead of God’s truth? Should Esther have watched her people be hanged on Hamen’s gallows, Paul? Should Peter and John have obeyed authority and stopped preaching the Gospel? What about the apocalyptic vision of resisting the authority of Babylon in Revelation?

I could go on and on and on and on (and usually do–I said it so you don’t have to!). The point is, scripture is full of stories celebrating the faithfulness and courage of God’s people when they resist, rebel and defy authority. 

So is Paul really saying that all Christians should be blindly obedient to all authorities in all times and places because every human institution is a perfect instrument of God’s will?

I know you’ve probably sat through some sermons arguing exactly that interpretation of these verses but–guess what?

You heard it wrong.

I hope you’ll join me as we examine this teaching in the context of Paul’s whole letter to the Christian community in Rome and discover that it doesn’t mean what a lot of folks think it means.

Peace,
Pastor Kate

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Scripture:  Mark 14:1-10

Dear Church,

This Sunday we launch into a new worship series called, ‘You Heard It Wrong: the holy art of unlearning.’  Because it is a good and holy thing to regularly lay our own faith upon the altar and ask the Lord to show us what is gold and what is dross, what is real and what is not.

It is important to stop and wonder occasionally, do I read scripture for revelation or confirmation?

So throughout these weeks are we are going to be looking at verses that are often cited by believers and asking the question–do these words mean what we think they mean?

First up, Jesus’ words in the 14th chapter of the gospel of Mark, ‘The poor you will always have with you.’  What was Jesus telling us then and how are we supposed to respond?

I hope to worship with you this Sunday at 10am, on the livestream or in the sanctuary.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

Want to chat about what you have heard? Click here:
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