Matthew 25:37-40, Acts 2:42-47 Faith Westdorp In today’s reading we see the beginnings of the first church. Matt Skinner writes that this passage “describes a community of faith that operates in the power of God’s Spirit. The virtues of justice, worship, and mutuality are not accomplishments of extraordinary folk; they are signs of the Spirit…
Tag: following Jesus
THERE WILL BE NO TOMAHAWK MISSILES IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Philippians 2:5-11 & Matthew 21:1-11 Micah Bales Our gospel reading this morning is about Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, just days before he would be arrested and executed. Jesus is riding on a donkey, and the people are all around him. There were massive crowds in town for Passover, and Jesus’ arrival in the city…
CIRCLES OF LIGHT
John 9:1-41, Ephesians 5:8-14 Jeff Davidson When I started working on this sermon I ran across this reflection from Dr. Rachael Keefe on her blog “Write Out of Left Field.” (https://rachaelkeefe.wordpress.com/) She’s writing in part about our gospel reading from John, and she says, “As for myself, I have been the recipient of social judgments….
GLORIFYING THE STRENGTHS GIVEN BY GOD, FOR GOD
Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42, Psalm 95 Emmy Goering I’ve just returned to D.C. after spending the last week in the Chicago area at the Brethren Volunteer Service retreat. There, I was able to get some much needed rest and was able to connect with the friends who I’d bonded with at our orientation. While we…
ASTOUNDED
Matthew 7:13-29 Jeff Davidson This has been a tough sermon for me to write. That’s not unusual; sometimes sermons come easily but most of the time they are a struggle, to one degree or another. There are a few challenges with this sermon in particular though, a couple that were probably common to all of…
WAIT! WHAT?!
Matthew 5:21-48 Jeff Davidson Last week Jenn introduced our six week series on the Sermon on the Mount. I thought it was an excellent sermon, and if you weren’t here I encourage you to go to the church website and give it a read. Jenn talked about the Beatitudes as nine values that define us…
What Defines Us?
Matt 5:1-20; Psalm 1; 1 Cor 1:18-31 Jennifer Hosler On Friday (1/20), we had about 100 people in our fellowship hall as I co-led a training on being an active bystander. You may have heard that incidents of harassment have increased over the past two months: more people are being targeted because of their…
Strange Fruit
Amos 8; 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Jennifer Hosler (sermon adapted from Brethren Press curriculum written by the author, 2015) Next Saturday, our city and country will celebrate the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC). It’s been more than 100 years in the making—first lobbied for by African-American veterans of the…
STAND UP, RAISE YOUR HEADS
Jeremiah 33:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-26 Jennifer Hosler On Halloween, I walked into a drugstore and noticed little drummer boys marking the edge of each aisle. It had started. Was I surprised? Not exactly—I’ve heard people say that each new commercial holiday scheme is rolled out immediately after the last one ends (if not…
THANKS, KING
Psalm 93, John 18:33 – 37, Revelation 1:4b – 8 Jeff Davidson As I’ve mentioned a few times over the years, I am an adopted child. When I was young, like kindergarten and first grade, I would wonder who my birth parents were. I would wonder to myself, “What if my birth mother is the Queen…
Washington City Church of the Brethren 