Rev. Venida opens our month-long Sermon Series, Higher Love, focusing on the theme of Love Your Neighbor. She will explore how we might recenter our capacity to embody love and show God’s love as we honor and prioritize the plight and needs of others.
Read MoreA “Dumpling” Falls from the Sky—Why not?
It is 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Peter is praying and gets a vision of a sheet full of animals, clean and unclear, dropping from the sky. Almost like a dumpling, but unwrapped. This vision leads to a cascade of events that end up transforming a Jewish sect of the followers of Jesus into a universal community where anyone, Jew or Gentile, can participate. In this sermon, Kai explains how experiences of visions like this dumpling and witnessing the Holy Spirit in the lives of Gentiles leads the Jewish followers of Jesus to reinterpret the rules of their covenant AND their scriptures to include those who had been deemed unclean.
Read MoreFounding Pastor, Jonathan Williams begins our Lenten series, Everything In Between, Meeting God in the Midst of Extremes taking a fresh look at the Good Samaritan: “A lot of people believe that love is action. I believe that it is the reordering of power. And by reordering our power for the sake of others is one of the most loving things we can do.”
Read MoreAs human beings we all face fear. We live in times where it seems that fear is all around us. How do we maintain hope and continue to struggle for justice despite the fear that threatens to discourage and paralyze us? Preaching Bootcamper Phil Dickens reminds us that it is through our love and trust in God and each other, and by taking care of ourselves and each other. Also by finding strength in the knowledge of all who have come before us in these struggles.
Read MoreRev. Venida and Forefront’s Climate Justice team are helping to highlight Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in collaboration with other faith-based communities partnered with GreenFaith — a worldwide, multi-faith climate and environmental movement. GreenFaith’s new initiative, Covenant for Our Future, lifts up Dr. King’s values by calling people of all faiths to promote love and justice through advocacy for policies that ensure the hungry are fed, the sick are cared for, migrants are welcomed, and the earth is protected.
Read MoreRev. Venida invites us to make another stop along the Talk Bible to Me sermon series journey. This time with a focus on the Bible and wrath.
Read MoreJonathan Williams asks us where we look to determine how well we're doing. Chances are, it's everywhere but inwardly. Someone is richer, happier, prettier, healthier, and ultimately, superior to you. And when you live in the land of “er” you absolutely believe that you should also be living in that land of “er.” You’re just not there yet. But Jesus offers another story. One that tells us we're fully and wholly loved regardless of our lot in this world. I know. That sounds trite. boring. Too easy. Well, maybe it is, but it could also change your life. Find out how this coming Sunday.
Read MoreMary Obasi talks about confronting the climate crisis by starting from a place of love.
Read MoreWhat happens when the unimaginable has happened? Where is God? What happens when our plans, our world falls apart? Join us as we learn from the experience of the Disciples when their lives were disrupted.
Read MoreRev. Josh makes a connection between the man beaten, robbed, and ignored by the religious elite in Luke 10 and the senseless violence, silencing, and marginalization of the LGBTQ+ community. However, the Samaritan had compassion. How might we use our empathy to advocate and care for those harmed or overlooked or how might we go about reclaiming our voices after being silenced in our closets?
Read MoreThinking leads to action, so prayer will not only change my thinking but my living. But how do I face where my heart has turned to stone, the truth of harm I have participated in? The surprising, overwhelming mercy of God literally forgets what we have done, freeing us to risk praying anew, and seeking repair.
Read MoreOur Sacraments Sermon Series begins with a spotlight on marriage. Rev. Venida talks about the history of marriage, how it has evolved over time, and how we can reposition our ideas about marriage to further incorporate Jesus’s words to love God, ourselves, and others. This can start with marriage partners focusing on the love they have for each other, and then extending that love to intentionally work as agents of change through God’s love, so that double the lives can become recipients of Jesus’s love, healing, power, and joy.
Read MoreRev. Josh makes modern-day connections to our lives from the parable of the wheat and the weeds. He highlights some of the people in his life who felt like a weed, or perhaps not the people as much as the beliefs they held that seemed to get in his way or take nutrients from his life. He shared how he is often tempted to pluck them, shame them, and cast them aside. As we start PRIDE, might we give people the grace and space to learn how to love us, accept us, and eventually affirm or celebrate us.
Read MoreIn this first sermon in our "Why Communion and the Cross" series, Pastor Angela explores the history behind Communion. The sermon aims to challenge and remove the barriers set by the guilt and shame culture and to replace it with Joy and Gratitude.
Read MoreThe 5th Week of Lent highlights John 12, and a very unique experience which Jesus has in Bethany while sharing a meal with friends. This selfless act helps us consider the special ways we too can confidently give of ourselves with abandon, and exercise lavish love for ourselves which can ultimately be extended to others as we seek to build community.
Read MoreA predominant religious view is that God can’t be around sin, God must separate Godself from humans' sinfulness. Its this very reasoning that led to the religious elite of Jesus' day, isolating themselves from people who they deemed sinners. However, in this sermon Rev. Josh challenges us to let go of certain views of God and cultivate a view of God that recognizes that God never distances Godself from us but we in our shame estrange and hide from God. So Did Jesus come to change God's disposition toward humans or to change humans' disposition toward God? How we answer this just might change how we love ourselves, God, and others?
Read MorePastor Josh kicked off our advent series, “From Generation to Generation” with a kid-friendly sermonette by highlighting the generations of Jesus' ancestry from Matthew 1. In that long list of names, we remember the trauma and triumph of those who came before; each name holds a story and their story gives way to Christ’s story. What is your story? Who is part of shaping your story? And how are you loving and living to shape the next generation?
Read MorePastor Josh wraps up Our Values series by highlighting how love of God, self and others informs every part of our values and theology. We will explore how we can be intentional to foster a deeper understanding of God’s love for us, so that we can grow in our love for ourselves and ultimately then extend that love to others. Many of us have been taught in fundamentalist forms of Christianity that we are inherently evil, bad, broken, and flawed. It’s hard to love yourself when you’re taught that you’re not loveable. It’s no surprise then that the same folks who are taught to believe they are inherently evil, don’t love themselves and in effect do a really shotty job loving others. Because they truly are loving others as they love themselves, which is not very much. So let’s recalibrate our love this Sunday!
Read MoreDenia will offer an interpretation of Ruth 1:16-17 that centers platonic intimacy and suggests that it is a way to understand and grow closer to God.
Read MoreHere is Rev. Venida sharing the opening sermon in Forefront's new series, The Holy Spirit and You. She provides insight on who the Holy Spirit is and how her fruit manifests itself in our lives.
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