Rev. Venida promotes a message of fierce, intentional, radical equity which is the result of the generous, disruptive, and unconditional love of God. The message centers a portion of the story in the Gospel of John where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus goes straight to the place that some people would avoid, and this sermon encourages us to boldly do the same to meet needs and creating access for those who society continues to marginalize.
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 MoreAngela Lockett-Colas, Forefront's Worship Pastor, explores what it means to Re-imagine Worship.
Read MoreThis sermon will focus on coming home - back to Forefront. Our church may have undergone some changes and may even have a different feel; however, it still has the same values and the same love. Exploring one of the Bible’s creation stories and the story of Cain and Abel, this sermon from Rev. Venida and Rev. Josh will be an opportunity for self-reflection as we redefine and reclaim home.
Read MoreContinuing our "Coming Home" series, Jonathan Williams joins Angela Lockett-Colas and Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins to bring a unique worship experience brings together sermon and song to convey a message of God's constant presence, comfort and grace during times of loss and grief.
Read MoreRev. Venida Rodman Jenkins continues our Coming Home Series by talking about the importance of adjusting one's life to the rhythms of the seasons in your life, and finding God for yourself in the midst of it all.
Read MoreRev. Josh Lee starts our Coming Home Series by highlighting the ways in which The Church has always been a messy progressive religon. He outlines how our views have progressed or differed throughout Scripture while also highlighting a disagreement had in the early church around the full inclusion of non-Jews. The Church of Jesus Christ has always been progressing, changing, adapting, and super freaking messy! But even amidst the mess some really beautiful things have been born when we allow ourselves to progress and embrace the mess!
Read MoreIn our third and final sermon of "The Path" series, Rev. Josh Lee borrows from Father Richard Rohr on how he describes our spiritual path as one of order, disorder, and reorder. This cycle is the historical Christian journey. Rev. Josh then shares 5 Things he does to reorder (reconstruct) his life and faith when it becomes disordered (deconstructed). This very practical sermon is full of helpful tools and wisdom in your journey through your spiritual path!
Read MoreIn our second sermon of "The Path" series, Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins reminds us how we are confronted with a host of experiences on the path causing us to question and have doubts about how we will overcome. This sermon will be a reminder that we can come to God with our fears and concerns, and the presence and power of God can be comfort and healing, and work in miraculous ways as we journey on.
Read MoreHave you at one time believed something so strongly you could hear no other perspective? But then over time you could hear what you wouldn’t before and see what you couldn’t see before? In this message Rev. Josh Lee starts our new series “The Path” by challenging us to consider where on the path do we find ourselves? Perhaps like Saul, just having recently lost our formerly held religious convictions or perhaps like Ananias being called to give sight and compassion to folks who have previously persecuted us because we remember what it was like to once be in their shoes.
Read MoreBen Dubow, co-lead pastor of Riverfront Family Church in Hartford CT, asks "does scripture really matter today? Is it still relevant?" We explore how scripture can have practical impact on our lives. By exploring what scripture is not (and what it is) we can better embrace God's Word as being relevant and powerful in our day, without becoming dogmatic in our approach to scripture.
Read MoreRev. Josh Lee continues our "What Forms Us" series with this sermon on tradition. In this series we are gleaning from the founder of the United Methodist Church, John Wesley. John believed that as Christians we should allow our thinking, beliefs, ethics, and practices to be formed by four things (experience, reason, scripture, and tradition) In this message we focus on how Miriam brought her tambourine with her as she fled enslavement in Egypt during the exodus. Miriam choosing to bring her tambourine is a reminder to us that even as we leave faith traditions that have caused us trauma and pain there are still things worth bringing with you!
Read MoreKeli Young continues our "What Forms Us" series with this sermon on reason. Jesus strains our ability to reason. He was disruptive, not just to systems of oppression but to how people understood the world. but the good news is that we’re not expected to make sense of the world or our faith on our own. The disciples were always curious, constantly trying to figure out Jesus, and by extension their faith. Jesus welcomed their questions, doubts, and fears and he welcomes ours just the same!
Read MoreRev. Venida Rodman Jenkins kicks off our "What Forms Us" series with the topic "The Authenticity of Experiencing Jesus." In this sermon, Rev. Venida talks about how each and every experience has formed us -- the good, bad, and the ugly ones, and how those experiences have authenticated our spiritual journey. We can bear witness to these experiences to enlightened the lives of others.
Read MoreGuest preacher Chris Romine from Common Ground NYC continued our "Unapologetically Us" series with the topic "Unapologetically Free." To travel with the Spirit of God the way Jesus did, is to be drawn into places we could not have expected, around people we did not know, doing work we could not have anticipated, and having thoughts that might surprise us. To walk in the Jesus tradition is to cultivate a wild, unbridled will to seek collective freedom & enough imagination to settle for nothing less than that. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Read MoreMakenzie Gomez continues our “Unapologetically Us” series with the topic “Unapologetically Affirming”. Makenzie draws from Acts 8, when Philip meets the Ethiopian Eunuch. What can we learn from their interaction? How is Philip showing us what it means to listen and be open to questioning? In this message on NYC Pride Sunday, Makenzie encourages us to consider how to shift our allyship from passive to active, and celebrates the affirming faith our community has come to know.
Read MoreHere's the start of our new sermon series, "Unapologetically Us". Rev. Josh Lee explores Jesus's habit of asking questions instead of providing straightforward answers. Jesus both engages people with questions who would have never engaged him and engages with people's questions who approach him.
Read MoreThe power of the Holy Spirit is at work right now revealing the truth that we all can be recipients of the deep, passionate, and fierce love of God. God’s strong and loving arms continue to draw us in, and assure us that no one is left behind.
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit calls upon us throughout life, yet, how often are we receptive to the whisper? Some may think they are not worthy to be addressed by the God they've come to know, so they sink away from those fleeting moments. Others know so little that they miss it. In this Sermon, Rev. Josh unpacks an inspiring story from Acts 8, when one of the shunned of society, The Ethiopian Eunuch, bravely follows the whisper.
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.
Read More
