As a Christian community, called to peacemaking and reconciliation, we affirm that people of any race, ethnic identity, gender, who are gay or straight, of any ability, age, or economic status, are welcome to full participation in our congregation.
Exodus 12:3-13 and Mark 14:12-25 Our biblical example of communion stems from Jesus sharing the Passover meal with his disciples. Rachel reflects on how the church’s communion practice, particularly in white-dominant congregations, can deepen rather than heal racial divisions in the church as it did in the past when white slave owners required those they […]
Matthew 3:3-17 NOTE: There were electronic issues during the recording which caused interference in the audio. It gets progressively worse toward the end of the recording, but it’s a good sermon, so if you can persevere, it’s worth it! Baptism is a little death. At the same time, all of life is baptism. There is […]
John 1, Matthew 2:1-12 Stan Wilson provided the sermon this morning. Drawing from Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Stan says to be true to our Christian vocation, we need to “not belong.” For the church to not belong, we need to be part of a community that is called to embrace the wholeness and […]
Isaiah 7:10-16, Matthew 1:18-25 Even though Joseph is not Jesus’ biological father, Jesus becomes a part of Joseph’s story; the inheritor and adopted child of the whole line of God’s promises. Our story as Christians is also one of adoption. We were destined for adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 35:1-10 & Luke 1:46-55 When women in the Bible have something to say, it often comes out as a song. Mary’s song, recounted in Luke 1, is revolutionary. God is on the side of the dispossessed and Mary sings of the revolution taking place through God’s world-toppling love. Melissa’s message was preceded by a […]
Isaiah 11:1-10 & Matthew 3:1-12 On this second Sunday of Advent, Melissa told us, “this is a season to be shaken up and shaken out.” Christians have a profound failure to live out the Gospel, but we’re also attuned to our failure. We require outside intervention and Jesus comes through an intervention of love. It’s […]
Amos 9:11-15 Guest speaker Angie Hong brought the message this morning. She compares her upbringing with the story from Amos. Even in the midst of destruction, we are never so far from love and grace that there isn’t room for hope.
Food is political. Eating is a kind of politics. Isaiah offers this vision of the the end of all things, centering around a meal. In this passage, all things, all people, are reconciled in God. Everything bruised and damaged is made whole, but also those who bruise and damage are made whole. We’re all there […]
World-renowned bluegrass, folk and Americana singer-songwriter Charles Pettee was our special guest this morning. Charles has set many Psalms to music and shared several of them with us as well as his song about Jesus and feeding the 5,000. You can hear many more FolkPsalms performed by Charles and other fine musicians on this YouTube […]
Lamentations 4:1-9 What did you bring today that you have not said aloud? What corner of sorrow have you left covered? We work without pause, return again to a race for efficiency, too busy to attend to the grief we bury in our chests. So pause here… Pause here among others who have come to […]
Ecclesiastes 8:10-15 The book of Ecclesiastes is a strange book to have in our canon. It’s a pessimistic book that veers into sarcasm, and it has no issue telling you exactly how life is in the world. A book for the frustrated and the cynical. It’s comforting to know that the Bible has room for […]
There are many examples of God’s plenty but where is God when there is nothing and there appears to be no hope? In this week’s sermon, Ryan Paige looks at the book of Joel. Joel writes as wave after wave of Locusts devastate everything. Crops are wiped out, even the seeds are eaten, with no […]
Deuteronomy 26:1-15 History isn’t recorded, it’s interpreted. Melissa begins her sermon this Sunday by telling about the Bible study she is co-leading on the grounds of the state capitol that compares the Confederate monuments with idolatry. Rather than statues, we need to tell stories to one another. Stories of how God’s love extends to all […]
Leviticus 11:1-22 This Sunday Melissa wove together an explanation for the Levitical rules for what meat was clean and unclean with both the current climate change crisis and our focus with A Year at the Table. Human lust for domination over creation is the root cause of climate change. God loves the whole world and […]
Exodus 13:3-10 Isaac Villegas, pastor of Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, brought the sermon this Sunday. The Exodus passage recalls the first Jewish Passover. The meal was a ritual, reminding them of the liberation from the house of slavery. “Love is contraband in Hell, Cause love is an acidthat eats away bars.”~Assata Shakur
Genesis 18:1-15 Melissa began her sermon talking about her many visits to A Place at the Table. Unfortunately, the first two minutes were not recorded, so we pick up from her comparison of A Place at the Table with the story of the three strangers who visit Abraham and Sarah at the oaks at Mamre. […]
Genesis 1 Melissa’s sermon was preceded by viewing a video featuring James Weldon Johnson reciting the poem The Creation. The poetry of Genesis is where we’re starting our “Year at the Table.” Our lives are dependent upon creation, just as they’re dependent upon a loving, creative God. Every time we eat, we are reminded that […]
Hebrews 11:1-16 Melissa continued the series focused on Hebrews in this morning’s message. What is faith in the midst of political distress, in a government hellbent on terrorizing the vulnerable? It’s the failures of the people talked about in this Hebrews passage that animates our faith to continue on. They provide hope because of their […]
Matthew 12:1-6Hebrews 9:1-14 Rachel brought the message this morning and began by telling us about recently being locked in the walk-in refrigerator at Anathoth Community Garden. She weaved this story and several readings into the teachings from the Hebrews passage about Christ as our high priest. Jesus, as our priest, makes us whole, by reminding […]
Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10 & Matthew 26:36-40 Melissa works at clearing up misconceptions we often have and reconciling some of our notions of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and Jesus’ life and crucifixion. We were forgiven long before we knew we needed forgiving.
Matthew 12:46-50, Hebrews 2:10-18 Zinith Barbee provided the sermon this morning, intertwining stories of Wyatt Earp and cowboys, with Jesus, his family, and Pharisees. At the end of the four gospels, we don’t get the OK Corral, we get Golgotha. Jesus is not the new Sheriff in town, he’s the new light and life.
John 1:1-5, Hebrews 1:1-4 Hans brought the message to us this morning with his typical good humor. We don’t always hear God speaking to us. The Bible shows many different ways God is revealed to and works through God’s people. Sometimes God speaks immediately upon request, but not often. We need to be mindful, paying […]
Romans 8:18-30 Hope seen through Arethra Franklin, the Holy Spirit, and our own congregation.
Mailing Address
& Meeting Location
121 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919-831-2969
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