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.
John 15:9-17 On this last Sunday of Melissa’s pastoral ministry with us at RMC, she spoke from this scripture passage that Jesus shares with his disciples toward the end of his ministry. Unlike clubs and societies, the foundation of our friendship as the church isn’t a shared interest, but a shared good. Friends pursue the […]
Luke 10:38-42 This Sunday Elizabeth Korver-Glenn shares of the dearth of information she was able to find about early Black and Brown Mennonite leaders, with an even greater lack of any details about Black and Brown Mennonite women. She found brief information about Phoebe Sheela Bisahu Solomon and Rowena Lark in the archives of Mennonite […]
Luke 10:25-37 This summer at RMC we’re focusing on telling stories of hope from the Bible. Katie Mangum was our guest speaker this Sunday and shared reflections on one of the most common and beloved of Jesus’ parables, that of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ parables can be frustrating, since many don’t have clear meanings. Even […]
Luke 16: 1-9 RMC’s Susan Scott preached this week on what Jesus was trying to do when he spoke in parables. The parables Jesus spoke in are often confusing, indirect, and seldom leave the listener with clear answers to their questions. Why won’t Jesus get to the point? However, this storytelling tactic forces the listener […]
Matthew 5: 43-48 With the recent American bombing of Iran, we now move into a time filled with tension, fear, calls for war, and calls for reprisal. As Christians we must remember that we are called to a different path than the world. Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on our Covenant Sunday that we must pay close […]
Romans 5: 1-5 On Trinity Sunday Melissa Florer-Bixler preached on the words of Paul in Romans. Paul didn’t focus on what the makeup of the Trinity is, but who the persons of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are. Essentially, God is not vengeful, cruel, or indifferent. God, through the trinity, is the giver of […]
1 Corinthians 3:11 This Sunday RMC’s own Jordan Morehouse preached on the foundations of our faith. We often use scripture, tradition, and faith practices to justify all manner of evils against our neighbors. Jordan reminds us that we must be ready to change our actions and views when we see that time honored parts of […]
Scripture: Isaiah 12:1-6 Melissa opened her sermon sharing about a man who helped rescue a friend who was attacked by a shark. He swam directly toward the injured swimmer, putting himself in direct vicinity with the shark. The backstory behind most people who show real bravery in the midst of danger is that they have […]
Scripture: John 15:1-10 “Abide” is central to John’s gospel. Abide is the orientation of our lives to Jesus, but also of Jesus’s life with us. Jesus tells his disciples that he will abide with them, even as he goes away. In this goodbye it’s interesting that Jesus actually never tells the disciples that they ought […]
Scripture: Matthew 18:1-5 The disciples of Jesus have “power problems.” Who’s going to be greatest? Who’s going to sit next to him? And as usual, Jesus has to gently put them in their place. He tells them, Unless you turn around and become like a child you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus […]
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” It’s easy to “weaponize” this teaching in Proverbs, to make us believe that the rational or scientific reasoning may be suspect. That can open us up to a […]
Jeremiah 17: 5-8 This week RMC’s Miguel Cruz preached the sermon in Spanish. The English voice you will hear is that of the live translator in the sanctuary. Due to the nature of the recording tech, there is some residual audio of Miguel’s voice in the background. ** Preaching from Jeremiah, Miguel asks us to […]
Luke 24: 1-12 Happy Easter everyone! This week Melissa Florer-Bixler preached from the Gospel of Luke. The women Disciples (the men having scattered) around Jesus, despite their deep grief and despair, stayed with Jesus through his arrest, death, and burial, and then returned only to find the tomb empty save for shining beings that declared […]
Luke 19: 28-40 What could we possibly have to learn about the Gospel message from a donkey? Luke spends as much time in his Gospel on the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as he does on the Lord’s Supper. Melissa Florer-Bixler reminds us this Palm Sunday that our Anabaptist ancestors were keenly […]
John 12: 1-8 This week Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive funerial perfume meant for Lazarus, whom Jesus had recently raised from the dead. Mary knows that Jesus plans to go Jerusalem soon to die, and her offering is a reckless offering of love, not just grief, as she sacrifices in […]
Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 How many times have we heard Jesus’s parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15? While the focus is usually on the son who leaves with his share of the inheritance and squanders it away, Melissa brings us a fresh perspective on the father and the eldest son. Not only was […]
Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-9 God’s version of confession and penance is entirely different from the world’s understanding of confession and penance. During Lent we have to let go of the anxiety that comes from the long-held cultural myth that confessing can only make things worse. Penance is to accept responsibility and to repair what is broken. […]
Luke 13: 31-35 Many of us are uncomfortable, especially pacifists, with anger and how we treat each other when tempers flare. The Bible is clear, however, that Jesus often became frustrated or upset with those around him, and even God gets angry too. Jesus, though angry with his own disciples and the evils of Herod […]
Scripture: Luke 4:1-13 When Jesus is tempted in the desert, Satan offers Jesus power over all of the world, which Satan has been given, if Jesus will just worship Satan. (Luke 4:6) God has handed over the powers of this world to a cosmic being called Satan. We may wonder why God allows this arrangement. […]
Scripture: Luke 9:28-36 As told in this passage from Luke, through Jesus’s transfiguration we learned that prayer is getting caught up in God’s glory. To pray is to know at any minute you could be surrounded by the glory of God. Prayer invites us into a wholly different relationship with God than that of extraction […]
Acts 2: 43-47 Much of the focus of Pentecost is on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including the signs, wonders, and languages being heard and spoken. Melissa Florer-Bixler reminds us this Sunday that the Apostles selling their possessions and giving the money to those in need was also a significant part of the signs […]
Matthew 26: 47-56 As a pacifist, if you could end cancer or stop the next Hitler and save millions just by killing an innocent person, would you do it? These ridiculous scenarios are often posed to Anabaptists, seeking the knife’s edge that would cut through our nonviolent convictions. Melissa Florer-Bixler points out this week that […]
Romans 6: 3-4 What does it mean to baptized into Jesus’ death or walking in the newness of life? Melissa Florer-Bixler unpacks this passage in Romans by explaining some of the symbolism of baptism, the three fold nature of baptisms, and what this means for us as Christians and Anabaptists. The water used in baptism […]
Scripture: Luke 2:22-40 Simeon and Anna were waiting for something big their whole lives. They were waiting for God to keep their promises. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to be consecrated, Simeon knew what he had been waiting for had come to pass. Looking at that little baby’s face Simeon was […]
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Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919-831-2969
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