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 20: 1-18 Trey Ferguson preached on Holy Humor Sunday at RMC via Zoom. Editor’s note- at the beginning of the sermon Trey played a CLIP – please click on the link to the left to watch- from a David Blaine street magic performance where he gets a person to pick a card and reinsert […]
Scripture: John 12:12-27, 19:16b-22 Ben Rudeen Kreider, pastor at Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, provided the message on this Palm Sunday. From the ubiquitous Buc-ee’s billboards to the variety of incredibly creative signs seen at yesterday’s No Kings rallies, signs are everywhere. A good sign grabs your attention in a short phrase with what a movement […]
Scripture: John 19:1-16b On this fifth Sunday of Lent, we continue the story of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Through lots of questioning Jesus is mum. When Pilate gets quite frustrated and asks if Jesus is not aware that he has the power to release Jesus or to have him crucified, Jesus answers, “You have no […]
Scripture: John 18:28-40 There are so many points of reference for our lives today in this story of Jesus before Pilate that Susan spoke about on this fourth Sunday of Lent. Pilate was a politician, not a statesman, not a leader, but a politician. To Pilate, truth was something to manipulate. The dissonance between Pilate […]
Scripture: John 18:12-27 Seth brought the message on this third Sunday of Lent. We find Peter, the beloved disciple of Jesus, at probably one of the worst times of his life, denying he knew Jesus when he swore he wouldn’t. But this story isn’t so much about Peter as it is about us. We all, […]
Scripture: John 13:1-17 At the start of her sermon on this day after the US and Israel rained bombs on Iran, Susan admonished us to keep up the coordinated, persistent, non-violent pressure on the administration, and to keep up the prayer. The way of Jesus is the way of love, and today’s text is all […]
John 1: 1-18 Susan Scott reminded us of a powerful image from this week’s scripture in John where Jesus became flesh and “tabernacled with us.” Jumping back in time to Exodus, God instructs the chosen people in great detail on how to build a portable tabernacle, a sanctuary, for God to dwell in, but only […]
John 11:14-27 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Susan Scott’s sermon starts us with Israel’s period of exile in Babylon, where Jerusalem has fallen, the temple is destroyed, and the people feel like God has abandoned them without hope. Ezekiel reminds the Israelites that God has not forgotten them. God keenly knows their suffering and Showed Ezekiel a vision […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: John 2:1-11 We held a joint service with Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal this Sunday, the congregation we rent space from. The service was held in their sanctuary and Pastor Melissa brought the message. In recognition of its 500th anniversary this week, Melissa shared some of the history of Anabaptism, and even included […]
Scripture: John 18:33-37 and Ruth 3 Ruth forged a future where there wasn’t one. Her mother-in-law Naomi only sees a life of constriction, defined and closed. She sees no options, no future. Ruth, on the other hand, is a future-oriented person. She consistently speaks in the future tense. While she might have told Naomi, “I […]
In this last of Melissa’s three-part series on Jesus’ teaching on bread, the scripture was from John 6:56-59. As we eat this bread, this Jesus, we see God’s life growing and healing us. We become a people; a people that believe that we love our neighbors as ourselves. We become a people who refuse to […]
Melissa continues her three-part series on Jesus’ discourse about bread. The bread of life, as Jesus talks about it in John 6:51-58, isn’t a pill you swallow or compass giving directions. It’s a feast that you get into. It’s messy and visceral and fleshy. Jesus wants to get into our lives and become a part of […]
Scripture: Exodus 16:4-8, 13-21 and John 6:35, 41-51 We, along with all the creatures of the world, are invited to be the fullness of our created being. The passages from Exodus and John tell a story of trust, a dependence on God. Jesus also reminds people about all of the non-human creatures who depend on […]
Matthew 19:1-12 and John 1:14-16 Melissa wraps up the series about questions the congregation has asked this Sunday, focusing on the question of sex, and intertwines it with the need for grace. Just before his conversion to Christianity the saint and theologian of the church, Augustine of Hippo, is in a garden and he prays […]
John 20: 1-18 Happy Easter to everyone! In this sermon Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on the resurrection and the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene at his tomb. Jesus asks Mary, “whom are you looking for?” This is a loaded question, however, as Melissa shows us. The question asks us to look into our own selves, […]
John 12: 20-33 Note: At 2:19, ten seconds of audio was lost due to a technical problem during the live recording. Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on a time in Jesus’ life where there is no time left for ministry, but only to speak to those present of his imminent demise and fulfillment of God’s plan. The […]
Numbers 21: 4-9 John 3: 14-21 Our perspective on the trials and tribulations of life can have a profound effect and how we formulate our understanding of God’s character and our own place and purpose in God’s creation. Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on the long and arduous Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt and how […]
John2: 13-22 Melissa Florer-Bixler preached on the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus. From this gospel we learn that the existence of an economy for selling sacrificial animals and exchanging currency was not what angered Jesus, being necessary for travelers to participate in rituals, but rather the proximity of these activities, within the holy space […]
Scripture: John 10:14-15 Each year, Anabaptist-related churches around the world are encouraged to worship around a common theme on a Sunday close to January 21. On that date in 1525, the first Anabaptist baptism took place in Zurich, Switzerland. Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday provides an opportunity to remember our common roots and celebrate our worldwide koinonia. Today […]
John 1:6-8, 19-28 and Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 On this third Sunday of Advent, Melissa shared about a list of “I am nots” that she made this week. John the Baptist knew who he was not, and who he was. Think about (or make) your own lists of “I am nots.” How does that sentence end? […]
John 2:1-12 This Sunday Melissa begins a three-part series on the question: What is the Church For? The miracle at the wedding of Cana seems like a superfluous act on the part of Jesus. There’s nothing practical or useful about the sign. Jesus doesn’t cure disease, raise a person from the dead or feed hungry […]
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