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.
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: 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. […]
Isaiah 43:1-7, Hebrews 11:32-12:3 In just two days we have a national election. It’s something that has many of us anxious and concerned. The two texts for today are both addressed to people in anxious circumstances. Even with all of the anxiety of the situation in the first passage, the summation of the Isaiah’s prophecy […]
Isaiah 40: 1-8 This Sunday Melissa Florer-Bixler continued to move further into the words of the prophet Isaiah, when the Persian king Cyrus allowed God’s people to return to Israel, ushering in a time of comfort and hope. The prophet spoke of a highway being built from through hostile land between Babylon and Jerusalem, and […]
Isaiah 46: 1-13 Melissa Florer-Bixler invites us to consider the question, “why do we come to church every Sunday?” as she preaches on Isaiah’s message about idols. Isaiah mocks the idols of Israel’s former conquerors, now laid low and unable to even help themselves from falling over. In last week’s sermon, Melissa stated that we […]
Isaiah 11: 1-9 Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on Isaiah’s vision of the lion laying down with the lamb and reminds us, rather appropriately on World Communion Sunday, to consider more deeply in that context how we address the multitude of intractable conflicts occurring throughout the world. Naturally, we cannot rely on willpower alone to overcome the […]
Isaiah 9: 1-7 Merry Christmas everyone! We know it’s only September, but Raleigh Mennonite Church took a moment this Sunday to sing Christmas carols and reflect on the birth of Christ during a season far less busy and distracting than the end of December. Melissa Florer-Bixler’s sermon reminds us to take time and examine the […]
Scriptures: Isaiah 2:1-11, Matthew 5:1-12 Melissa continues her sermon series, Hope in a Time of Fear, focusing on the book of Isaiah. As we’re drawing closer to the election, what does hope look like for followers of Jesus? The people who heard Jesus’ sermon on the mount may have been thinking about Isaiah’s words when […]
Scripture: Isaiah 1:1-3, 11-20 Our world is not well. Our politics are not well. Our land and our oceans and our air is not well. We may be anxious. About the future, about elections, about what comes next for you and your family. So this series based on Isaiah will spend time with people who […]
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? […]
Mark 1:1-8 and Isaiah 40:1-11 On this second Sunday of Advent, Melissa reflects on our relentless focus on time; our need for efficiency. Time is invented; we made it up. Advent invites us into a different pace of time, a pace we call “Waiting.” Time’s first purpose was to be loved by God.
Isaiah 64:1-9 On this first Sunday of Advent, Melissa acknowledged that there is so much in our lives, in our world, to be afraid of. We are not in control of the world. We are vulnerable beyond our imagining. Somehow though, God is at work in this Apocalypse. She told the story, among others, of […]
Scripture: Isaiah 7: 10-16, Matthew 1: 18-25 Melissa preached from home since she had a child with COVID. We continue to hear from the prophecies in Isaiah on this fourth Sunday of Advent. God rolls God’s eyes at Ahaz because of Ahaz’s reluctance to listen to God. And God sends a token that Ahaz doesn’t […]
Scriptures: Isaiah 35:1-10 and Matthew 11:2-11 How does one tie in excitement about the World Cup with the third Sunday of Advent? Leave it to Melissa!
On this second Sunday of Advent, the anticipation of Christ’s arrival, Susan Scott provided the message based on Isaiah 11:1-10. Most of us have plenty of light, hope and joy in our lives, but certainly it can be a struggle at times. Where in your life do you need to hold on to hope?
Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-5 Melissa began her sermon on this first Sunday of Advent by sharing a rendition of Down by the Riverside by Rosetta Tharpe. In the Isaiah passage, God paints a picture for Isaiah of a world where tools of war become obsolete. That is a pretty bold vision for people locked into a […]
Scripture: Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:14-19 Pastor Chalice Overy, from Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, provided the message this morning. Prior to her preaching we heard a rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing and Chalice begins by sharing with us some of the significance of that song for her. Prayer is a place where our will […]
Today’s reading from Isaiah 16:1-5 opens us to a moment of a refugee crisis; we are reading about this massive disruption that happens across the Near East. Isaiah says “Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.” Due in large part to climate change, so […]
Melissa recounts stories of Mennonites in Java–doing harm and learning to do better–as we reflect on what it means to be part of the larger global Christian church on World Anabaptist Sunday. Healing and restoration is always ongoing. We engage in repentance, over and over again, recognizing that this is how the reign of God […]
The scripture today from Isaiah 1:1-20 is a prophecy or indictment of those who have much, of those who have excess. It speaks to those who have more than enough with not attending to the needs of the poorest among them. It’s no secret that our air, land and waters face a devastating century, and […]
Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 & John 1:6-8, 19-28 – On the Road to Restoration During Advent the sermon again began with a monologue. This Sunday Hans told the story of a person at the temple who witnessed the questioning of John the Baptist by the Sadducees and Pharisees. Melissa gave witness to activities taking place […]
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11, Mark 1:1-8 – On the Road to Repentance On this second Sunday of Advent Steve Derthick opened the sermon time with a monologue as John the Baptist. Melissa continued the invitation for all of us to participate in the sermon by asking us to share a time there was a person who […]
After the scripture was read from Isaiah 64:1-9 and Mark 13:24-37, Janet Fields provided a monologue for the first Sunday of Advent. Melissa followed that with a short homily and then invited congregants to participate in the sermon by sharing a story of a journey they prepared for. How do we get ready during this […]
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 […]
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