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.
Susan Scott brought this Sunday’s message based on Luke 13:10-17, the story of Jesus healing the crippled woman at the synagogue on the Sabbath. Susan asked us to contemplate, “How does God feel about you at this moment?” Jesus was chastised for breaking strict Sabbath rules by the leader of the synagogue. This leader was […]
Hearing a sermon from the sensuous passages found in the Song of Songs is pretty uncommon. Susan Scott provided an eloquent, humorous and insightful message on just that. What do the words in the Song of Songs teach us about God? For one, that God is not a prude. God is not squeamish or embarrassed […]
Scripture: John 6:56-69 Melissa reminds us that a lot of what Jesus did during his ministry on earth pushed all sorts of boundaries. At times he was downright offensive. The people on the other side of Jesus’ offenses are those who had lost their bearing. Following Jesus is not an orderly set of rules. Rather, […]
Scripture: Psalm 27: 1-5 & 1 John 4: 7-21 When we depend on a set of rules to live our lives we see ourselves as creatures who can determine our own goodness, instead of what we actually are, which is recipients of grace. As creatures of grace we are confronted by our inability to love […]
Scripture: 1 John 3:1-7 This Sunday Melissa began a series on I John. Many people are leaving the institutional church. Why is it that we have difficulty identifying with the term “Christian” or have some anxiety about it? The gap is between who Jesus is and how Jesus’ followers act in the world. “This is […]
Revelation 7:9-17 This Sunday is both All Saints Day, when we remember those who have gone on before us, and just days away from a presidential election that is a source of anxiety and fear for many. All of this and so much more centered in the midst of the storm of a virus that […]
John 6:35-40 Pam Bruns shared with us during this last Sunday in our summer series of sharing favorite songs or scriptures. The song “Just As I Am” has held special meaning for Pam throughout her life and she shared about how its meaning has changed for her through three different phases of life. It was […]
Karin shared she feels the love of God when singing hymns with a choir. She noted that currently in the US we live with a mentality of scarcity. A sense that providing even basic needs like heath care to others will limit our own access. We even extend this to God’s love for us, forgetting […]
Psalm 37 Rachel shared from this passage and her memories of hearing about it in the context of a seminary class on the role of the environment and land portrayed in the Old Testament, then juxtaposed immediately after through a campus rally about the suffering encountered by many in eastern North Carolina as a result […]
Lamentations 3:19-33 Debbie Bledsoe continues our summer series of sharing beloved songs and bible passages. Melissa introduces the passage from Lamentations, then Debbie shares from her experiences of God’s faithfulness in her life whether in the midst of hardships and change or joy and beauty. Morning by morning we can see new ways God loves […]
I Corinthians 15:1-6 In the continuing series of RMCers sharing a scripture or song that is particularly meaningful, Dave Cooper reflects on this passage from I Corinthians. Melissa introduces the passage before Dave shares and closes with the song When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Christ has freed us to a life of right relationships–with […]
Sriprakash Mayasandra and Rachel Taylor provided our message this morning in the form of an interview. Sri, a former RMCer, has been studying in France before taking on his latest role with Mennonite Central Committee in Chad. He was able to join us via web conference and share some of his testimony and current work. […]
Acts 17:1-9 In our city and in our country protests have been taking place that are tinged with “rights” language, including the right for churches to hold gatherings. But a few thousand years earlier a different scene played out that also concerned the state and religion. Paul and Silas and the other Christians have disrupted […]
Melissa Florer-BixlerSermon from March 29, 2020 worship service, held via ZoomJohn 11The spoken version of the message, without notes, is also available on the podcast. One of the parts of our faith that is most important to me is the affirmation that God has something to do with the world. And if God has something […]
On our third online worship service during the COVID-19 pandemic, Melissa had some technical challenges so presented her message without notes. The scripture was from John 11, the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. When Mary and Martha tell Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died,” Jesus doesn’t […]
This Sunday marks the beginning of a new study of Genesis. Prior to Melissa’s message from Genesis 1, Pam read a poem, “God’s Grandeur” by Gerald Manly Hopkins. There is mystery in the creation story. Everything in the world is a pure gift, an unmerited pure act of God’s love that somehow has intersected with […]
Rachel preached from I John 4:7-21. We’re not alone on our journeys. Together, we encourage each other, share resources, catch each other when we fall, and simply enjoy each other. As our journeys become real and we’re brought to the edge of ourselves, we’ll encounter God’s love there too. Through loving each other and through […]
This was “holy humor” Sunday and Melissa started out her message with a joke before getting into the story told in John 20:19-31. Just as Jesus met Thomas, Jesus meets us where we’re at. Faith is not something you come to on your own. It takes many different forms and in every single one of […]
