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Sermon Podcast (Audio) On Journey with Jesus

Where's Your Mustard Hiding? (God is not ok with SEPARATING parents and kids)

6/17/2018

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Preached on Mark 4:26-34, which you can read here and can listen to me read below.  I was at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL.  Topics include immigration, asylum, humanity, mustard, and the Kingdom of God. 

The Sermon

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Prepare for Comfort for Rough Places

12/10/2017

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Enjoy!  There are moment of quiet in the audio where the congregation is talking to conversation partners.  I've edited most of them out for this.  However, if you're listening while driving, I left a minute or two in for you to do your own thinking on the question.  If you want to discuss below:
Leave a Comment:
1.  Where do you find comfort in your faith?
2.  Who is on the hills of our world? Who might not be comforted when the hills are made low?
3.  How do we bring comfort to others?
4.  How does your baptism give you strength? 

Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8, Advent 2

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Strawberry Pickers Are Human

9/24/2017

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It was 92 degrees at church on Sunday, in a sanctuary without any air conditioning or much ventilation.  So, I decided to do the children's sermon and adult sermon mostly together.  Our picture taker was not there, and I started recording a little late.  However, you can imagine that there are three groups of children standing up in the font, and the kid in front of each group is holding a sign.  This is where the recording picks up.  Part One is the kids acting out Matthew 20:1-16 as modern day strawberry pickers hanging out in front of a store hoping for work.  Part Two is a commentary on it.  Enjoy!
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Whining About Jesus -- The Cross is Hard

9/3/2017

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The cross is hard.  Sometimes I don't want to take it up and follow Jesus.  Sometimes I don't want to lose my life and gain it.  Often, I don't even know what that means.  Listen for stories of people who did just that throughout history.  Sermon based on Matthew 16: 21-28.  Comment below with your thoughts.  Are you able to be a disciple of Jesus and take up a cross?  What will be hard about that, and how can work through those hard parts?  Let me know!  
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Jesus Learns, Rebecca PReaches

8/20/2017

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Matthew 18:21-28.  Guest Preacher Rebecca comes to us from the time of Jesus. 
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Jesus, Compassion, Discipleship, and Black Lives Matter

6/18/2017

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Do you wonder what it all means?  How is Jesus and what he says in the Bible relevant for us today?  What does being a disciple of Jesus look like in the whitest denomination in the US?  How does Jesus call us to respond when justice is not done?  Listen here for some ideas, and leave a comment on your own thoughts.  We have to start talking about it or we are part of the problem.  Even if it is uncomfortable. If this sermon impacts you, please do one of the actions below and then leave a comment about what you did and what you learned.     
Preached at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church on 6-18-17 on Matthew 9: 35-10:23, includes the verdict from the #PhilandoCastile case.  You can read about it here from closer to the murder by the wonderful Jess Davis.  You can read about the verdict here. Compassion means seeing the pain of others.  
If you are ready to do something to help instead of crying or feeling bad, here are some choices for you.  

Join Safety Pin Box.  A place for non-Black people to mess up, be in a community of people who mess up, and work on learning to do it better, together.  We love each other, support each other, and hold each other accountable for being better white people. Black women teach us the things most of us were taught to not know during our lives.  Best college class I've ever taken, most life-changing content, and most loving racism conversations I've ever been part of.  If you join, be sure you say you heard about it from me!  

Get the Ally Backpack or SPBKids and learn some new things about the world.  No one can know everything.  
Pay Black women and femmes who are without economic resources because generations ago their families were kidnapped, and were not allowed to be whole people or own property.  Many of these are activist working for the liberation of all marginalized people in the world, but also have trouble getting enough money to eat.  You can provide material help.  

Follow and Support #decolonizelutheranism to learn how to open our churches to all people in ways we did not know we needed to do

Watch This!

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REfugees, Serving, Beatitudes

1/29/2017

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Matthew 5.1-12
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Schaumburg, IL
What does not letting refugees into the US have to do with Jesus, and the Beatitudes?
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Who will be taken?

11/27/2016

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Matthew 24.36-44, Isaiah 2.1-5, Advent 1
Living Christ Lutheran Church,  Hanover Park, IL
​Who is better?  How do you know?  
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  • Pastor Jess
  • Open Space
    • Open Space Resources
    • Consulting: Open Space Bethlehem, DeKalb, IL
  • Spirited Speakeasy
  • Congregational Renewal Stories and Resources
  • Sermon Podcast On A Journey with Jesus
    • Video Sermons
    • Kid's Time (Audio and Video)
  • When Jesus Wears Makeup
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