Sermon: “Consider Before You Speak”
Theme: The manner in which we control our speech is the clearest and most significant sign of spiritual growth.
Purpose: The congregation will seek to be sensitive to what they choose to say.
Scriptures: Matthew 15:3-13 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles but that which comes out.
James 3:2-13 The tongue is a powerful member, and can do good or harm.

Questions:
How do we manage our communications as the body of Christ? In what ways does our manner of speaking to one another affect the way people see the body of Christ? In what ways has rude, harsh, and disrespectful communication within the body of Christ caused people to turn away from the Christianity and the Church as a resource for healing, help, and spiritual growth? How do we change the way in which we behave towards one another? What is hypocrisy? What do we do in order to be joyful healthy Christians together?

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Sermon: “The Discipline of an Open Heart”

Theme: God calls us to open our hearts and be willing to receive all people with love and acceptance.

Purpose: The congregation will reconsider their preconceptions about others and seek to be open to all people.

Scriptures: Ephesians 1:15-23 With the eyes of your heart enlightened you may have a spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Mark 12:28-33 Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and strength, love your neighbor as yourself.

Questions:
What does the Apostle Paul mean by the “eyes of the heart” being “enlightened?” What does our heart have to do with having strength and power to serve Christ? What does it mean for us to have our hearts open to Christ’s guidance and serving? What is meant by the commandment to “Love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul?” How does that type of love affect the Body of Christ? How is the love for God related to our love for others in the world? How does our ability to learn to love fully affect the Body of Christ?

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Sermon: “How You Look At Things”

Theme: Through faith we learn to look through love and trust in God, so that we become focused on living lives of generosity, love, and faith.

Purpose: To teach the congregation to focus on what they are focusing their eyes and thoughts upon.

Scriptures: Matthew 6:19-24 The eye is the lamp of the body, it can be full of greed or light.
Acts 9:3-9, 17-22 Saul receives his sight through prayers and the removal of the scales that blinded him.

Questions:
What are the things that we focus our attention upon? Do we choose to focus on the things that are up building and worthy of our attention? Do we tend to focus on things that are negative and critical? How does our focus and attention affect our attitude? How does our attention and focus affect the people around us? In what ways does our attention and focus either build up the body or Christ or function in a way that is negative and destructive? How do we keep our focus on the mission of serving Christ and remove it from complaint and criticism?

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Sermon: “Listening and Hearing”

Theme: God calls us to open our ears, and to be open to listening, but to be thoughtful about what we choose to hear, and how we choose to support the body of Christ by listening for God’s presence.

Purpose: The congregation will understand that listening is a discipline and will begin to work to practice listening so as to build up the body of Christ.

Scriptures: Mark 7:31-37 Jesus opens the ears of the deaf mute.
1 John 4:1-6 Listening to what confesses God and not encouraging that which furthers hostility or animosity.

Questions:
What happens to the body of Christ when we choose to listen to gossip and hostility? Is it kind to encourage people to continue to complain and pour out their hostility or is it encouraging them to dwell in their unforgiveness? What can we do to actively listen and in that way build up others? What can we do to encourage through listening that people seek to grow in their relationship with God and seek healing? In what ways is our listening going to either encourage growth in wisdom and knowledge of God or deepening of resentments and hostility?

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Sermon: “One Body of Christ” Theme Song: One Bread, One Body

Theme: We are united as the one body of Christ, each called to be a part of the body in love and fellowship.

Purpose: The congregation will seek to support the health and union of the whole body.

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 You are the body of Christ and individually members of that one body.
John 15:7-17 Jesus commands that we love one another and that love be the center of our relationships (not servants but friends).

Questions:
What does it mean that we are the one body of Christ? What are the ways in which we are struggling with acceptance of others? In what ways are we encountering a need to growth in diversity? What are the “less honorable” parts of the body? Do we treat the “unseen” and “unappreciated” parts of the body with the honor they deserve? Are there ways in which we have been neglecting to encourage the diversity of the body? What is your part or strength in the body of Christ? What can you do to help the whole body to be healthier?

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Sermon: “Seeing Christ in Each Person”

Theme: Faithfully following Christ calls us to confront our own partiality and seek to be welcoming, accepting, and compassionate towards all people.

Purpose: The congregation will examine and consider how they judge and condemn

Scriptures: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 Faithfulness requires honesty and respect for all.
James 2:1-13 Being partial towards people who have signs of wealth or power is not living in Christ’s love.

Questions:
In what ways do we tend to prejudge people? What are some of our weaknesses in reacting favorably or unfavorably towards people’s appearance or other mannerisms? In what ways do we need to be active in recognizing our bias and prejudice? What can we do to offset those attitudes? When is it that we have opportunities to grow in love and acceptance, particularly towards those who appear in a manner that is challenging for us? What can we do in order to be more welcoming and compassionate towards individuals whom we have previously prejudged?

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Sermon: “One Can Only Run So Far”

Theme: The story of Jacob and the Angel is the story of having to face one’s own faults and experience God’s steadfast love in the midst of our humanity.

Purpose: The congregation will understand that God’s desire is not just that we participate in spiritual practices but that we live in healthy relationships as God intended.

Scriptures: 1 John 3:18-24 Let us love not just in words but in truth.
Genesis 32:1-32 Jacob prepares to meet Esau, and wrestles all night with an “angel”.

Questions:
What does it mean to wrestle with God? Jacob’s wrestling began when he no longer could run away from his problems. How does wrestling with God differ from just fretting over our worries? How does wrestling with God’s message lead to a change of life? In the wrestling match God “injured” Jacob by taking away his ability to run away. In what ways do we need our ability to run away eliminated in order that we may grow in faith and knowledge? How does wrestling with God move us from people who “love in word or speech” to becoming people who love in deed? How does wrestling with God become an important part of moving to a new and deeper level of living faithfully?

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Churchnic (Outdoor worship and cookout Bring something to share) Communion.

Sermon: “Washing Away the Corruption”

Theme: God brought an end to the era of extreme corruption while showing grace in the midst of disaster.

Purpose: The congregation will understand the story of Noah as a story of God’s righteousness and human fallen nature; and will look at themselves as the recipients of grace and forgiveness.

Questions:
Why did God have to destroy humanity in order to end sin? What was the purpose of the flood? Why did God need Noah, couldn’t God have done things without a human doing the “hard work?” Did it work? Does it appear that God has emotions and responses that we don’t tend to see God as having today? Did God make mistakes in creating humanity in the way that they were created? What does this story say about judgment and grace? What does this story say about the accountability of humanity as opposed to the accountability of individuals? Are there sins of the whole of humanity as opposed to sins of individuals? What’s the difference?

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Sermon: Becoming Who We are Called to Be
Theme: The call of Abram was not a story of heroic discipline but of simple faithfulness.
Purpose: To understand that often we begin our journeys of faith not knowing what we are actually doing.
Scriptures:  Hebrews 11:8-19, 39-40 By faith God acted through Abraham, but the promise was not perfected in them at that time.
Genesis 12:1-9 The Lord Calls Abram.

Questions:
Why was it necessary for Abram to separate from his family and his culture in order that God could do something new? How do we learn to be willing to walk by faith? Is it possible for us to encounter God in new ways without sacrificing something which we currently hold dear? Is it possible to be renewed and transformed without being willing to experience significant changes? In what ways was Abram a man of faith? In what ways was Abram just following small, simple steps? What does it mean to us that the covenant was given to Abram and Sarai? What does that covenant mean to us today? Why did Abram and Sarai have to go through a “name change” in order to complete the process of receiving God’s promise to them?

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Sermon: “What Went Wrong?”
Theme: To understand that the story is one explaining the difference between being in relationship with God and not being in relationship with God.
Purpose: For the congregation to appreciate the call to know God and grow in God’s love.
Scriptures: Romans 5:12-14, 18-21 Sin entered the world through Adam, but grace abounds.
Genesis3:1-24 Story of the first man and the first woman and the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.

Questions:
What does “The Tree of the Life” mean to us? What does “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” mean to us? In what ways does innocence have to be lost in order to gain knowledge? Is it possible to know about evil without being stained by it? Is it possible to know about good without having had some encounter of evil? Is naive innocence better than wounded wisdom? How has the gift of forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice healed our separation from God and from one another? In what ways is the gaining of knowledge at the cost of relationships? What causes us to experience shame?

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