Proverbs 9:1-6 | Ephesians 5:15-20 

Jeremy Richards

One subject that I’ve always wanted to study, but have never had the opportunity to do so officially, is philosophy. So, while on parental leave, I decided to try my best to learn something about philosophy. I read these little Oxford Very Short Introductions on a number of philosophical topics. I tried to read one a week (and almost succeeded). One of the short introductions I read was on existentialism. Now, based on reading a very short introduction on existentialism, I’m going to act like I’m some kind of expert on the topic.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 

Jeremy Richards        

As we discussed a few weeks ago, Ephesians is written to a church that contains both Jews and Gentiles. The primary theme of this book is unity. The question it seeks to answer is: how do people from very different walks of life become one body – the body of Christ? While the Jew/Gentile divide is the most apparent, there are other divides as well, divides that continue to plague our churches today. Divides based on socio-economic status, cultural background, gender, etc. Despite all these differences, they have been made, through Christ, into one new humanity.

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15

Shelley Varner Perez

Trust builds over time. Yovanny and I had been friends for several years. We both attended dinner at a friend’s house a couple of times a month, and we went to the symphony together several times. A turning point came when I sprained my right ankle. I couldn’t drive. I couldn’t walk to the bus stop. I couldn’t rely on myself to meet my needs; I had to rely on others to help me buy groceries, get to work, and make it to physical therapy appointments. Yovanny heard about my bum ankle and sent me an email offering to give me a ride anytime I needed. I accepted, so that Sunday he picked me up for church. He lived in Vancouver, and I live in SW, and church is in NE, so I knew it wasn’t a convenient offer for him to make. He came through for me at a vulnerable time. That experience deepened our friendship.

Jeremiah 23:1-6 | Ephesians 2:11-22 | Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Jeremy Richards        

As many of you know, Brie and I went back to Idaho for two weeks while we were on parental leave. And, as many of you also know, we’re from neighboring towns, so every time we go home we see both our families. When we went home a couple weeks ago, we stayed the first week at Brie’s parent’s house and the second week at my parent’s house.

Isaiah 6:1-8 | Psalm 29 | Romans 8:12-17 | John 3:1-17

Jeremy Richards 

Today is Trinity Sunday. The day we remember how absurd our faith is. The day we remember that the identity of the God we have put our trust in is a total mystery – God is three and God is one. As the old confession goes, “I believe in one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Try explaining that. You really can’t.

Acts 2:1-21 | Psalm 104:24-34, 35b | Romans 8:22-27 | John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Jeremy Richards

We all know what it’s like to wait for someone. You make a plan to meet at a coffee shop at 9:30, you get there right on time, find a seat, and begin to wait. The clock hits 9:35, 9:40, 9:45. You begin to wonder, did they forget about the meeting? You check your calendar, did you get the day right, the time, the place? Sometimes they’re running late, sometimes they forgot. Until they show up, or it becomes obvious that they aren’t coming, you aren’t sure. You’re stuck waiting.

Acts 1:15-17 | Psalm 1 | John 17:6-19

Jeremy Richards        

Last week I told you that Jesus is out in our world, working, and all we have to do is find him and partner with him, and today we open our Bibles and Jesus says, “…I am no longer in the world” (v. 11). Last week I told you we need to immerse ourselves in our communities and build lasting relationships, and today Jesus says of his disciples, “they do not belong to the world,” (v. 16). Come on!

Acts 10:44-48 | Psalm 98 | 1 John 5:1-6 | John 15:9-17

Jeremy Richards

The year after I graduated from college, when Brie was still a Junior, we decided we wanted to try a different church. We’d been going to a large church that was great in many ways, but we felt like it was just too big. Most Sundays we sat by people we’d never met before.

We wanted more connection. We wanted to know people in our church, and we wanted them to know us.

Psalm 23 | 1 John 3:16-24 | John 10:11-18

Jeremy Richards        

I’d like to begin with a question: Where are you this morning?

This might seem like an odd question, since you’re sitting right in front of me. I’m looking at you. Obviously you’re in our church building. Maybe my question isn’t so much “Where are you?” as “Where else are you?”

Psalm 4 | 1 John 3:1-7 | Luke 24:36-48

Jeremy Richards

Our Gospel reading this morning begins with disbelief. Most of the disciples do not yet believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead. While many modern day churches want to get to Easter as quickly as possible – want to celebrate the resurrection and leave behind Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday – the early followers of Jesus weren’t so quick to celebrate Easter. They found it too good to be true. They didn’t believe so easily.