LUKE

An Advent Word from John the Baptist

As we enter the third Sunday of Advent, Leah invites us to consider the profound message, “Do the good that is yours to do.” Drawing from John the Baptist’s bold words and the concept of a “centered set” faith, she encourages us to reflect on what inspires or challenges us, what resources we bring, and what actions are sustainable in our lives. This Advent, discover how the good you are uniquely called to do can bring light and love to the world.

Review Leah’s notes here and listen to or watch the teaching below.

You Are A Blessing

Leah kicks off Advent with a reflective teaching on the theme “You Are a Blessing.” Exploring Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, Leah highlights how Divine favor begins with blessing, reshapes expectations, and empowers new possibilities. Through this lens, she invites us to embrace the truth of our inherent worth and consider the agency we hold in our own sacred journeys.

Review Leah’s notes here and listen to or watch the teaching below.

The Gospel Truths

In today’s teaching, Leah unpacks the complexities of the New Testament Gospels as part of the summer series, “Sacred Sources.” During seminary, many students face a pivotal moment when they realize the Bible’s formation is more complex than previously imagined. This often leads to a crisis of faith, but it can also lead to a more mature and nuanced understanding of these sacred texts. In this teaching, Leah explores what the Gospels are, how they came to be, and their significance. While the Gospels aren’t eyewitness accounts or direct transcripts of Jesus’ words, they are powerful, faith-driven narratives that offer us a profound connection to Jesus. By understanding the historical and literary context of these texts, we can approach them with fresh eyes and deeper reverence, finding new ways to connect with the life and teachings of Jesus.

Review Leah’s notes here and listen to or watch the teaching below.

Beauty in Justice

The following is plain audio, and notes from the teaching given by Leah on April 10, 2016.  Feel free to listen online, download, or read the notes.  This teaching is the third in our series, "In Search of Beauty."

The audio below follows on the Sesame Street clip from above -- watch and listen to enjoy!

Download sermon notes here.

Unbelievable Stories

Unbelievable Stories

Tony was an eight year old boy when it happened.  His mother and father told him that he was going to be a big brother.  A baby was coming.  For this family, it was an unexpected miracle.  Tony had had numerous health problems as a young child, and for years doctors told his parents they should not try to have any more children.

That Good Old Samaritan

That Good Old Samaritan

Though only 26 years old, Kayla Mueller had long been a humanitarian.  According to her father, she discovered as a young person that her life’s purpose was to ease the suffering of others.  She grew up in a small mountain community in Northern Arizona, but worked to bring awareness to her town of global issues of injustice.  She worked to educate community members about HIV and AIDS, she protested genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and volunteered at the women’s overnight shelter. She traveled to Palestinian territories, Israel, India and France doing humanitarian work.

Bubble Bursting

Bubble Bursting

I read an interesting article on Wired a while back called, “I Liked Everything I Saw on Facebook for Two Days. Here’s What It Did to Me.”  I found it kind of morbidly fascinating.  Just as an interesting non-scientific experiment the writer, Mat Honan, decided to try hitting the like button for everything that came up in his facebook feed.  He wanted to see what would become of the feed.  It was a chance to poke at the robots and algorithms behind the facebook magic, and see how they’d respond.  

A Call to Heal

’m gonna start today by telling you two stories that took place in my previous church, the Iowa City Vineyard, where I served as a staff pastor for five years.  The first happened when a young woman in our congregation brought her father to church.  Her parents, who were both long-time church goers themselves, were visiting from out of town.  And they decided to accompany her to our church on Sunday morning.  Our pastor’s teaching that morning was about healing.  It was part of a series of teachings on practicing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The young woman's father was moved by the teaching.  He felt inspired to seek prayer after the service.  He had a painful growth in his face, which surgeons were preparing to operate on.  So people in our church laid hands on him and prayed for the Holy Spirit to come and bring healing.  As they did, he felt God's presence.  There was tingling in his face.  He began to cry.  He knew that God was removing the mass.  And sure enough, when he returned to the doctors for surgery that week, the physicians were mystified to find that the mass they intended to remove had already vanished.