Between Loss and Hope

“Jesus Wept” by Tabitha Kaylee Hawk. Oklahoma City Memorial. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tabithahawk/14384061966/in/photolist-nV55uo-4CFZXW-pff7NE-7cf4p9-229Fs3-3VwEJ-81Gv6r-2ky5x2A-scgA6R-aYLHac-eeGMSC-23BWkof-4x5tHS-7V8K9y-9dsPvL-sd3AmR-gqXTxi-gqXzLE-e51Wer-eaLsz3-278q7bE-4iFh4w-7JJa8E-2iMtEnW-eaLqgL-eaLqBd-eaLr3L-a699p2-eaLrrm-CQhFc-LTV4x-eaLrHm-EDTAh-9y7kwb-ehBV1n-dsmDY7-8YXaNk-7aNp4M-bUadH-4d3Gs3-dKvrip-4S53DD-LTV96-4S53Cp-acqnBj-LTLpN-LTV7x-sctoM-i4P3W-5DH6d7

This is a teaching by Leah Martens to mark the anniversary of a year since the pandemic began. In this "Story That Sustains Us", she revisits a story about Jesus being present to two sisters in the delicate place many of us have been inhabiting this year between loss and hope.

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

2nd Isaiah Speaks to the Exile

In this teaching, Leah looks at some texts that come from a part of the book of Isaiah that addresses the exiles and considers how the messages delivered might speak to us too.

You can read Leah’s notes or listen to or view the teaching below.

Hope In The Future

In this fourth and final teaching in the “Resurrecting Hope” series, Leah talks about jigsaw puzzles, eschatology, apocalypse, and future hope in the midst of so much grief and disorder.

You can read Leah’s notes here, listen to the teaching, or watch the video below.

Hope In The Midst of Uncertainty

PC: Michael Coughlin

In this teaching given by Haven Teaching Team member Katie Kay, Katie tackles the question of how hope functions, and what it means to have hope without certainty. She explores another kind of resurrection story found in the New Testament that engages these questions, and invites us to consider hope in a helpful new way, in the midst of all the coronavirus uncertainty.

View Katie’s notes here, listen to the teaching, or view the video below.

Resurrecting Hope: Easter

On Easter 2020, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Leah began a new teaching series “Resurrecting Hope”. In this teaching she looks at the resurrection, as recorded by John, for some clues about what resurrection really is, and what it might tell us in terms of how hope might be present with us in a season of crisis.

You can read Leah’s notes here or listen to the teaching through audio or video below.

It's Complicated: Life/Loss (Easter 2018)

There’s a phrase that’s become a go-to in media and social media, when recognizing that not all questions can be answered in a concise way. “It’s complicated”. In this new series, Leah will be exploring some of the complexities of the life and faith, and consider how leaning into the paradoxes and tensions can actually bring freedom and greater insight in the journey. In this first teaching, she explores the complexity at the heart of the Easter story: the complexity of resurrection.

Listen to the teaching below or review Leah's notes here.
 

Advent 1: Hope Coming to Discouragement

Advent is Latin for "coming" and has traditionally been understood by the church as a time to prepare our hearts, spirits, and minds for the remembrance of Jesus' first coming at Christmas, as well as the coming we look ahead to. This year, Leah will be asking what it means in this present moment, the Bay Area in late 2017, to experience God's "coming" in practical terms, along with the gifts that coming brings.

This first Sunday of Advent, Leah considers the traditional gift reflected in the first Sunday of Advent: the gift of Hope. Is hope just a hallmark sentiment? Wishful thinking? Naiveté? Or is it something essential to moving forward in faith and community, particularly in trying times? These are the questions Leah considers, with inspiration from the Prophet Isaiah.

Review Leah's notes here or listen to the teaching below.

Longing for Intimacy

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the more they went from me... (Hosea 11:1-2) 

Just as a parent longs for closeness with their child, the ancient writer Hosea says, God longs to connect with us as people. But how do we restore relationships in the midst of hurt, or betrayal, or misunderstanding? As we reflect on winter as a season of longing, listen to Leah's message below, or read the notes here.