12/15/2024 – Advent Week Three: Joy (and avocados?)

Through an unlikely pair of stories – a Christmas airline surprise and an ancient couple’s unexpected news – we explore what it means to participate in God’s joy. Together they reveal how God delights in bringing life to barren places, and invites us to do the same.

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am. Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/live/YsbQvm4GPQo?t=1706s

12/08/2024 – Advent Week Two: Two Peaces

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. But when Jesus was born, the title of Savior / Bringer of Peace was already taken. What does Luke’s Gospel and his Christmas story teach us about Peace?

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am. Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/live/ZZwe8SCDqss?t=1547s

12/01/2024 – Advent Week One: Hope as Defiance

During World War II, Japanese Americans in internment camps launched a quiet rebellion – not with weapons, but with vegetable gardens, poetry, and baseball leagues. Through their story of creating beauty behind barbed wire, this Advent sermon explores what it means to practice hope as an act of holy defiance, both then and now.

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am. Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzB4UJCo4UY&t=1916s

11/24/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Eight – Not From Here

As we prepare for Advent, the lectionary wants us to be thinking about the nature of kingship. The Jewish people had a long, checkered history with kings. In Jesus, they would find a King whose Kingdom was not from this world.

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am. Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBRwxeKK8Pc&t=1612s

11/17/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Seven – Labor Pains

Through the parallel stories of Hannah’s prayer at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:4-20) and Jesus’ prophecy about the temple’s destruction (Mark 13:1-8), this message explores how God’s kingdom emerges not through political power or force, but through the patient “birth pains” of love and faithful presence.

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am. Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFdrVWPBfI&t=1476s

11/10/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Six – Intermissions of Light in the Darkness

TThis Sunday we discussed two stories in Mark chapter 12: the greatest commandment, and the widows offering. These stories represent light, joy, and hope in the midst of a dark chapter. What can we learn from these stories and characters to help light our way in the season ahead?

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am. Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/live/mB7fuaz1ePg?t=1548s

11/03/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Five – All Saints, Elections, and Sacred Citizenship

Today’s “All Saints Sunday” message reminds us that we belong to something far greater than our current political moment – the communion of saints, a wild and beautiful tapestry of believers stretching across time and culture. Drawing from Revelation 7 and the Beatitudes, we explore how to engage in civic life with both principled conviction and Christ-like humility.

10/27/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Four – The Blind Man Who Sees

This Sunday we dove into the story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark chapter ten. Sometimes this seems like a simple story of a healing, but it turns out there’s more Bartimaeus than we first realized. He is physically blind, but he sees more than others do.

Watch the archived recording of this message here: https://www.youtube.com/live/be0lihAEmxY?t=1771s

10/20/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Three – From Bias to Breakthrough

What can two of Jesus’ more impulsive disciples teach us about overcoming our biases? Today’s message explores how challenging our assumptions can transform our faith, our politics, our relationships, and even our opinions on the ‘correct’ time to put up Christmas decorations.

Watch the archived recording of this message here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPlcJW-2lc&t=1400s).

10/13/2024 – Hope & Humility: Part Two – The Center

In Mark chapter 10, Jesus is approached by a man who wants eternal life. He has faithfully lived the commandments, but Jesus asks him to sell everything, give it to the poor, and follow him. The story is often filed under Jesus’ teaching about money, but it is about much more than that. How can the story help guide us in engaging in politics faithfully?

Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at 10:45am.