Jesus Said What Again?!
[An interruption occurred in the livestream due to technical difficulties. Thanks to quick thinking an audio version of the sermon is available with only a slight decrease in quality].
Uncomfortable. Odd. Difficult. Gross. Ancient. Weird. Challenging.
All words we could — in our more honest moments — use to describe much of the bible. That includes some of what is reported as issuing forth from Jesus’ mouth.
That was some of what we encountered last week in the first installment of our current sermon series, “Jesus Said What?!”
This Sunday we continue to wrestle with Jesus sounding like a vampire in John’s gospel account. Add in James’ stark reflection on what makes faith truly alive, and we’ve got ourselves another pair of tough texts.
How do we embody our faith in Jesus so that we live in a way that could keep on living, abundantly, eternally? Pastor Dave dives into that question this Sunday, August 22nd, in Part 2 of this series: “Jesus Said What Again?!”
[Spoiler alert]
As promised last week, a portion of our response to these hard sayings and questions takes the form of an Offering of Letters to Congress advocating for policies that will help end hunger locally and globally.
We will offer space, time, and materials for those wanting to hand-write their letters.
There is also on online option: Click here to email Congress.
We will talk much more about this Sunday, but for now to learn more about an Offering of Letters, click here.
To learn more about our partner organization in this effort, Bread for the World, click here.
Worship with Woodridge UMC Sundays at 10:00 a.m. in person or online via our Woodridge UMC YouTube channel.
Series Information
Sometimes reading the bible can be like cuddling up with a warm blanket on a cold night. Other times reading the bible can be like finding safe refuge during a storm. Occasionally reading the bible can even be like hearing a fiery speech that sends us charging into the world to “resist evil and injustice in whatever forms they present themselves.”
But once in a while — maybe even more often than we like to admit — reading the bible results in more visceral reactions:
The bible is an ancient document. That means even as it inspires us, some of what we read in it sounds weird, gross, or just plain wrong. We acutely experience that in our sermon series, “Jesus Said What?!”