Next week we drop a BONUS EPISODE with Rev. Rob Shrader. You're not going to want to miss this conversation where Rob reveals the first time he realized he was white and how it shaped his life. 

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Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, states:

"Parables are meant to prompt us to see the world in a different way, to challenge, and at times to indict. We might be better off thinking less about what they 'mean' and more about what they can 'do': remind, provoke, refine, and disturb."

Exploring the parable of the Rich Fool found in Luke 12:13-21, Dr. Bond calls people of faith to action - reminding us it is time to put political affiliations aside and respond to the crisis in our country from our higher, primary allegiance as disciples of Christ.

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In this bonus episode, I speak with Dr. Susan Lowe about grief. Grief can come from any loss. Death, divorce, and dislocation are all common contributors to grief. Dr. Lowe talks about the meaning of loss, ways of processing it, and coping with grief while adjusting to a new reality. 

If you or someone you love dealing with grief, join Dr. Lowe and Dr. Joseph Quaye for a Grief Support Group beginning Wednesday, September 11 at 6:30 pm in room 114 at Beargrass Christian Church located at 4100 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville KY. 

The website for the Center for Loss & Life Transition: www.centerforloss.com

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In this episode, we wrap up the “New Spirit” sermon series. So far we have thought about God’s spiritual gifts of gratitude, peace, hope, compassion, and growth. As we ponder the last part of the passage from Colossians, we will hear about a “mystery that had been hidden through the ages.” 

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In this episode, we will focus on growth and diving into Colossians 1:1-14.
  
There are questions about the author of Colossians, but for our purposes let’s call him “Paul.” The Apostle Paul recognized that just as there is a maturing process in life, there is also a maturing process in faith and spiritual growth. This is a common theme in many of his letters.

Maybe you recall some of his words? “I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready.” Do you remember the eloquent images in I Corinthians 13? “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.”

In Colossians 1, Paul addresses this theme of growing in faith and spiritual maturation. 

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For centuries Christians have turned to John 14 for strength and assurance and peace—and Jesus delivers! He reiterates the new commandment he has given his disciples—to love others as he has loved them. He gently clarifies how his presence will remain with his disciples. Jesus assures them of the imminent arrival of an empowering gift—the “Advocate” or “Helper” or “Counselor.”

Several times in his “farewell address,” Jesus focuses on the gift of peace that God will give. What kind of “peace” is this? Well, it is not the kind the world offers. The world offers a seductive “peace” that is based on the temporary success of one force over another—whether it is a person, country, ideals, status, wealth, or power. The peace of God passes these kinds of understandings. 

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This episode is a treat as Rev. Erin Wathen discusses A New Spirit of Compassion.

Erin is the new Associate Director for Marketing and Communications with Week of Compassion—the relief, refugee and development mission fund of the Disciples of Christ. Prior to taking on this role, Erin served congregations in Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas City.
 
Erin was the 2010 recipient of the Fred Craddock Award for Excellence in Preaching. A graduate of Transylvania University and Lexington Theological Seminary, she recently earned a post-graduate certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from Rockhurst University. Erin is also a writer and has published two books. Her most recent, "Resist and Persist: Faith and the Fight for Equality," was a Publisher's Weekly Book of the Year in 2018 and recently won an Indie Book Award. Her blog, "Irreverin," appears on the Patheos Progressive Christian network. 

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The season of Pentecost has begun on and we’re taking some time to celebrate God’s gift of the Spirit to the Church. Although Acts 2 describes the Spirit arriving in a dramatic way, there are references to it many years before Pentecost. For instance, Ezekiel declared that God would put a “new spirit” within us.

Sometimes we think of the gift of the Spirit as one gift. But it really is helpful to think of it as a gift of many gifts. So far, we have thought about a new spirit of gratitude and peace. In the coming episodes, we will consider other gifts—freedom, compassion, and growth.  

In this episode, we focus on God’s gift of a new spirit of hope.

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Dr. Susan Lowe sits down with Dee for a follow-up conversation on her sermon A New Spirit of Gratitude based upon Psalm 13. Dr. Lowe shares insights on life and lament. Why is it important? Why do we resist? And what role does God play in lament? 

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In Galatians 5, Paul identifies the purpose of our God-given freedom. “Do not use your freedom selfishly—use it for the good.” He tells us to use our freedom responsibly and wisely. Paul says that if we don’t use our freedom to walk in the Spirit, then we’ll remain slaves to selfishness. Our “freedom from” the law is given to us so that we will have the “freedom for” pursuing a life of service.

You may have read “The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic” or similar books. Historians remind us that ancient democracies eventually unraveled because of human selfishness. The average age of great civilizations is 200 years. Nations progressed through a similar sequence—from bondage to spiritual faith to great courage to liberty to abundance. But then, from abundance to selfishness to complacency to apathy to dependency—then back to bondage.

In this episode, Dr. Bond calls us to think about:

Where are the majority of people in our nation are today? 
Where are you? 
If we want to make America great or great again, where in that civilization sequence do we want to be? 
Where do we need to be?
It seems we need to use the gift of “freedom for” or lose it? 

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